What is Minerals?
Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. Minerals are needed by the body in small amounts to help it function properly and stay strong. Humans need small amounts of about 14 minerals to maintain normal body function and good health.
The 14 minerals that have been shown by research to be essential to human health are: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, and Sulfur, Iron, Manganese, Copper, Iodine, Zinc, Fluoride, and Selenium. These 14 essential minerals are crucial to the growth and production of bones, teeth, hair, blood, nerves, skin, vitamins, enzymes and hormones; and the healthy functioning of nerve transmission, blood circulation, fluid regulation, cellular integrity, energy production and muscle contraction.
Minerals are neither animal nor vegetable; they are inorganic. Almost all foods contribute to a varied intake of essential minerals. Most minerals are easy to obtain in quantities required by the body. The study of minerals is called mineralogy.
Types of Minerals
There are two types of minerals: Macro minerals and Trace minerals.
- Macro Minerals
Macro means "large" in Greek are dietary minerals needed by the human body in high quantities. The macro mineral group is made up of Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, and Sulfur.
- Micro / Trace Minerals
Micro minerals, also known as trace elements are micronutrients that are chemical elements. A trace of something means that there is only a little of it. So, even though your body needs mineral each day in small amounts for good health. Scientists aren't even sure how much of these minerals you need each day. Trace minerals includes Iron, Manganese, Copper, Iodine, Zinc, Fluoride, and Selenium.
Why we need Mineral
We need the minerals for all the chemical processes that go on inside us! If you have ever walked around at very high altitudes (where there is less oxygen in the atmosphere) you will know how breathless you can get. We get Iron from some green vegetables, liver, beef &lots of other sources. It is best eaten from different foods -some don't let us absorb it quite so easily by just eating those foods.
Nutritionists are very careful when they say that a nutrient is essential in the human diet. This is particularly true when it comes to minerals, because some minerals taken in high concentrations can be toxic. We can't make minerals in our body; we must ingest them either in our food, our drinking water or in supplements. Most minerals are required in very minute amounts, and proving that a trace mineral is essential for health is a very difficult task.
Everyone at every age needs minerals. A major exception is iron for children under age 4 and adolescent girls and women in the childbearing years. These groups need more iron than a normal diet may provide. Iron is also essential for our blood to be able to carry oxygen round the body - and without oxygen our muscles can't work properly. Iron, for example, found in lean meats, nuts, dried beans, whole grains, and leafy, green vegetables, is necessary for making red blood cells. If a person is deficient in iron, poor digestion or anemia could result.
Nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron and zinc that perform important jobs in the body - building bones and teeth, transporting oxygen from the lungs to tissues and regulating metabolism.
Iodine deficiency leads to goitre, but is less common in industrialized nations due to the addition of iodine to table salt. The body needs calcium for bones and other purposes. Calcium deficiency or at least an inadequate intake of calcium can be implicated in osteoporosis and other diseases.
This mineral builds bones and teeth, and it is necessary for blood clotting. The best sources are milk and hard cheese. Others are leafy greens, nuts, and small fishes--such as sardines--with bones that can be eaten.
Phosphorus works with calcium to make strong bones and teeth. A diet that furnishes enough protein and calcium also provides enough phosphorus. Other important minerals are sodium, potassium, iodine, magnesium, zinc, and copper.
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