Vitamin C helps you absorb iron. And even a minor overload of the mineral manganese can worsen iron deficiency. Water-soluble vitamins are packed into the watery portions of the foods you eat. They are absorbed directly into the bloodstream as food is broken down during digestion or as a supplement dissolves. Because much of your body consists of water, many of the water-soluble vitamins circulate easily in your body.
Your kidneys continuously regulate levels of water-soluble vitamins, shunting excesses out of the body in your urine. Although water-soluble vitamins have many tasks in the body, one of the most important is helping to free the energy found in the food you eat.
Others help keep tissues healthy. Here are some examples of how different vitamins help you maintain health:. Contrary to popular belief, some water-soluble vitamins can stay in the body for long periods of time.
And even folic acid and vitamin C stores can last more than a couple of days. Just be aware that there is a small risk that consuming large amounts of some of these micronutrients through supplements may be quite harmful. For example, very high doses of B6—many times the recommended amount of 1.
Rather than slipping easily into the bloodstream like most water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins gain entry to the blood via lymph channels in the intestinal wall see illustration. Many fat-soluble vitamins travel through the body only under escort by proteins that act as carriers. Fatty foods and oils are reservoirs for the four fat-soluble vitamins. Within your body, fat tissues and the liver act as the main holding pens for these vitamins and release them as needed.
To some extent, you can think of these vitamins as time-release micronutrients. Your body squirrels away the excess and doles it out gradually to meet your needs. Together this vitamin quartet helps keep your eyes, skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and nervous system in good repair.
Here are some of the other essential roles these vitamins play:. Because fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body for long periods, toxic levels can build up. This is most likely to happen if you take supplements. The body needs, and stores, fairly large amounts of the major minerals. Major minerals travel through the body in various ways. Potassium, for example, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, where it circulates freely and is excreted by the kidneys, much like a water-soluble vitamin.
Calcium is more like a fat-soluble vitamin because it requires a carrier for absorption and transport. One of the key tasks of major minerals is to maintain the proper balance of water in the body.
Sodium, chloride, and potassium take the lead in doing this. Three other major minerals—calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium—are important for healthy bones. Sulfur helps stabilize protein structures, including some of those that make up hair, skin, and nails. Having too much of one major mineral can result in a deficiency of another. These sorts of imbalances are usually caused by overloads from supplements, not food sources.
Here are two examples:. A thimble could easily contain the distillation of all the trace minerals normally found in your body. Yet their contributions are just as essential as those of major minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which each account for more than a pound of your body weight. The other trace minerals perform equally vital jobs, such as helping to block damage to body cells and forming parts of key enzymes or enhancing their activity.
Trace minerals interact with one another, sometimes in ways that can trigger imbalances. Too much of one can cause or contribute to a deficiency of another. Here are some examples:. Antioxidant is a catchall term for any compound that can counteract unstable molecules such as free radicals that damage DNA, cell membranes, and other parts of cells. Your body cells naturally produce plenty of antioxidants to put on patrol. Humans eat plants and the herbivorous animals to obtain necessary mineral nutrients.
Minerals are needed for the proper composition of body fluids, including blood, and for the proper composition of tissues, bone, teeth, muscles and nerves. Minerals also play a significant role in maintaining healthy nerve function, the regulation of muscle tone, and supporting a healthy cardiovascular system.
Like vitamins, minerals also function as coenzymes that allow the body to perform its biochemical functions including:. The human body must have a proper chemical balance that depends on the levels of different minerals in the body and in the ratios of certain mineral levels to one another. If one mineral level is out of balance, all other mineral levels may be affected. If this type of imbalance is not corrected, a chain reaction of imbalances can begin that may lead to disease or illness.
Nutritionally, minerals are generally subdivided into two groups, macrominerals and trace minerals microminerals. The macrominerals include calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sodium. These are the minerals that are required in large amounts in the body. Trace or microminerals, on the other hand, are those minerals that are required only in minute quantities in the body.
These include zinc, copper, chromium, selenium, molybdenum, manganese, iodine, iron, boron, silicon, and vanadium. Though only required in small quantities, they are, nevertheless, essential for good health. Unlike vitamins, minerals are very stable in composition and do not get degraded by heat, cooking or light. They maintain their nutritional value through the cooking process, even if baked or boiled.
It is, therefore, possible to incorporate minerals in numerous recipes to help prevent a nutritional deficiency. This is especially important for individuals on special diets who may not get their mineral requirements from the foods they eat.
Individuals on a dairy free diet, for instance, don't get enough calcium for good health. These individuals can incorporate calcium into various prepared foods such as bread, casseroles, cookies, juices and semi-solid foods. Minerals taken as dietary supplements come from mineral salts, which are the minerals hooked to a molecule such as a sulfate, carbonate, citrate, oxide, picolinate, or other negatively charged chemical group. Since minerals and some mineral salts are often naturally occurring in the ground, it is important that supplement companies test these mineral materials for the absence of significant amounts of lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium, all of which can cause toxic states in humans that lead to certain illnesses.
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. It makes up 1. The major function of calcium is to build and maintain healthy bones and teeth; however, it is also involved in much of the body's enzyme activity as well as regulation of cardiovascular function. It is recommended that all individuals consume about mg. The primary source of calcium is dairy products, making it imperative that individuals on a dairy free diet incorporate supplemental calcium into their diet. Some plant foods are also rich in calcium, such as tofu, kale, spinach, turnip greens and members of the cabbage family.
Calcium from spinach, however, is poorly absorbed. Sardines also serve as a very good source. When taking calcium dietary supplements, it is important to take the supplements with food to ensure the best possible absorption. It is also best to take smaller doses of calcium spread throughout the day than to take one megadose.
The best sources of calcium as far as absorption is concerned are considered to be calcium bis-glycinate and calcium citrate malate. Calcium citrate and calcium carbonate are also well absorbed if taken with food. Adequate levels of vitamin D in the diet aid in maximizing calcium absorption.
Since calcium is such an important component in our bodies, it is especially important to make sure your supplement company uses calcium materials that are very low in heavy metals contaminants such as lead. Calcium deficiency can lead to rickets a bone deformity disease and growth retardation in children. In adults, deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, poor bone density, muscle spasms, leg cramps and cardiovascular irregularities. Magnesium is involved in more biochemical functions than any other mineral in the body.
Over metabolic reactions involve this important nutrient so it is prudent to ensure your daily intake is sufficient. Magnesium is also extremely important in regulating heart rhythms. The recommended daily value for magnesium is mg. It is important, however, not to overconsume magnesium since excess amounts of this mineral have a laxative effect. Foods rich in magnesium include green leafy vegetables, fruits and grains.
Meats and dairy are less rich sources. Good magnesium sources in dietary supplements are citrate, glycinate, aspartate and oxide. There is no compelling data indicating that the different magnesium salts have any significant difference in magnesium bioavailability.
Magnesium deficiency can lead to serious health consequences including cardiovascular disease. You should discuss this with your physician to make sure you are getting enough of this nutrient.
Potassium is a mineral necessary for good health and organ function, though most individuals' potassium requirements are met by their diet. This is because life-sustaining functions are regulated by potassium and upsetting the chemical balance of this nutrient can be life-threatening.
The body needs iron to make hemoglobin say: HEE-muh-glo-bun. Hemoglobin is the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body.
Your entire body needs oxygen to stay healthy and alive. Zinc helps your immune system, which is your body's system for fighting off illnesses and infections. It also helps with cell growth and helps heal wounds, such as cuts. When people don't get enough of these important minerals, they can have health problems. For instance, too little calcium — especially when you're a kid — can lead to weaker bones.
Some kids may take a multivitamin that also has minerals, but most kids don't need them if they eat a healthy diet. So eat those minerals and stay healthy!
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