Minerals are inorganic substances essential for the body’s health. Minerals are essential nutrients that perform many functions in the body, including:
- Building bones and teeth: Calcium helps build strong bones and teeth.
- Muscle and nerve function: Magnesium is important for muscles and nerves.
- Water balance: Minerals help regulate the body’s water balance.
- Hormones and enzymes: Minerals are components of hormones and enzymes.
- Growth and development: Iron is needed for growth and development.
- Metabolism: Phosphorus is involved in many metabolic processes.
- Absorbing iron: Copper is needed to absorb and use iron.
- Regulating the body: Iodine is used to make hormones that help regulate other parts of the body.
Some specific minerals and their functions include:
- Calcium: Helps build strong bones and teeth. Calcium is found in dairy products, green leafy vegetables, and fortified foods, including naturally in sardines with bones, canned salmon with bones, tofu, almonds, and sesame seeds.
- Magnesium: Important for muscles and nerves, found in leafy green vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes, whole grains like oats and brown rice, and in foods like avocados, dark chocolate, and bananas.
- Iron: Used to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells. Abundant in red meats, also fund in chicken, seafood, legumes, green leafy vegetables, tofu, pumpkin seeds, and fortified foods.
- Zinc: An essential element of nutrition that is present in all tissues. Commonly found in red metas, pountry, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, dairy products, and fortified foods. Oysters are an exceptionally rich source of zinc.
- Phosphorus: Commonly associated with calcium because they are found together in bone structures. Found in dairy products, meat and poultry, fish such as salmon and tuna, nuts and seeds, legumes, whole grains, and eggs.
- Copper: An important trace element for human nutrition. Found in shellfish such as oysters and crabs, nuts and seeds, organ meats such as liver, whole grains, legumes, dark chocolate, potatoes, and avocados.
- Iodine: Used to make hormones that help regulate other parts of the body. Mainly found in iodized salt, seafood, dairy products, eggs, and some fortified foods such as breads.
- Manganese: An essential nutrient that the body requires to function properly. Commonly found in whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, leafy green vegetables, black tea, spices such as cloves and cinnamon, and foods such as pineapple, avocados, and dark chocolate.
Sources
Gemini AI, a digital mind and language model, offered part of this explanation.
Other sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8840645/
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/minerals.html
https://www.watsons.com.ph/ascorbic-acid-zinc-dayzinc-100-mg-10-mg-oral-drops-syrup/p/BP_50005975
https://www.rxlist.com/manganese/generic-drug.htm
https://www.drugs.com/inactive/magnesium-hydroxide-149.html
https://medlineplus.gov/iron.html
https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredient-dictionary/ingredient-copper-gluconate.html
https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-education/low-iodine-diet
https://www.veterinariadigital.com/en/articulos/importance-of-minerals-in-animal-nutrition/
