Micronutrients are required in smaller quantities:
Minerals
Dietary minerals are the other chemical elements our bodies need, other than carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
People with a well-balanced diet will, in most cases, obtain all the minerals they need from what they eat.
Minerals are sometimes added to certain foods to make up for any shortages.
The best example of this is iodized salt - iodine is added to prevent iodine deficiency, which affects about 2 billion peopleTrusted Source, globally; it causes mental retardation and thyroid gland problems. Iodine deficiency remains a serious public health problem in over half the planet.
Experts at the University of Florida say that 16 key minerals are essential for human biochemical processes:
Potassium
What it does - a systemic (affects entire body) electrolyte, essential in co-regulating ATP (an important carrier of energy in cells in the body, also key in making RNA) with sodium.
Deficiency - hypokalemia - can profoundly affect the nervous system and heart.
Excess - hyperkalemia - can also profoundly affect the nervous system and heart.
Chloride
What it does - key for producing stomach acid, important in the transport of molecules between cells, and vital for the proper functioning of nerves.
Deficiency - hypochloremia - low salt levels, which, if severe, can be very dangerous.
Excess - hyperchloremia - usually no symptoms, linked with excessive fluid loss.
Sodium
What it does - a systemic electrolyte, and essential in regulating ATP with potassium. Important for nerve function and regulating body fluid levels.
Deficiency - hyponatremia - causes cells to malfunction; extremely low sodium can be fatal.
Excess - hypernatremia - can also cause cells to malfunction, extremely high levels can be fatal.
Calcium
What it does - important for muscle, heart, and digestive health. Builds bone, assists in the synthesis and function of blood cells.
Deficiency - hypocalcaemia - muscle cramps, abdominal cramps, spasms, and hyperactive deep tendon reflexes.
Excess - hypercalcemia - muscle weakness, constipation, undermined conduction of electrical impulses in the heart, calcium stones in the urinary tract, impaired kidney function, and impaired absorption of iron, leading to iron deficiency.
Phosphorus
What it does - important for the structure of DNA, transporter of energy (ATP), component of cellular membrane, helps strengthen bones.
Deficiency - hypophosphatemia, an example is rickets.
Excess - hyperphosphatemia, often a result of kidney failure.
Magnesium
What it does - processes ATP; required for good bones and management of proper muscle movement. Hundreds of enzymes rely on magnesium to work properly.
Deficiency - hypomagnesemia - irritability of the nervous system with spasms of the hands and feet, muscular twitching and cramps, constipation, and larynx spasms.
Excess - hypermagnesemia - nausea, vomiting, impaired breathing, low blood pressure. Very rare, but may occur if patient has renal problems.
Zinc
What it does - required by many enzymes. Important for reproductive organ growth. Also important in gene expression and regulating the nervous and immune systems.
Deficiency - short stature, anemia, increased pigmentation of skin, enlarged liver and spleen, impaired reproductive function, impaired wound healing, and immune deficiency.
Excess - suppresses copper and iron absorption.
Iron
What it does - required for proteins and enzymes, especially hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying compound in blood.
Deficiency - anemia.
Excess - iron overload disorder; iron deposits can form in organs, particularly the heart.
Manganese
What it does - a cofactor in enzyme functions.
Deficiency - wobbliness, fainting, hearing loss, weak tendons and ligaments. Less commonly, can be a cause of diabetes.
Excess - interferes with the absorption of dietary iron.
Copper
What it does - component of many enzymes.
Deficiency - anemia or pancytopenia (reduction in the number of red and white blood cells, as well as platelets) and neurodegeneration.
Excess - can interfere with body's formation of blood cellular components; in severe cases, convulsions, palsy, and eventually death (similar to arsenic poisoning).
Iodine
What it does - required for the biosynthesis of thyroxine (one type of thyroid hormone).
Deficiency - developmental delays, enlarged thyroid gland (in the neck), and fatigue.
Excess - can affect the function of the thyroid gland.
Selenium
What it does - essential cofactor for antioxidant enzymes.
Deficiency - Keshan disease - myocardial necrosis (tissue death in the heart) leading to weakening of the heart; Kashin-Beck disease - break down of cartilage.
Excess - garlic-smelling breath, gastrointestinal disorders, hair loss, sloughing of nails, fatigue, irritability, and neurological damage.
Molybdenum
What it does - vital part of three important enzyme systems, xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, and sulfite oxidase. It has a vital role in uric acid formation, in carbohydrate metabolism, and sulfite detoxification.
Deficiency - may affect metabolism and blood counts, but as this deficiency often occurs at the same time as other mineral deficiencies, it is hard to say which deficiency caused which health problem.
Excess - there is very little data on toxicity.
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