Nutrients Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients that your body needs in small amounts to work properly. adults need vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are essential for health.

Vitamins and minerals do different things to keep your body healthy and there is no one food that contains all of them.

Most people should be able to get all the nutrients they need by eating a varied and balanced diet. You need to make sure you eat a healthy, balanced diet with a good mix of foods to ensure that you’re getting everything you need.

Many vitamins and minerals interact, working alongside each other in groups e.g. a good balance of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus,

magnesium, zinc, fluoride, chloride, manganese, copper and sulphur is required for healthy bones.

Minerals

Minerals

Calcium Phosphorus Sodium Potassium Magnesium Sulfate Chloride

Arsenic Manganese Boron Molybdenum Chromium Nickel Copper

Major Minerals Trace Minerals

Even though they make up only a small percentage of your body [4% of body weight] minerals are essential to life.

Minerals cannot be destroyed by light, water, heat or food handling processes.

Minerals can be divided into two main categories

Iron Fluoride Iodine Selenium Silicon Vanadium Zinc

Major Minerals

The major minerals (or macrominerals) are present in relatively large amounts in the body and are required in fairly large amounts in the diet;

The Major Minerals Are Calcium, Phosphorus Magnesium

The electrolytes. The electrolytes are grouped together because their work is so interrelated. They help regulate cellular fluid and transmit nerve impulses

Sodium, Potassium Chloride, Sulfate,

We will be investigating Calcium, Phosphorus, Sodium and Potassium

Calcium

Calcium is present in the body in greater amounts that any other mineral. Calcium builds strong bones in both length and density

and is vital to the formation of teeth. About 99% is deposited in the bones and teeth. Small amounts of remaining calcium, 1% is involved in the

soft tissues, intracellular fluids and blood circulate in the blood stream and help with muscle and heart contractions, nerve functions, and blood clotting..

Absorption depends upon the presence of adequate amounts of Vitamin D, which regulates the amount of calcium in the blood.

Phosphorus is also needed The body uses them together to give firmness to the bones.

The major function of calcium is to act in cooperation with phosphorus to build and maintain healthy bones and teeth.

Calcuim

For children, a lack of calcium can interfere with growth and keep them from reaching their potential adult height. Throughout life, a lack of calcium can weaken bone density and result in osteoporosis or brittle bone disease.

Vitamin D is necessary for intestinal absorption of calcium.

Insufficient vitamin D from these sources can result in rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, conditions that result in bone deformities.

To much calcium over a long period of time can result in calcium deposits in soft organs, kidney stone development, or poor kidney functioning.

Calcuim

Most dietary calcium is absorbed in the small intestine and transported in the bloodstream. Calcium is deposited in bone with phosphorous in a crystalline form of calcium phosphate.

Good sources of calcium include: Milk, cheese, yogurt. and other dairy foods Green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach Soya beans and legumes Figs Tofu Calcium-fortified soy milk, tofu made with calcium sulphate, and soybeans. Nuts e.g. almonds Bread and anything made with fortified flour Fish where you eat the bones, such as canned sardines, pilchards and

salmon with the bones Some shellfish

Phosphorous

Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body. Phosphorus works together with calcium to aid in bone health and is useful in healing

diseases such as rickets and brittle bones. It is as a vital component in curing and developing proper function in fractured bones.

Phosphorus is used in the development and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth [tooth enamel and healthy gums].

Phosphorus is used in the metabolism where energy is released as a result of burning fat stored in the body.

It plays an important part in the formation of genetic material during the development of a fetus / baby.

Another role of phosphorus in the body is in formation of cell membranes and enzymes in the body.

Phosphorous

Eating highly processed, overcooked and unhealthy foods leads to phosphorus deficiencies in the body. Lack or low levels of phosphorus can bring about health conditions such as;

weak and fragile bones. This is more severe in elderly people. general body weakness and fatigue. weak teeth, tooth decay and gum diseases Arthritis, joint pain and sometimes a stiff neck. rickets It is possible to suffer from a loss of appetite and become susceptible to common

infections

It is possible to create a diet rich in phosphorus. Fresh vegetables and fruits, dairy products, fish, poultry, lean meat and whole grains are good sources.

Sodium [Salt]

Sodium is an essential mineral or micronutrient which along with potassium helps to regulate the body's fluid balance

Sodium ions are necessary for; regulation of blood and body fluids, it ensures the; transmission of nerve impulses, heart activity, and certain metabolic functions.

Unlike other minerals, sodium (salt) has a recognizable and popular taste, and is widely added to snack foods and other processed foods. The Western diet provides more

than five times the recommended daily allowance of sodium. It is widely considered that most people consume more than is needed, in

the form of sodium chloride, or table salt, and that this can have a negative effect on the health

Excess sodium intake is linked with high blood pressure and heart disease.

Sodium [Salt]

It is very rare to not get enough sodium from a western diet, as even whole, unprocessed foods have a natural sodium content. Sodium loss often comes through:

Sweating, as our body temperature heats up, the body perspires for the purpose of cooling down the skin, and sodium is lost with this perspiration.

Diarrhoea and vomiting, Dehydration which occurs when we lose more water than we are taking in.

This is a common side effect of sweating, vomiting and diarrhoea. Along with sodium, we lose valuable electrolytes that are essential to body processes.

Loss of Electrolytes can cause Low Blood Pressure When salt and water are lost from the body, the fluid on the outside of the

cells is lost, causing a decrease in blood volume. Decreased blood volume can lead to decreased blood pressure. If the pressure gets too low, the blood cannot get essential nutrients and

oxygen to vital organs, including the heart, brain and kidneys. Depending on how long these organs go without vital nutrients and oxygen,

they can be permanently damaged and cease to function. Fatigue is also a result of the lowered blood pressure that comes with not

getting enough sodium.

Potassium

Potassium is a necessary mineral in daily nutrition; it assists in muscle contraction and in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in body cells.

Potassium is also important in sending nerve impulses as well as releasing energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates during metabolism.

A shortage of potassium can cause a potentially fatal condition known as hypokalemia, frequently caused by diarrhoea, increased diuresis and vomiting. Deficiency symptoms include dry skin, acne, chills, diarrhoea, impaired cognitive function, muscle

spasms, arrhythmia, decreased reflex response, thirst, glucose intolerance, growth retardation, insomnia, elevated cholesterol, and decreased blood pressure.

Eating a variety of foods that contain potassium is the best way to get an adequate amount. Foods with high sources of potassium include bananas, avocados, Butternut squash,

Research has indicated that diets high in potassium can reduce the risk of hypertension.

Some people with kidney disease are advised to avoid large quantities of dietary potassium.

Trace Minerals The trace minerals (or trace elements) are needed in much smaller Most trace

minerals do not occur in the body in their free form, but are bound to organic compounds on which they use for transport, storage, and functioning.

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) have been set for copper, Iodine, Iron, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, zinc.

Adequate Intakes (AI) have been set for, Fluoride, Chromium manganese.

a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods in a moderate amount is the best way to consume a safe and adequate amount. We will be investigating Iron and Fluoride

Iorn

The average adult should eat Iron on a daily basis. The body uses dietary iron to create haemoglobin, the substance responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. When there is not enough iron in the blood, a medical condition called anaemia may develop , also known as iron deficiency. Several side effects may alert you to an iron deficiency. Fatigue

One of the most common symptoms associated with iron deficiency, fatigue is typically a lack of energy that is either mental or physical, or both.

Dizziness is another common iron deficiency symptom. It is often referred to as

vertigo, the medical word used to describe the sensation of spinning when you are standing still

Shortness of Breath Shortness of breath is a scary side effect that often accompanies anaemia,

but how it actually feels varies among individuals.

Iorn

You should be able to get all the iron you need from your daily diet, however some; Women or teenage girls who lose a lot of blood

during their monthly period. Elderly people with a poor diet or on medication

may need to take iron supplements

What happens if I take too much iron? The side effects of taking high doses of iron include:

constipation nausea vomiting stomach pain

Very high doses of iron can be fatal, particularly if taken by children, so always keep iron supplements out of the reach of children.

Iorn

Good sources of iron are Meat especially Liver Beans Nuts Dried fruit, such as dried apricots Wholegrains, such as brown rice Fortified breakfast cereals Soybean flour Most dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress and curly

kale

Spinach is a good source of iron, but contains a substance that makes it harder for the body to absorb the iron from it.

Tea and coffee contain a substance that can make it harder for the body to absorb iron

Although liver is a good source of iron, do not eat it if pregnant. Liver is rich in Vitamin A, large amounts of which can damage the unborn baby.

Fluoride

Fluoride occurs naturally in the body as calcium fluoride. Calcium fluoride is mostly found in the bones and teeth

Fluorides also help maintain bone structure. Low doses of fluoride salts may be used to treat conditions that cause faster-than-normal bone loss, such as menopause.

Small amounts of fluoride help reduce tooth decay. It is thought in the U.S.A. that by adding fluoride to tap water (called fluoridation)it has helped reduce cavities in children by more than half. In Britain we have fluorinated toothpaste

Food Sources Tea Gelatine . Natural sodium fluoride is in the ocean, so most seafood and Sea fish contains

fluoride. Food prepared in fluoridated water contains fluoride. Infants get fluoride through drinking breast milk or infant formulas.

Side Effects A lack (deficiency) of fluoride may lead to increased cavities, and weak bones

and teeth. Too much fluoride in the diet is very rare. changes in the enamel that covers

the teeth may occur and the teeth appear mottled - Faint white lines or streaks may appear.

Iodine

Iodine is commonly known to have a major effect on thyroid function, being a main component of the thyroid hormone thyroxine, controls the effects of oestrogen on breast tissue to protecting against the effects of radioactivity.

Iodine is the main component of thyroxine, the thyroid component which controls metabolism. As metabolic rate controls the amount of "fuel" burned by the body for energy, iodine deficiency can result in a decreased metabolic rate, which will result in weight gain

One of the other key functions of iodine is in the formation of the foetal nervous system. If the mother is iodine-deficient during pregnancy, there is a significant chance of the baby being born with cretinism (short stature and

extremely low intellectual capacity). Iodine is also an important component of healthy connective tissues.

Symptoms of Iodine deficiency: Goitre (swelling of the thyroid gland), chronic fatigue, reduced immune system function, dry skin, excessive oestrogen production, hypothyroidism