Minerals your Body Needs

A continuation of Vitamins for Good Health

What are Minerals?
Minerals are inorganic substances like sodium, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, iodine, iron etc. These minerals are classified as major and minor minerals based on their intake level. Incase more than 100 mg of mineral is required per day, they come under the category of major mineral. Major minerals include calcium, phosphorous, potassium, chlorine, sodium, magnesium & sulphur. Minor minerals include iodine, iron, zinc etc.



Benefits at a glance :
* Minerals are vital for good health. Like vitamins, minerals are essential for regulating and building the cells which make up the body.
* Minerals help to maintain the volume of water necessary for the life processes in the body.
*Our body is made up of 50,000 enzymes which direct growth and energy. Each enzyme has minerals & vitamins associated with it. Each of the essential food minerals does a specific job in the body, while some do extra work in teams to keep the body cells healthy.
* The body can tolerate a deficiency of vitamins for a relatively long period but even slight changes in the concentration of important minerals in the blood may rapidly endanger life.


Outline of sources and benefits and some minerals :
Though the amount of minerals required daily is not large, even the lack of required traces of the mineral in the body can cause dysfunction at some level in the body. Some symptoms of mineral defeciency which are less obvious include fatigue, irritability, weakness, nervousness, depression.

1. Calcium (For Strong Bones)


Calcium helps build and maintain strong bones & teeth. They promote muscle growth. Deficiency of calcium in the body can cause leg cramps, brittle bones, muscle spasms.

Sources of calcium : Major sources are milk & milk products such as milk, yogurt, cheese. Non-dairy sources of calcium are green leafy vegetables, okra or tofu.

2. Iodine (Prevents Goitre)


The chief storehouse of iodine in the body is thyroid gland. Iodine is obtained from the food we eat. Iodine thus helps to keep the thyroid gland healthy. Deficiency of iodine in the body leads to loss of energy, weight gain and a tendency towards obesity, dry hair, low blood pressure, lethargy.

Sources of Iodine : The best dietary source of iodine is iodised salt. Sea foods and spinach also contain reasonable quantities of iodine.

3. Iron (Purifies the blood)


The haemoglobin content of the red blood cells is made up of certain proteins and iron. A healthy person absorbs 2 to 10 percent of iron from food, depending on its nature. But in case of a person deficient in iron, the amount absorbed increases upto 50 percent from indigested foods. Thus absorption of iron is enhanced when there is deficiency of iron in the body or there is need for increased blood formation. The main sites of iron absorption are stomach and upper part of small intestine.

Iron helps build tendons & ligaments and maintain a healthy immune system. It is the key constituent of haemoglobin (the blood pigment that carries oxygen).

Deficiency of iron causes insufficient oxygen supply to organs leading to fatigue, decreased alertness and muscular dysfunction.

Sources of Iron : The best sources include pulses and legumes, wholegrain cereals, eggs, apricots, figs, green  leafy vegetables, raisins, dried dates.

4. Magnesium (The Alcholic`s Balm)


Magnesium is necessary for proper growth and formation of muscles and functioning of the lungs. They help to keep the nerves relaxed, prevent high BP and depression. Magnesium helps in the utilization of vitamins B & E. It functions with other minerals such as calcium, sodium, potassium. This mineral prevents the building up of cholestrol.

Deficiency of magnesium decreases the body ability to remove excess sugar from the blood and causes dizziness.

Sources of Magnesium : This mineral is a part of chlorophyll in green vegetables. Other sources include milk, potatoes, bananas, apples, figs, lemons, almonds, brown rice, sesame seeds.

5. Potassium (To prevent Acidosis)

Potassium is an important alkalising agent. It maintains proper acid-alkaline balance in  the blood and tissues. It prevents hyperacidity. It maintains health of brain, skin, liver, aids cell generation. Another important function of potassium is that it reduces blood pressure. Potassium also regulates flow of water & nutrients in and out of the cells.

Potassium deficiency is unlikely to occur in healthy individuals as normal food we intake supplies with the necessary amount of potassium. But deficiency may occur during gastro-intestinal disturbances.

Sources of Potassium : Fruits such as bananas, sweet limes, peaches and apricots. Other sources include pulses, nuts.

6. Sodium (Indispensible for life)


Sodium regulates blood chemistry and blood volume and thus maintains normal blood pressure. It helps digest food and maintains nervous system. It also helps maintain proper water balance within the body. Deficiency of this mineral can cause dehydration, weakness, nausea, muscular weakness.

Sources of Sodium : Leafy vegetables, pulses and legumes are rich in sodium.

A point to be noted is women should not have more than 2 g (men about 2.5 g) of sodium (per day), which translates to about 6 g table salt every day on an average.

7. Zinc (Hastens Healing)


Zinc is needed for healthy skin and hair, proper healing of wounds, growth and repair of tissues, healthy immune system.

Sources of Zinc : They include wholewheat bread, wheatgerm, pulses, milk, eggs, cereals.