Chapter 8 Minerals

Calcium

• Regulates the transport of ions across cell membranes and important in nerve transmission

• Maintain normal blood pressure

• Essential role in clotting of blood

• Essential for muscle contraction and heartbeat

• Activates cellular enzymes that regulate many processes

Phosphorus

• Critical buffers, help maintain the acid-base balance of cellular fluids 

• Essential for growth and renewal of tissues

• Carry, store, and release energy during metabolism of energy nutrients

• Forms principal components of cell membranes

• Present in some proteins 

Magnesium

• Serves as cofactor for hundreds of enzymes 

• Needed for release and use of energy from energy-yielding nutrients 

• Necessary part of cellular protein-making machinery

• Critical to normal nerve transmission, muscle contraction, and heart functions 

• Helps relax muscles after calcium promotes contraction

• Promotes resistance to tooth decay in teeth

• Supports normal functioning of the immune system

Sodium

• Regular of the body’s fluid and electrolyte balance system 

• Helps maintain acid-base balance and essential to muscle contraction and nerve transmission

Potassium

• Maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance and cell integrity

• Maintaining a steady heartbeat

• Maintain normal blood pressure, lowering risk of hypertension and strokes

Iodine

• Cofactor that works with thyroxine

  • Regulates the body’s metabolic rate, temperature, reproduction, growth, heart functioning, and more 

Iron

• Needed to make new cells, amino acids, hormones, and neurotransmitters

• Part of dozens of enzymes, mainly those involved in energy metabolism

Zinc

• Protects cell structure against damage from oxidation

• Synthesize parts of the cell’s genetic material

• Synthesize the heme of hemoglobin

• Assists pancreas with digestive and insulin functions and helps metabolize carbohydrate, protein, and fat 

• Produce active form of vitamin A

• Regulate protein synthesis and cell division, functions critical to normal growth before and after birth 

Selenium

• Limits the formation of free radicals and prevents oxidative harm to cells and tissues 

• Assist the iodine-containing thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism

• Lowering risks of developing certain cancers

Fluoride

• Ability to inhibit the development of dental caries in children and adults 

• Replaces hydroxy portion of hydroxyapatite, forming fluorapatite

• Prevention of dental caries throughout life