Major Minerals, Water, and Water-Soluble Vitamins Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, recommended intakes, functions, and deficiency facts regarding major minerals, water, and water-soluble vitamins.

Essential Minerals

The 14 inorganic elements supplied through food that perform diverse regulatory and structural functions in the human body.

Major Minerals

A category of minerals classified by the requirement of larger daily amounts, including sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Electrolytes

Sodium, potassium, and chloride; minerals that function in fluid balance, transmission of nerve impulses, and muscle contractions.

DASH Diet

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension; a dietary strategy designed to lower hypertension risk by reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium, calcium, and magnesium intake.

Calcium Homeostasis

The body process that strictly regulates calcium levels in the blood to maintain overall bone density and physiological function.

Magnesium

An essential major mineral that serves as a cofactor in more than 300 chemical reactions in the body.

Phosphorus

The second most abundant mineral in bone and throughout the body, represented by the chemical symbol P.

Sulfur

An essential major mineral (S) present primarily in two amino acids found in dietary proteins.

Water Balance

The state where fluid intake from beverages, food, and metabolic water equals total water output from urine, respiration, perspiration, and stools.

Sodium RDA/AI

The recommended intake for sodium for adults 19 years and older, which is $1500\,mg$ per day.

Potassium RDA/AI

The recommended intake for potassium for adults 19 years and older, which is $3400\,mg$ per day for males and $2600\,mg$ per day for females.

Calcium RDA/AI

The recommended intake for calcium for adults 19 years and older, which is $1000\,mg$ per day.

Fortification and Enrichment

The addition of vitamins, minerals, or protein to a food product; terms used interchangeably by the FDA, though these foods are not classified or regulated as dietary supplements.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Vitamins that dissolve or disperse in water, act as coenzymes, mostly circulate freely in the blood, and are easily destroyed or removed during food preparation.

Coenzymes

Chemical compounds that bind enzymes and are required for their proper function.

Beriberi

The deficiency disease associated with the B vitamin thiamin.

Niacin

A B vitamin that is sometimes prescribed in high doses to help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol.

Riboflavin Primary Source

Milk, which serves as the primary source of riboflavin in the U.S. diet.

Pyridoxine

The chemical name for vitamin B6.

Intrinsic Factor

A specific protein in the stomach required to bind vitamin B12 to enable its absorption.

Folate

A B vitamin that, when consumed in adequate amounts before conception and early in pregnancy, prevents up to two-thirds of all cases of neural tube defects in newborns.

Vitamin C

A water-soluble vitamin that serves as an antioxidant, synthesizes collagen, aids in hormone production, acts as a coenzyme, and enhances the absorption of dietary iron.