Major Minerals
What Are Minerals?
Minerals are inorganic elements that are essential to human nutrition. Minerals are important for your body to stay healthy. Your body uses minerals for many different jobs, and those jobs include building bones, making hormones, and regulating your heartbeat.
There are two kinds of minerals: major minerals (also called macrominerals) and trace minerals (or microminerals). The best way for you to get the minerals your body needs is by eating a wide variety of foods; however, there may be some cases in which your doctor may recommend that you take a mineral supplement. Eating foods that are high in minerals does not mean that your body will actually absorb the minerals during digestion. As a matter of fact, the amount of a particular mineral that is ultimately available for your body to use depends on the amount of that mineral that your body can absorb and retain. This is known as bioavailability.
Bioavailability is affected by many different factors. For example, if your body already has enough of a certain mineral, and you consume foods that are high in that mineral, your body will not absorb more of that mineral than it needs. On the other hand, if your body is deficient in that mineral, it will absorb more of that mineral from the foods you eat (that contain that mineral) than it really needs. Cooking certain foods, such as beans, increases the bioavailability of minerals in them. Some nutrients interact to change the bioavailability of other nutrients. Specifically, vitamin C increases the bioavailability of iron by increasing absorption, and vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. On the other hand, there are several factors that reduce the bioavailability of minerals. Supplementation of single minerals affects the absorption of competing minerals. Also, certain properties of some foods reduce bioavailability.
Are minerals organic or inorganic? - Inorganic
What are the two types of minerals? - Major minerals and trace minerals
What is the term for the amount of a mineral your body can absorb and retain? - Bioavailability
Eating foods that are high in minerals does not mean that your body will actually absorb the minerals during digestion. As a matter of fact, the amount of a particular mineral that is ultimately available for your body to use depends on the amount of that mineral that your body can absorb and retain. This is known as bioavailability.
Minerals
Inorganic elements essential to the nutrition of humans
Major Minerals
Minerals needed in amounts greater than 100 milligrams per day
Trace Minerals
Minerals needed in amounts less than 20 milligrams per day
Bioavailability
The degree to which a nutrient from foods is absorbed and utilized in the body
Major Minerals
As stated earlier, major minerals (macrominerals) are minerals your body needs in larger amounts. Your body needs major minerals in amounts greater than 100 milligrams per day, and your body needs more than 1,000 milligrams each day for some of these minerals. There are at least 5 milligrams of each of the major minerals in your body. Major minerals play an important role in your overall health, and each major mineral has a specific function. The major minerals are calcium, chloride, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur, and each of these major minerals is discussed below.
Calcium
You have more calcium in your body than you have any other mineral. Calcium (abbreviated Ca) has many important jobs. Your body stores more than 99% of its calcium in your bones and teeth, and it uses calcium to help form and keep your bones and teeth strong. The remaining 1% is located throughout your body in blood, muscles, and the fluid between cells. Your body uses calcium to help muscles and blood vessels contract and expand, to produce hormones and enzymes, and to send messages throughout your nervous system.
Food sources of calcium include milk and other dairy products (cheese, yogurt, sour cream, etc.), leafy greens, broccoli, salmon, sardines, legumes, and calcium-fortified foods (cereals, tofu, fruit juices, etc.).
The RDA is 1,300 mg/day for teens ages fourteen to eighteen.
The UL is 2,500 mg/day for individuals age one and older.
Chloride
Chloride (Cl) is part of the chemical compound hydrochloric acid (HCl), and it helps your body maintain an acid-base balance. Your body also needs chloride to keep your body fluids balanced; it is an essential part of digestive (stomach) juices.
Chloride is found in table salt or sea salt, and it is found as sodium chloride. It is also found in many vegetables. Foods that have higher amounts of chloride are seaweed, lettuce, celery, tomatoes, olives, and rye. Very often, chloride is the main ingredient found in salt substitutes. Because it is found in many prepackaged and processed foods, most Americans get more chloride than they need.
The RDA is 2.3 g/day for individuals age nine and older.
The UL is related to that of sodium and is discussed below.
Sodium
Sodium (Na) is commonly known as salt or table salt. Table salt is a compound that is made up of the two elements sodium and chlorine; the technical name for salt is sodium chloride (NaCl). Your body needs some sodium to work properly; it helps your nerves and muscles function correctly. Salt also helps keep the fluids in your body properly balanced. Your kidneys work to control how much sodium is kept in your body. If you have too much sodium in your body and your kidneys cannot get rid of it, the sodium will build up in your blood, and this can lead to high blood pressure—and high blood pressure can lead to other health problems. Because sodium is found in almost all prepackaged and processed foods, and because people have grown accustomed to the taste of salt in their foods, most people in the U.S. get much more sodium in their diets than they need.
Sodium is found in table salt, meat, seafood, milk, cheese, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and processed foods.
The RDA is 1.5 g/day for individuals age nine and older.
The UL is 2.3 g/day.
Magnesium
Magnesium (Mg) is a major mineral that is important for proper muscle and nerve function. This mineral helps with muscle contraction and nerve conduction. Magnesium is needed for more than three hundred biochemical reactions (chemical reactions that occur in your body that help your cells grow). It also supports a healthy immune system, keeps your heart beating at a steady rate, and helps your bones stay strong. Additionally, magnesium helps regulate your blood glucose levels and aids in the production of energy and protein. Some research on how magnesium may help prevent and manage disorders such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes is ongoing, but taking magnesium supplements is not currently recommended. However, if you have a diet that is high in protein, calcium, or vitamin D, your need for magnesium is increased.
You should be able to get most of your dietary magnesium from vegetables such as dark green leafy vegetables. Other foods that are good sources of magnesium are fruits (such as apples, dried apricots, and avocados) and vegetables; nuts (such as almonds and cashews); peas and beans (legumes); seeds; products made from soy or soybeans (such as soy flour and tofu); whole grains (such as brown rice and millet); and milk.
The RDA is 360 mg/day for female teens and 410 mg/day for male teens.
The UL is 1,700 mg/day for teens.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus (P) is a mineral that makes up approximately 1% of your total body weight; it is the second most abundant mineral in your body and is present in every cell of your body. The main function of phosphorus is the formation of your bones and teeth, and that is where most of the phosphorus in your body is found. It also plays an important role in how your body uses the fats and carbohydrates in the foods you eat. Additionally, phosphorus is needed so your body can make protein for growth, maintenance, and repair of your body's cells and tissues. Phosphorus also helps your body make ATP, a molecule your body uses to store energy. Phosphorus works closely with the B vitamins as well. It also helps with kidney function, muscle contractions, normal heartbeat, and nerve signaling.
The main food sources of phosphorus are meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, and cereals. If you have a diet that includes the right amounts of calcium and protein, it will also provide enough phosphorus. Processed foods made from refined flour, like white bread, have less phosphorus than bread and cereal made with whole grains. Fruits and vegetables contain only small amounts of phosphorus.
The RDA is 700 mg/day for teens.
The UL is 4,000 mg/day for individuals age nine and older.
Potassium
Potassium (K) is a mineral that, among other things, helps your muscles contract, regulates your body fluids and mineral balance, and maintains normal blood pressure. Potassium may also reduce the risk of getting recurrent kidney stones and suffering from bone loss as you age.
Potassium is found in a wide range of foods, but it is especially prominent in fruits and vegetables such as bananas, melons, citrus fruits, potatoes, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkins, carrots, and beans. It is also found in meat (including poultry and fish), dairy, legumes, and nuts.
The RDA is 4.7 g/day for individuals age fourteen and older.
There is no UL for potassium.
Sulfur
Sulfur (S) is part of the keratin (a kind of protein) found in your hair and skin. This mineral also helps your body form collagen (the most abundant protein in the human body), maintains an acid-base balance in your body, and aids in the process in which your cells produce the energy they need to survive (called cellular respiration).
Sulfur is found in meat (including poultry and fish), milk, eggs, legumes, Brussels sprouts, onions, and garlic.
No RDA or UL has been established for sulfur.
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (English Standard Version). - Matthew 5:13–16