Health Minerals, Supplements, Vitamins

Vitamins

Minerals

Other Nutrients

Optimum Nutrition

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. An average man contains about one and a half kilograms of calcium and an average woman about one kilogram. Over 99 per cent of the calcium in your body is in bones and teeth. The remaining one per cent is found in the blood, lymph and other body fluids, cell membranes and structures inside cells.

Potassium is one of the most commonly prescribed minerals. It is used in situations where body potassium is decreased, such as during diuretic drugs therapy. Many studies have found potassium supplements to have beneficial effects in the treatment of high blood pressure. The kidneys are the main regulators of body potassium, maintaining blood levels by controlling excretion, even as intake varies.

Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in soft tissueMagnesium is necessary for thiamin, vitamin C and pyridoxine metabolism. Calcium, sodium, phosphorus and potassium metabolism are linked to magnesium metabolism in bone formation, muscle contraction and nerve transmission. High calcium intake may lead to magnesium deficiency.

Iodine deficiency leads to various illnesses which are known as iodine deficiency disorders and include hypothyroidism, goiter and cretinism. Intakes of less than 50 mcg per day induce deficiency.

On average, absorption of zinc is around 20 to 40 per cent of dietary intake, improving when zinc intake is low. Absorption also depends on the food source. More zinc is available from animal and fish sources as these high protein foods contain amino acids which bind to zinc and make it more soluble.

Zinc Deficiency
1) Symptoms of zinc deficiency include eczema on the face and hands, hair loss, mental apathy, defects in the reproductive organs, delayed sexual maturation, menstrual irregularities, decreased growth rate and impaired mental development.

2) Deficiency may also lead to postnatal depression, loss of the senses of taste and smell, anemia, poor appetite, impaired conduction and nerve damage, white spots on the nails, mental disorders, susceptibility to infections, delayed wound-healing and impotence in men.

Minerals: Iron

Benefits

The therapeutic use of iron dates back thousands of years. The Egyptians prescribed it as a cure for baldness and the Greeks recommended iron in wine as a way to restore male potency. Iron is the most abundant element on earth and is an essential trace mineral for humans. The human body contains about 3.5 to 4.5 g of iron Two thirds of this is present in blood and the rest is stored in the liver, spleen, bone marrow and muscles.