Editor’s observe: That is second a part of a two-part collection. Half 1 centered on nutritional vitamins, whereas Half 2 seems to be at minerals.
Nutritional vitamins and minerals are sometimes talked about interchangeably, however they are surely two various things.
“Each are key to an individual’s well being and are essential points of a well-balanced food regimen, but they’ve their variations,” stated Pam Wooster, a registered dietitian nutritionist at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Middle.
Wooster shares particular details about minerals in addition to her high mineral and vitamin for 2022, under.
What’s a mineral?
Minerals are inorganic compounds that originate within the earth. They’re indestructible and fewer weak to warmth and chemical brokers than nutritional vitamins. Nevertheless, not all minerals are wanted in an identical quantity by the physique.
Macro-minerals are wanted in bigger quantities and embody calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, phosphorus and magnesium.
Hint minerals are wanted in smaller quantities and embody iron, copper, fluoride, selenium, zinc, chromium, molybdenum, iodine and manganese.
An excessive amount of or too little of a mineral can have unfavorable impacts in your well being.
The place are minerals discovered?
Minerals come from the earth. They’re absorbed as crops develop and as animals eat the crops. Minerals then discover their means into the physique by way of the crops and animals an individual eats.
Why are minerals essential?
“The physique has 1000’s of chemical reactions occurring in each certainly one of its cells, with our cells frequently processing fat, proteins and carbohydrates we receive from meals,” stated Wooster. “Minerals and nutritional vitamins are very important to those chemical reactions.”
Minerals, like calcium and potassium, assist with blood coagulation and muscle contraction, and are important within the formation of bones and enamel. Different minerals, akin to zinc and selenium, are obligatory for correct immune perform, as deficiencies can improve susceptibility to an infection.
A scarcity of minerals might trigger crucial physique features to interrupt down. For instance, with out adequate ranges of iron, anemia might develop, and with out adequate calcium, osteoporosis might happen.
Are minerals in meals the identical as minerals in dietary supplements?
Sure, however the stage of vitamins can differ.
“Recent meals we purchase may be decrease in dietary worth than they had been 50 years in the past resulting from intensive and single-crop farming, which may deplete minerals within the soil,” Wooster stated. “If there are much less minerals within the soil, then there are much less minerals obtainable to be absorbed into the meals rising within the soil.”
For instance, a examine by the American Faculty of Diet discovered that from 1905 to 1999, the meals composition of 43 backyard crops noticed a 15% lower in iron, 16% lower in calcium and a 9% lower in phosphorus.
Mineral-rich meals
Minerals may be present in a plethora of meals, making them simply accessible no matter your dietary preferences.
• Nuts and seeds, together with entire nuts and seeds, in addition to nut and seed butters
• Shellfish, akin to oysters, mussels and clams
• Cruciferous greens, akin to broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage
• Organ meats, akin to liver
• Eggs, each the yolk and the white
• Beans
• Cocoa
• Avocados
• Berries, together with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries
• Yogurt and cheese
• Sardines
• Spirulina
• Historic grains, akin to quinoa and sorghum
• Starchy greens, like candy potatoes, butternut squash and parsnips
• Tropical fruits, like bananas, mango, pineapple and guava
• Leafy greens, akin to kale, arugula, endive and collard greens
Minerals and nutritional vitamins 2022
Out of all of the minerals and nutritional vitamins, there are some that lead Wooster’s checklist for 2022.
“Immune well being stays a excessive precedence for many individuals proper now,” she stated. “With that, zinc, selenium, the numerous B nutritional vitamins, Vitamin C and Vitamin D will proceed to be a spotlight this yr.”
Of these, Vitamin D and zinc are on the high. However, it’s essential to know how a lot you’re getting by way of your food regimen earlier than contemplating extra quantities through a complement.
“Speak with a registered dietitian nutritionist or your well being care supplier to correctly consider the nutritional vitamins and minerals you’re getting in your food regimen to find out whether or not or not a complement is perhaps applicable,” Wooster stated.
Lindsey Reznicek is a communications strategist at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Middle. She may be reached at lindsey.reznicek@uchealth.org.
