Mineral nutrients are non-carbon nutrients or inorganic. These nutrients are present either as cations ( positively charged) or anions (negatively charged). Cations are derivable from metallic elements, including calcium, potassium, magnesium,iron, copper, cobalt, chromium, manganese, molybdenum (molybdate), zinc, sodium and selenium (selenate).
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Nonmetal elements give anions: chlorine ( chloride), iodine ( iodide) sulfur (sulfate) phosphorus ( phosphate) and fluorine ( fluoride). Combination of both cations and anions give salts including sodium chloride, sodium iodide and calcium phosphate.
The body needs many different minerals, more than 40, for its function . One mineral category is required in greater quantities and is classed as macrominerals.
Microminerals or Trace minerals is a second category of minerals required in much lower amounts. The daily requirements could vary from that of some micrograms (mcgs), to that of some milligrams (mgs).
A third categorization is called micro trace or ultra trace minerals. The amount of this category of minerals required is not well known but they are usually found in tiny amounts of just parts per million.
The double Noble Prize winner, late Dr. Linus Pauling, once said. “You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.” Virtually everyone would think of amino acids, vitamins, and essential fatty acids before giving any thought at all to the importance of minerals.
Minerals take on almost countless roles inside the human body. Apart from being participants of just about every enzymatic reaction, they are also needed for the make of and as a component of cell membranes, connective tissue such as bones, cartilage, ligaments, sinews muscles, soft tissues including venous blood vessels, arterial blood vessels, and also brain tissue.
The trouble is that a lot of us might be lacking in many minerals attributed to the very harsh reality that these important nutrients are found in only small amounts in foods. We exist in a technological period of time able to fiddle with the genetically inherited codes of crops we grow and along the way we produced immense size of strawberries that bear little or no taste of strawberries and broccoli that holds half the amount of magnesium and calcium of its earlier cousins.
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Vitamin-Like Compounds | Health and Fitness Hints
on September 2 2008
[...] Lipoic acid: lipoic acid is a redox agent; it quenches singlet oxygen by donation of an electron especially when in its reduced form. It serves beneficial functions in the body working together with several other antioxidants. Lipoic acid can recycle vitamin C and glutathione two other antioxidants and assist vitamin E to maintain its reduced form. Best dietary sources are meats and liver. For more information on vitamin and mineral nutrients…. [...]