A micronutrient is defined as any substance that is required in small amounts for the healthy growth and development of an organism. In the context of nutrition and the human diet, these are vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals do not provide energy like macronutrients, but they do enable the body to break down and use the energy provided from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. As such, they are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body.
Differences Between Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins are organic compounds, which means that they are made by plants and animals. Minerals are inorganic elements, which means that they come from the soil and water and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals. Through the workings of the food chain, we obtain the necessary vitamins and minerals through the food that we eat.
Vitamins – A Closer Look
There are thirteen (13) universally recognized vitamins, nine (9) of which are water-soluble and four (4) of which are fat-soluble. Water-soluble simply means that they dissolve, or break down, in water, whereas fat-soluble means that they dissolve, or break down, in fats or oils.
The nine (9) water-soluble vitamins include the vitamin B-complex (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12) and vitamin C. The four (4) fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Apart from their solubility, another disparity between water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins is that the body must use water-soluble vitamins immediately, and anything that is left over cannot be stored by the body and is excreted through urine. In contrast, fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in fatty tissue and the liver for future use. Since this is the case, we need to ingest water-soluble vitamins every day, but it is not necessary to ingest fat-soluble vitamins every day.
Minerals – A Closer Look
Minerals are categorized as either macrominerals or trace minerals. We need macrominerals in larger amounts and trace minerals in smaller amounts. The seven (7) macrominerals are calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. There is a longer list of trace minerals, some of the more notables being chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc.
Minerals are stored in different parts of the body, depending on their role. Calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium play major roles in bone strengthening, so they are stored in bones and teeth. Sodium, chloride, and potassium work together to manage the electrolyte balance of cells, so they are found in extracellular fluid (sodium and chloride) and intracellular fluid (potassium). Sulfur is found in amino acids cysteine and methionine, and thus is found in all proteins and enzymes that contain these amino acids. Other trace minerals are found in smaller concentrations throughout the body.
The Many Roles of Vitamins and Minerals
The role of vitamins and minerals in the human body are innumerable. Apart from enabling the body to break down and use the energy provided from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, vitamins and minerals help prevent the development of health conditions and normalize body functions – things like the growth and repair of tissue, wound healing, bone and tooth formation, blood cell formation, cell division and growth, energy production, hormone production, fighting cell damage, maintaining fluid balance, regulating metabolism, and promoting cardiovascular, nervous system, organ, and immune system function.
For most of us, supplementation of vitamins and minerals is typically not required because a healthy, balanced diet will provide us with everything we need on a daily basis. There are, however, situations in which supplementation of vitamins and minerals can be beneficial, as may be the case for older adults, pregnant women, those suffering from a health condition, or those that have been advised by their doctor that they have a specific nutrient deficiency.
Learning about vitamins and minerals can offer us some insight into how complex our bodies really are and how many moving parts are at play every moment of every day. It also lends to the idea that the quality of our food really does matter, so always strive to consume natural and unprocessed food at every opportunity.
