|
 Vitamins and minerals. The two words go together like fruits and vegetables, day and night, Abbott & Costello. You simply can't mention one and forget about the other.
Last week, we introduced you to the alphabet soup of 13 essential vitamins your body needs to keep functioning. This week, we're going to tell you about the various minerals you find in the foods you eat. Minerals enable the body to perform many different functions, from building strong bones to ensuring impulses travel from somewhere in your body along the nerves to the brain. There are two kinds of minerals: Macrominerals - the ones your body needs in large amounts. These include calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur. Trace minerals - the ones your body only needs in small portions. These include iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium.
| Nutrient | Benefits | Food Sources | | Calcium | Build strong bones; slows bone loss; helps muscles contract; plays a role in normal nerve function; and helps blood coagulate when bleeding. | Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt; canned salmon and sardines with bones; leafy green vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, bok choy; fortified foods, such as orange juice and cereals; tofu made with calcium sulfate. | | Chloride | Helps regulate fluids in cells; helps the body digest food and absorb nutrients; transmit nerve impulses. | Table salt. Excess chloride may be linked to high blood pressure in chloride-sensitive people, but more study is needed. | | Chromium | Works with insulin to help the body use glucose. | Meat, whole grains and nuts. | | Copper | Helps make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood; part of body enzymes; helps cells produce energy. | Organ meats, especially liver; seafood, nuts and seeds; cooking in copper pots also increases copper content of foods. | | Fluoride | Hardens tooth enamel, protecting teeth from decay; may strengthen bones to protect against osteoporosis. | Tea, if made with fluoridated water; fish with edible bones, such as canned salmon; community water supplies; supplements. | | Iodine | Part of the thyroid hormone thyroxin, which regulates the body's rate of energy use. | Saltwater fish, foods grown near coastal areas; iodized salt. | | Iron | Transports oxygen from lungs throughout body; formation of hemoglobin. | Meat, especially red meat, such as beef; tuna and salmon; eggs; beans; baked potato with skins; nuts and seeds; dried fruits, such as raisins; leafy green vegetables, such as broccoli; whole and enriched grains, like such as wheat or oats. | | Potassium | Keeps muscles and nervous system working properly; keeps right amount of water in blood, muscles and tissues. | Bananas, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes with skins; citrus fruits, like oranges; dried fruits; legumes, such as beans, peas, lentils; peanuts. | | Magnesium | Important part of more than 300 enzymes that regulate energy production, muscle contractions and other bodily functions; maintains nerve and muscle cells; is a component of bones. | Found in all foods in varying amounts; legumes, nuts, whole grains and green vegetables are good sources. | | Manganese | Part of many body enzymes. | Whole grain products, tea; some fruits and vegetables such as pineapple, kale and strawberries. | | Molybdenum | Works with riboflavin to incorporate iron into hemoglobin for red blood cells; part of many body enzymes. | Milk, legumes, breads and grain products. | | Phosphorus | Helps body cells produce energy; acts as a main regulator of energy metabolism; major component of bones and teeth; makes up part of DNA and RNA. | Protein-rich foods; legumes; nuts; bread and other baked goods. | | Potassium | Helps regulate fluids and mineral balance in body cells; helps maintain normal blood pressure; transmit nerve impulses; contract muscles. | Vegetables, fresh meat, poultry, fish, and fruit, especially apricots, avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, kiwi, oranges, prunes, strawberries, potatoes, tomatoes and dried fruits. | | Selenium | Works as an antioxidant with vitamin E to protect body cells from damage that may lead to cancer, heart disease and other health problems; aids cell growth. | Seafood, liver, kidney and other meats. Grain products and seeds also contain selenium, but the amount depends on the type of soil in which they were grown. | | Sodium | Helps regulate movement of fluids in body cells; transmit nerve impulses; regulate blood pressure; relax muscles. | Processed foods account for about 75 percent of the sodium we eat; rest from table salt. Sodium-sensitive people may experience high blood pressure eating a daily diet that contains high levels of sodium. | | Zinc | Immune system, cell growth and heal wounds. Promotes cell reproduction, tissue growth, and repair and wound healing; forms part of more than 70 body enzymes; helps the body use carbohydrate, protein and fat. | Beef, pork and lamb; legumes, such as beans, peas, lentils; and peanuts |
|
