Minerals are essential to daily routines, but with so much information about healthy eating, it can be confusing knowing what we need to function.
Our foods contain numerous minerals, but we rarely know their purpose. Below is a list of minerals found in typical foods and what they do for you.
Sodium
- Purpose: Maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, supports muscle contraction and nerve impulse transmissions
- Sources: Salt, soy sauce, bread, milk, meats
Chloride
- Purpose: Maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, aids in digestion
- Sources: Salt, soy sauce, milk, eggs, meats
Potassium
- Purpose: Maintains fluid and electrolyte balance, cell integrity, muscle contractions and nerve impulse transmission
- Sources: Potatoes, acorn squash, artichoke, spinach, broccoli, carrots, green beans, tomato juice, avocado, grapefruit juice, watermelon, banana, strawberries, cod, milk
Calcium
- Purpose: Formation of bones and teeth, supports blood clotting
- Sources:Milk, yogurt, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, tofu, sardines, green beans, spinach, broccoli
Phosphorus
- Purpose: Formation of cells, bones and teeth, maintains acid-base balance
- Sources: All animal foods (meats, fish, poultry, eggs, milk)
Magnesium
- Purpose:Supports bone mineralization, protein building, muscular contraction, nerve impulse transmission, immunity
- Sources: Spinach, broccoli, artichokes, green beans, tomato juice, navy beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, sunflower seeds, tofu, cashews, halibut
Iron
- Purpose: Part of the protein hemoglobin (carries oxygen throughout body's cells)
- Sources: Artichoke, parsley, spinach, broccoli, green beans, tomato juice, tofu, clams, shrimp, beef liver
Zinc
- Purpose: A part of many enzymes, involved in production of genetic material and proteins, transports vitamin A, taste perception, wound healing, sperm production and the normal development of the fetus
- Sources: Spinach, broccoli, green peas, green beans, tomato juice,lentils, oysters, shrimp, crab, turkey (dark meat), lean ham, lean ground beef, lean sirloin steak, plain yogurt, Swiss cheese, tofu, ricotta cheese
Selenium
- Purpose: Antioxidant. Works with vitamin E to protect body from oxidation
- Sources:Seafood, meats and grains
Iodine
- Purpose:Component of thyroid hormones that help regulate growth, development and metabolic rate
- Sources: Salt, seafood, bread, milk, cheese
Copper
- Purpose: Necessary for the absorption and utilization of iron, supports formation of hemoglobin and several enzymes
- Sources: Meats, water
Manganese
- Purpose: Facilitates many cell processes
- Sources: Widespread in foods
Fluoride
- Purpose: Involved in the formation of bones and teeth, helps to make teeth resistant to decay
- Sources:Fluoridated drinking water, tea, seafood
Chromium
- Purpose: Associated with insulin and is required for the release of energy from glucose
- Sources: Vegetable oils, liver, brewer's yeast, whole grains, cheese, nuts
Molybdenum
- Purpose: Facilitates many cell processes
- Sources:Legumes, organ meats
Minerals are pure inorganic elements (containing atoms of the same element), meaning they are much simpler in chemical form than vitamins. Minerals are stable to food preparation, but mineral loss can occur when they are bound to other substances in foods (such as oxalates found in spinach and tea, and phytates found in legumes and grains), making them unavailable for the body to utilize.
The copyright of the article Mineral Mystery in Vitamins & Minerals is owned by Kristen Putch. Permission to republish Mineral Mystery in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
