Which product contains a lot of minerals?

A person needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins and minerals. We get most of our vitamins and minerals through diet. Therefore, vitamin deficiency (acute vitamin deficiency) is a serious disease and a rare occurrence in developed countries. Vitamin deficiency often means hypovitaminosis – a lack of certain vitamins. For example, a lack of vitamin C in winter and spring, when the diet is poor in fresh vegetables and fruits.

Microelements in nutrition

We get most vitamins and minerals from food. They are found not only in vegetables and fruits, but also in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, cereals, seeds and nuts. The less processing these products have undergone, the more nutrients they retain. Therefore, brown rice is healthier than white rice, and liver is healthier than liver pate from the store, etc. Over the past half century, the content of trace elements in foods has decreased. According to the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, this began back in 1963. Over half a century, the amount of vitamin A in fruits has decreased by 66%. Scientists see the reason in environmental deterioration.

Hypovitaminosis and special needs

If you eat a varied diet, eat whole foods, do not overuse any product and do not exclude an entire group of foods from your diet, vitamin deficiency and hypovitaminosis do not threaten you. However, in the winter-spring period, most people lack vitamin C contained in fresh vegetables (calorifier). Last year’s fruits lose 30% of their vitamins, and improper storage further increases these losses. Also, people often face a lack of vitamin D with reduced daylight hours in winter, which can cause them to experience blues and weakness. Vegetarians lack vitamin B12 because they do not eat animal products. With its deficiency, a person experiences dizziness, weakness, memory loss, feels tingling, hears tinnitus, and a blood test shows low hemoglobin. People with thyroid dysfunction may have both a deficiency and an excess of iodine. Athletes experience increased needs for mineral salts – magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium, which they lose through sweat during training. Women have an increased need for iron, which is lost during the menstrual phase, while zinc is most important for men. Requirements for vitamins and minerals depend on gender, age, living conditions, diet, existing diseases and psychological state. A deficiency of any vitamin does not go away without symptoms. If you feel worse, you should consult a doctor. He will select the drug and give nutritional recommendations.

Difficulties in accounting for vitamins and minerals in products

We found that the vitamin content in foods has decreased and continues to decrease. One product grown in different conditions may differ in the composition of microelements, and the duration and storage conditions reduce the amount of useful substances. For example, vitamin A is afraid of light. All vitamins are unstable to high temperatures – water-soluble ones (C and group B) simply evaporate, and fat-soluble ones (A, E, D, K) oxidize and become harmful. It is impossible to find out the microelement composition of a product without laboratory analysis. All people have different intestinal microflora. Some vitamins are synthesized themselves in the intestines. These include B vitamins and vitamin K. Since the state of the microflora is individual, it is impossible to determine outside the laboratory what substances the intestines synthesize and how efficiently. Many vitamins and minerals conflict with each other. Vitamin B12 conflicts with vitamins A, C, E, copper, and iron. Iron conflicts with calcium, magnesium and zinc. Zinc – with chromium and copper. Copper is with vitamin B2, and vitamin B2 with B3 and C. This is partly why even the most powerful vitamin and mineral complexes are absorbed by the body by an average of 10%. There is no need to talk about taking vitamins into account as part of nutrition. In addition to the content of intestinal bacteria, the absorption of vitamins is affected by smoking, alcohol, caffeine, taking medications, and lack of protein or fat in the diet. You never know what or how much you have learned.

Control methods

At different times of the year and periods of life, the need for certain substances increases, so it is better to focus on this. Contact your doctor and tell them about your symptoms. Based on your symptoms, the doctor will recommend a drug or dietary supplement. Ask your doctor about the specifics of taking your medication or supplement and what you eat during this period. The next step is to find the sources of the microelement you need and how to combine it with other products. For example, people with thyroid dysfunction know very well that seafood is rich in iodine and that they should not be combined with cabbage and legumes, which block its absorption. If you observe a 3-3,5 hour interval between meals, and keep your meals simple but balanced, you will most likely avoid a conflict of microelements (calorizator). Make sure your meals consist of one source of protein, one source of complex carbohydrates and vegetables. The content of vitamins and minerals in the product and their absorption by the body can be monitored exclusively in the laboratory. You can protect yourself from hypovitaminosis by eating a simple and varied diet, eating whole foods, monitoring your well-being, and promptly seeing a doctor. Author: Ekaterina G., nutritionist, fitness blogger (especially for Calorizator.ru)
Copying this article in whole or in part is prohibited. Minerals are elements that are present in soil. They are absorbed by plants and enter the human body with food or water. Read our selection about which ones you should definitely have in your diet and in what foods you can find them.

What are minerals?

Many minerals play an important role in our body, for example, they are part of proteins, without which vital reactions cannot take place. One of the most striking examples is the protein hemoglobin with iron, which is involved in the delivery of oxygen to all tissues and organs. All minerals can be divided into two groups. These are macroelements, which require 100 mg per day or more, and microelements, the daily intake of which is less than 100 mg. Although each mineral is required in the diet in fairly modest quantities, you should try to eat them every day. A deficiency can significantly affect your well-being, affecting the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and the condition of the skin, hair and nails.

7 Minerals Important for Your Health

To get all the necessary macro- and microelements in the right quantities, it is not necessary to take vitamin supplements. It is enough to eat a varied and balanced diet, having previously found out which foods contain minerals. The need for a particular mineral depends on gender and age – for example, adults usually need more than children. In old age, during pregnancy or against the background of certain diseases, even more minerals may be required. For this, a special diet or additional mineral intake may be recommended.

1. Iron

Iron is a trace element necessary for blood transport, DNA synthesis, and respiration processes. It is found in red meat – pork and beef; fish, for example, tuna; in legume products, spinach and leaf salads. When planning meals, it is worth remembering that not all foods are absorbed equally well: iron of animal origin in this regard is significantly inferior to plant origin. The ideal strategy is to eat iron-rich meals that contain both plant and animal products. Adult men need 10 mg of iron per day, women – 18, and children – from 4 to 18 mg.

2. Zinc

Zinc is a trace element that is part of many enzymes. It affects the synthesis of vitamins, is involved in wound healing and is critical for the functioning of the immune system. The main sources of zinc are meat products. This mineral is present in vegetables and fruits, but is poorly absorbed from them. Adults require 12 mg per day, and children 3-12 mg.

3. Calcium

Calcium, or rather its solid form, is the main component of bones and teeth, and bone tissue contains 99% of all calcium in the human body. Less than 1% of this mineral is in free form, participating in the transmission of impulses throughout the body and muscle contraction, in the regulation of blood pressure and heart rate. This is a macronutrient. A lack of calcium affects the health of the musculoskeletal system and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Foods rich in calcium include milk and its derivatives, leafy and green vegetables such as broccoli. Calcium is also found in nuts and seeds. Adults need about 1000 mg of calcium daily (during pregnancy and old age this amount increases to 1200), children need from 400 to 1200 mg.

4. Phosphorus

Phosphorus is a macroelement; like calcium, it is part of the teeth, but it also performs other functions in the body. This mineral is an important component of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), without which energy metabolism is impossible, and the nucleotides from which DNA and RNA are built. The main sources of phosphorus are fish, meat, eggs, legumes, nuts, and cereals. It is absorbed much more efficiently not from plant foods, but from animal foods. The adult phosphorus norm is 700 mg, the children’s norm is 300-900 mg.

5. Magnesium

This macronutrient is needed for a huge number of biochemical reactions occurring in the body. In addition, it is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses and muscle function. The most magnesium is found in leafy salads; it is also found in legumes, milk and dairy products, nuts, and some fruits, such as bananas. The daily norm for adults is 420 mg, for children – up to 400.

6. Chrome

A trace element that affects the functioning of insulin, the same hormone that is synthesized by the pancreas and is involved in regulating blood sugar levels. In addition, it is believed that a lack of chromium can provoke increased cravings for sweets. Many foods contain chromium: meat, offal, cereals, eggs, tomatoes, broccoli. The leader in chromium content is brewer’s yeast, which is quite rarely present in the diet. Adults need up to 40 mcg of chromium per day, and children need 11-35 mcg.

7. Copper

Without copper, iron metabolism in the body is impossible, and this mineral is critical for the growth of bones and connective tissue. Most of this microelement is found in seafood, especially oysters; it is also found in nuts, legumes, potatoes, offal – kidneys and liver. Adults need to eat 1 mg of copper per day, children – about 2 times less.

Deficiency and excess

Most signs indicating a deficiency of a particular mineral are nonspecific – they occur in a variety of situations and with various health problems. In most cases, a balanced diet, rich in foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and cereals, avoids the development of deficiency. You can encounter a deficiency if you refuse this or that food, excluding entire groups of healthy and important foods without good reason. This often happens when following strict diets to lose weight, switching to vegetarianism, or practicing fasting. Excessive consumption of minerals, for example, uncontrolled intake of dietary supplements, can also lead to problems – too large doses of trace elements can cause poisoning. Macronutrients in too much quantity are also harmful – for example, not only calcium deficiency, but also excess is associated with abnormal heart rhythms and blood pressure. There is no single analysis that is prescribed to assess the content of all minerals in the body, but there are laboratory tests to determine the concentration of individual macro- and microelements. Such studies are usually prescribed by a doctor, who will also help you understand the results: sometimes it will be enough to add this or that product to your diet, but additional mineral intake and even drug treatment may be required.