Which Nutrient Dosage is the Right One
For vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, a slight over-supply is not harmful, but in high doses it can cause damage to the organism depending on the substrate. But why are these substances essential for the body? Especially with minerals, awareness of their necessity and metabolic influence is very weak in society. To explain the function and metabolism of minerals more precisely, focusing on selected minerals can be helpful.
Important Minerals
All important minerals at a glance:
| Calcium |
| Chlorine |
| Potassium |
| Magnesium |
| Sulfur |
| Sodium |
| Phosphorus |
Minerals - As Important as Daily Fruit Intake
One of the best-known minerals is Calcium. It is also one of the most concentrated minerals in the human body. Depending on bone structure, up to a kilogram of calcium can be found in the human body. 99.5 percent of it is in bones. The rest is intracellularly concentrated as a reaction partner or transmitter during signal transmission along the axons of nerve cells or at the membranes of muscle cells. In plasma, a calcium concentration of about 2.5 millimoles per liter is the norm. Half of the calcium is only present in low molecular structures, while the other half is either bound (e.g., to albumin) or exists in more complex forms like citrate.
Another important mineral is Magnesium. It can be found 65 percent in bones and not only as a building material but also as a mobilizable storage. Generally, there is very little magnesium outside of cells. So the normal range of plasma concentration from 0.7 to 1.1 millimoles per liter is just an indicator for the magnesium status. Magnesium acts as a co-factor in over 300 enzymes and is involved in almost all anabolic and catabolic metabolic reactions. Magnesium can also be seen as a calcium antagonist because due to its similarity to calcium, it exerts many effects. For example, magnesium allows calcium to flow into the intracellular space. A deficiency of magnesium is not only serious for metabolism but can also lead to neuromuscular disorders up to tetany.
Another important mineral that exemplifies the importance of this substance group is Iron. Iron is a mineral whose deficiency patients quickly notice. Although it occurs in small quantities, it is an important mineral. The interplay between intra- and extracellular proteins ensures that iron is available even under extreme conditions despite high turnover rates in the body. It is mainly responsible for the transport and storage of oxygen and electrons. Thus, one can recognize that minerals are indispensable for countless and almost all bodily processes and therefore just as important as vitamins or nutrients.