Facts About Minerals & Vitamins

Minerals and vitamins are nutrients that are essential to the proper functioning of your body. Although they do not contain calories and thus do not provide energy, minerals and vitamins ensure that your body's physiological processes can function correctly. Specific dietary recommendations for minerals and vitamins vary based on age and sex.

Major Minerals

Major minerals are so named because you require greater amounts of them in your diet. According to "Nutrition and You" by Joan Salge Blake, daily recommended intakes for major minerals range from hundreds of milligrams to thousands of milligrams. Most of the major minerals work closely together to perform a variety of different functions in your body, including maintenance of fluid balance and strengthening of your bones and teeth. The major minerals include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and sulfur.

Trace Minerals

Trace minerals are needed in smaller amounts by your body, usually less than 20 mg per day. It is important to note, however, that even though trace minerals are needed in much smaller amounts, they are just as vital to your health. Trace minerals ensure that certain hormones are able to function properly, help keep your red blood cells and teeth healthy and act as coenzymes. The trace minerals include iron, zinc, iodine, copper, chromium, fluoride, manganese, selenium and molybdenum.

Fat-soluble Vitamins

The fat-soluble vitamins require the presence of dietary fat to be properly absorbed. When you eat foods that contain fat-soluble vitamins, the vitamins combine with fatty acids and bile and travel to the small intestine, where they are absorbed. From the small intestine, the fat-soluble vitamins move into the lymphatic system where they circulate until they enter the bloodstream. Because your body has an unlimited ability to store fat, it can store fat-soluble vitamins for later use. As a result, deficiencies are less likely than water-soluble vitamin deficiencies. The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K.

Water-soluble Vitamins

Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and enter your bloodstream directly after being ingested. Your body uses the amount of vitamins it needs and then excretes excess amounts of these vitamins in your urine. Water-soluble vitamins are easily destroyed by air, heat or water, so extra care should be taken when handling foods that are rich in water-soluble vitamins. The water soluble vitamins include vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, niacin, pantothenic acid and biotin. Because your body cannot store excess amounts of water-soluble vitamins, you must consume water-soluble vitamins every day to meet your needs.