Your body needs a regular intake of macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients include protein, fats and carbohydrates. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals have many functions, but as a whole they work to support the functions of your cells. Because cells compose your organs, vitamins and minerals are needed for organ health.
Types
Vitamins include the water-soluble B vitamins, including vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12, and vitamin C. Fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K.
More common minerals in your body include sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, phosphate and magnesium. Other minerals are needed in trace amounts, such as zinc, iron, copper, iodine, selenium, molybdenum and iron.
Mechanisms
Vitamins typically aid in chemical reactions in the body. Many of them act as cofactors for enzymes. Enzymes are a special type of protein that speeds up chemical reactions. A cofactor is a chemical that is needed for the enzyme to work. For example, vitamin B12 helps many enzymes transfer small chemicals composed of one carbon and three hydrogens, called methyl groups, onto other chemicals. Vitamin E neutralizes dangerous chemicals called free radicals.
Minerals also have various roles in your body. Some act like cofactors as a vitamin would. Iron binds to oxygen in red blood cells so that it can be transported from the lungs to the tissues. In addition, the cells of your body are electrically charged. The flow of charged minerals, called electrolytes, helps maintain the electrical charge, which is especially important for the heart, nerves and muscles.
Absorption and Regulation
Vitamin and mineral absorption typically occur in the intestine. Absorption can be a multistep process or a simple matter of the cells of the intestine absorbing the mineral or vitamin through a channel made of protein and secreting it into the blood. Vitamin B12 requires several proteins released by the stomach to be absorbed by the intestine. Water-soluble vitamins are less apt to build up in your body because they dissolve in blood and can be excreted by the kidneys. Fat-soluble vitamins are more likely to build up and become toxic.
Roles in Health
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies and excesses can lead to ill health. For example, too little vitamin A leads to vision loss. Too much vitamin A leads to liver, bone, skin and hair problems. Too little vitamin B6 leads to anemia, and too little or too much vitamin B6 leads to nerve problems. Not enough vitamin K can lead to bleeding. Vitamin K can also counteract the effects of the drug warfarin, which can be dangerous if you are prescribed this blood thinner.
Mineral deficiencies and excesses usually impair the function of the nerves, heart and muscle and can even stop your heart. Other minerals have unique functions, such as iodine, which is only found in thyroid hormones; insufficient iodine can lead to decreased thyroid hormone production and an enlarged thyroid gland.
References
- "Nutrition Concepts and Controversies," 11th Ed.; Frances Sizer, et al.; 2007
- "Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry," 4th Ed.; David L. Nelson, et al.; 2004
- "Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease," 8th Ed.; Vinay Kumar, et al.; 2009
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