The term "essential nutrient" describes a substance required to support life, but that the body cannot produce. Beginning in the early 1900s, scientists discovered that in addition to fat, protein and carbohydrates, the body needs organic substances known as vitamins. The body also requires inorganic substances, known as elements or minerals. In addition to supporting minute-to-minute functions, each type of vitamin and mineral helps prevent diseases and can even help to treat the symptoms of some diseases.
Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Your body needs to intake 13 essential vitamins and 21 essential minerals from the foods you eat. The essential vitamins include the fat-soluble vitamins the body can store in the fat cells: vitamins A, D, E and K. The other vitamins, known as water-soluble vitamins, cannot be stored in the body. These include the B complex vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folate -- and vitamin C. The essential minerals are divided into two groups based on how much the body requires on a daily basis. The body needs more than 100 mg of minerals classified as macrominerals, including calcium, chlorine, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and sulfur. The remaining minerals, classified as trace minerals, include chromium, zinc, manganese, copper, iron, fluorine, cobalt, tin, iodine, selenium, vanadium, nickel, molybdenum and boron.
Biological Support
Cells throughout the body function through a series of chemical reactions. Each of the reactions requires an enzyme, a protein that functions to trigger or enhance the reaction. The majority of the trace minerals get incorporated into an enzyme. Without adequate amounts of the minerals, the enzymes cannot form, and the reactions cannot occur. Many of the macrominerals, including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium, help to balance the fluids in the body and act as electrolytes -- substances that conduct electrical impulses between nerves. Vitamins perform many vital functions. B-vitamins aid in the breakdown of foods and their conversion into energy. Vitamin D supports the absorption of calcium -- the mineral essential for forming bones and teeth. Failing to consume the recommended daily intake of any vitamin or mineral, as listed by the National Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board, can cause a deficiency that can lead to medical conditions such as scurvy and osteoporosis.
Disease Prevention
Eating a well-balanced diet full of nutrient-rich foods helps to ensure you get enough of each vitamin and mineral. When foods cannot provide adequate amounts of a vitamin or mineral, taking dietary supplements can avoid the onset of a deficiency. Each specific vitamin and mineral is associated with a disease caused by a deficiency. A lack of vitamin A, for instance, causes night blindness that can lead to total blindness. A lack of vitamin D causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. These diseases are characterized by weak bones. A lack of iron causes anemia -- a decrease in the number of functioning red blood cells. Failing to consume enough calcium or magnesium impacts the health of your bones and over time leads to the disease osteoporosis.
Disease Treatment
Although taking vitamin and mineral supplements cannot cure a disease unless the disease occurs due to a vitamin deficiency, certain supplements might help to relieve symptoms associated with diseases. Fatigue, the feeling of extreme tiredness that fails to resolve with rest, is a common symptom in a variety of different diseases. Increasing your intake of vitamin B-12 and iron, both important in the production of red blood cells, can help relieve fatigue. Vitamins and minerals that help boost the immune system, including vitamin C, can help treat inflammatory diseases such as asthma. The vitamins that function as antioxidants, such as vitamin E and components of vitamin A, including lycopene and beta carotene, can help treat diseases by protecting the cells from further damage caused by negatively charged particles in the body.
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