The body needs a variety of nutrients in order to perform all of its functions effectively. Essential nutrients are those vitamins and minerals your body requires for energy and growth but cannot manufacture on its own; they need to be obtained through the food you eat. Vitamins are substances which regulate metabolism and minerals are substances which combine to form structures within the body, such as teeth and bones. Vitamins and minerals are not a caloric source of energy.
Discovery of Essential Nutrients
The essential nutrients were discovered via scientific study of how foods are used by the body to sustain life. Researchers in the early 1900s isolated a fat-soluble substance essential to life and named it "fat soluble A," according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition. They next discovered a water-soluble substance, also necessary for life functions, and named it "water soluble B." Over the next 40 years, the researchers refined their discoveries, eventually naming them vitamins and labeling them with letters of the alphabet. Later, some vitamins became better known by their common names such as niacin, or B3.
Essential Vitamins
The essential vitamins are vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D, E and K, as well as niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid and biotin. There are two types of vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins are stored in body tissues and water soluble vitamins must be utilized immediately because leftover amountss are flushed away in the urine. Vitamin B12 is the exception because it can be stored in the liver for years. The fat soluble vitamins include vitamin A, needed for vision and cell growth; vitamin D, for calcium and phosphorus absorption; vitamin E, an antioxidant required for red blood cell formation and utilization of vitamin K; and vitamin K, needed for coagulation. The water soluble vitamins are vitamin B1, needed for carbohydrate breakdown; B6 helps the body metabolize protein and vitamin C is needed for iron absorption, collagen formation and healthy bones. Niacin is necessary for healthy nerves and skin; B2 works with other B vitamins; and biotin and pantothenic acid for food metabolism. Folic acid and B12 are involved in red blood cell production.
Essential Minerals
The essential minerals include calcium, which is necessary for nerve conduction, immune defenses and maintaining bone mass; chlorine for fluid balance; and magnesium for utilization of glucose and synthesis of DNA. Phosphorus is needed to maintain strong bones and cell membranes and potassium is necessary for nerve conduction, muscle contraction and to maintain blood pressure. Sodium is crucial to water balance and sulfur is needed in the production of some amino acids.
Trace Elements
Trace elements are essential minerals that are required by the body in only minute amount. Chromium is needed for glucose metabolism. Iron and copper are necessary for hemoglobin production, nerve conduction and collagen synthesis. Fluorine is needed for strong bones and teeth, iodine for hormone production and zinc for sharp eyesight and wound healing. According to Texas Heart Institute, although considered essential, the exact roles of manganese, molybdenum and selenium are not yet completely defined.
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