Minerals in Food Groups

Nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins are organic compounds, but minerals are inorganic compounds that your body cannot make. Minerals are important for nervous system functioning, water balance in the body, hormone production, heartbeat production and the proper functioning of cells. Eating a variety of foods from each food group --- grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, proteins and oils --- is the best way to obtain the minerals your body needs.

Grains

Whole grain --- the entire edible part of wheat, rice, oats and corn --- is more nutritious than processed grain. When the milling process refines and removes parts of the grain, nutrients are destroyed as well. Grain foods provide minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc. Grain foods are a good source of magnesium, a mineral that helps your body with energy production, muscle development, heart functioning and arterial health. Brown rice and bran cereal are good sources of magnesium, oatmeal provides calcium, and whole wheat and oats supply your body with iron.

Vegetables

Vegetables contain many different minerals. Broccoli and other leafy, dark green vegetables are good sources of calcium, and spinach contains calcium, potassium and magnesium. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that adults consume 380 mg of magnesium per day, and eating vegetables such as spinach, pumpkin and artichokes can help fulfill that mineral requirement. Eating foods containing potassium helps maintain your blood pressure; USDA guidelines suggest consuming 4,000 mg a day by including potassium-rich white potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, beet greens and winter squash in your diet. Another mineral in vegetables is iron, which is found in baked potatoes with skin and in dark green, leafy vegetables.

Fruits

Minerals in the fruit group include potassium, magnesium and iron. A good supply of potassium keeps your blood pressure at a healthy rate and is found in fresh fruits such as bananas, cantaloupe, peaches, honeydew melon, tomatoes and tomato products. You can obtain some of your daily potassium from orange juice, prunes and prune juice and from dried peaches and apricots. Raisins contain iron, as do other dried fruits. Avocados and bananas supply some of the magnesium your body needs to maintain a steady heart rhythm, keep bones strong and help muscles and nerves develop and function properly. Magnesium also provides your body with beneficial minerals necessary to produce proteins and create energy.

Dairy

Calcium, potassium, phosphorous and iron are the minerals found in dairy products. Your body needs calcium for creating and maintaining strong bones and teeth. This mineral is especially important during childhood and adolescence and when women are pregnant or nursing, but everyone needs calcium throughout life. People who do not acquire enough calcium may develop weak bones and are at risk for osteoporosis, a condition that causes bones to fracture later in life.

Low-fat calcium-rich foods recommended for a healthy diet include low-fat or nonfat milk and cottage cheese, low-fat or fat-free yogurt and low-fat cheeses. These dairy products also supply your body with potassium. Eggs are a good source of iron, necessary to carry oxygen from your lungs through your entire body. Another mineral, phosphorus helps the body manufacture energy and form bones and teeth. All of your body's cells need phosphorus to perform their normal functions, and dairy foods are the best natural sources of phosphorus.

Proteins

The protein food group includes meat, poultry, fish, nuts and legumes. These foods supply minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc. Minerals from animal sources are absorbed more easily and thoroughly than those from plant sources, but that doesn't mean you cannot get required minerals from foods that come from plants. Protein foods with high amounts of iron include red meat, tuna, salmon and beans or legumes.

Calcium is found in seafood, such as fresh ocean perch and salmon, cooked shrimp and canned sardines and salmon with bones. Other calcium-rich protein foods are pinto, red and white beans, soybeans, tofu, bean curd, miso paste, fortified soy milk, almonds, walnuts, cashews and sunflower seeds. To maintain healthy blood pressure, your body needs potassium, which is found in fish such as halibut, tuna, rockfish and cod.

Magnesium helps your body produce energy and helps your heart, arteries and muscles function correctly. Protein foods that contain magnesium are soybean, peanuts and other legumes, such as white, navy and black beans, Brazil nuts, cashews and almonds. Zinc is another mineral in foods from the protein group. Zinc helps heal wounds and cuts, and it helps your immune system fight infections and illness. Foods rich in zinc are beef, pork, lamb, poultry, oysters, nuts, soy foods and legumes, such as beans, peas and lentils.