Human Vitamin & Mineral Requirements

Your body needs 13 essential vitamins and 14 essential minerals daily. The amount of vitamins and minerals you need differs with your age. In addition, the recommended dietary allowance for some vitamins and minerals differs between men and women. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that a healthful and balanced diet is usually enough to provide you with all the essential vitamins and minerals. However, if you are eating a restricted diet you may become deficient in one or more vitamins and minerals.

Water-soluble Vitamins

Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and eight B complex vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are easily removed from your body through urine and are not stored in your body. Thus, you need to get these vitamins daily to prevent a deficiency. The recommended dietary intake of vitamin C is 90 mg for adult men and 75 mg for adult women. According to the Council of Responsible Nutrition, the recommended intakes for B vitamins are: thiamin, 1.1 mg or 1.2 mg; riboflavin 1.1 mg or 1.3 mg; niacin 14 mg or 16 mg; B-6 vitamin 1.3 mg; folate 400 mcg; B-12 vitamin 2.4 mcg; panthoenic acid 5 mg; and biotin 30 mcg per day for women and men, respectively.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins include vitamin A, D, E and K. These vitamins dissolve in fat and are stored in your body. Thus, you do not need a daily supply of vitamins A, D, E and K, if you are getting the necessary amount over a certain period. Also, your body can produce vitamin D in response to sunlight and intestinal bacteria produce some of your vitamin K requirement, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. The recommended intakes of vitamin A, D, E and K for adult men and women are 900 mcg, 200 IU, 15 mg and 120 mcg per day.

Minerals

Your body also requires several minerals to function normally. The Council for Responsible Nutrition reports, there are 16 essential minerals your body requires. The recommended intakes are 1,000 mg for calcium, 700 mg for phosphorus, 320 mg or 420 mg for magnesium, 3 mg or 4 mg for fluoride, 420 mg or 550 mg for choline, 55 mcg for selenium, 25 mcg or 35 mcg of chromium, 900 mcg for copper, 150 mcg for iodine, 18 mg or 8 mg for iron, 1.8 mg or 2.3 mg for manganese, 45 mcg for molybdenum and 8 mg or 11 mg for zinc per day for women or men, respectively. You should get boron, nickel and vanadium, although no RDA values have been established for these nutrients, according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition. In addition, the Linus Pauling Institute reports, you should get 1-1/2 g of sodium and 4.7 g of potassium every day.

Considerations

Vitamin deficiency can cause several health conditions in your body. Depending on the vitamin or mineral, you can suffer from mild symptoms including skin disorders, weakness, nausea and vomiting or more serious conditions like anemia, scurvy, osteomalacia and pellagra. Over-consumption, especially of fat-soluble vitamins that are not easily removed from your body, can lead to toxicity. Symptoms of toxicity vary among the different vitamins and minerals but can include nausea, diarrhea, kidney stones, mental confusion and enlargement of liver and spleen.