Micro-Nutrients
These are essential nutrients or dietary components required in our diets even though in small quantities. They perform vital functions in our bodies. In this blog post, a classification of micro-nutrients will be done.What we’ll do is list them and find out how they are categorized and why.
So unlike macro-nutrients, micro-nutrients are essential (they have to be provided in the diet because our bodies cannot produce them) though in lesser quantities. They serve more diverse functions in comparison to macro-nutrients.
Types Of Micro-nutrients
Broadly, micro-nutrients can be categorized as either:
- Vitamins
- Minerals
Vitamins
Under vitamins, we have fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins require fats for their absorption.In essence, if you consume fats, you aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Any excess of fat-soluble vitamins is stored in the body. Water-soluble vitamins, on the other hand, are easily absorbed into the body, and any excess is excreted.
Fat-soluble vitamins include:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
Water-soluble vitamins constitute: Vitamin B and Vitamin C.
There are several B Vitamins including:
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
- Vitamin B 3 (niacin)
- Vitamin 5 (pantothenic acid)
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
- Vitamin B7 (biotin)
- Vitamin B9 (folate)
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
Minerals
Minerals are yet another group of micro-nutrients aside from vitamins. Among minerals, there are those required in higher amounts also referred to as macro minerals, and those required in fewer amounts i.e. trace minerals. The various essential minerals you require in your diet comprise:
Major minerals
- Phosphorus
- Calcium
- Chloride
- Magnesium
- Sodium
- Sulphur
- Potassium
Trace minerals
- Fluoride
- Manganese
- Iron
- Iodine
- Selenium
- Copper
- Zinc
Functions Of Micro-Nutrients
Micro-nutrients are utilized in all the vital processes that the body carries out. Examples of functions regardless of micro-nutrient include:
- Energy-yielding metabolism
- Maintain electrolyte balance
- Preserve the immune system
- Perform cell functions
- Catalysts for enzymatic functions
- Maintenance of tissue functions
- For brain development
Micro-nutrients serve many important functions in your body.We have listed a few of them. Their excesses or deficiencies pose undesirable health effects. Including them in your diet is fundamental.
In our successive posts, we’ll examine each micro-nutrient in detail-its roles, rich sources, recommended portions, and impacts of its deficiency or excess.