Food Types / Energy Systems
Vitamins / Minerals / Proteins / Carbohydrates / Fats / Fuel Utilisation / Anaerobic/Aerobic

Introduction

In addition to the organic elements oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen approximately 4% of the body's weight is made up of a group of 22 mostly metallic elements known as minerals.
Some are present in high concentrations in our bones and teeth, but they are also found throughout the body in cells and dissolved in body fluids.
They can be present as either 'ions' or combined with various organic compounds.
Mineral compounds that can convert into ions in the body are called 'electrolytes'. They are usually classified as Major (or Macro) minerals of which your body needs more than 100mg per day or Trace (or Micro) minerals which are less than 0.05% body mass.
Most minerals, major or trace occur freely in nature mainly in the waters of rivers, lakes, oceans, and topsoil and beneath the earth's surface. Minerals are found in most root systems in plants and trees. In humans mineral absorption takes place in the small intestine.
Unlike vitamins, which generally initiate chemical reactions through enzyme generation, minerals actually become involved within the structures and working chemicals of the body.
They are present in bones and teeth, they are involved in the process of muscle contraction and they play an important role in maintaining the rhythm of the heart and the balance of the fluid level in the human body.
The role that minerals play in the body does not stop there. They are involved in the processes of catabolism (the process of protein breakdown for energy) and anabolism (the process of building tissue), insulin synthesis and therefore glucose absorption and energy levels.
Like vitamins, minerals cannot be made by the body and therefore must be supplied by your diet.

Introduction

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