Minerals
What
are minerals?
Minerals
are inorganic elements that are required for human life. What this means,
is that these elements are not produced by plants or animals. An element
is a substance that can not be broken down into simpler substances. These
elements are the the very most basic ingredients of all more complex
compounds. Minerals needed in larger quantities by the body are called macro
minerals and those needed in lesser quantities are referred to as micro
minerals.
According to U. S.
Senate Document Number 264 published in 1936, our physical well-being is
more directly dependent upon minerals we take into our systems than upon
calories or vitamins, or upon the precise proportion of starch, protein,
or carbohydrates we consume.
Macro
minerals are those minerals in which the body needs 100 milligrams or
greater per day, while Micro minerals are needed in dosages of less
than 100 milligrams per day. Micro minerals are also referred to as trace
elements, trace minerals, micro minerals, and inorganic micronutrients.
Following is a list of
the Essential Major (Macro) minerals and Links to information about
each of them.
