Dietary mineral encyclopedia topics

Essential minerals

Sixteen minerals are required to support human biochemical processes by playing roles in cell structure and function as well as electrolytes:

Calcium is needed for muscle, heart and digestive system health, builds bone, supports synthesis and function of blood cells. Dietary sources of calcium include dairy products, canned fish with bones (salmon, sardines), green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Chloride is needed for production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and in cellular pump functions. Table salt is the main dietary source of chloride.
Cobalt - vitamin B12. See pernicious anemia.
Copper is required component of many redox enzymes, including cytochrome c oxidase.
Iodine is required for the biosynthesis of thyroxine. See also Iodine deficiency.
Iron is required for many proteins and enzymes, notably hemoglobin. Dietary sources include red meat, leafy green vegetables, fish (tuna, salmon), eggs, dried fruits, beans, whole grains, and enriched grains. See also iron deficiency (medicine).
Magnesium is required for processing ATP and for bones. Dietary sources include nuts, soy beans, and cocoa. See also magnesium deficiency (medicine).
Manganese is a cofactor in enzyme functions.
Molybdenum - xanthine oxidase and related oxidases.
Nickel - urease
Phosphorus is a component of bones (see apatite) and energy processing and many other functions.
Potassium is a systemic electrolyte and is essential in coregulating ATP with sodium. Dietary sources include legumes, potato skin, tomatoes, and bananas.
Selenium, a cofactor essential to activity of antioxidant enzymes like glutathione peroxidase.
Sodium is a systemic electrolyte and is essential in coregulating ATP with potassium. Dietary sources include table salt (sodium chloride, the main source), sea vegetables, milk, and spinach.
Sulfur - cysteine and methionine
Zinc is pervasive and required for several enzymes such as carboxypeptidase, liver alcohol dehydrogenase, and carbonic anhydrase.

Minerals with unproven biological roles

Many elements have been suggested as essential, but such claims have usually not been confirmed. Definitive evidence for efficacy comes from the characterization of a biomolecule containing the element with an identifiable and testable function. One problem with identifying efficacy is that some elements are innocuous at low concentrations and are pervasive, so proof of efficacy is lacking because deficiencies are difficult to reproduce.

Arsenic, boron, bromine, cadmium, silicon, tungsten, and vanadium have established, albeit specialized, biochemical roles as structural or functional cofactors in other organisms. These elements appear not to be utilized by humans. Of the many trace minerals still lacking proof, chromium is implicated in sugar metabolism in humans, leading to a market for the supplement, chromium picolinate, but definitive biochemical evidence for a physiological function is lacking.