Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, but most are not. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients; the others are vitamins , essential fatty acids , and essential amino acids . [ 4 ]
The term "mineral" is archaic, since the intent is to describe simply the less common elements in the diet. Some are heavier than the four just mentioned – including several metals , which often occur as ions in the body.
Mineral deficiency is a lack of the dietary minerals, the micronutrients that are needed for an organism's proper health. [1] The cause may be a poor diet , impaired uptake of the minerals that are consumed, or a dysfunction in the organism's use of the mineral after it is absorbed.
Energy flow is a unidirectional and noncyclic pathway, whereas the movement of mineral nutrients is cyclic. Mineral cycles include the carbon cycle , sulfur cycle , nitrogen cycle , water cycle , phosphorus cycle , and oxygen cycle , among others that continually recycle along with other mineral nutrients into productive ecological nutrition.
In plants and animals, mineral absorption, also called mineral uptake is the way in which minerals enter the cellular material, typically following the same pathway as water. In plants, the entrance portal for mineral uptake is usually through the roots. Some mineral ions diffuse in-between the cells. In contrast to water, some minerals are ...
Inadequate intake of essential nutrients predisposes humans to various chronic diseases, with some 50% of American adults having one or more preventable disease. [3] In the United States, foods poor in micronutrient content and high in food energy make up some 27% of daily calorie intake. [3]
العربية; Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Bosanski; Català; فارسی; Français; Gaelg; 한국어; हिन्दी; Bahasa Indonesia
Mineral classification schemes and their definitions are evolving to match recent advances in mineral science. Recent changes have included the addition of an organic class, in both the new Dana and the Strunz classification schemes. [152] [153] The organic class includes a very rare group of minerals with hydrocarbons. The IMA Commission on ...