Essential Vitamins and Minerals for Your Body

Article by Blythe Flake

Vitamins and minerals are important nutrients since they perform many roles in the human body.  The best way to get the right amounts of minerals and vitamins you need is to eat a healthy diet.

Water soluble vitamins can be found in the watery portions of the foods we eat.  These vitamins are absorbed directly by the body when the food is broken down during the digestive process.  Vitamins B such as niacin, riboflavin and Vitamin B6 as well as Vitamin C are all water soluble vitamins.  These vitamins are responsible for releasing energy, making collagen, building proteins and cells as well as producing energy.

Fat soluble vitamins gain entry into our bodies through lymph channels within the walls of the intestine.  Fat soluble vitamins include Vitamins A, D, E and K.  These vitamins are responsible for protecting the body, building strong bones and helping protecting vision.

Major minerals are important to our bodies because they maintain the correct water balance in the body.  Major minerals include sulfur, calcium, sodium, chloride, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.  Having too much of any one of the major minerals can cause a deficiency.  This usually happens with supplements and not so much food sources.  One can be salt overload and the other is too much phosphorus.

Trace minerals include zinc, chromium, selenium, copper, fluoride, iron, iodine and manganese.  Trace minerals are responsible for several tasks depending on the mineral.  For instance, iron helps to carry oxygen through the body, Zinc helps with blood clots and fluoride helps to keep bones strong.