![]() Taking folic acid supplements early in pregnancy helps prevent brain and spinal birth defects in offspring. A combination of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, magnesium, and phosphorus protects your bones against fractures. Just as a lack of key micronutrients can cause substantial harm to your body, getting sufficient quantities can provide a substantial benefit. has fortified milk with vitamin D since the 1930s. A deficiency in vitamin D can cause rickets, a condition marked by soft, weak bones that can lead to skeletal deformities such as bowed legs. In some developing countries, people still become blind from vitamin A deficiency. Old-time sailors learned that living for months without fresh fruits or vegetables-the main sources of vitamin C-causes the bleeding gums and listlessness of scurvy. Here are a few examples of diseases that can result from vitamin deficiencies: Yet failing to get even those small quantities virtually guarantees disease. Vitamins and minerals are often called micronutrients because your body needs only tiny amounts of them. ![]() Micronutrients with a big role in the body ![]() In this article, you’ll gain a better understanding of what these vitamins and minerals actually do in the body and why you want to make sure you’re getting enough of them. Read enough articles on the topic, and your eyes may swim with the alphabet-soup references to these nutrients, which are known mainly be their initials (such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K-to name just a few). They also convert food into energy, and repair cellular damage.īut trying to keep track of what all these vitamins and minerals do can be confusing. They help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients-because acting in concert, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. These include at least 30 vitamins, minerals, and dietary components that your body needs but cannot manufacture on its own in sufficient amounts. It also formulates chemical messengers that shuttle from one organ to another, issuing the instructions that help sustain your life.īut to do all this, your body requires some raw materials. It churns out rich red blood that carries nutrients and oxygen to remote outposts, and it sends nerve signals skipping along thousands of miles of brain and body pathways. Essential nutrients for your bodyĮvery day, your body produces skin, muscle, and bone. Eating a healthy diet remains the best way to get sufficient amounts of the vitamins and minerals you need. There is a fine line between getting enough of these nutrients (which is healthy) and getting too much (which can end up harming you). Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients because they perform hundreds of roles in the body. A Harvard Health article Vitamins and Minerals Are You Getting What You Need?
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