Minerals are important food elements that enter the human body with food. They are part of the substances that make up the living protoplasm of cells, where protein acts as the main component.
Significance for life
Minerals are present in interstitial and intercellular fluids, giving them certain osmotic properties. They are also in the bones of the skeleton, supporting tissues, where they create special strength.
Mineral substances are in the endocrine glands:
- iodine is found in the thyroid gland;
- zinc is present in the gonads.
Ions of phosphorus, iron are involved in the transmission of nerve impulses, which provide blood coagulation.
Importance for children
Mineral substances for children are essential. The increased need of the growing organism for such elements is explained by the fact that development is associated with an increase in cell mass, the process of mineralization of the skeleton, which is possible only with their systematic entry into the children's body.
The value of minerals is obvious, therefore it is so important that foods containing micro and macro elements are used in the nutrition of children.
Macronutrients in products are present in significant quantities: tens and hundreds of mg%. Among them are: calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium.
Trace elements in food products are contained in small quantities: iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, fluorine.
The importance of calcium
This chemical element is a constant component of the blood. It is this mineral substance in nutrition that is necessary for the processes of activity and growth of cells, the regulation of the permeability of their membranes, and the transmission of nerve impulses. Calcium is necessary to control the activity of enzymes, muscle contractions.
It acts as the main structural element in the formation of skeleton bones. The need for calcium is high in children whose organisms undergo bone formation processes, as well as in pregnant women and nursing mothers.
In the case of a prolonged lack of calcium in food, there are disorders in bone formation, in children rickets develops, in adults osteomalacia appears.
The insufficient content of minerals causes the emergence of many problems not only physical, but also psychological.
Calcium is considered a difficult to digest element. It depends on its ratio with other components of food, for example, with magnesium, phosphorus, fat, protein.
Among those food products in which it is present in significant quantities, there are: rye and wheat bread, oatmeal, buckwheat.
With an excess of fat in food, the absorption of calcium decreases, since a significant amount of its compounds with fatty acids is formed.
In such situations, bile acids are not enough to turn calcium soaps into soluble complex compounds, as a result of which they are not absorbed, excreted along with feces. A favorable ratio of fats to calcium is considered: 10 mg per 1 g of fat.
An excess amount of magnesium in the diet also negatively affects this process. Salts of this alkaline earth metal also need bile acids, therefore calcium absorption is reduced. Oxalic acid contained in spinach, sorrel, cocoa, rhubarb, also negatively affects the absorption of calcium by the human body.
The maximum amount of this important element a person receives from milk and dairy products. It is also found in beans, parsley, green onions. An excellent source of calcium is bone meal, which can be added to flour products and cereals. A significant need for calcium in patients with bone injury. With a lack of it, the human body recovers much longer.
The importance of phosphorus
Minerals include compounds that contain this non-metal. It is phosphorus - that component that is included in the structure of important organic substances: nucleic acids, enzymes, it is needed for the formation of ATP. In the human body, most of this element is located in bone tissue, and about ten percent of it is present in muscle tissue.
The daily requirement for it of the body is 1200 mg. The need for an element increases in case of insufficient intake of protein from food, as well as with a significant increase in physical activity.
In foods of plant origin, phosphorus is contained in the form of salts, as well as various derivatives of phosphoric acid, for example, in the form of phytin. This confirms the importance and significance of the content of phosphorus in the form of ions in water.
Iron is an essential trace element
We continue the discussion about why minerals are so important. Iron salts are required by the body for the biosynthesis of substances, proper breathing, blood formation. Iron takes part in redox and immunobiological reactions. It is part of the cytoplasm, some enzymes, cell nuclei.
An excess of iron has a toxic effect on the spleen, liver, brain, leads to inflammatory processes in the human body.
In the case of alcohol intoxication, iron accumulates, resulting in a deficiency of zinc and copper.
Despite the fact that it is found in various foods, in an easily digestible form, iron is present only in the liver, meat products, and egg yolk.
Zinc purpose
The lack of this microelement contributes to a decrease in appetite, the appearance of anemia, the weakening of visual acuity, hair loss, the appearance of numerous allergic diseases and dermatitis. As a result, a person develops prolonged and frequent colds, and in boys there is inhibition of sexual development. This element is found in dried cream, hard cheeses, corn, onions, rice, blueberries, mushrooms. Only with a sufficient content of this element in water, food, you can count on the full physiological development of the younger generation.
Ultra trace elements: selenium
Minerals in the soil, food containing this element, increase immunity. With a lack of selenium, the number of inflammatory diseases increases, atherosclerosis, cardiopathy develops, nail and hair diseases appear, cataract develops, development and growth are inhibited, problems with reproductive function appear. This element protects the body from cancer of the prostate, stomach, breast, large intestine.
For example, selenium deficiency is observed in the Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Kostroma regions, and Karelia.
Copper
The lack of minerals in water, food, for example, copper, leads to deterioration of the connective tissue, menstrual irregularities in women, allergic dermatoses, cardiopathies.
With its increased content, chronic and acute inflammatory diseases appear in the body, bronchial asthma develops, kidney and liver diseases appear, and malignant neoplasms are formed. With chronic intoxication of the body with copper, a person has functional disorders of the nervous system.
Iodine deficiency
If this mineral in the soil, water, is not present in sufficient quantity, this contributes to the malfunction of the thyroid gland. Iodine has a significant effect on the nervous system, is responsible for the normality of energy metabolism, reproductive health, and affects the physical and mental development of the child.
Iodine enters the body through the digestive tract, as well as through the air through the lungs. In an inorganic form, it enters the thyroid gland with a blood stream, is captured by active proteins, turns into a part of the thyroxine hormone. About 24 mg of such iodide enter the blood per day. Its lack in water, food causes cretinism, neurological disorders, mental retardation. In chronic iodine deficiency , an endemic goiter develops in the human body .
Such problems are typical for residents of the northern regions, in the diet of which there are insufficient marine products.
Such violations have been identified in 1.5 billion people on our planet. As a universal means of prevention, the use of iodized sodium chloride in the amount of 5-10 g per day is allowed. For example, for children and adolescents, doctors consider daily consumption of a tablespoon of dry kelp an excellent option for the prevention of iodine deficiency.
In herbal products, some of the important compounds are removed along with the waste. Peeling vegetables, cooking, leads to the loss of 10-20% of minerals.
The human body is a biochemical complex laboratory where metabolic processes are systematically carried out. They provide the normal functioning of a living organism, they are needed to build bone tissue, regulate water-salt metabolism, and maintain internal pressure in cells. Without minerals, the digestive, cardiovascular, and nervous systems cannot function.
Important facts
It is impossible to determine the mineral substance that the human body needs most of all, since with a lack of one mineral, a complete metabolic failure occurs, numerous diseases appear.
Without the presence of a sufficient number of cations of iron, manganese, copper, manganese, nickel, calcium, hormones, enzymes, and vitamins do not work. This leads to a violation of the full metabolism, lower immunity.
Causes of imbalance
A prolonged deficiency or excess of minerals is a serious danger to humans. The main causes of such violations:
- The uniformity of nutrition, the use in the diet of individual products in which there is a small amount of mineral components.
- The specificity of the mineral composition of products associated with the chemical content of water and soil in some geographical areas. Excess or lack of mineral salts leads to the appearance of specific diseases.
- Unbalanced nutrition, inadequate content of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins in food reduces the absorption of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus.
- Violation of the culinary processing of food products.
- Improper thawing of fish and meat is accompanied by a complete loss of minerals.
- Prolonged digestion of vegetables leads to the fact that almost 30 percent of the mineral salts turn into a decoction.
Conclusion
Not only water, but also soil is a storehouse of minerals. A significant amount of various salts is found in the bowels of the earth. As a result of natural corrosion, they fall into the water in the form of cations and anions. It is water that plays an important role in organizing the basic processes within a living organism. With an insufficient content of basic micro, macrocells in it, it ceases to fully fulfill its basic functions, which negatively affects the health of the individual.