Essential Minerals: The Vital Role of Iron and Iodine in Human Health

Minerals are essential for normal body functions and overall health. They are obtained through drinking water and consuming a balanced diet. Minerals play significant roles in virtually every metabolic process within the body, ensuring that various physiological systems operate efficiently.

Iron is a crucial mineral required for the production of hemoglobin in blood and myoglobin in muscles, which are essential for oxygen transport and storage. Additionally, several enzymes involved in metabolic processes contain iron. Iron deficiency leads to anemia, the most prevalent nutritional deficiency globally, affecting over 1.2 billion people. Symptoms of iron deficiency anemia include fatigue, weakness, and impaired cognitive function. To prevent anemia, individuals need approximately 10.0 mg of iron daily, which can be sourced from liver, muscle tissues, eggs, oatmeal, wheat flour, cocoa, and chocolate. Including vitamin C-rich foods, such as citrus juices, in meals can enhance the absorption of nonheme iron from plant-based sources, making breakfast an ideal opportunity to boost iron intake.

Iodine is another vital mineral necessary for the production of thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). These hormones, synthesized from iodide and the amino acid tyrosine, regulate metabolic rates and overall energy expenditure. Iodine deficiency can lead to hypothyroidism, characterized by low metabolic levels, lethargy, and goiter—a visible enlargement of the thyroid gland. This deficiency has been a concern for centuries, particularly in regions where soil and water lack sufficient iodine. The daily iodine requirement is about 0.1 mg, typically met through the consumption of iodide-rich foods like seafood and saltwater fish. In areas where natural iodine sources are scarce, iodized salt is a common preventive measure to ensure adequate intake.

In conclusion, minerals such as iron and iodine are indispensable for maintaining health and metabolic balance. Iron supports oxygen transport and enzymatic functions, while iodine is critical for thyroid hormone production and metabolic regulation. Ensuring adequate intake of these minerals through diet and supplementation when necessary is key to preventing deficiencies and associated health issues. By incorporating iron-rich and iodine-rich foods into daily meals, individuals can support their body's essential functions and overall well-being.
Essential Minerals: The Vital Role of Iron and Iodine in Human Health

The Essential Role of Transport Proteins in Cellular Function

Transport proteins are vital components within cells that play a crucial role in regulating the flow of substances, including nutrients, into and out of cells. These proteins serve as carriers or provide protein-lined passages through which water-soluble materials of small molecular weight may diffuse, facilitating essential cellular processes.

Moreover, transport proteins are not confined solely within cells; many traverse body fluids, transporting nutrients and other molecules between organs. Notably, lipoproteins serve as carriers for various molecules, ensuring their delivery to specific tissues.

Specialized transport proteins also facilitate the transportation of crucial nutrients and molecules. For instance, certain proteins are dedicated to carrying fat-soluble vitamins, water-soluble vitamins, and minerals throughout the body.

Among the most pivotal transport proteins is hemoglobin, found within red blood cells. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to tissues throughout the body and returning carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs. Remarkably, over 98% of the oxygen in the blood is bound to hemoglobin molecules.

Hemoglobin's structure consists of a protein component called globin and a red pigment component known as heme. The iron within hemoglobin imparts the characteristic red color to blood.

Abnormalities in hemoglobin levels can have profound health implications. Low hemoglobin levels, indicative of anemia, can result from various factors, including blood loss, nutritional deficiencies (such as iron, vitamin B12, or folate acid), bone marrow disorders, or abnormal hemoglobin variants like sickle cell anemia. Additionally, deficiencies or imbalances in minerals like zinc, copper, and vitamins A, B complex, and C can contribute to anemia, particularly in females.

Conversely, elevated hemoglobin levels may occur in individuals living at high altitudes or those who smoke. Furthermore, dehydration can artificially inflate hemoglobin levels, which normalize upon rehydration.

The significance of transport proteins extends beyond hemoglobin, as other proteins facilitate the movement of molecules across cell membranes, ensuring proper cellular function and homeostasis.

In conclusion, transport proteins are indispensable for maintaining cellular integrity and functionality. From regulating nutrient transport within cells to facilitating the circulation of vital molecules throughout the body, these proteins play a multifaceted role in sustaining life. Understanding the mechanisms by which transport proteins operate is crucial for comprehending various physiological processes and addressing associated health conditions effectively.
The Essential Role of Transport Proteins in Cellular Function

Minerals content in cocoa and cocoa products

Cocoa and chocolate contain a number of minerals. Cocoa has the potential to provide significant amount of minerals in the human diet, in particular copper, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc.

Potassium, magnesium and calcium are the most abundant minerals in cocoa powder. The mineral content of the cocoa is dependent on the soil condition in which the cacao is grown.

Cocoa and cocoa products contain relatively higher amounts of magnesium compared to black tea, red wine, and apples. Magnesium is involved in catalyzing multitude biological reactions, including protein synthesis, transmission of nerve impulse, muscle relaxation, energy production and bone and teeth adsorption.

The final concentrations of minerals in chocolate products are dependent on the amount of non-fat cocoa solids, the amount of cocoa butter and the presence of other ingredients including milk and nuts which can enhance the levels of certain minerals.

A 100 g bar of plain chocolate is able to supply 24% of the copper needed in a healthy diet, whilst milk and white chocolate are a relatively good source of calcium, which is widely regarded as being beneficial in maintaining strong bones.

Dark chocolate typically has higher amounts of minerals than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is plentiful in magnesium, important for brain functioning. It also boast other nutrients, such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
Minerals content in cocoa and cocoa products

Nutrients in dark chocolate and health benefits

Many studies show that beneficial nutrients can be found in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is made up of cocoa solids and sugar but no milk solids (prevalent in milk chocolate) and white chocolate, although referred to as chocolate had no cocoa solids, but instead is made of cocoa butter (the fat in chocolate), milk solids and sugar.

One of the nutrients in dark chocolate is called a polyphenol. Polyphenols are apart of a large family of natural compounds found in a wide variety of plant foods. They are helpful in assisting the human body protect itself from free radicals that cause oxidation.

Researchers believe that the benefits of dark chocolate are because of the flavonoids it contains, which are associated with the ability to lower the risk of heart disease and some cancers.

The heart may be vulnerable to damage by oxidation and flavonoids of dark chocolate hold potential for positive heart health effects.

Dark chocolate contains small amounts of B-complex vitamins (thiamin, or B1; riboflavin, or B2; niacin; vitamin B6’ and folate), needed for releasing energy and creating the body’s building blocks. Bone-enhancing vitamin D and antioxidant E are found in dark chocolate, which are important nutrients, too.

According to some studies done in Italy, dark chocolate has many of the same benefits as vitamin C helping the body use insulin more effectively and lower blood pressure. According to the study, participants who enjoyed 100 grams of dark chocolate daily for 15 days had reduced blood pressure and become more sensitive to insulin than they were prior to the "experiment".

Dark chocolate is plentiful in magnesium, important for brain functioning. It also boasts other nutrients, such a s copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
Nutrients in dark chocolate and health benefits

Rosehip tea with vitamins and minerals

Rosehip tea is high in vitamin C and also contains vitamins A, D, and E. It also contains iron and copper. Rosehips are often blended with hibiscus in teas.

Rosehip tea is used to prevent bladder infections and relieve headaches and dizziness. It helps with viscosity of the blood and varicose vein problems.

It is said to be rich in iron and to help restore beneficial bacteria in the digestive system after a round of antibiotics. The tea can be drunk during the day. In winter have it with lemon and a pinch of cinnamon. In summer try it cold with peppermint and ice.

Rosehips are so rich in vitamin C which is richer by far than oranges that are some people say that it should make rosehip tea a part of people daily diet.

A standardized rosehip extract has been shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent against osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Rosehip tea with vitamins and minerals

Pistachio nut nutrient

Pistachio nuts are prized and sought after for their color, taste and flavor. They are rich in nutrient content.

Each 1 ounce serving of pistachio nuts provides 165 calories, 310 mg of potassium, 3 g of dietary fiber (12% of the recommended daily intake of fiber), and 20% of the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for vitamin B6, copper and manganese.

Pistachios also contain 19% of RDA for iron. A good amount of iron contributed to healthy blood and enhances resistance to infections. Pistachios are high in fat, 72% fat: 52% is monounsaturated and 20% is polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fat can help prevent high serum cholesterol.

Pistachio nuts

Pistachios are also an excellent source of protein. A single ounce of roasted pistachio nuts delivers 13% of the recommended daily intake of protein and 12%.

They are also a very good source of vitamin E (8% of the recommended daily intake per ounce) and a good source of vitamin B2 (4% of the recommended daily intake per ounce), folic acid (4% of the recommended daily intake per ounce) and vitamin B5 (3% of the recommended daily intake per ounce).
Pistachio nut nutrient

Minerals in milk

Milk is important source of growth-supporting mineral, also referred to as type II nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc. Milk contains about 30 different minerals, but only a few of them are present in greater than trace amounts.

The normal levels of the major mineral constituents of cow’s milk are listed below. These are average values; there is a considerable natural variation in the levels of these constituents.

The two most abundant are calcium and phosphorus. Calcium constitutes about 30 percent of the total minerals in milk. In turn about 30 percent of the total calcium is soluble.

Milk also an important source of phosphorus. This essential mineral plays a central role in metabolism and is a component of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates.

A number of factors influence the variations in salt composition, such as feed, season, breed and individually of the cow, stages of lactation and udder infections.
Minerals in milk

Trace elements of minerals

The mineral elements form part of the skeleton i.e. bones and teeth, they stabilise body fluids both inside and outside the cells and they are part of enzymes or their cofactors.

Mineral elements account for approximately 4% of body weight. Some, such as calcium and phosphorus, are present in the body in relatively large amounts whereas others occur in very small quantities and are known as trace elements.

Trace elements are found only in very small quantities, i.e in a matter of milligrams. Examples are iodine (20-50 mg), copper (100 mg) manganese (2000 mg) and zinc (1-2 mg).

The definition of ‘trace elements’ is arbitrary and not fixed: a trace element is one which is essential of normal cell function, but is required only in tiny amounts.  Many of the trace elements are concerned in enzymes system of the body.

Trace elements (Fe, I, F, Zn, Se, Cu, Mn, Cr, Mo, Co, Ni) are essential in concentrations of less than 50 mg/day; their biochemical actions have been elucidated. Some of the elements are never in short supply because the food eaten, whatever the diet contains ample amounts.
Trace elements of minerals

Herbs containing calcium

Calcium is the element in the form of carbonate, phosphate, silicate and fluoride is essential for the formation or growth of teeth and bones. Studies suggest that calcium adds mineral density to bone, which can help prevent osteoporosis.

Burdock roots

Rich source of calcium include milk and dairy products, oily fish and herbs. Herbs that contains calcium include alfalfa, burdock root, cayenne, chamomile, chickweed, chicory, dandelion, eyebright, fennel seed, fenugreek, flaxseed, hops, horsetails, kelp, lemongrass, mullein, nettle, oat straw, paprika, parsley, peppermint, plantain, red clover, rose hips, shepherd’s purse, violet leaves, yarrow, and yellow dock.

Other plants contain calcium include raspberry leaf, milky oats, sesame seeds, lamb’s quarters,  toad flax, silver weed, cleavers, meadow sweet, mistletoe, coltsfoot, rest harrow and pimpernel.

A big mug of infusion using any of these herbs (nettle, sage, chickweed, red clover, comfrey leaf, raspberry leaf, oastraw) is equal to 250-300 mg calcium.  By adding a big pinch of horsetail will increase the calcium by 10 percent.
Herbs containing calcium 

What are the nutrients in chickpea?

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L), the third most important pulse crop in the world after beans and field peas, is a source of high quality protein in food and feed. It is cultivated mostly in semiarid regions of South Asia with some area concentrated in the Mediterranean.

This legume is almost the perfect food because of its excellent balance of proteins, essential fatty acids, fiber and phytonutrients.

The protein concentration of chickpea seed ranges from 16.7% to 30.6% and 12.6% to 29.0% for desi and kabuli types, respectively and is commonly 2-3 times higher than cereal grains. A 100 g portion of cooked chickpeas furnishes of 7 g protein or about the same amount as 28 g of cooked lean beef. However, the legume furnishes about 2.5 times as many calories as the beef.

Chickpea had been specifically used to treat protein malnutrition and kwashiorkor in children.

Chickpea also contains high in vitamins A, E, C, K, and in the entire B complex especially folate. Chickpea is rich source of phosphorus and magnesium. Phosphorus is a major element in hydroxyapatite, a key inorganic constituent of bone, and is also critical in several cellular compounds such as phospholipids, phosphoproteins, nucleic acids adenosine triphosphate.
What are the nutrients in chickpea?

Important minerals in fruits

Fresh fruits are a good source of minerals many of which are considered to play an important role in human health.

All fruits contain important minerals, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc. Minerals often present in microquantities are manganese, ferum, copper, and molybdenum.

Potassium is them most abundant mineral in fruits followed by calcium and magnesium.

The following fruits are important contributors to the supply of indicated minerals in the U.S diet:
 Potassium: banana, blueberry, peach, orange, apple, dried fruits such as apricot and prune.

Phosphorus: banana, orange, peach, fig, raisin, walnut, almond

Calcium: tangerine, grapefruit, orange, walnut, almond

Iron: strawberry, banana, apple, orange, avocado, berries, lemon, cherry, fig and grape

Minerals are basic components in secondary metabolic pathways that produce valuable phytochemicals for normal human health.

They serve as an important function in supporting, controlling, and preserving health. Minerals help to make enzyme functioning possible, regulates metabolism, and adjust hormone secretion.
Important minerals in fruits

Nutritive Minerals

Minerals are the group of essential nutrients, needed to both regulate body processes and give the body structure. Minerals are inorganic elemental atoms or ions.

Nutritionists, medical specialist and even people around the world talking all the time about the essential minerals which are crucial for human health.

Besides vitamins, minerals are more than a mere source of energy and wellbeing; they are a pure and extremely valuable source of health.

The dietary requirement for a mineral is defined as a n intake level which meets a specified criteria for adequacy, thereby minimizing risk of nutrient deficit or excess.

The major minerals that keep human health intact and prevent from getting ill with a wide range of diseases are: calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron.

They all strengthen the natural defense shield of organism, namely immune system. Moreover, they have tones of other benefits on the main organs and functions of human body.

Magnesium also participate in the catalytic activity of enzymes, while calcium and phosphorus are among the minerals that make human bones hard.

Like vitamins, minerals help trigger or regulate, a myriad of processes that continually take place in the body, so they are essential to human life. For example, they regulate fluid balance, muscle contractions and nerve impulses.

Minerals are categorized as a major or trace minerals based on the amount needed in the diet and the amount of the mineral in the body.
Nutritive Minerals

Mineral rich guava

Guava fruits is either eaten fresh or consumed in processed foods. It is very nutritious that is rich in vitamin C, dietary fiber, vitamin A and several minerals important for human health.

Guava is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and potassium.

A large numbers of minerals are essential for human body and have a wide variety of roles in the human body. Bones and teeth are mainly made up of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Minerals like zinc are activators of certain enzymes.

Calcium, associated worth cell wall structure, is important in fruit softening. Guava is a slightly acid forming food, with a calcium (23mg/100 g) – phosphorus (42 mg/100 g) ration of 0.55 and is in this regard similar like soya milk, which is ration 0.51. Calcium also plays a vital role in blood clot formation, muscle contraction, cell membrane permeability, signal transduction and activation of enzymes.

Guava are the major dietary source of potassium, the most abundant mineral in fruits. Many studies show that people who eat potassium-rich fruits have lower rates of heart related disease and high blood pressure. It helps maintain normal fluid balance in the body.

While for magnesium, it is essential for strengthening bones, making new cells, activating B vitamins, relaxing nerves and muscles, clotting blood, and building DNA and protein.

Guava is very good source of iron. Iron is an important constituent of blood. It is a component of heme pigments and of some enzymes.

Zinc is the second most important of the essential trace elements for humans, it is a constituent of some enzymes, such as carbonic anhydrase.
Mineral rich guava

Minerals in Food

Minerals in foods include a range of inorganic elements that are required by living organisms to support biochemical processes, including building bones and teeth, transmitting nerve signals, energy conversions from food and vitamin biosynthesis.

All foods from both plants and animals contain varying amounts of minerals. The mineral material may be present as inorganic or organic salts or may be combined with organic material, as the phosphorus is combined with phosphoproteins and metals are combined with enzymes.

Animals tissue contain minerals in the proportions that the animal needs, so animal derived foods are more reliable mineral sources.

Minerals from animals foods can be absorbed more easily than those from plants.

Plants foods can be excellent of several minerals but the mineral content of plants can vary dramatically depending on the minerals in the soil where the plants are found.

More than 60 elements may be present in foods.

It is customary to divide the minerals into two groups, the macro-minerals or essential minerals and the trace elements.

The macro minerals includes potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, phosphate and bicarbonate. These minerals required at more than 100 mg/day by the adult.

Trace elements are all others and are usually present in amounts below 50 parts per million (ppm).

There is also a group of minerals called ultra trace minerals, including vanadium, tin, nickel, arsenic, and boron that are being investigated for possible biological function.

Some mineral elements have been documented to be toxic to the body and should, therefore, be avoided in the diet.

The trace elements can be divided into the following three groups:
1. Essential nutritive elements, which include Fe, Cu, I, Co, Mn, Zn, Cr, Ni, Si, F, Mo and Se.
2. Nonnutritive, non toxic elements, including Al, B and Sn.
3. Nonnutritive, toxic elements, including Hg, Pb, As, Cd and Sb.

The levels of trace elements/minerals in foods very according to inherent, environmental and processing factors.

Food processing may reduce the amount of minerals available for absorption. For examples, processing whole wheat flour into white flour does cause significant losses of mineral because the whole grain is not used.

Because the difficulty obtaining high enough levels of some minerals naturally, fortification of manufactured foods has become commonplace.
Minerals in Food

Minerals

Minerals
Minerals are the constituents which remain as ash after the combustion of plant and animals tissues. Minerals are divided into:

• Main elements

• Trace elements

• Ultra trace elements

The main elements (Nam, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, P) are essential for human beings in amounts >50 mg/day. Sulfur also belongs to this group.

Trace elements (Fe, I, F, Zn, Se, Cu, Mn, Cr, Mo, Co, Ni) are essential in concentrations of <50 mg/day; their biochemical actions have been elucidated.

Ultra – trace element (Al, As, Ba, Bi, B, Br, Cd, Cs, Ge, Hg, Li, Pb, Rb, Sb, Si, Sm, Sn, Sr, TI, Ti, W) are elements whose essentially has been tested in animal experiments over several generations and deficiency symptoms have been found these extreme conditions.

For one of these elements, if it is possible to detect a biochemical function in a vital tissue or organ, the element is assigned to the trace elements.

Main and trace elements have very varied functions, e.g., as electrolytes, as enzymes constituents and a building materials, e.g., in bones and teeth.

The importance of minerals as food ingredients depends not only on their nutritional and physiological roles. They contribute to food flavor and activate or inhibit enzymes- catalyzed and other reactions and they affect the texture of food.
Minerals