Hey guys,
I've just written this article to give people a basic insight into micro nutrients and their particular relevance to health. If you like it and want more information, feel free to ask questions in the comments below or send me a message via the website: www.hadestraining.com.
Keep tuned for more articles like this.
Micro Nutrients:
What are they?
Simply put, micro nutrients are the different vitamins and minerals in our diets that are essential for helping the body efficiently digest macro nutrients (Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats). While they provide no calorie value, they are extremely important.
Vitamins:
Vitamins are made up of two categories: Fat soluble and water soluble. This is something really important as to be explained.
Fat Soluble: Vitamins A, D, E, K
Fat soluble means that these vitamins can only be absorbed, transported and utilised in the presence of fat. Diets with a low fat intake means the body will reduce the amount of these vitamins in the body and can, in the long term lead to major health issues such as a low production of hormones such as testosterone, oestrogen and cortisol. This is why it is super important to avoid low fat diets where possible. Fat soluble vitamins are typically found in Dairy products, dark green leafy vegetables, fish
and seafood and some organ meats.
Water Soluble: Vitamins C and B’s
Water soluble means that these vitamins can only be absorbed, transported and utilised in the presence of water. As you can imagine, this indicates that those individuals who don’t consume much fluid throughout the day and often find themselves dehydrated will struggle to utilise these vitamins efficiently. Also, note that they’re absorbed through the digestive tract and need to be consumed on a daily basis. Water soluble vitamins are typically found in unrefined, unprocessed grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, seafood and some organ meats.
Minerals:
Minerals are used for a normal function of the metabolism, hormones and nervous system and are essential for our body to run at a proper functioning level. There are 2 types of minerals; Macro minerals and trace minerals. The macro minerals are required in large amounts and the trace minerals (as I’m sure you can guess) are needed in only small amounts. Minerals come from a very large range of foods, more commonly dairy products, fish and sea food, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, some organ meats and natural unprocessed sea salt. For the intake of all the different types minerals needed for a full, healthy diet it is important to eat varied sources of food to ensure as many different minerals are ingested.
Summary
As you can see, most of our vitamins and minerals can be gained from fruit or dark green vegetables and a lot of sources in a ‘typical’ diet but, it should be noted that in order to achieve the full range of the different varieties of micronutrients, it is important to eat from varied sources. You’ll also find that although there are a lot of supplements on the market offering you magnesium and zinc, etc for ‘workout gains’, you really only need to consider these if your diet is strictly limited to certain types of foods or you’re not getting enough variation in your diet (e.g Vegetarians, Vegans, etc). The chances are you’re wasting your money if you’re taking those supplements and have a very healthy, varied diet anyway. You could also potentially be harming your body, but that will be discussed in another article in the future.
For The Meantime
For now, I’ll leave you with a list of each of the major vitamins and minerals that the body needs and what it does for the body (to hopefully help dissolve some supplement myths and also provide some insight to the importance of each).
Vitamin A – Fat Soluble
Used for: Growth and repair, structure of cell membranes, maintenance of vision, maintenance of rich blood, protects from free-radical damage.
If Deficient: Poor vision which can lead to blindness, stunted growth
Vitamin D – Fat Soluble
Also gained from sunlight.
Used for: Healthy bones and teeth and absorption of calcium
If Deficient: Rickets and weak (soft) bone structure
Vitamin E – Fat Soluble
Used for: Blood circulation and red blood cells, tissue repair, antioxidant, protects other fat soluble vitamins
If Deficient: Anaemia
Vitamin K – Fat Soluble
Used for: Blood clotting and bone formation
If Deficient: Can (very rarely) lead to haemorrhages
Vitamin B Complex – Water Soluble
Used for: Maintenance of healthy nerves, skin, hair, eyes, liver and muscle tone, prevents fatigue, supports metabolism, aids in production of iron in the blood, assists in fertility and normal growth
If Deficient: Skin Disorders
Vitamin C – Water Soluble
Used for: Function and structure of connective tissue, absorption and antioxidant
If Deficient: Scurvy
Calcium – Macro Mineral
Used for: Bone growth, muscular contraction and regulates PH levels
Chloride – Macro Mineral
Used for: Fluid balance, regulates PH levels, digestion of carbohydrates and proteins
Magnesium – Macro Mineral
Used for: Nerve function, bone formation, metabolism of carbohydrates, absorption of minerals,
tooth enamel
Phosphorous – Macro Mineral
Used for: Bone growth, kidney function, cell growth
Potassium – Macro Mineral
Used for: fluid balance
Sodium – Macro Mineral
Used for: water balance, cellular fluid distribution, nerve stimulation
Sulphur – Macro Mineral
Used for: Protects from infection, helps skin and an antioxidant
Iron – Trace Mineral
Used for: Important to transport oxygen in blood, prevents fatigue and extracts energy from food
Zinc – Trace Mineral
Used for: enables enzymes to function correctly, specifically enzymes involved in growth and nerve development, assists in blood clotting and prevents infertility in males
Hope the article was useful, and any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
Enjoy!