One of the basic requirements of our body is the minerals. Without minerals, our body may not function properly. Each mineral plays a pivotal role in the functioning of our body parts. It can be just a small quantity of the mineral, but you should keep one thing in mind that is having too much or having too little of the mineral can affect the balance of your body. The body requires as much as minerals to function properly and these minerals are known as essential minerals. Essential minerals are divided into 2 categories, they are as follows –
- Major Mineral also known as Macro minerals
- Trace Minerals also known as Micro minerals.
These two categories of food minerals are very much important. But you should also note that trace minerals are needed in the body in less/smaller quantity than the major minerals. It is not an indication of their importance, the amount which is needed in the body. Now, let’s look at how minerals are important for our body.
Which Minerals Are Important for Our Body?
There are major minerals which are used in larger quantities and also stored in larger quantities in the body. These minerals are in the following forms, they are –
- Calcium & chloride
- Magnesium & phosphorus
- Potassium &sodium
- Sulphur
On the other hand, trace minerals are important for our body, but the thing is that we don’t require larger quantities of trace minerals in our body. And such minerals comprise of the following kinds –
- Chromium & copper
- Fluoride & iodine
- Iron & manganese
- Molybdenum & selenium
- Zinc and cobalt
Why Minerals Are Needed For Body?
Now, that you know what are the types of minerals needed for our body you should also know why it is needed. It is mainly needed for our body to work properly. You should have a healthy balanced diet. You need food minerals for developing strong teeth and bones, control the fluids in the body, turning the food we eat into energy. Lastly, minerals are found in foods like vegetables, fruits, dried fruits (especially), bread, meat, egg, cereals, fish, milk and dairy products, and nuts.