What are minerals?
Minerals are a group of micronutrients. Like vitamins, the body cannot produce minerals itself. Hence, we have to ingest them through food to support the body. Like all micronutrients, the minerals are essential and vital for humans and are involved in many processes in the body and, above all, in metabolism. These chemical elements are found in plant and animal products, and the human body also consists of almost 5% minerals. The best known are iron, magnesium, zinc and iodine.
What do we need minerals for?
As already mentioned, minerals are essential for many physical processes. However, they are most important for regulating the electrolyte and water balance. This means that nutrients and minerals are evenly distributed in the blood. In addition, the minerals also contribute to the formation and growth of bones, teeth and muscles and strengthen the immune system.
But that wasn’t all – minerals are our body’s little all-rounders. Because they are also essential for cell growth and healing, as well as for blood clotting and wound healing, so you should make sure that your body is always adequately supplied with them, here we will show you how you can do this and what you can do in the event of a shortage.
Types Of Minerals
There are two different types of minerals, between which a distinction is made mainly in medicine: the bulk elements and the trace elements.
Bulk elements and trace elements
Let’s start with the set elements. They are either absorbed through food or dissolved in the drinking water. A shortage of them is rare. Bulky components are required in a higher dose than trace elements. They are only needed in tiny quantities. Find out your personal needs and use the Upfit nutrient calculator.
The main difference between bulk elements and trace elements is the amount in which the body needs them. Click on one of the fabrics and find out what it is suitable for and how much exactly you need from it.
| Set Elements | Trace Elements |
| “High” concentration in the body | Low concentration in the body |
| Calcium | Iron |
| Chlorine | Iodine |
| Potassium | Copper |
| Magnesium | Manganese |
| Sodium | Zinc |
| Phosphorus | Fluorine |
| Sulfur |
Mineral lexicon
Here you can find detailed information on the individual minerals. Find out what their tasks are and how you can get the most out of them so that you can achieve your goal quickly:
- Calcium
- chlorine
- potassium
- magnesium
- sodium
- phosphorus
- sulfur
- iron
- iodine
- copper
- manganese
- zinc
- fluorine
Would you like to learn more about nutrients? Then take a look around in our nutrient area and look at the other micronutrients such as vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids and phytochemicals.
Mineral-rich diet
Minerals are only found in tiny amounts in our body, and therefore it is not bad for our essential well-being if we eat a little too little now and then. Because usually the need is covered by a balanced diet within a week. However, if a highly one-sided diet results in a significant deficit of a mineral over a more extended period, there can, of course, be health consequences.
However, you can easily prevent that from happening. Here are a few tips for doing this:
- In general, your diet should be high in vegetables. Follow the “5 a day” rule : 3 hands of vegetables, 2 hands of fruit
- Many minerals are found in green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale and celery
- Also, legumes such as lentils and peas, and nuts quickly cover your need for minerals
Where do which quantity elements / trace elements occur?
Set elements
| Surname | Swell | Daily Requirement | Tasks In The Body |
| Calcium | Milk, dairy products, cheese, seeds and nuts, green vegetables such as kale and spinach, calcium-rich mineral water (> 150 mg / l) | 1-1.2 g | Structure of bones and teeth, important role in blood clotting, muscle contraction and conduction of excitation in the nerves |
| Chlorine | Found together with sodium as table salt in almost all foods | 2300 mg | Maintenance of tissue tension, part of stomach acid and thus helps to break down food components |
| Potassium | Vegetables, legumes, banana | 4 g | Responsible for the function of the nerves, muscle movements, maintaining tissue tension and the action of various enzymes |
| Magnesium | Seeds, nuts, cocoa, legumes, grains, fruits, vegetables, fish | 300-400 mg | Responsible for the action of many enzymes, for nerve function and muscle movement |
| Sodium | Together with chloride as table salt in many industrially processed foods such as bread, pastries, breakfast cereals, snacks, etc. | 1.5 g | Nerve and muscle function |
| Phosphorus | Milk, dairy products, kohlrabi, soy, processed cheese, cheese, meat and sausage products, canned fish | 700 mg | Energy supply of the cells and together with calcium as calcium phosphate an important component of bones and teeth |
| Sulfur | Meat, eggs, milk, dairy products, nuts, legumes | No details | Part of amino acids and vitamins |
Trace Elements
| Surname | Swell | Daily Requirement | Tasks In The Body |
| Copper | Fish, nuts, cocoa, coffee, tea | 1-1.5 mg | Important role in iron metabolism and participates in active enzymes |
| Iron | Nuts and seeds, dried fruits , legumes, cereals and pseudocereals, green leafy vegetables | 10-15 mg | Oxygen transport in the blood and important for the effectiveness of some enzymes |
| Fluorine | Fluoridated table salt, mineral water with a high fluorine content, toothpaste, mouthwash | 3.8 mg | Part of the tooth enamel (ensures stability and resistance to caries-causing factors), fluoride ions are involved in bone formation |
| Manganese | Tea, strawberries, oatmeal, green vegetables | 2-5 mg | Activates many enzymes |
| Iodine | Fish, milk, eggs, sausage, bread, iodized table salt | 200 𝜇g | Building block for thyroid hormones, important for growth, brain development and metabolism |
| Zinc | Oysters, Emmentaler, Gouda, peanuts, oat flakes, lentils, corn, Brazil nuts, beef, mixed wheat bread | 7-10 mg | Involved in the metabolism and supports the body’s defenses |
Supplement minerals
Usually, the need for minerals is met naturally through diet. There may be a shortage of these substances through specific diets such as veganism, illness, or medication use. But even that is not a problem, as you can quickly fix this deficiency. Everyone knows them – the effervescent tablets that can be dissolved in water and taste like soda.
This is a simple and inexpensive way to compensate for minor defects. Another variant would be to take small tablets with the concentrated mineral. But don’t overdo it: mineral deficiencies are rare and shouldn’t be treated preventively. The exceptions are iodine and iron. From time to time, defects can occur naturally due to an incorrect diet. If you are healthy, have no noticeable flaws and still supplement all sorts of minerals, you will have no effect