Minerals and trace elements

SCHUMANN K, CLASSEN H G, HAGES M, PRINZ-LANGENOHL R, PIETRZIK K and BIESALSKI H K (1997) Bioavailability of oral vitamins, minerals and trace elements in perspective Arzneim-Forsch/Drug Res 47(1) 369-380. 

Fingerova H, Koplik R (1999) Study of minerals and trace element species in soybean flour. Fresenius J Anal Chem 363 545-549. 

Classification of wines according to the grape variety succeeds better, in general, because there are many more typical bouquet components (several hundreds) than mineral and trace elements being typical for the origin of wine. The organic compounds can be analyzed easily and reliably by Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Capillary Gas Chromatography and afterwards used for classification (De la Calle et al. [1998]). An example... 

Minerals and trace elements cannot be affected under the process conditions of food irradiation. 

Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and trace elements that cannot be manufactured in the body, and so must be consumed daily. 

One very useful feature of the regulations is the inclusion of a detailed list of permitted feed ingredients (see Chapter 4, this volume). More countries should follow the New Zealand example. The minerals and trace elements used in animal feeding have to be of natural origin or, failing that, synthetic in the same form as natural products. Synthetic vitamins identical to natural vitamins are allowed. Roughage, fresh or dried, or silage must be added to the daily ration for poultry but the quantity is not specified. 

Several minerals and trace elements are vital to the human organism and must be ingested with daily food in sufficient amounts. Wine can contribute not only minerals containing potassium, calcium, and magnesium but also numerous essential trace elements, such as chromium, cobalt, iron, fluorine, copper, selenium, and zinc, among others. The contents found in wine are very low ranging from mg L 1 to igL, sometimes even lower. 

Scholz-Ahrens, K.E. and Schrezenmeir, J. 2000. Effects of bioactive substances in milk on mineral and trace element metabolism with special reference to casein phosphopeptides. Brit. J. Nutr. 84(suppl. 1), 147-153. 

C. P. Sanchez-Castillo, P. J. S. Dewey, M. D. M. Solano de Lourdes, W. P. T. James, The mineral and trace element content of Mexican cereals, cereals products, pulses and snacks preliminary data. J. Food Comp. Anal., 10 (1997), 312-333. 

V. E. Negretti de Bratter, P. Bratter, A. Reinicke, G. Schulz, W. O. L. Alvarez, N. Alvarez, Determination of mineral and trace elements in total diet by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry comparison of microwave-based digestion and pressurized ashing systems using different acid mixtures, J. Anal. Atom. Spectrom., 10 (1995), 487-491. 

Human milk can be considered the optimal food for infants. It contains all the macronutrients and micronutrients necessary for the correct development of the newborn and at the adequate levels. When infants are not breast-fed, or breastfeeding is discontinued very early, formula milks are used instead. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the capacity of formulas to deliver satisfactory quantities of minerals and trace elements that can be bioavailable to the children in order to cover their biological needs. This fact explains the need to perform trace elements speciation analysis in formula milk. Thus, the speciation results obtained in formulas and published so far are critically evaluated here and compared with those obtained in human milk. 

B. Lonnerdal, Regulation of mineral and trace elements in human milk exogenous and endogenous factors, Nutr. Rev., 58(8) (2000), 223-229. 

P. Schramel, G. Lill, S. Hasse, B. J. Klose, Mineral- and trace element concentrations in human breast milk, placenta, maternal blood, and the blood of the newborn, Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 16 (1988), 67-75. 

C. Ekmekcioglu, Intestinal bioavailability of minerals and trace elements from milk and beverages in humans, Nahrung, 44 (2000), 390-397. 

Values of RDAs and AIs for several minerals and trace elements from the current US DRIs are shown in Table 1. 

Vitamins are organic compounds necessary for growth and health and cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities for physiologic health by the body. Therefore they must be obtained from food sources or supplementation. Inorganic essentials (minerals are trace elements) are required in much smaller quantities than vitamins. In general, minerals and trace elements aid and support physiologic functions and, like vitamins, must be obtained from dietary soinces. 

TABLE 6. Mineral and Trace Element Composition of Some Indian Oilseeds (80). ... 

The basic idea to remember, for your health s sake, is that we are made of the minerals and trace elements present in the soil, and unless the foods we eat are grown on rich, fully mineralized soil, our bodies will become deficient in one or more essential chemical elements, and we will become vulnerable to a disease. I don t deny that we also need exercise, fresh air, and enough rest to have healthy bodies, but our focus in this book will be on foods, the chemical elements in them, and how they are used in our bodies. If you learn about foods and the nutrients in them, the other aspects of a healthy lifestyle will tend to make more sense and fall into place in your understanding. 

The minerals in bones are completely replaced about every seven years, being deposited and withdrawn many times, just like money in a bank account. The body is designed so that minerals and trace elements that play key roles in body activities have a backup reserve in case of emergency. Extra iron, if needed, is stored in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow as ferritin, an iron-phosphorus protein. Sodium reserves are in the bones, stomach walls, and joints.The liver stores a year s supply of vitamin B)2 in case of temporary deficiency in the diet. Fat tissue in the body is also an energy fuel reserve. The body is prepared to deal with short-term deficiencies of most essential nutrients. 

When you read descriptions of what vitamins and minerals do in the body, including my own descriptions of their functions and activities, the benefits described almost always include enzyme activities without actually giving credit to the enzymes. Why Because all water-soluble vitamins and many minerals and trace elements inside us act as coenzymes or are part of the structure of enzymes, and often you can t separate what the enzyme does from what its trace element and vitamin components do. Deficiencies of trace elements in the diet can prevent enzymes needing those elements from doing their jobs. 

We wouldn t have a problem with dietary excess of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements if our nutritional intake was entirely from foods. However, many people take vitamin-mineral supplements along with their meals because they believe, as I do, that too many foods are grown on depleted soils that lack trace elements. It is possible to overdose on the total daily intake of... 

Jackson, T. A. (1998). The biogeochemical and ecological significance of interactions between colloidal minerals and trace elements. In Environmental Interactions of Clays, ed. Parker, A., and Rae, J. E., Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 93-205. 

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