This blog post will walk you through: vitamins and minerals are micronutrients. Don’t worry, we’ve got all the answers about this subject.
Are You Getting What You Need?
Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients because they perform hundreds of roles in the body.
Vitamin A
Micronutrient deficiencies can have devastating consequences. The World Health Organization recommends multiple types of interventions to address nutrition deficienciesexternal icon3.
The role of six essential micronutrients is outlined belo.
Overview
They are vitamins and minerals, and our good health requires them in milligram and microgram amounts. We consume the macronutrients in gram amounts.
For example, we might have 200 grams of carbohydrate, 100 grams of protein and 50 grams of fat, yet only 18 mg of iron and 400 micrograms of folate. Vitamins are carbon-containing molecules and are classified as either water-soluble or fat-soluble. They can be changed and inactivated by heat, oxygen, light and chemical processes.
The amount of vitamins in a food depends on the growing conditions, processing, storage and cooking methods. Minerals do not contain carbon, and are not destroyed by heat or light. Whether found in bone, seashells, cast iron pots or the soil, they are the same as the minerals in our food and our bodies.
The mineral content of plant foods varies with the soil content and the maturation of the plant.
Fact File
However, their impact on a body’s health are critical, and deficiency in any of them can cause severe and even life-threatening conditions. They perform a range of functions, including enabling the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other substances needed for normal growth and development.
These programmes have made great strides in reducing micronutrient deficiencies in recent decades but more efforts are need.