Mineral Mikro - Utk UAS

• Haem iron


  Iron in the haem form, which is found in foods derived from the flesh of animals, is more absorbable than iron found in plant foods
• Iron from animal foods is normally absorbed better than iron from plant foods
• Vegetarians


  Require 80% higher dietary iron intake than meat eaters because the overall bioavailability of iron from plant-based diets is less than that from mixed diets
• Zinc

  Highest in protein-rich foods, such as shellfish, meats, poultry, milk and cheese. Plant-based diets tend to be low in zinc
• Seafood is a good source of iodine
• Trace mineral interactions

  • Coordinated to meet the body's needs
  • Lead to nutrient imbalances
  • A deficiency of one may interfere with the work of another
  • A deficiency of a trace mineral may even open the way for a contaminant mineral to cause a toxic reaction
• Use supplements conservatively, if at all as supplementation can easily create imbalances
• Iron

  • Has two ionic states: ferrous iron (reduced) and ferric iron (oxidised)
  • Acts as a cofactor to enzymes involved in oxidation–reduction reactions
  • In the body, 80% is found in haemoglobin in the red blood cells and the rest in myoglobin in the muscle cells
• Iron absorption

  1. Haem iron

  2. Non-haem iron
• Factors that enhance non-haem iron absorption

  • MFP factor
  • Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
  • Gastric acidity
• Factors that inhibit non-haem iron absorption


  • Phytates (legumes, grains and rice)
  • Vegetable proteins (soybeans, legumes, nuts)
  • Tannic acid (and other polyphenols in tea and coffee)
  • Reduced gastric acidity
• Zinc

  • A versatile trace element required as a cofactor by more than 100 enzymes
  • Supports the work of thousands of proteins in the body, including metalloenzymes that help make parts of the genetic materials DNA and RNA, manufacture haem for haemoglobin, participate in essential fatty acid metabolism, release vitamin A from liver stores, metabolise carbohydrates, synthesise proteins, metabolise alcohol in the liver, and dispose of damaging free radicals
  • Essential for normal taste perception, wound healing, sperm production and foetal development
• Enteropancreatic circulation of zinc

  Some zinc from food is absorbed by the small intestine and sent to the pancreas to be incorporated into digestive enzymes that return to the small intestine
• Zinc deficiency


  • Severe zinc deficiencies are not widespread in industrialised countries in the absence of other diseases, but they can still occur in vulnerable groups – pregnant women, young children, the elderly and the poor
  • Stunted growth is a primary characteristic of zinc deficiency
• Zinc toxicity


  • High doses (over 50 mg) of zinc may cause vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, exhaustion and other symptoms
  • The UL for adults is set at 40 milligrams
• Iodine

  • Traces of the iodine ion (called iodide) are indispensable to life
  • Iodide is an integral part of the thyroid hormones that regulate body temperature, metabolic rate, reproduction, growth, blood cell production, nerve and muscle function, and more
  • The thyroid gland releases tetraiodothyronine (T4), commonly known as thyroxine, to its target tissues
  • Upon reaching the cells, T4 is deiodinated to triiodothyronine (T3) within cells by deiodinases
  • T3 is the active form of the hormone and is three to four times more potent than T4
• Iodine deficiency

  • The hypothalamus regulates thyroid hormone production by controlling the release of the pituitary's thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
  • In an iodine deficiency, thyroid hormone production declines and the body responds by secreting more TSH in a futile attempt to accelerate iodide uptake by the thyroid gland
  • If a deficiency persists, the cells of the thyroid gland enlarge to trap as much iodide as possible, sometimes making a visible lump in the neck, a simple goitre
• Copper and selenium are trace minerals
• Manganese and fluoride are trace minerals
• Chromium and molybdenum are trace minerals
• Contaminant minerals

  • Include the heavy metals lead, mercury and cadmium
  • Entered the food supply by way of soil, water and air pollution
  • Impair the body's growth, work capacity and general health
  • Lead is indestructible; the body cannot change its chemistry
  • Because it is chemically similar to nutrient minerals such as iron, calcium and zinc, lead displaces them from some of the metabolic sites they normally occupy, but is then unable to perform their tasks