For human mineral metabolism, it is important to get enough of the minerals we need from food. Of some minerals, humans need larger amounts. They are therefore also called bulk elements in nutritional science. The remaining minerals are called trace elements.
What is mineral metabolism
For human mineral metabolism, it is important to get enough of the minerals we need from food. Human mineral metabolism is the complicated interaction of the bulk elements as well as trace elements in the body. These bulk elements are calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, chloride, phosphorus and sulfur. In addition to these quantity elements, there are also a number of trace elements that humans need only in small amounts. These include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, fluoride, chromium, selenium, tin, vanadium, molybdenum, cobalt and arsenic. What the bulk elements and trace elements have in common is that they are inorganic substances that are essential to life. Unlike vitamins, minerals are not sensitive to light, air or heat and thus cannot be destroyed so easily by the preparation or storage of food. The interaction of the bulk elements in the human body, of which larger quantities are needed in food, has been largely clarified scientifically today. The situation is different with trace elements. Here, science is still in the process of understanding and clarifying many interrelationships, and new findings are constantly being added in the field of nutritional science.
Function and task
A few important examples will illustrate what functions minerals can have in the human body. The first example is water balance. For water distribution in the body, it is important how much sodium is inside and outside the cells. There is a constant exchange via the ion channels. Sodium is also important for drawing glucose through the intestinal wall into the blood. Without sodium, therefore, many functions for energy production would not be possible at all. Too much sodium, on the other hand, can be unhealthy. Calcium and phosphate interact to play an important role in building bones. The bones are not only important for a stable skeleton, but also represent a large store of these vital minerals, which humans can access at any time with the help of certain hormones. Calcium alone, in turn, together with magnesium, is also needed for muscle functions, among other things, and then again plays together with potassium, which is essential for the transmission of stimuli. Sodium, potassium and calcium therefore constantly change their position in the mineral metabolism and are sometimes inside, but then again outside the cells. In the process, they migrate through the ion channels provided for this purpose in the cells. The organism is informed via messenger substances whether the concentration of these minerals in the blood, in the cells or in the extracellular matrix is in balance or not. The kidneys are important organs that can have a regulating effect here. Phosphate, in turn, is needed to form ATP, i.e. for energy production, without which life would not be possible. Phosphorus alone, in turn, is a component of DNA. The sulfur compound sulfate is particularly important for building proteins. None of the trace elements plays an unimportant role in the body, no matter how small the quantities needed. Even a mineral as toxic as arsenic is needed in tiny amounts where it belongs, so that everything can function smoothly in the human body. Manganese, for example, is important for building proteoglycans, which play a key role in the immune system or in blood clotting. Trace elements can take each other’s place, if the wrong diet is consumed. Therefore, it is always better to take in natural minerals with normal food instead of relying on artificial supplements. Because then the body only gets as many minerals as it needs, because it must first break down the food for this. With artificial supplements, it’s different.
Diseases and ailments
There are a variety of diseases related to mineral metabolism. Especially in old age, the hormone functions that control calcium balance often decline.This is how so-called osteoporosis develops, a brittleness of the bones that often leads to old people having to reckon with bone fractures particularly quickly when they fall. Heart failure leads to disturbances in the water balance. Sodium is then no longer regulated so that it is in a healthy ratio inside and outside the cells. Edema occurs, but it also causes cellular functions to be inadequate due to the deficiency. Iron deficiency leads to the lack of oxygen in the organism. Energy production is then disturbed and the human body does not produce enough ATP. Since ATP is needed everywhere in the metabolism, this has fatal consequences for humans. A lack of zinc can lead to skin problems. A deficiency of sulfur can be fatal for the formation of insulin, the utilization of vitamin B1 and many other important metabolic intermediates that have a sulfur group in the compound. Insulin deficiency, for example, may be important in the development of metabolic syndrome. A problem in the conversion of vitamin B1 means that carbohydrates cannot be properly utilized. Magnesium is important for the function of ion channels related to the sodium-potassium pump. If it is lacking in the body, the muscles can no longer work properly. This also applies to the heart muscle in the case of an extreme magnesium deficiency. It is useful to arrange the diet in such a way that all minerals are contained in it in sufficient quantities. A healthy body then draws out as much of it as it needs. Since the body does not do anything that is useless, excess minerals are excreted again, since in natural food they are present only in complex compounds that can be cleaved. This is not the case with artificial minerals. Therefore, caution is also advised when taking them.
