Dietary minerals are are the inorganic, indestructible elements that aid
physiological processes within the body. They are chemical elements required by
living organisms. They can be either bulk minerals (required in relatively large
amounts) or trace minerals (required only in very small amounts).
These can be naturally occurring in food or added in elemental or mineral form, such
as calcium carbonate or sodium chloride. Some of these additives come from natural
sources such as ground oyster shells. Sometimes minerals are added to the diet
separately from food, as vitamin and mineral supplements and in dirt eating, called
pica or geophagy.
Appropriate intake levels of each dietary mineral must be sustained to maintain
physical health. Excessive intake of a dietary mineral may either lead to illness
directly or indirectly because of the competitive nature between mineral levels in
the body. For example, large doses of zinc are not really harmful unto themselves,
but will lead to a harmful copper deficiency (unless compensated for, as in the
Age-Related Eye Disease Study).
|
