Minor Mineral

These are required  in small quantities, less than a few mg a day. These are the Minor Mineral iron, zinc, iodine, fluoride, copper, selenium, chromium, cobalt, manganese and molybdenum.

Minor Mineral: Iron

Those elements which are required in traces are known as trace element. It is a trace element as its presence in small amount is very significant.

Most of the Iron in the body is present as hemoglobin. Most of the body Iron is found in complex forms bound to proteins either as porphyrin or heme compounds or as ferritin.

Free inorganic iron occurs in small amount. It is in circulating hemoglobin 4% into hemoglobin.

Functions

1. It is an essential part of several oxidative enzymes.
2. It helps in specific brain functions such as a good attention span and capacity to learn and memorize.
3. It facilitates the complete oxidation of carbohydrates , proteins and fats with in the cell and release of energy for performing physical work.
4. Essential constituent of muscles.

Sources

Vegetable sources are cereals , beans , bajra , lentils , spinach , dried peach and apricot.

Non-vegetable sources are liver , kidney , brain , egg yolk , meat and fish.

Deficiency

Iron deficiency is very common in the vulnerable age groups in all developing countries. In healthy individual blood contains approximately 14 gm of hemoglobin per 100 ml. sometimes the level goes down and a low level of hemoglobin in blood is called anemia. It occurs when diet is deficient in one or other of the nutrients required for the synthesis of hemoglobin.

Minor Mineral: Iodine

In an adult body is found in the thyroid gland. The only known function of iodine is as a constituent of thyroxine. The thyroid hormone regulates the rate of oxidation within the cells.

Sources

Sea food like fish , shellfish , fish liver oils are the richest sources. Its content of vegetables , fruits and cereals depends upon the iodine of the soil.

Functions

1. Thyroxine is related with the tissues of nerves and muscles.
2. It helps in increasing heart rate.
3. It helps in converting glycogen to glucose. In this way it increase blood sugar level.

Deficiency

It occurs when iodine content of the soil is so low that insufficient iodine is obtained through food. Deficiency of iodine results in a disease known as goiter. Goiter is an enlargement of the thyroid gland.

This is when due to the deficiency of iodine the secretion of thyroxine hormone is also reduced.

Minor Mineral: Fluoride

It is the normal constituent of the body found mainly in bones and teeth. Small amounts of fluorine bring about striking reductions in tooth decay probably because the tooth enamel is made more resistant to the action of acids produced by bacteria in the mouth.

Sources

Milk , eggs and fish are important sources. Fluoridation of water to ensure a concentration of  a safe and economical way to reduce the incidence of dental caries.

Deficiency

A deficiency results in dental caries and is seen in areas where drinking water contains less than 0.5 ppm of  fluorine. Adding fluorine at a level reduces the incidence of dental caries by 50 per cent.

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