Nutrients are essential chemicals needed for human and other organism growth and health, including carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Nutrients may either be organic or inorganic in nature.
Diet is necessary for human survival as our bodies do not produce their own nutrition. Carbohydrates, lipids (fats and oils) and proteins provide energy sources and are known as macronutrients.
Vitamins
Vitamins are vital nutrients our bodies require in small doses for proper function and health. Vitamin categorical classification reflects how easily our bodies can utilize and utilize each type: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Fat-soluble vitamins are taken up through our food sources and stored in liver or fatty tissue until needed, such as vitamins A, D, E and K.
Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water and enter our bloodstream quickly, either being used immediately or flushed out through urine. Examples include vitamin C and the B group vitamins –thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), folate or folic acid (B9), pyridoxine (B6) and cobalamin (B12). A deficiency can result in an intestinal condition known as pellagra which affects skin, mouth and intestinal cells simultaneously.
Minerals
Minerals are naturally-occurring inorganic solids with specific chemical composition and characteristic crystalline structure that occur naturally. Minerals may exist by themselves or combined with other elements (coal or diamonds for instance). Minerals play an essential role in our daily lives by performing numerous critical functions.
Most minerals occur only in trace amounts, yet some, like calcium, iodine, magnesium, potassium, sodium and zinc are essential to human health in these small amounts. Trace minerals play a crucial role in nerve transmission, muscle contraction, fluid balance and bone density – they can be found in table salt and soy sauce, milk products, whole grains, leafy vegetables and unprocessed meats.
Minerals are used in everyday products like glass, ceramics and paper as raw materials for manufacturing; as raw materials for construction; as raw materials in construction and manufacturing processes; or used as building materials like sand and gravel, brick clay aggregates and crushed rock aggregates as building materials – as well as fertilizers like phosphate rock or silica sand for fertilizing the ground. Metals such as iron (used to make cars and pipes), copper, silver and gold are valuable minerals used as building materials – while others such as talc and mica can even serve as raw materials in construction – these precious minerals.
Plant Nutrients
Plants depend on several essential mineral elements in order to live and produce maximum yields, and when any one of these essential nutrients are absent or inadequately supplied, adverse effects such as stunted growth, deficiency or stress may arise. A nutrient is considered essential if its absence prevents complete plant life cycle completion and no alternative element can perform its role adequately.
Plants receive the essential minerals they require both from soil and the air. Oxygen and hydrogen travel through the air while carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and potassium come from soil sources.
Primary nutrients for plant life include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Nitrogen provides building blocks to form proteins, chlorophyll, and nucleic acids necessary for cell growth; P is essential for root and seed production as well as energy storage; potassium regulates water balance while activating enzymes to support stress tolerance; sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), as well as micro or trace nutrients such as boron (B), chlorine (Cl), iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn).
Essential Nutrients
Nutrients are essential elements found in food that contribute to human health and wellness, but cannot be produced by our bodies; thus they must be consumed through diet. There are six essential nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and water.
Carbs, proteins and fats are collectively known as macro-nutrients since their needs are the greatest. Micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals may only require smaller amounts; and water requires differ depending on both weight and activity level.
Criterion for classifying essential nutrients has traditionally relied upon their impact on experimental animals fed deficient diets, as evidenced by biochemical or physiological changes associated with reduced intakes. But recently there have been functional food components like fibre, plant sterols and polyphenols that do not fit traditional categories yet have shown to contribute positively to human health – three case studies were developed in order to investigate why certain dietary components should be considered essential nutrients.
