mineral (nutrient) mineral (nutrient) in the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. however, the four major structural elements in the human body by weight (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen), are usually not included in lists of major nutrient minerals (nitrogen is considered a "mineral" for plants, as it often is included in fertilizers). these four elements compose about 96% of the weight of the human body, and major minerals (macrominerals) and minor minerals (also called trace elements) compose the remainder. part of a series related tobiomineralization general mineralized tissues remineralisation biocrystallization biointerface biofilm exoskeletons (shells) arthropod exoskeleton cuticle brachiopod shell cephalopod shell cirrate shell cuttlebone gladius lorica choanoflagellate lorica protist shell coccosphere coccolith diatom frustule foraminifera test testate amoebae seashell echinoderm stereom mollusc shell nacre chiton shell gastropod shell small shelly fauna scaly-foot snail shell estuary shells sponge spicule test endoskeletons (bones) vertebrate skeleton bone mineral ossification teeth, scales, tusks etc limpet teeth otolith otolithic membrane scale microfossils tusk calcification amorphous calcium carbonate marine biogenic calcification calcareous nannofossils aragonite oolitic aragonite sand aragonite sea calcite microbial calcite precipitation calcite sea great calcite belt silicification biogenic silica siliceous ooze diatomaceous earth other forms bone bed kerogen alginite oil shale phosphate phosphorite pyrena related mineral evolution in soil mineralization immobilization ballast minerals magnetofossil magnetosome magnetotactic bacteria magnetoreception microfossils engrailed gene druse cupriavidus metallidurans biomineralising polychaetes mineral nutrients microbial mat fossilization permineralization petrifaction burgess shale preservation category nutrient minerals, being elements, cannot be synthesized biochemically by living organisms. plants get minerals from soil. most of the minerals in a human diet come from eating plants and animals or from drinking water. as a group, minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients, the others of which are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. the five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. all of the remaining elements in the human body are called "trace elements". the trace elements that have a specific biochemical function in the human body are iron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium. most chemical elements that are ingested by organisms are in the form of simple compounds. plants absorb dissolved elements in soils, which are subsequently ingested by the herbivores and omnivores that eat them, and the elements move up the food chain. larger organisms may also consume soil (geophagia) or use mineral resources, such as salt licks, to obtain limited minerals unavailable through other dietary sources. bacteria and fungi play an essential role in the weathering of primary elements that results in the release of nutrients for their own nutrition and for the nutrition of other species in the ecological food chain. one element, cobalt, is available for use by animals only after having been processed into complex molecules (e.g., vitamin b12) by bacteria. minerals are used by animals and microorganisms for the process of mineralizing structures, called biomineralization, used to construct bones, seashells, eggshells, exoskeletons and mollusc shells. essential chemical elements for humans main article: composition of the human body at least twenty chemical elements are known to be required to support human biochemical processes by serving structural and functional roles as well as electrolytes. oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen are the most abundant elements in the body by weight and make up about 96% of the weight of a human body. calcium makes up 920 to 1200 grams of adult body weight, with 99% of it contained in bones and teeth. this is about 1.5% of body weight. phosphorus occurs in amounts of about 2/3 of calcium, and makes up about 1% of a person's body weight. the other major minerals (potassium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur and magnesium) make up only about 0.85% of the weight of the body. together these eleven chemical elements (h, c, n, o, ca, p, k, na, cl, s, mg) make up 99.85% of the body. the remaining ~18 ultratrace minerals comprise just 0.15% of the body, or about one hundred grams in total for the average person. total fractions in this paragraph are amounts based on summing percentages from the article on chemical composition of the human body different opinions exist about the essential nature of various ultratrace elements in humans (and other mammals), even based on the same data. for example, there is no scientific consensus on whether chromium is an essential trace element in humans. the united states and japan designate chromium as an essential nutrient, but the european food safety authority (efsa), representing the european union, reviewed the question in 2014 and does not agree. most of the known and suggested mineral nutrients are of relatively low atomic weight, and are reasonably common on land, or for sodium and iodine, in the ocean: nutritional elements in the periodic table h he li be b c n o f ne na mg al si p s cl ar k ca sc ti v cr mn fe co ni cu zn ga ge as se br kr rb sr y zr nb mo tc ru rh pd ag cd in sn sb te i xe cs ba * lu hf ta w re os ir pt au hg tl pb bi po at rn fr ra ** lr rf db sg bh hs mt ds rg cn nh fl mc lv ts og * la ce pr nd pm sm eu gd tb dy ho er tm yb ** ac th pa u np pu am cm bk cf es fm md no legend: the four basic organic elements quantity elements essential trace elements deemed essential trace element by u.s., not by european union suggested function from deprivation effects or active metabolic handling, but no clearly-identified biochemical function in humans limited circumstantial evidence for trace benefits or biological action in mammals no evidence for biological action in mammals, but essential in some lower organisms.(in the case of lanthanum, the definition of an essential nutrient as being indispensable and irreplaceable is not completely applicable due to the extreme similarity of the lanthanides. the stable early lanthanides up to sm are known to stimulate the growth of various lanthanide-using organisms.) roles in biological processes dietary element rda/ai male/female (us) ul (us and eu) category high nutrient density dietary sources terms for deficiency/excess potassium 4700 ne; ne a systemic electrolyte and is essential in coregulating atp with sodium sweet potato, tomato, potato, beans, lentils, dairy products, seafood, banana, prune, carrot, orange hypokalemia / hyperkalemia chlorine 2300 3600; ne needed for production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and in cellular pump functions table salt (sodium chloride) is the main dietary source. hypochloremia / hyperchloremia sodium 1500 2300; ne a systemic electrolyte and is essential in coregulating atp with potassium table salt (sodium chloride, the main source), sea vegetables, milk, and spinach. hyponatremia / hypernatremia calcium 1000 2500; 2500 needed for muscle, heart and digestive system health, builds bone (see hydroxyapatite), supports synthesis and function of blood cells, helps in blood clotting dairy products, eggs, canned fish with bones (salmon, sardines), green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, tofu, thyme, oregano, dill, cinnamon. hypocalcaemia / hypercalcaemia phosphorus 700 4000; 4000 a component of bones (see hydroxyapatite), cells, in energy processing, in dna and atp (as phosphate) and many other functions red meat, dairy foods, fish, poultry, bread, rice, oats. in biological contexts, usually seen as phosphate hypophosphatemia / hyperphosphatemia magnesium 420/320 350; 250 required for processing atp and for bones spinach, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, peanut butter, avocado hypomagnesemia (magnesium deficiency) / hypermagnesemia iron 8/18 45; ne required for many proteins and enzymes, notably hemoglobin to prevent anemia meat, seafood, nuts, beans, dark chocolate iron deficiency / iron overload disorder zinc 11/8 40; 25 required for several classes of enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinases, liver alcohol dehydrogenase, carbonic anhydrase and zinc finger proteins oysters*, red meat, poultry, nuts, whole grains, dairy products zinc deficiency / zinc toxicity manganese 2.3/1.8 11; ne required co-factor for superoxide dismutase grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, leafy vegetables, tea, coffee manganese deficiency / manganism copper 0.9 10; 5 required co-factor for cytochrome c oxidase liver, seafood, oysters, nuts, seeds; some: whole grains, legumes copper deficiency / copper toxicity iodine 0.150 1.1; 0.6 required for the synthesis of thyroid hormones seaweed (kelp or kombu)*, grains, eggs, iodized salt iodine deficiency (goiter) / iodism (hyperthyroidism) chromium 0.035/0.025 ne; ne involved in glucose and lipid metabolism, although its mechanisms of action in the body and the amounts needed for optimal health are not well-defined broccoli, grape juice (especially red), meat, whole grain products chromium deficiency / chromium toxicity molybdenum 0.045 2; 0.6 required for the functioning of xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, and sulfite oxidase legumes, whole grains, nuts molybdenum deficiency / molybdenum toxicity selenium 0.055 0.4; 0.3 essential to activity of antioxidant enzymes like glutathione peroxidase brazil nuts, seafoods, organ meats, meats, grains, dairy products, eggs selenium deficiency / selenosis cobalt none ne; ne incorporated into vitamin b12 during synthesis of the vitamin by bacteria. animal muscle and liver are good dietary sources, also shellfish and crab meat. cobalt deficiency / cobalt poisoning rda = recommended dietary allowance; ai= adequate intake; ul = tolerable upper intake level; figures shown are for adults age 31–50, male or female neither pregnant nor lactating * one serving of seaweed exceeds the us ul of 1100 μg but not the 3000 μg ul set by japan. blood concentrations of minerals minerals are present in a healthy human being's blood at certain mass and molar concentrations. the figure below presents the concentrations of each of the chemical elements discussed in this article, from center-right to the right. depending on the concentrations, some are in upper part of the picture, while others are in the lower part. the figure includes the relative values of other constituents of blood such as hormones. in the figure, minerals are color highlighted in purple. reference ranges for blood tests, sorted logarithmically by mass above the scale and by molarity below. (a separate printable image is available for mass and molarity) dietary nutrition dietitians may recommend that minerals are best supplied by ingesting specific foods rich with the chemical element(s) of interest. the elements may be naturally present in the food (e.g., calcium in dairy milk) or added to the food (e.g., orange juice fortified with calcium; iodized salt fortified with iodine). dietary supplements can be formulated to contain several different chemical elements (as compounds), a combination of vitamins and/or other chemical compounds, or a single element (as a compound or mixture of compounds), such as calcium (calcium carbonate, calcium citrate) or magnesium (magnesium oxide), or iron (ferrous sulfate, iron bis-glycinate). the dietary focus on chemical elements derives from an interest in supporting the biochemical reactions of metabolism with the required elemental components. appropriate intake levels of certain chemical elements have been demonstrated to be required to maintain optimal health. diet can meet all the body's chemical element requirements, although supplements can be used when some recommendations are not adequately met by the diet. an example would be a diet low in dairy products, and hence not meeting the recommendation for calcium. safety the gap between recommended daily intake and what are considered safe upper limits (uls) can be small. for example, for calcium the u.s. food and drug administration set the recommended intake for adults over 70 years at 1,200 mg/day and the ul at 2,000 mg/day. the european union also sets recommended amounts and upper limits, which are not always in accord with the u.s. likewise, japan, which sets the ul for iodine at 3000 μg versus 1100 for the u.s. and 600 for the eu. in the table above, magnesium appears to be an anomaly as the recommended intake for adult men is 420 mg/day (women 350 mg/day) while the ul is lower than the recommended, at 350 mg. the reason is that the ul is specific to consuming more than 350 mg of magnesium all at once, in the form of a dietary supplement, as this may cause diarrhea. magnesium-rich foods do not cause this problem. elements considered possibly essential for humans but not confirmed many ultratrace elements have been suggested as essential, but such claims have usually not been