Minerals and their purposes in the body

Minerals

Calcium

 Milk and milk products, meat, fish, eggs, cereal products, beans, fruits, and vegetables
 Required for the formation of bone and teeth, for blood clotting, for normal muscle function, and for normal heart rhythm
 1,000 milligrams
1,200 milligrams for people older than 50
 2,500 milligrams

Chloride

 Salt, beef, pork, sardines, cheese, green olives, corn bread, potato chips, sauerkraut, and processed or canned foods
 Involved in electrolyte balance
 1,000 milligrams
 —

Copper

 Organ meats, shellfish (especially oysters), chocolate, mushrooms, nuts, dried legumes, and whole-grain cereals
 Used to form enzymes that are necessary for energy production, for antioxidation (protection against cell damage due to reactive by-products of normal cell activity called free radicals), and for formation of the hormone epinephrine, red blood cells, bone, and connective tissue
 900 micrograms
 10,000 micrograms

Fluoride

 Saltwater fish, tea, coffee, and fluoridated water
 Required for the formation of bone and teeth
 3 milligrams for women
4 milligrams for men
 10 milligrams

Iodine

 Seafood, iodized salt, dairy products, and drinking water (in amounts that vary by the iodine content of local soil)
 Required for the formation of thyroid hormones
 150 micrograms
 1,100 micrograms

Iron

 As heme iron:

Meats, poultry, fish, kidneys, and liver

As nonheme iron: Soybean flour, beans, molasses, spinach, clams, dried fruit, and fortified cereals
 Required for the formation of many enzymes in the body
Is an important component of muscle cells and of hemoglobin (which enables red blood cells to carry oxygen and deliver it to the body's tissues)
 8 milligrams
18 milligrams for women younger than 50 (premenopause)
27 milligrams for pregnant women
9 milligrams for breastfeeding women
 45 milligrams

Magnesium

 Leafy green vegetables, nuts, cereal grains, and seafood
 Required for the formation of bone and teeth, for normal nerve and muscle function, and for the activation of enzymes
 320 milligrams for women
420 milligrams for men

Phosphorus

 Milk, cheese, meat, poultry, fish, cereals, nuts, and legumes
 Required for the formation of bone and teeth and for energy production
Used to form nucleic acids, including DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
 700 milligrams
 4,000 milligrams

Potassium

 Whole and skim milk, bananas, tomatoes, oranges, melons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, prunes, raisins, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, kale, other green leafy vegetables, most peas and beans, and salt substitutes (potassium chloride)
 Required for normal nerve and muscle function
Involved in electrolyte balance
 3.5 grams

Selenium

 Meats, seafood, and cereals (depending on the selenium content of soil where grains were grown)
 Acts as an antioxidant, with vitamin E, protecting cells against damage by free radicals, which are reactive by-products of normal cell activity
Required for thyroid gland function
 55 micrograms
 400 micrograms

Sodium

 Salt, beef, pork, sardines, cheese, green olives, corn bread, potato chips, sauerkraut, and processed or canned foods
 Required for normal nerve and muscle function
Involved in electrolyte balance
 1,000 milligrams
 2,400 milligrams

Zinc

 Organ meats such as liver, eggs, and seafood
 Used to form many enzymes and insulin Some Trade Names HUMULIN NOVOLIN
Required for healthy skin, healing of wounds, and growth
 15 milligrams