Minerals
Minerals are the inorganic counterpart to vitamins. Where vitamins are organic compounds that come from living things and can be broken down by heat and light, minerals are elements — they come from the earth, they don’t break down, and they make their way into the food supply through soil, water, and the plants and animals that absorb them. Your body can’t make them. They have to come from what you eat and drink.
They divide into two categories based on how much the body needs. Major minerals — calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur — are required in larger amounts and make up most of the mineral content of the body. Trace minerals — iron, zinc, copper, selenium, iodine, manganese, chromium, fluoride, and molybdenum — are needed in much smaller quantities but are no less essential for the processes they support.
What minerals actually do in the body is varied enough that it’s hard to generalize. Calcium and phosphorus build and maintain bone and teeth. Sodium and potassium regulate fluid balance and nerve signaling. Iron carries oxygen in the blood. Magnesium is involved in hundreds of enzymatic reactions and has a particular relevance for sleep, muscle function, and stress response. Zinc supports immune defense and wound healing. Iodine is essential for thyroid function. Each one has a specific role, and gaps in any of them produce effects that range from subtle and cumulative to significant and noticeable.
The minerals most commonly under-consumed in modern diets are magnesium, potassium, and iron — not because they’re hard to find in food, but because the foods richest in them tend to be underrepresented in the average diet. Sodium is the outlier that runs in the opposite direction — most people consume far more than they need, primarily through processed food.
The pages in this section cover each mineral individually — what it does, where to find it, and what low intake actually looks like in practice.
Reference Card
Pillar: Nourish Categories: Major minerals · Trace minerals
Major minerals Calcium · Phosphorus · Magnesium · Sodium · Potassium · Chloride · Sulfur
Trace minerals Iron · Zinc · Copper · Selenium · Iodine · Manganese · Chromium · Fluoride · Molybdenum
Major vs trace — what it means practically
- Major minerals are needed in larger amounts and make up significant structural components of the body — bone, fluid balance, cellular function
- Trace minerals are needed in smaller amounts but are no less essential — they support enzymatic reactions, hormone production, immune function, and more
Considerations
- Mineral status is closely tied to dietary variety — whole foods from diverse sources cover most needs
- Magnesium, potassium, and iron are the most commonly under-consumed minerals in modern diets
- Sodium is the most commonly over-consumed — primarily through processed and packaged foods
- Some minerals compete for absorption — very high intake of one can reduce absorption of another; this matters most with supplements, less so with food sources
Common myths
- Mineral deficiencies are obvious — many develop slowly and produce vague symptoms like fatigue, poor sleep, and low mood that are easy to attribute to other causes
- You can get everything you need from a standard Western diet — the modern food environment is heavily skewed toward processed foods that are low in the minerals most people are already under-consuming