Don’t Know Much About Vitamins & Minerals? - Part 1

By Lee A. Mancini, MD, CSCS, CSN

Here at www.DoctorOfFitness.com I try to listen to the feedback provided on this site by our readers. This article is in response to that feedback. Many of our readers and those who subscribe to the free Doctor Of Fitness E-Newsletter have asked about some basic knowledge on everyday nutrition. Over the coming months we will explore some of the fundamental concepts around vitamins and minerals.

There are two main classes of nutrients: micronutrients and macronutrients. Macronutrients fall into four classes: water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. They are classified as macronutrients because they comprise the majority of the human diet. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients have no caloric value but provide key elements that are vital to our body’s ability to function properly. Our focus for today is on the micronutrients.

One major system of classifying both micronutrients and macronutrients are essential and nonessential nutrients. Nonessential nutrients, both micro and macronutrients, are nutrients that the body can manufacture on its own. Essential nutrients are the nutrients that are vital to our bodies because we can’t make them. These are the nutrients that need to be found in the food we eat in order for our bodies to function and perform correctly. There are 13 essential vitamins and 15 essential minerals.

Vitamins are organic compounds that are necessary for the body. Vitamins are used in complex biochemical reactions. Some of the roles vitamins play are serving as antioxidants to scavenge free radicals, helping build bones, and aiding in fat metabolism. There are two main classes of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins. The fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K. Vitamins are considered to be fat-soluble if they are transported in the blood and body by being bound to a protein. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and in fat cells. They also are not easily eliminated from our bodies and, therefore, can accumulate in our cells. The water-soluble vitamins, C and the B vitamins, are vitamins that can freely travel unbound through the blood stream.

In future articles from this series we will examine the individual vitamins and minerals, how they work in our bodies, foods in which we find them, and what happens when we don’t get enough of a particular vitamin or mineral.

Send any questions or ideas for topics of future interest to questions@DoctorOfFitness.com.

Note:  Lee A. Mancini graduated from Harvard as a two-sport athlete with honors in biology. Board certified in sports medicine and family practice, he works at the Family Health Center and UMass Sports Medicine Center in Worcester . He trains select clients as a certified strength and conditioning specialist and sports nutritionist. If you are interested in hiring him to design an individualized program, click here for our paid consultation services.

References

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5. Richy, F., Bruyere, O., Ethgen, O., Cucherat, M., Henrotin, Y., & Reginster, J. (2003, July). Structural and symptomatic efficacy of glucosamine and chondroitin in knee osteoarthritis. Archives of Internal Medicine, 163(13), pp. 1514-1522.

. Verbruggen, G., Goemaere, S., Veys, E.M. (1998). Chondroitin sulftate: Structure/disease modifying anti-arthritis drug in the treatment of finger joint osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage, 6(A), pp. S37-S38.