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Six macrominerals are required by people in gram amounts. Four (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) are cations; two (Cl and P) are accompanying anions (see Fluid Metabolism). Daily requirements range from 0.3 to 2.0 g. Bone, muscle, heart, and brain function depend on these minerals.
Nine trace minerals (microminerals) are required by people in minute amounts: chromium, copper, iodine, iron, fluorine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc. (For sources, functions, effects of deficiency and toxicity, and dietary requirements, see Table 1: Mineral Deficiency and Toxicity: Trace Minerals and Table 2: Mineral Deficiency and Toxicity: Guidelines for Daily Intake of Minerals.) All trace minerals are toxic at high levels; some minerals (arsenic, nickel, and chromium) may be carcinogens.
Mineral deficiencies (except of iodine, iron, and zinc) do not often develop spontaneously in adults on ordinary diets; infants are more vulnerable because their growth is rapid and intake varies. Trace mineral imbalances can result from hereditary disorders (eg, hemochromatosis, Wilson disease), kidney dialysis, parenteral nutrition, or restrictive diets prescribed for people with inborn errors of metabolism.
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Table 1
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| Trace Minerals |
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Nutrient
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Principal Sources
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Functions
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Effects of Deficiency and Toxicity
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Chromium
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Liver, processed meats, whole-grain cereals, nuts
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Promotion of glucose tolerance
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Deficiency: Possibly impaired glucose tolerance
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Copper
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Organ meats, shellfish, nuts, dried legumes, dried fruits, whole-grain cereals, peas, cocoa, mushrooms, tomato products
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Enzyme component, hematopoiesis, bone formation
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Deficiency: Anemia in undernourished children, Menkes (kinky-hair) syndrome
Toxicity: Wilson disease, copper poisoning
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Fluorine
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Seafood, tea, fluoridated water (sodium fluoride 1.0–2.0 ppm)
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Bone and tooth formation
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Deficiency: Predisposition to dental caries, possibly osteoporosis
Toxicity: Fluorosis, mottling and pitting of permanent teeth, exostoses of spine
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Iodine
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Seafood, iodized salt, eggs, cheese, drinking water (content varies)
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Thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) synthesis, development of fetus
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Deficiency: Simple (colloid, endemic) goiter, cretinism, deaf-mutism, impaired fetal growth and brain development
Toxicity: Hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism
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Iron
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Many foods (except dairy products)—soybean flour, beef, kidney, liver, fish, poultry, beans, clams, molasses, enriched grains and cereals (bioavailability variable in plant sources)
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Hemoglobin and myoglobin formation, cytochrome enzymes, iron-sulfur proteins
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Deficiency: Anemia, pica, glossitis, angular cheilosis
Toxicity: Hemochromatosis, cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, skin pigmentation
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Manganese
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Whole-grain cereals, pineapple, nuts, tea, beans, tomato paste
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Healthy bone structure
Component of manganese-specific enzymes: glycosyltransferases, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, manganese-superoxide dismutase
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Deficiency: Questionable
Toxicity: Neurologic symptoms resembling those of parkinsonism or Wilson disease
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Molybdenum
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Milk, legumes, whole-grain breads and cereals, dark green vegetables
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Component of coenzyme for sulfite oxidase, xanthine dehydrogenase, and one aldehyde oxidase
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Deficiency: Tachycardia, headache, nausea, obtundation (sulfite toxicity)
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Selenium
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Meats, seafood, nuts, plant-based foods (selenium content varying with soil concentration)
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Component of glutathione peroxidase and thyroid hormone iodinase
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Deficiency: Keshan disease (viral cardiomyopathy), muscle weakness
Toxicity: Hair loss, abnormal nails, nausea, dermatitis, peripheral neuropathy
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Zinc
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Meat, liver, oysters, seafood, fortified cereals, peanuts, whole grains (bioavailability variable in plant sources)
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Enzyme component, skin integrity, wound healing, growth
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Deficiency: Impaired growth and delayed sexual maturation, hypogonadism, hypogeusia
Toxicity: RBC microcytosis, neutropenia, impaired immunity
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Table 2
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| Guidelines for Daily Intake of Minerals |
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Category
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Age (yr) or Time Frame
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Chromium (μg)
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Copper (μg)
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Fluoride (mg)
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Iodine (μg)
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Iron (mg)
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Manganese (mg)
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Molybdenum (μg)
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Selenium (μg)
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Zinc (mg)
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Recommended daily intake
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Infants
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0.0–0.6
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0.2
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200
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NR
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110
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0.27
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0.3
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2
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15
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2
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0.7–1.0
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5.5
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220
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0.01–0.5
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130
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11
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0.6
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3
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20
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3
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Children
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1–3
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11
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340
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0.7
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90
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7
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1.2
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17
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20
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3
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4–8
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15
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440
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1
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90
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10
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1.5
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22
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30
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5
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Males
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9–13
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25
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700
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2
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120
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8
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1.9
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34
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40
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8
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14–18
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35
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890
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3
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150
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11
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2.2
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43
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55
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11
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19–30
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35
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900
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4
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150
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8
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2.3
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45
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55
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11
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31–50
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35
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900
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4
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150
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8
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2.3
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45
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55
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11
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51+
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30
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900
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4
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150
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8
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2.3
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45
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55
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11
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Females
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9–13
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21
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700
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2
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120
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8
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1.6
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34
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40
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8
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14–18
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24
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890
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3
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150
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15
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1.6
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43
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55
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9
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19–30
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25
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900
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3
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150
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18
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1.8
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45
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55
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8
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31–50
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25
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900
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3
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150
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18
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1.8
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45
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55
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8
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51+
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20
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900
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3
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150
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8
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1.8
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45
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55
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8
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Pregnant
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30
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1000
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3
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220
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27
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2.0
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50
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60
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11
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Breastfeeding
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45
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1300
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3
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290
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9
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2.6
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50
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70
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12
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Upper limit (UL)
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Infants
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< 1
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ND
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ND
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0.7–0.9
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ND
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40
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ND
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ND
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45–60
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4–5
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Children
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1–8
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ND
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1000–3000
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1.3–2.2
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200–300
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40
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2–3
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300–600
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90–150
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7–12
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People
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≥ 9
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ND
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5,000–10,000
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10
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600–1100
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40–45
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6–11
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1100–2000
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280–400
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23–40
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Note:
Recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) are shown in regular type. RDAs are set to meet the needs of 97 to 98% of people in a group.
Adequate intakes (AIs) are shown in bold type. For healthy breastfed infants, AIs are the mean intake. For other groups, AIs are amounts believed to meet the needs of all people in the group, but because of lack of data, the percentage of people covered cannot be specified with confidence.
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NR = not recommended; ND = not determinable because of lack of data, so sources of intake should be limited to foods.
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Adapted from Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC, National Academies Press, 2002, p. 772–773.
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Last full review/revision April 2013 by Larry E. Johnson, MD, PhD
Content last modified April 2013
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