Cellular Nourishment

Written on June 6, 2009 No Comment

Nutrition at the Cellular Level

A nutrient is a chemical substance “obtained from food and used in the body to provide energy, structural materials, and regulating agents to support growth, maintenance, and repair of the body’s tissues.”^[1]

There are several types of nutrients but the ones we more closely associate with cellular nourishment are vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins

A vitamin is an organic molecule that is required in smalls amounts for a living organism to stay alive and healthy. As is the case with all nutrients, these should be present in your diet.^[2] If you do not get a single vitamin for a prolonged period of time, you will develop symptoms of a disease (this is true for all organisms).^[3]

You need the following 13 vitamins for your body to function properly^[5] – the required amount of each of these vitamins differs from person to person. Below are the recommended amounts for a healthy 25 year old male^[6]:

Vitamin A – 900µg
B vitamins
- Thiamine (B₁) – 1.2mg
- Riboflavin (B₂) – 1.3mg
- Niacin (B₃) – 16mg
- Pantothenic Acid (B₅) – 5mg
- Pyridoxine (B₆) – 2mg
- Biotin (B₇, Vitamin H) – 30µg
- Folic Acid (B₉, Vitamin M) – 400µg
- Cobalamins (B₁₂) – 2.4µg
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) – 90mg
Vitamin D – 200IU
Vitamin E – 15IU
Vitamin K – 120µg

There are fat-soluble vitamins and water soluble vitamins.

Minerals

Minerals are essential elements in organic molecules that a living organism needs in addition to the four elementary elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen).^[4]

You need 15 minerals for your body to function properly.^[5] As with vitamins, the amount needed varies from person to person. Below are the recommended amounts for a healthy 25 year old male^[6]:

Calcium (Ca) – 1000mg
Phosphorus (P) – 700mg
Magnesium (Mg) – 420mg
Chromium (Cr) – 35µg
Copper (Cu) – 900µg
Fluoride (F) – 4mg
Iodine (I) – 150µg
Iron (Fe) – 8mg
Manganese (Mn) – 2.3mg
Molybdenum (Mo) – 45µg
Selenium (Se) – 55µg
Zinc (Zn) – 11mg
Chloride (Cl) – 2300mg
Potassium (K) – 4700mg
Sodium (Na) – 1500mg

All minerals are soluble in water.

Other Nutrients

In addition to vitamins and minerals, your diet should also contain fats, proteins, carbohydrates, phytonutrients, and plant sterols. Note: All fiber is a type of carbohydrate.

Learn the reasons why you need to take a dietary supplement.

References:

[1] Whitney, E. Rolfes, S. Understanding Nutrition. 12e. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.

[2] Answers.com. “Vitamins.” Available at: http://www.answers.com/topic/vitamin.
Accessed August 13, 2008.

[3] MedlinePlus. “Vitamins.” Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vitamins.html.
Accessed August 13, 2008.

[4] ScienceDaily.com. “Dietary Mineral.”
Available at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/d/dietary_mineral.htm.
Accessed August 13, 2008.

[5] Walter, Patrick. “Food Supplements Directive valid, rules ECJ.” July 2005. Available at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5255/is_200507/ai_n20265686. Accessed August 13, 2008.

[6] Wikipedia. “Dietary Reference Intake.” Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_Reference_Intake.
Accessed August 13, 2009