Vitamins and minerals in human nutrition
Plants and microorganisms can produce vitamins themselves, which are necessary for metabolic reactions. However, humans and animals have lost this ability during evolution. They lack the enzymes necessary to produce vitamins in the body. Humans and animals must take them in with food (with the exception of vitamin D, which is synthesized when exposed to sunlight). More recently, choline has been added to the group of essential nutrients.
It was already recognized more than 3,500 years ago that foods containing vitamins are essential for health and well-being. The earliest references to this that have come down to us relate to the use of specific food sources, such as liver - which contains vitamin A - to prevent diseases, such as chicken blindness. Nevertheless, the concept of vitamins was until recently quite unknown. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, our knowledge of how vitamins and minerals work in our bodies has increased significantly. This knowledge is reflected in 20 Nobel Prizes in vitamin-related sciences between 1928 and 1967.
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Only five percent of a person's weight is mineral matter. Minerals are essential for many bodily functions, such as bone formation, hormone production and heart rhythm regulation. Minerals are essential for healthy growth and development.
Most minerals in our diet come from plant or animal sources. Plants take up minerals from the soil. The mineral content of the soil varies depending on location. Therefore, the mineral content of plants will depend on where the plant grew and how much fertilizer it assimilated. Minerals may also be present in the water we drink, and its composition also depends on geographic location.