Fatty Acids Amino Acids Misc. Minerals are elements remaining after a food is burned completely to ash. Minerals cannot be formed in the body and must be obtained from the diet. Combinations of anions and cations yield salts such as sodium chloride, calcium phosphate and sodium iodide.
Minerals serve diverse functions.
They provide the building blocks of teeth and bones and are components of connective tissues and muscles. They activate enzymes and are responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses and muscle contraction. Body Mineral Reserves Body storage of minerals from previous intake will affect daily requirements. It should be emphasized that subacute deficiencies can exist although clinical deficiency signs do not appear . Such borderline deficiencies are both the most costly and the most difficult to manage, often go unnoticed and unrectified, and yet they may result in poor and expensive gains, impaired reproduction, or depressed production.