Our need for minerals in our diet, even though in the most tiny amounts, reflects our link with our ancient heritage of the sea. The major salts from seawater in various combinations are the same as the salts in our cells and body fluids. This is why some of the mineral supplements sold today are taken from dry seabeds.
Minerals are inorganic substances.
This means they are not formed by living matter and contain no carbon. All organic material contains carbon and once was part of, or was produced by, living plants or animals. The most common combination is sodium chloride, or ordinary table salt. Major minerals are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, chloride, and sodium. The trace minerals are iron, zinc, copper, iodine, fluoride, chromium, selenium, manganese, and molybdenum.