What Are Micronutrients: Types and Their Role in Your Diet

Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals your body needs to support every physiological function from digestion to immune response, nerve signaling, and cellular replication.

Without micronutrients, you will become more prone to disease and infection, your internal systems will deteriorate, and your bodily functions will shut down.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the various micronutrient types and what role they play in your wellbeing and functioning.

We’ll also see where you’re most likely to have vitamin and mineral deficiencies and offer simple advice to help you shore up your intake of the most important micronutrients so you can optimize your health every single day.

What are Micronutrients

Micronutrients are “a chemical element or substance that is essential in minute amounts to the growth and health of a living organism.”[1]

The key words there are “essential” and “minute amounts”.

While macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, and fats are needed in large amounts for human health, only small amounts of micronutrients are necessary for your body to function properly.

However, they are crucial to support a wide range of physiological functions (as you’ll see below), and without them, your body will suffer. Hence, their being essential micronutrients.

Types of Micronutrients

In the paragraphs below you’ll find the types of micronutrients and their functions described.

Vitamins

Vitamins (derived from the words “vital amines”) are organic compounds that support optimal bodily function. They play a role in immunity, energy production, cellular repair, brain function, and so much more.

Vitamins fall into one of two types of vitamins:

• Water-soluble vitamins. Included in this category are the B-complex vitamins and Vitamin C. They dissolve in water and any excess amounts not used are flushed from the body. You need to consume them regularly in order to provide the amounts your body needs. They facilitate energy production and maintenance, strengthen your cells (including your red blood cells), support brain function, and promote a healthier immune system.
• Fat-soluble vitamins. Included in this category are Vitamins A, D, E, and K. Your body stores these in your adipose tissue (body fat cells) and liver to be accessed when needed. They’re crucial for healthy bones, skin, and eyes, contribute to antioxidant defense, facilitate blood clotting, regulate your blood pressure, and are crucial for muscle function.

Most vitamins will come from fruits and vegetables. Nuts, seeds, and whole grains also contain some vitamins.

However, some are primarily found in dairy products (like Vitamin D) or lean meats (certain B vitamins). For those on a plant-forward or vegetarian/vegan diet, getting these vitamins can be more difficult.

Minerals

Minerals are inorganic elements that contribute to your body’s structure and facilitate the regulation of internal systems. For example, minerals are crucial for nerve transmission of electrical signals, muscle contractions, and bone density.

Minerals fall under two categories:

• Macrominerals. Included in this category are magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, and calcium. These are required in larger amounts in order to support more bodily functions and structural components, like your muscles, bones, joints, and organs. They play a role in bone health, muscle contraction and relaxation, and nerve signaling. They’re also responsible for regulating your electrolyte balance.
• Trace minerals. Included in this category are iodine, zinc, selenium, iron, copper, fluoride, and manganese. These trace elements are needed in smaller amounts, though they are still crucial for functions like antioxidant defense, supporting thyroid health, bolstering immunity, and the transportation of oxygen.

Minerals can largely be found in leafy greens, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains, though some are more abundant in meats and dairy products.

Role of Micronutrients in a Balanced Diet

Here’s how all of these micronutrients play a role in your health.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A plays a role in supporting your eye health, protecting the cells in your eyes from degenerating.

It’s also necessary for cell differentiation and proliferation.

B Vitamins

There are eight B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12.

They play a wide range of roles in the body, including:

• Glucose breakdown;
• Energy production;
• Antioxidant defense;
• Glutathione production;
• Cellular growth;
• Hormone synthesis;
• Transamination;
• Phosphorylation;
• Metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins;
• Red blood cell formation;
• Regulation of oxidative stress;
• Methylation reactions;
• Synthesis of DNA and RNA;
• Maturation of red blood cells;
• Nervous system development;
• Synthesis of fatty acids and myelin.

Together, they are some of the most important vitamins for your metabolism, as well as the regulation of internal functions.

Vitamin C

Vitamin is crucial for disease control, activating white blood cells and accelerating your body’s immune response to invading pathogens.

It also plays a role in metabolism, collagen formation, and skin health, the absorption of iron, and the formation of healthy bone tissue.

It’s also one of the most potent antioxidants to protect your body against oxidative stress and free radical damage.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption and utilization of calcium, and it plays a role in the health of your bones and joints.

It’s also crucial for cardiovascular function, as well as muscle, nervous, and immune health.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that can protect against oxidative stress and protect the membranes of your body’s cells.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K is crucial for blood clotting. It also plays a role in the synthesis and activation of coagulation factors.

Calcium

Calcium is needed for the formation of new bone tissue, as well as the repair and regeneration of existing bones.

It also plays a role in muscle contraction and the transmission of nerve impulses.

Potassium

Potassium helps maintain the acid-balance (pH) balance in the body, and is crucial for muscle contractions.

It also regulates your blood pressure and plays a role in your overall cardiovascular health and preventing heart disease.

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is necessary for your energy metabolism mechanisms. It’s crucial for the production of cell membranes, DNA, and RNA.

It also supports good teeth and bone health.

Sodium

Sodium works with phosphorus to maintain the fluid balance in your body, as well as muscle contractions.

It’s also vital for the transmission of nerve impulses.

Magnesium

Magnesium aids in the development of bone tissue and supports a healthy skeletal structure. It’s also vital for neuromuscular function, energy transfer, and healthy signaling pathways.

It’s one of the most important minerals for a healthy metabolism, too.

Chloride

Chloride helps maintain both the acid-base and fluid balances (along with sodium and potassium).

It’s necessary for nervous function and muscle contraction.

Manganese

Manganese plays a role in your immune defenses, as well as energy regulation and metabolism.

It’s necessary for coagulation (blood clotting) and reproductive health.

Iron

Iron plays a central role in metabolic processes, as well as the crucial function of transporting oxygen throughout your body.

It’s also needed for the production of red blood cells.

Copper

Copper aids in redox reactions (the transfer of electrons).

It is a cofactor in many crucial enzymes, facilitates a healthy metabolism, supports your immune function, and works with iron to produce sufficient amounts of red blood cells.

Selenium

Selenium is a potent antioxidant that plays a crucial role in anabolic processes.

It’s necessary for the formation of selenoproteins, which aid in oxidoreduction, antioxidant defense, immune response, stress response, thyroid hormone regulation, and reproduction.

Zinc

Zinc is involved in the activity of more than 300 enzymes in the body, making it one of the most important minerals for healthy bodily function.

It’s also a potent immune booster.

Iodine

Iodine is crucial for the synthesis of hormones, particularly thyroid hormones.

It plays a role in energy metabolism, cognitive function and development, and the growth of healthy bone and nerve tissues.

Molybdenum

Molybdenum is necessary for the function of a number of enzymes that maintain your body in good shape (for example, the enzymes that produce the uric acid in urine and support detoxification). It also aids in the breakdown of toxins, drugs, proteins, and other substances.

As you can see, each vitamin and mineral serves a variety of functions, and together, they keep the engines of your body humming along smoothly!

Meeting Daily Micronutrient Needs

It’s hard to get enough micronutrients in even a healthy diet!

Modern industrial farming has stripped our food of many of its vitamins and minerals, and the prevalence of fast food, junk food, and processed food means we often end up eating food rich in macronutrients (particularly fats and carbohydrates) but very low in micronutrients.

To meet your micronutrient needs, there are a few things you’ll need to do.

Eat a Balanced Diet

The most important thing to do to get more micronutrients in your diet is to go directly to the source and eat the foods that contain them in high quantities.

Those foods are:

• Fruits;
• Vegetables;
• Nuts;
• Seeds;
• Whole grains;
• Legumes.

Fruits and vegetables (particularly the more colorful varieties) are your best sources of vitamins, while whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes will provide you with more minerals.

It’s essential that you eat these foods at every mealin order to get the right balance.

But take it a step farther and start adding a variety of colors (which indicate high vitamin and antioxidant content) and types (for example, leafy greens may have more of certain minerals, while cruciferous veggies contain more of other minerals).

The more variety you can add to your daily diet, the more likely you’ll be to get all the crucial micronutrients.

If you’re experiencing specific health conditions—for example, reduced immunity or impaired electrolyte balance—consider a significant increase of the foods that contain the specific vitamins or minerals that will address those issues.

Daily Sunlight Exposure

The one vitamin you can’t really get through your food is Vitamin D.

Some dairy and dairy alternative products will be “enriched” or “fortified” with Vitamin D, but the amount your body can absorb from food is limited.

Where most of your Vitamin D will come from is direct sunlight.

As one study explains simply, “During exposure to sunlight, 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin absorbs UV B radiation and is converted to previtamin D3, which in turn isomerizes into vitamin D3.”[2]

Your goal should be to getat least 30 minutes of direct sunlight every day in order to provide your body with the Vitamin D it needs for healthy function.

Micronutrient Supplementation

Sometimes, you just can’t get enough of certain micronutrients through the food you eat.

For example, if you’re on a vegan or vegetarian diet, you may struggle to get the Vitamin B12 that’s predominantly found in red meat, or the calcium so prevalent in milk. Or maybe you live in a country with very little sunlight or can’t spend enough time outdoors to ensure your body produces enough Vitamin D.

Even people who eat a healthy, balanced diet may find they can’t get enough of certain vitamins or minerals because there is a lack of foods rich in these essential nutrients available in their country or city.

There are other times when you need to consume even more micronutrients than is the baseline requirement for good health. For example, pregnant women need a lot more folic acid (to stave off birth defects and facilitate fetal growth), or someone with reduced immunity may be experiencing a serum zinc deficiency or may need a lot more zinc than can easily be obtained through the food they eat.

This is when vitamin and mineral supplements can be an absolute game-changer.

Adding more of all the micronutrients (in the form of a multi-vitamin or mineral complex) or individual vitamins or minerals through dietary supplements can provide your body with exactly what it needs to function, and thus improve your health.

How to Maximize Absorption

To maximize the absorption of micronutrients, you can do the following:

• Maintain a healthy gut microbiome. Your gut flora is necessary for breaking down your food enough that your body can easily absorb the macro and micronutrients.
• Pair fat-soluble vitamins with healthy fats. For example, eating avocadoes or olive oil with foods rich in Vitamins A, D, E, and K will help your body absorb them more easily.
• Pair Vitamin C and iron. Vitamin C enhances your absorption of iron, ensuring you get more with every dose you take. This is particularly important if you’re eating non-heme iron from a plant-based protein source.
• Pair Vitamin D and calcium. Vitamin D improves calcium uptake and increases the efficiency of both micronutrients for improving bone health.
• Drink more water. Water helps your body absorb water-soluble vitamins (like B vitamins and Vitamin C).
• Don’t drink tea with your meals. The tannins in tea will reduce your body’s absorption of iron.

With these few simple tricks, you can ensure you get the most out of every micronutrient-rich food you eat!

Wrapping Up:

Vitamins and minerals are crucial for every aspect of your health—from immune function to cognition, nerve signal transmission to blood cell formation, eye function to bone structure.

Eating more micronutrient-rich foods and taking supplements isn’t just a good idea; it’s the key to better overall wellbeing and longevity!

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Frequently Asked Questions

What vegetable has the most micronutrients?

Dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, Swiss chard, arugula, broccoli, watercress, and beet greens tend to have the highest overall micronutrient content (in terms of variety). However, certain foods contain higher doses of individual micronutrients—for example, Vitamin C in kakadu plums, Vitamin A in carrots, or iron in kidney beans and lentils.

What are the 3 biggest micronutrient deficiencies?

According to the World Health Organization, “Deficiencies in iron, vitamin A and iodine are the most common around the world, particularly in children and pregnant women.” This is especially true in developing countries. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, iodine deficiency disorders can cause brain damage and mental impairment, and Vitamin A deficiency is currently “the leading cause of preventable blindness in children.” [3]

What happens if you have too much micronutrients?

An excess of micronutrients can lead to vitamin or mineral toxicity, which manifests in the form of dizziness, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, digestive issues, kidney damage, disruption of blood clotting leading to excessive bleeding, hair and nail health problems, muscle cramps, and more. However, the amount you would need to consume to experience these issues is significantly higher than is found in your daily food intake or a healthy supplement dose.

Resources

Micronutrients

Micronutrient Facts

What to Know About Micronutrients

Micronutrients have major impact on health

How much micronutrients should people be consuming?

Micronutrients in health and disease

Nutrition: Micronutrient Intake, Imbalances, and Interventions