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Selenium, which is an essential element for animals and prokaryotes and is a beneficial element for many plants, is the least-common of all the elements essential to life. [ 3 ] [ 63 ] Selenium acts as the catalytic center of several antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase , [ 11 ] and plays a wide variety of other biological roles .
Nutrients in larger quantities than the body needs may have harmful effects. [1] Edible plants also contain thousands of compounds generally called phytochemicals which have unknown effects on disease or health including a diverse class with non-nutrient status called polyphenols which remain poorly understood as of 2024.
In nutrition, the diet of an organism is the sum of the foods it eats. [9] A healthy diet improves the physical and mental health of an organism. This requires ingestion and absorption of vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids from protein and essential fatty acids from fat-containing food.
Biomolecules are an important element of living organisms, those biomolecules are often endogenous, [2] produced within the organism [3] but organisms usually need exogenous biomolecules, for example certain nutrients, to survive. Biology and its subfields of biochemistry and molecular biology study biomolecules and their reactions.
Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, but most are not. [1] [2] [3] Minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients; the others are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. [4]
“This tax reduction improved U.S. economic competitiveness, accelerating income growth for middle-class families,” said Wayne Winegarden, an economist at the Pacific Research Institute. “If ...
Nutrients in the soil are taken up by the plant through its roots, and in particular its root hairs.To be taken up by a plant, a nutrient element must be located near the root surface; however, the supply of nutrients in contact with the root is rapidly depleted within a distance of ca. 2 mm. [14] There are three basic mechanisms whereby nutrient ions dissolved in the soil solution are brought ...