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Micronutrients are nutrients such as vitamins and minerals required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. [1] [2] The following is a list of micronutrients used by various living organisms. For human-specific nutrients, see Mineral (nutrient).
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 ]
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.
For precise details about vitamins and mineral contents, the USDA source can be used. [1] To use the tables, click on "show" or "hide" at the far right for each food category. In the Measure column, "t" = teaspoon and "T" = tablespoon. In the food nutrient columns, the letter "t" indicates that only a trace amount is available.
Some nutrients can be stored – the fat-soluble vitamins – while others are required more or less continuously. Poor health can be caused by a lack of required nutrients, or for some vitamins and minerals, too much of a required nutrient. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized by the body, and must be obtained from food.
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons.
Plants tend not to use vitamins, although minerals are required. [8] [17] Structure of the Mn 4 O 5 Ca core of the oxygen-evolving site in plants, illustrating one of many roles of the trace mineral, manganese. [18] Some seven trace elements are essential to plant growth, although often in trace quantities. [citation needed]
MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture, depicting a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups. It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, concluding 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams.