Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

Introduction to Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients, and by definition, they make up a relatively small
part of our diet. However, when it comes to vitamins and minerals, a little bit goes a long
way. They have many essential jobs in our bodies.
For example, if you’ve taken a drink of water today, you can thank the minerals that serve
as electrolytes, helping to balance fluids in the body. If you’ve taken a breath of air, you
can thank the vitamins and minerals that act as antioxidants, protecting vital molecules
from free radical damage. If you’ve taken a step, you can thank the vitamin D, calcium, and
other minerals that make your bones strong. If you’ve moved a muscle, you can thank the
many vitamins and minerals that serve as cofactors in metabolic reactions, which unlock the
energy contained in nutrients so that your body can use it.
There are some 13 vitamins and 16 minerals important to human nutrition, and each
serves multiple functions in the body. Entire books have been written about each one, and
we could easily spend a whole term learning about all of these amazing nutrients. But as this
is an introductory course, we’ll use the next two units to introduce you to some of the most
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