How many essential nutrients are there

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Understanding Essential Nutrients: A Comprehensive Overview

Essential Nutrients in Human Nutrition

Definition and Importance of Essential Nutrients

Essential nutrients are compounds that the body cannot synthesize in sufficient quantities and must be obtained through diet. These nutrients are crucial for normal body function, growth, and overall health . They include a variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids that play specific roles in maintaining physiological processes.

Categories of Essential Nutrients

Essential nutrients can be broadly categorized into macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients, required in larger amounts, include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Micronutrients, needed in smaller quantities, encompass vitamins and minerals .

Essential Vitamins

Humans require 13 essential vitamins, which are divided into water-soluble and fat-soluble categories. The water-soluble vitamins include the eight B vitamins and vitamin C, while the fat-soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K . These vitamins are vital for various bodily functions, including metabolism, immune function, and bone health.

Essential Minerals

Minerals are classified into major minerals (macrominerals) and trace elements (microminerals). Major minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium, are required in larger amounts. Trace elements, including iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium, are needed in smaller quantities but are equally important for health 345.

Essential Nutrients in Plant Nutrition

Essential Mineral Nutrients for Plants

Plants require 14 essential mineral nutrients for growth and development. These include macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and micronutrients such as iron, manganese, and zinc . Each nutrient plays a specific role in plant physiology, from aiding in photosynthesis to supporting structural integrity.

The Role of Essential Nutrients in Crop Yield

The efficient use of essential nutrients is critical for maximizing crop yield and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. Proper nutrient management helps in achieving higher productivity while minimizing environmental impact .

Expanding the List of Essential Nutrients

Emerging Essential Nutrients

Recent research suggests that additional elements, such as boron, chromium, and vanadium, may soon be recognized as essential due to their roles in various biochemical processes . These elements, although required in trace amounts, are crucial for maintaining health and preventing diseases.

Conditional Essentiality

Some nutrients are considered conditionally essential, meaning they become essential under certain physiological or pathological conditions. For example, choline is now recognized as an essential nutrient due to its significant role in metabolism and disease prevention .

Conclusion

Understanding the full spectrum of essential nutrients is vital for both human and plant health. While the traditional list of essential nutrients includes well-known vitamins and minerals, ongoing research continues to expand this list, highlighting the complexity and importance of these compounds in sustaining life. Proper intake and management of these nutrients are crucial for maintaining health, enhancing crop yields, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Sources and full results

Most relevant research papers on this topic

The use of nutrients in crop plants

This book provides a comprehensive overview of crop plant nutrition, focusing on maximizing crop yield without harming the environment through efficient nutrient use.

Highly Cited

2010·

468citations

·P. Sale

Annals of Botany

Essential Plant Nutrients

Essential plant nutrients include carbon, nitrogen, calcium, boron, hydrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, chlorine, oxygen, potassium, sulfur, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, molybdenum, zinc, and zinc.

2017·

33citations

·M. Naeemet al.

Health Benefits of Micronutrients (Vitamins and Minerals) and their Associated Deficiency Diseases: A Systematic Review

Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are essential for maintaining health and preventing deficiency diseases, but their intake should be balanced with other essential nutrients.

Literature ReviewRigorous JournalHighly Cited

2020·

193citations

·Awuchi Godswill Godswillet al.

International Journal of Food Sciences

Trace elements. Potential importance in human nutrition with particular reference to zinc and vanadium.

Fourteen elements are required by the body in quantities of less than a few milligrams per day (chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silicon, tin, vanadium and zinc). Most nutritionists believe that this list will be extended in the near future. Although collectively referred to as trace elements, they form a heterogeneous group of essential nutrients that defy logical classification. Apart from their low tissue concentrations, perusal of any chemistry text-book shows that they all share high chemical reactivity; indeed most industrial chemical processes depend upon a member of this group as the catalyst. Trace elements also catalyse and control biochemical reactions within the body. More than half the body's enzymes have one or more of these elements incorporated at their active sites; many more of the enzymes depend upon loose association with trace elements for their activity.

Highly Cited

1981·

109citations

·M. Goldenet al.

British medical bulletin

Sources and Deficiency Diseases of Mineral Nutrients in Human Health and Nutrition： A Review

Consuming a variety of foods in modest quantities, including whole grains, low-fat dairy, and various meats, vegetables, and fruits, can help protect against mineral nutrient deficiencies.

Highly Cited

2014·

190citations

·U. Guptaet al.

Pedosphere

Nutritional Requirements and the Appropriate Use of Supplements

Essential nutrients, such as proteins and vitamins, are essential for normal body function and growth, and should be consumed in sufficient amounts through food and supplements.

1983·

5citations

·J. Greeneet al.

Importance of making dietary recommendations for elements designated as nutritionally beneficial, pharmacologically beneficial, or conditioinally essential

Adding potentially essential elements to the list of essential nutrients can help promote health and reduce disease risks.

Literature ReviewHighly Cited

2000·

84citations

·F. Nielsen

Journal of Trace Elements in Experimental Medicine

Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D

Dietary reference values for calcium and vitamin D have been established to help clarify their importance for bone health and overall health.

Highly Cited

2012·

2302citations

·D. Viswanath

Pediatrics

Choline: an essential nutrient for public health.

Choline deficiency can lead to liver disease, atherosclerosis, and neurological disorders, and dietary guidance should encourage the intake of choline-rich foods.

Highly Cited

2009·

880citations

·S. Zeiselet al.

Nutrition reviews

Nutrient essentiality revisited

Expanding the definitions and criteria for nutrient essentiality is necessary to reflect advances in current science and consider non-classical compounds with bioactivity for potential essentiality under certain situations.

2015·

22citations

·S. Jewet al.

Journal of Functional Foods

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