Introduction

Do you want to be as healthy as you can when you get older? Do you want to stay at about the same height as your normal adult height, or do you want to become much shorter and maybe stooped over some? Do you want your bones to stay as dense as possible and be less likely to fracture, or do you want your bones to become more porous and break more easily? Hip fractures cause the greatest health problems and the greatest number of deaths. Half of all elderly adults hospitalized for hip fracture cannot return home or live independently after the fracture. Breaking a hip is one of the leading causes of admissions into a nursing home. Elderly people are more likely to die within six months to one year once they have broken a hip, greatly due to the immobility and complications arising from immobility as well as the increased strain on the heart and other body organs. We all want to be able to take care of ourselves in our old age by staying as mobile as we can for as long as we can. Maintaining healthy bones is very important in preventing bone fractures and in staying more mobile. Minerals play a key role in bone health.

For us to stay mobile, we also need to keep our muscles in good, working order. We can do that by getting the minerals we need through eating mineral-rich food and being physically active to improve strength, mobility and flexibility. Minerals are important for muscles to function. Muscles can't contract without certain minerals.

Minerals are also important for our heart and circulatory system to function as it should. Minerals are important for our heart to beat regularly and to help prevent a buildup of fluid in our feet or other body parts. Excessive fluid buildup increases the work-load on our heart.

Are you like many Americans and don't eat enough fruits, vegetables, milk and other foods that are our best sources of minerals, an important group of nutrients? Minerals do so much for us, yet good food sources are often low or missing from the food we eat. We need to think about the kinds of foods that we eat and be sure to include mineral-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk and other foods.

We want to be as healthy as we can be for as long as we live, yet not eating foods that give us minerals can result in our having bones that become brittle and break easily, contribute to heart complications and can give us problems with swelling in our feet, legs or other parts of our body.

What You Will Learn

In this lesson, you will learn about the two main groups of minerals - major minerals and trace minerals. You will learn why minerals are important. You will also learn which foods are the best sources of the minerals. You will learn about the minerals that are required to be on the nutrition label - sodium, calcium and iron.

Food Guide Pyramid Review

A balanced diet that provides a variety of foods is the best guarantee of our getting all essential nutrients. All food groups should be included, and none should be overused. Use the USDA Food Guide Pyramid in planning the foods you will eat each day. Get the recommended number of servings from each food group since no food group contains all of the nutrients needed.

What Are Minerals?

Minerals are a group of nutrients needed by your body. They are important in regulating body processes and in giving your body structure. Have you ever experienced swelling in your fingers, ankles or feet? Minerals have an important role in keeping a healthy fluid balance. Minerals are also needed for your muscles to work or contract and for impulses to be carried over the nerve pathways. Certain minerals also help form bones. Bones make up the structure of your body. With such important jobs, we need to be sure to eat foods rich in this important group of nutrients.

Minerals can be classified into two main groups, based on how much you need. You need all the minerals, though, no matter whether you need just a little or need more. Major minerals are those needed in amounts of more than 250 milligrams (mg) daily. Calcium, phosphorus and magnesium are in this group, along with three electrolytes - sodium, chloride and potassium. Trace minerals are those needed in very small or trace amounts of less than 20 mg daily. These include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc. This lesson will focus on the minerals required on the nutrition label. They include sodium, calcium and iron.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. Information and Graphics on this site are copyright protected by LSU Agricultural Center's Louisiana Cooperative Extension Services. For more information on the EFNEP program, contact EFNEPMail@agcenter.lsu.edu.