Nov. 6, 2025 | Minerals are important for your body to stay healthy. Your body uses minerals for many different jobs, including keeping your bones, muscles, heart, and brain working properly. Minerals are also important for making enzymes and hormones. There are two kinds of minerals: macrominerals and trace minerals. You need larger amounts of macrominerals, like calcium, magnesium and potassium. You only need small amounts of trace minerals. These include iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride and selenium. Most people get the amount of minerals they need by eating a wide variety of foods. In some cases, your doctor may recommend a mineral supplement. People who have certain health problems or take some medicines may need to get less of one of the minerals. For example, people with chronic kidney disease need to limit foods that are high in potassium.

Nov. 6, 2025 | Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps to maintain normal nerve and muscle function, supports a healthy immune system, keeps the heartbeat steady, and helps bones remain strong. It also helps adjust blood glucose levels. It aids in the production of energy and protein. Most of us don’t need to fret over how much magnesium we’re getting. The recommended daily amount of magnesium, 320 milligrams a day for women and 420 milligrams a day for men, isn’t difficult to take in through a healthy diet. Magnesium-rich foods like green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, beans, nuts, and whole grains will help you get there. Pumpkin seeds, soy milk and bananas are also good sources. Fortunately, magnesium is found in many healthy foods, so a good diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, will usually provide all of the magnesium that you need.

Nov. 6, 2025 | Phosphorus is a mineral that makes up one percent of a person’s total body weight. It is the second most abundant mineral in the body after calcium. Most of the phosphorus in the body is found in the bones and teeth. The main food sources are the protein food groups of meat and milk, as well as processed foods that contain sodium phosphate. A diet that includes the right amounts of calcium and protein will also provide enough phosphorus. Whole-grain breads and cereals contain more phosphorus than cereals and breads made from refined flour. However, the phosphorus is stored in a form that is not absorbed by humans. Excessively high levels of phosphorus in the blood, although rare, can combine with calcium to form deposits in soft tissues, such as muscle. High levels of phosphorus in blood only occur in people with severe kidney disease or severe dysfunction of their calcium regulation.

Nov. 6, 2025 | Potassium is a mineral that your body needs to work properly, a type of electrolyte that helps your nerves to function and muscles to contract. It helps your heartbeat stay regular and also helps move nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells. A diet rich in potassium helps to offset some of sodium’s harmful effects on blood pressure. Many people get all the potassium they need from what they eat and drink. Good sources of potassium in the diet include leafy greens like spinach and collards, fruit from vines like grapes and blackberries and citrus fruits, such as oranges and grapefruit. Your kidneys help to keep the right amount of potassium in your body. If you have chronic kidney disease, your kidneys may not remove extra potassium from the blood. Some medicines also can raise your potassium level. This can mean that you need a special diet to lower the amount of potassium that you eat.

Nov. 6, 2025 | Manganese is a trace mineral, which your body needs in small amounts. It’s required for the normal functioning of your brain, nervous system and many of your body’s enzyme systems. While your body stores up to about 20 milligrams of manganese in your kidneys, liver, pancreas and bones, you also need to get it from your diet. Manganese can be found in seeds and whole grains, as well as in beans, nuts and tea. Your body uses manganese to create an antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase, or SOD. If you don’t get enough manganese, you’re likely also low in SOD. That’s bad news for your cells. SOD is one of your most powerful weapons against cell damage caused by free radicals. SOD helps reduce inflammation throughout your body, and it’s believed to reduce the pain of joint inflammation. Manganese also helps create collagen, a protein that gives shape and strength to many of your tissues.