Chapter 13
The Trace
Minerals
The Trace Minerals—An Overview
• Trace mineral contents of foods
– Vary with soil and water composition, and food
processing
• Deficiencies
– Can affect people of all ages
– May be difficult to recognize
The Trace Minerals
Answer:
Trace minerals in supplements b
are tightly regulated by the
FDA. Explanation:
By law, the FDA does not
a) True have the authority to limit
amounts of trace elements
b) False in supplements. Toxicities
may occur as a result.
RDA (or AI) and UL Compared for
Selected Trace Minerals
Interactions
• Common and coordinated to meet needs
• Can lead to nutrient imbalances
– Excess of one causes a deficiency in another
▪ Or interfere with work of another mineral
– Contaminant minerals and toxic reactions
• Nonessential trace minerals
– More needs to be learned
Iron (1 of 2)
1. Iron can switch between ferrous Answer:
1. Ferric
iron and _____ iron. 2. Cofactor; oxidation-
reduction
2. Iron serves as a _____ to many 3. ATP
enzymes. It is involved in many 4. Hemoglobin; myoglobin
_______-_______ reactions.
3. Iron participates in the electron Explanation:
Hemoglobin and myoglobin
transport chain to make ____. contain most of the body’s
iron. Remember myoglobin
4. The protein _____ is found in red is found in muscles.
blood cells. The protein _____ is
found in muscle cells.
Iron (2 of 2)
1. More iron is absorbed when Answer:
1. Empty
stores are ____. 2. Ferritin; intestinal (small
intestine)
2. _____ is the iron-storage 3. Transferrin
protein, capturing iron from food. 4. Feces
This iron is stored in _____ cells.
3. If iron is needed, the storage Explanation:
protein releases it to the These intestinal cells are
replaced every 3 to 5 days.
transport protein, _____.
4. If iron is not needed, the cells
holding it are shed and removed
in ____.
Iron Absorption Process
Heme and Nonheme Iron
Match these With these Answer:
a → b; c; d
a) Heme iron a) Found in plant and b → a; e; f; g
b) Nonheme iron animal foods
b) High bioavailability
Explanation:
c) Found in animal foods Animal products also
contain a peptide
d) 25 percent is absorbed (MFP) that enhances
e) 17 percent is absorbed nonheme iron
absorption from other
f) Influenced by dietary foods eaten in the
factors same meal. Some
sugars and acids also
g) Vitamin C improves enhance nonheme
absorption iron absorption.
Heme and Nonheme Iron in Foods
Factors that Inhibit Iron Absorption
These inhibit iron absorption: Answer:
1. Phytates
1. _____ are found in foods 2. Proteins
3. Calcium
including legumes, rice, and 4. Polyphenols
whole grains. 5. Estimate
2. Vegetable ______ in soybeans
and nuts. Explanation:
Tannic acid is an example of
3. _____ in milk. a polyphenol.
4. _____ in tea, coffee, and red An individual’s health status,
iron status, and age impact
wine. absorption.
5. These factors in combination
make it difficult to ____ iron
absorption.
Iron Transport and Storage
• Transferrin delivers iron to
bone marrow and other
tissues
• Storage in protein ferritin
– Locations
– Hemosiderin
• Recycling
• Balance
– Regulating hormone hepcidin
Iron Recycled in the Body (1 of 2)
Iron Recycled in the Body (2 of 2)
Iron Deficiency
Choose the correct answer. Answer:
d
a) Only pregnant women and those of
reproductive age are vulnerable to
iron deficiency. Explanation:
Pregnant woman,
b) Iron deficiency is the least common women of childbearing
age, infants, children,
deficiency in the world and adolescents are
prone to deficiency.
c) Infants are unlikely to develop iron
deficiency.
d) Iron deficiency is common among
overweight people.
Assessment of Iron Deficiency
• Deficiency develops in stages
– Iron stores diminish—serum ferritin
– Decrease in transport iron, iron-carrying protein
transferrin increases (enhances absorption),
transferrin saturation decreases
– Hemoglobin and hematocrit values decline
• Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia
– Anemia—severe depletion of iron stores
▪ Low hemoglobin concentrations
▪ Symptoms
Normal Blood Cells and Blood Cells in
Iron Deficiency Anemia Compared
Results of Iron Deficiency
• Behavioral symptoms
– Energy metabolism is impaired
– Neurotransmitter synthesis is altered
▪ Reduces work capacity and mental productivity
▪ Motivational problems
• Pica
– Craving and consumption of nonfood substances
Iron Overload
• Hereditary hemochromatosis
– Most common genetic disorder in United States
– Hemosiderosis
– Signs and symptoms
– Transferrin saturation and serum ferritin
– Characteristics of condition
– Treatment
– Research: targeting hepcidin activity
Iron and Chronic Diseases
• Heart disease
– Heme iron
▪ Free radicals
• Cancer
– Oxidative stress
– Limited evidence
• Iron poisoning
– Symptoms of toxicity
– UL
Iron Recommendations
Select the correct answer. Answer:
b
a) The iron RDA for men and women
is the same
Explanation:
b) Men need 8 mg/day of iron Women of
reproductive age need
c) Women of reproductive age need 18 mg/day, but on
average consume 12
12 to 13 mg/day of iron to 13 mg.
Vegetarians need 1.8
d) Vegetarians need two times as times as much iron,
much iron to make up for the low not 2 times as much.
bioavailability typically in their diet
Iron Sources
• Natural sources
– Meats, fish, poultry, legumes, eggs
• Enriched sources
– Flour and grain products
• Iron cookware
• RDAs
– Vegetarians
– Women
• Maximizing absorption
Iron in Selected Foods
Some of Zinc’s Roles in the Body
• Supports the work of thousands of proteins
• Stabilizes cell membranes and DNA
• Immune function
• Growth and development
• Synthesis, storage, and release of insulin
• Blood clotting
• Thyroid hormone function
• Behavior and learning performance
Zinc Absorption
• Rate varies depending on amount consumed
– 15–40 percent
• May be used or retained in intestinal cells
• Transport
– Recycling from pancreas to small intestine
▪ Two doses—meal and pancreatic juice
▪ Enteropancreatic circulation
– Zinc losses
– Transport with albumin
Enteropancreatic Circulation of Zinc
Zinc Transport and Deficiency
• Deficiency
– Widespread in developing world
– Middle Eastern diets inhibit zinc
absorption
– Effects
▪ Growth retardation
▪ Impaired immune response
▪ Central nervous system damage
Zinc Toxicity and Sources
• UL 40 mg
– Symptoms
– Interference with copper metabolism
• Sources
– Protein-rich foods
▪ Shellfish, meats, poultry, milk, and cheese
• Supplementation
– Developing countries
– May shorten duration of common cold
Zinc in Selected Foods
Iodine
• Roles in the body
– Part of thyroid hormones that regulate:
▪ Body temperature
▪ Metabolic rate
▪ Reproduction and growth
▪ Blood cell production
▪ Nerve and muscle function
Iodine Deficiency
1. ____ hormone production Answer:
1. Thyroid; TSH (thyroid
diminishes with iodine deficiency. stimulating hormone)
2. Goiter (lump in the neck)
The body responds by releasing 3. Cretinism
____ to increase iodine uptake.
2. With continued deficiency, a
visible _____ appears.
3. Severe deficiency in pregnancy
causes irreversible physical and
mental retardation, called ____.
Iodine Toxicity and Sources
• Toxicity
– Interferes with thyroid
function
▪ Enlarges thyroid gland
– Goiter in an infant
– UL
• Recommendations
• Sources
– Seafood
– Iodized salt
Selenium
• Substitute for sulfur in some amino acids
– Methionine, cysteine, and cystine
• Roles in body
– Antioxidant
– Part of proteins
▪ Glutathione peroxidase
– Enzymes activate or inactivate thyroid hormone
Selenium Deficiency
• Keshan disease
– Type of heart disease where soil lacks selenium
• May be a protective factor for some cancers
– Supplements not proved effective
• Sources
– Found in soil, meats, milk, eggs, Brazil nuts
• Toxicity
– UL
– Effects
Copper
• Transport and balance depend on a system of
proteins
• Roles in body
– Constituent of enzymes
▪ Reactions that consume oxygen or oxygen radicals
– Iron metabolism
– Defense against oxidative damage
– Other roles
Copper Deficiency and Toxicity
• United States’diets provide adequate intake
• Possible link to cardiovascular disease
• Excessive intakes
– Foods versus supplements
• Rare genetic disorders affecting copper status
– Menkes disease—deficiency
– Wilson’s disease—toxicity
Copper Sources
• Legumes
• Whole grains
• Nuts
• Shellfish
• Seeds
• Water delivered through copper plumbing
Manganese
• Tiny amounts found in bones and metabolically
active organs
• Roles in body
– Cofactor for enzymes that facilitate metabolism
– Bone formation
– Conversion of pyruvate to a TCA cycle compound
– Maintaining nerve cells
Manganese Deficiency
• Requirements are low
– Deficiencies are rare
• Factors that limit manganese absorption
• Toxicity, has a UL
– Environmental contaminate
• Recommendations
– AI set based on average intakes
• Source: grain products
Fluoride
• Found in bones and teeth
– Fluorapatite
• Dental caries
• Toxicity and UL: fluorosis
• Sources
– Drinking water
▪ Most bottled waters lack fluoride
– Tea and fish
Chromium
• Roles in the body
– Participates in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism
– Helps maintain glucose homeostasis
▪ Diabetes-like condition may result if chromium lacking
• Sources
– Unrefined foods
▪ Liver, brewer’s yeast, whole grains
Molybdenum
• Working part of several metalloenzymes
• Dietary deficiencies are unknown
• Sources
– Legumes, breads, grain products, leafy green
vegetables, milk, and liver
• Toxicity is rare
– UL
– Kidney damage and reproductive abnormalities
Contaminant Minerals
• Impair body’s growth, work capacity, and general
health
• Heavy metals
– Lead
▪ Indestructible
▪ Displaces nutrient minerals from metabolic sites
▪ Children with iron deficiency especially vulnerable
– Mercury
– Cadmium
Closing Thoughts on the Nutrients
• Look at nutrients as a whole
– Work cooperatively with one another
▪ Actions are most often interactions
– Most foods deliver multiple nutrients
Highlight 13
Phytochemicals
and Functional
Foods
Phytochemicals
1. Phytochemicals are found in ___- Answer:
1. Plant; physiological
derived foods. Their _____ effects 2. Can
include mimicking hormones, 3. Calcium-fortified
acting as antioxidants, and
suppressing inflammation.
2. Phytochemicals can/cannot have
adverse health effects.
3. Functional foods have beneficial
effects on health. _________ (2
words) orange juice is an example
of a processed food becoming
functional.
Phytochemicals and Cancer
• Protect against DNA
damage
• Soybeans
– Phytoestrogens
• Tomatoes
– Lycopene
Phytochemicals and Heart Disease
• Flavonoids
– Food sources
– Heart-protection factors
• Carotenoids
• Plant sterols
• Lignans
• Defending against other diseases
Functional Foods
• All foods have value in supporting health
– Whole
– Fortified
– Modified
• Characteristics similar to drugs
– Length of time for beneficial effect
• Additional costs for functional foods
The Colors of Foods Rich in
Phytochemicals
Unanswered Questions
• Research on safety and
effectiveness still in progress
– While products are available
for purchase
• Questions to ask
– Does it work?
– How much does it contain?
– Is it safe?
– Is it healthy?
• Future foods
