When it comes to nutrition there are many people who are still confused about the difference between minerals and vitamins.
Both of them are an important part of human’s diets and if you think that you don’t have enough of them, you should take some supplements.
Minerals
In case you are thinking about minerals you should know that these can be either macro- or micro-minerals. You need 100mg of macro-minerals and you only need a little of micro-minerals. There are 16 minerals and all have a role to play in our body.
For instance, if you are thinking about vitamins vs. minerals you should know that iron prevents anemia while calcium prevents osteoporosis. In the body they can be found dissolved in bodily fluids. Hydroxyapatite and phosphorus can be found in bones and teeth.
However, when evaluating the difference between minerals and vitamins, you may be referring to other kinds of ‘minerals’ such as lead. This is a contaminant mineral and it isn’t a nutrient because they can harm you by disrupting the normal bodily processes and functions.
Vitamins
The major opposition between vitamins and minerals is that the vitamins are organic, while the minerals are inorganic. This means that the minerals are a lot simpler than vitamins. All the vitamins are important for the body functions while the body needs only some of the minerals.
One should know that the vitamins are sensible to light, heat and chemical agents. This is why preserving, cooking and processing can affect them.
When it comes to the opposition of minerals and vitamins, minerals are a lot more stable regarding food preparation. However, mineral loss can happen when they are bound with another chemical agent. As a result the body won’t be able to use them anymore.
Interesting facts
The vitamins can be water or fat soluble. There are 9 water soluble vitamins. These include vitamin C and 8 B vitamins. Besides these there are four fat soluble vitamins: vitamin A, E, D and K.
Now you know the difference between minerals and vitamins. Regardless of what these differences are, the most important thing to remember is that you need both of them so make sure that your diet contains everything that you need. You could also take some supplements for the right vitamin intake.
