Question

What is mineral nutrition?

Answer 1

Mineral nutrients are said to be inorganic substances that must be ingested as well as absorbed in adequate amounts to satisfy a wide range of essential metabolic functions along with structural functions in Human body.

Complete answer:
In the context of mineral nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element needed as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions important for life. However, the four key structural elements in the human body by weight that are - oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, as well as nitrogen, are normally not included in the lists of key nutrient minerals. These four elements compose about 96% of the weight of the human body, as well as major minerals also called macro-minerals as well as minor minerals also called trace elements compose the remainder.

Nutrient minerals, being elements, cannot be synthesized bio-chemically by any living organisms. Plants get minerals from soil. Most of the minerals in a human diet come from eating plants as well as animals or from drinking water. As a group, mineral nutrients are one of the four groups of essential nutrients, the others of which are vitamins, important fatty acids, as well as key amino acids.

Note: Bacteria as well as fungi play an essential role in the weathering of main elements that conclude in the release of nutrients for their own nutrition along with it is for the nutrition of other species in the ecological food chain. Minerals are used by animals as well as microorganisms for the process of mineralizing structures, known as "bio mineralization", used to construct bones, seashells, eggshells, exoskeletons and mollusc shells.