Significance

• Vitamins and minerals are found in foods and in supplement form. If the body is low in them, immunity can be lowered and this can lead to colds and infections.
  
  

Function

• Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that affect biomechanical processes that go on inside the body. Some of their key functions is to facilitate normal cell function, metabolism and growth.
  
  

Types

• Vitamins and minerals both come in two forms. There are water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins and major and trace minerals.
  
  

Features

• There are 13 essential vitamins for daily health in the body--nine of these are water soluble and four are fat soluble. Trace minerals are needed by the body in amounts less than 100 mg per day and major minerals are required in amounts over 100 mg per day.
  
  

Vitamins

• The water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C and all the B complex vitamins. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins. These can be stored in the body for months at a time.
  
  

Major Minerals

• Major minerals include phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, chlorine, sulfur, cobalt and manganese. Trace minerals are selenium, copper, iron, zinc, chromium, iodine and fluorine. These can be found in root vegetables or plants that come from the sea.
  
  

Identification

• Some vitamins work alongside minerals for better health. Vitamin D interacts with the major minerals to increase bone health.