In this module, we will be turning our attention to some other constituents of the foods we consume, the micronutrients. Micronutrients, as the name suggests, are nutrients which we consume in very small (micro) amounts. For example, carbohydrates can be consumed in amounts upwards of 500g per day, but the recommended intake of vitamin B12 is only 0.0015mg (1.5ug) per day. Micronutrients also do not provide energy, but they can indeed be used in the processes within the body which turn macronutrients into that energy – if this seems confusing, don’t worry, it will all be explained throughout this module.
We will begin by giving a definition of the words mineral and vitamin, before exploring the general concepts surrounding each. From there we will describe and explain each of the 13 vitamins and the 15 minerals, showing how they are used, what happens if you have too much or too little and where you get them from. Finally, we will round off the module by giving you a real-world approach which is guaranteed to make sure you get enough of everything you need. Many of the micronutrients will be explained in quite a short format, primarily because consuming either too much or too little is very, very unlikely and to make this module enjoyable and readable, we wanted to only focus on what is important for practical purposes.
With that laid out, let’s begin with the definitions