When we think about healthy eating, we often focus on calories, protein, carbohydrates and fats. But there is another group of nutrients quietly working behind the scenes every single day: minerals.
Our bodies cannot make minerals, so we have to get them from our food. We need some minerals in larger amounts — often called major minerals or macrominerals — and others in tiny amounts, known as trace minerals. Tiny doesn’t mean unimportant; we simply need less of them.
Major minerals include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and chloride. They help us build and maintain strong bones and teeth, contract our muscles, transmit nerve signals, maintain fluid balance and support many of the chemical reactions that keep us functioning.
Then there are trace minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine, selenium and copper. We only need small quantities, but they have important jobs. Iron helps transport oxygen around the body, zinc supports normal immune function and healing, iodine is needed to make thyroid hormones, and selenium helps protect our cells from oxidative damage.
This is one of the reasons I encourage people to think about nourishing their body rather than simply counting calories. Two meals containing the same number of calories can provide very different amounts of vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutrients.
You don’t need to memorise every mineral or obsess over creating a “perfect” diet. Start with variety. Fill your meals with colourful vegetables and fruit, leafy greens, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, wholegrains, dairy or suitable alternatives, eggs, fish and other nutritious protein sources.
Every colourful, nourishing meal is providing your body with little building blocks it can use for your bones, muscles, blood, nerves, energy metabolism and immune system.
Healthy eating isn’t about restriction or perfection. It’s about regularly giving your amazing body the nutrients it needs to move, repair, recover and thrive.
