Nutrition comparison values
Vitamin C functions as an antioxidant and is necessary for the treatment and prevention of scurvy, though in nearly all cases dietary intake is adequate to prevent deficiency and supplementation is not necessary.[90][91][92][93][94][95] Though vitamin C has been promoted as useful in the treatment of a variety of conditions, most of these uses are poorly supported by the evidence and sometimes contraindicated.[96][97][98][99] Vitamin C may be useful in lowering serum uric acid levels, resulting in a correspondingly lower incidence of gout,[100] although a more recent study revealed that Vitamin C given in doses of 500 mg/day does not reduce uric acid (urate) levels to a clinically significant degree in patients with established gout.[101] Neither prophylactic nor therapeutic use is supported in the prevention or treatment of pneumonia.[102] People with the highest levels of ascorbic acid in their blood stream seem to be at a significantly reduced risk of having a stroke and low ascorbic acid has been suggested as a way of identifying those at high risk of stroke.[103]
Vitamin C's effect on the common cold has been extensively researched. It has not been shown effective in prevention or treatment of the common cold, except in limited circumstances (specifically, individuals exercising vigorously in cold environments).[104][105] Routine vitamin C supplementation does not reduce the incidence or severity of the common cold in the general population, though it may reduce the duration of illness.[104][106][107][108]
The potassium cation is a nutrient necessary for human life and health. Potassium chloride is used as a substitute for table salt by those seeking to reduce sodium intake so as to control hypertension. The USDA lists tomato paste, orange juice, beet greens, white beans, potatoes, bananas and many other good dietary sources of potassium, ranked in descending order according to potassium content.[79]
Calcium is an important component of a healthy diet and a mineral necessary for life. The National Osteoporosis Foundation says, "Calcium plays an important role in building stronger, denser bones early in life and keeping bones strong and healthy later in life." Approximately 99 percent of the body's calcium is stored in the bones and teeth.[25] The rest of the calcium in the body has other important uses, such as some exocytosis, especially neurotransmitter release, and muscle contraction.
Current recommendations from the United States National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, suggest that adults should consume 20–35 grams of dietary fiber per day but the average American's daily intake of dietary fiber is only 12–18 grams.
Humans and other animals need a minimum intake of food energy to sustain their metabolism and to drive their muscles. Foods are composed chiefly of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, water, vitamins, and minerals. Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and water represent virtually all the weight of food, with vitamins and minerals making up only a small percentage of the weight. (Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins comprise ninety percent of the dry weight of foods.[2]) Organisms derive food energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins as well as from organic acids, polyols, and ethanol present in the diet.[3] Some diet components that provide little or no food energy, such as water, minerals, vitamins, cholesterol and fiber, may still be necessary to health and survival for other reasons. Water, minerals, vitamins, and cholesterol are not broken down (they are used by the body in the form in which they are absorbed) and so cannot be used for energy. Fiber cannot be completely digested by most animals, including humans. However, ruminants can extract food energy from the respiration of cellulose because of bacteria in their rumens.
Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid. Linolenic acid, an n−3 fatty acid, is a member of the group of essential fatty acids (EFAs), so called because they cannot be produced within the body and must be acquired through diet. Most seeds and seed oils are much richer in an n−6 fatty acid, linoleic acid.
Preliminary research has found evidence that α-linolenic acid is related to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease
Because of the important interaction between phosphate and magnesium ions, magnesium ions are essential to the basic nucleic acid chemistry of life, and thus are essential to all cells of all known living organisms. Over 300 enzymes require the presence of magnesium ions for their catalytic action, including all enzymes utilizing or synthesizing ATP, or those that use other nucleotides to synthesize DNA and RNA. ATP exists in cells normally as a chelate of ATP and a magnesium ion.
Magnesium is a vital component of a healthy human diet. Human magnesium deficiency (including conditions that show few overt symptoms) is relatively rare[30] although only 32% of people in the United States meet the RDA-DRI;[31] low levels of magnesium in the body have been associated with the development of a number of human illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, and osteoporosis.[32]
Norganic phosphorus in the form of the phosphate PO3−4 is required for all known forms of life,[56] playing a major role in biological molecules such as DNA and RNA where it forms part of the structural framework of these molecules. Living cells also use phosphate to transport cellular energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Nearly every cellular process that uses energy obtains it in the form of ATP. ATP is also important for phosphorylation, a key regulatory event in cells. Phospholipids are the main structural components of all cellular membranes. Calcium phosphate salts assist in stiffening bones.[9]
Protein is a nutrient needed by the human body for growth and maintenance.[1] Aside from water, proteins are the most abundant kind of molecules in the body. Protein can be found in all cells of the body and is the major structural component of all cells in the body, especially muscle.[1][4] This also includes body organs, hair and skin. Proteins are also used in membranes, such as glycoproteins. When broken down into amino acids, they are used as precursors to nucleic acid, co-enzymes, hormones, immune response, cellular repair, and other molecules essential for life.[4] Additionally, protein is needed to form blood cells.[1][5]
Zinc deficiency has been associated with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Zinc serves as a simple, inexpensive, and critical tool for treating diarrheal episodes among children in the developing world. Zinc becomes depleted in the body during diarrhea, but recent studies suggest that replenishing zinc with a 10- to 14-day course of treatment can reduce the duration and severity of diarrheal episodes and may also prevent future episodes for up to three months.[132]
The Age-Related Eye Disease Study determined that zinc can be part of an effective treatment for age-related macular degeneration.[133] Zinc supplementation is an effective treatment for acrodermatitis enteropathica, a genetic disorder affecting zinc absorption that was previously fatal to babies born with it.[51]