Your body needs essential minerals—substances like calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc—to build bones, carry oxygen in blood, regulate muscle contractions, and support hundreds of other functions. Unlike vitamins, minerals come from soil and water, not living organisms. You get them through food and sometimes supplements. This category covers what these minerals do in your body, where to find them in everyday foods, and what the research shows about how much you actually need.
The articles here answer practical questions: which mineral deficiencies are common and what symptoms they cause, how to tell if you're getting enough from your diet, whether supplements make sense for you, and how minerals interact with each other and with medications you might take. You'll learn the difference between what's proven in human studies and what remains uncertain, so you can make informed choices about your mineral intake.