What are Micronutrients?
Micronutrients are elements or small molecules essential for life but are only required in very small quantities. Examples include dietary minerals and vitamins.
Natural Sports Nutrition’s website discusses the main micronutrients, outlining the biological uses of micronutrients and good food sources. Always aim to get micronutrients into the body by eating a wide variety of foods. Supplements should only be used in cases of high requirements (e.g. excessive sweating) or clinical deficiency.
Other small molecules present in plants (phytonutrients) have purported health benefits e.g. the flavonoids may play a role in cancer prevention. However, research is still in its infancy in this area and phytonutrients will therefore not be discussed in detail here.
The essentiality of micronutrients must not be underestimated. Dietary sources should predominantly come from food that is minimally processed, with little reliance on supplements outside of the clinical setting.
Only a brief overview of the major micronutrients can be given on here but the importance of these substances is evident, albeit much misquoted in the media.
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