Micronutrients: The Hidden Keys to Health

What are micronutrients?

Your body needs two kinds of nutrients:

• Macronutrients — protein, fat and carbohydrates. You need them in large amounts; they give you energy.
• Micronutrients — vitamins and minerals. You need them in tiny amounts, but your body cannot work without them. Think of them as the small screws that hold a big machine together.

Who is most likely to run low?

Most healthy people who eat a varied diet get enough. Some groups need to pay more attention:

• Iron — people with heavy periods, pregnant people, and vegetarians and vegans. Iron deficiency is one of the most common causes of anaemia worldwide. Vegetarians need about 1.8 times more iron, because iron from plants is absorbed less well.
• Vitamin B12 — vegans (B12 is found naturally only in animal foods), adults over 50, and people who take metformin or stomach-acid medicines for a long time.
• Vitamin D — people who get little sun, people with darker skin, and older adults. Your skin makes vitamin D from sunlight, but less so in winter.
• Iodine — people who eat no dairy, eggs or seafood and do not use iodized salt, and pregnant people, who need about 50% more.

A myth to drop

You may have heard that "magnesium deficiency is common because our soil is depleted". About half of people in the U.S. do eat less magnesium than recommended — but symptoms of real magnesium deficiency are uncommon in healthy people, because the kidneys hold on to magnesium when intake is low. Eat more nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains; do not panic.

What should you do?

1. Eat a varied diet with vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, and protein foods.
2. Know your risk group. If you are vegan, add B12 (fortified foods or a supplement). If you could become pregnant, take 400 mcg of folic acid a day.
3. Test, don't guess. If you have symptoms, ask a doctor for a blood test before you take high-dose supplements. Some, like iron, can be harmful when you do not need them.

Want a starting point? Try our micronutrient quiz — it shows the sources behind every result.

Sources

• World Health Organization. Anaemia fact sheet.
• NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Iodine, Magnesium, Folate fact sheets.

Educational content, not medical advice.