Trace elements or trace metals are small amounts of minerals found in living tissues. In case of deficiencies, though, these minerals are also prescribed as supplements. Most humans receive these minerals as a part of their daily diet, including vegetables, meat, legumes, and fruits. Other macro-minerals like magnesium, potassium, iron, and sodium are essential for cell-to-cell communications, like electric transmissions that generate nerve impulses or heart rhythms, and are necessary for maintaining thyroid and bone health.Įxcessive deficiency of any of these minerals can cause various disorders in your body. Here is a look at the elemental composition of essential minerals: Element Phosphorus contributes to bone and tooth strength and is vital to metabolizing energy. Minerals like calcium are a significant component of our bones and are required for bone growth and development, along with muscle contractions. Minerals also control beneficial enzyme and hormone production. Your body uses minerals for several processes, including keeping your bones, muscles, heart, and brain working properly. Essential and Supplemental MineralsĮssential minerals are important for your body to stay healthy. It is also an integral component of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the chemical backbone of our genetic information and genealogy. NitrogenĪn essential component of amino acids used to build peptides and proteins is nitrogen. Hydrogen is also said to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, helping improve muscle function. With the help of hydrogen, joints in our body remain lubricated and able to perform their functions. Hydrogen, the most abundantly found chemical element in the universe, is present in all bodily fluids, allowing the toxins and waste to be transported and eliminated. Breaking carbon bonds in carbohydrates and proteins is our primary energy source. It is the basic building block required to form proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. CarbonĬarbon is the most crucial structural element and the reason we are known as carbon-based life forms. It is a substantial component of everything from our cells and blood to our cerebral and spinal fluid. Oxygen is also found in every significant organic molecule in the body, including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and nucleic acids. Oxygen plays a critical role in the body’s metabolism, respiration, and cellular oxygenation. Let’s take a look at how each of these four chemical elements contributes to the thriving functionality of our body: Oxygen Values are for an average human body weighing 70 kg. Here is a look at the composition of the four elements of life: Element Along with carbon and nitrogen, these elements combine for 96% of the body’s mass. Given that around 60-70% of the body is water, it is no surprise that oxygen and hydrogen are two of the body’s most abundantly found chemical elements. Oxygen is the most abundant element in the human body, accounting for approximately 61% of a person’s mass. The Elemental Four: Ingredients for Lifeįour elements, namely, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, are considered the most essential elements found in our body. These 21 elements can be categorized into three major blocks depending on the amount found in a human body, the main building block (4 elements), essential minerals (8 elements), and trace elements (9 elements). Together, they make up the medley of divergent molecules that combine to form our DNA, cells, tissues, and organs.īased on data presented by the International Commission on Radiological Protection ( ICRP), in the above infographic, we have broken down a human body to its elemental composition and the percentages in which they exist. Of the 118 elements on Earth, just 21 of them are found in the human body. It requires a multitude of functioning parts to come together for a person to live a healthy life-and every biological detail in our bodies, from the mundane to the most magical, is driven by just 21 chemical elements. The human body is a miraculous, well-oiled, and exceptionally complex machine. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week. The Elemental Composition of a Human Body
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