NATS 1560 Chapter 11: Chapter 11- The Enlightened Eater Readings
4 Apr 2017
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There has never been a time in history where we have had so much knowledge on food its source, nutritional content, its effects on the human body and never have we been so confused on what to eat. Micronutrients are required by our bodies but in small amounts: a mineral comes from the earth"s rocky crust. As rock weathers overtime these mineral atoms become part of the soil and are taken up by plants: both plants and animals have come to need certain minerals for proper physiological functioning. Other minerals are required in far smaller amounts we call these trace elements. Vitamins are organic molecules produced by plants and animals. Thus, they differ from minerals that derive from the soil: our bodies produce too little of these (except vitamin d exposure to the sun). Vitamin research became important when a number of deficiency diseases were understood: lack of vitamin c leads to scurvy.
