Essential

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a water soluble vitamin required for collagen synthesis, where it acts as a cofactor for the enzym...

Vitamin A is a group of fat soluble compounds that exists as preformed retinol in animal foods such as liver, and as provitamin A ...

Vitamin D is a fat soluble secosteroid that the skin can synthesize on exposure to ultraviolet B light, which is why it is often d...

Vitamin E is a collective term for eight fat soluble compounds, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols, of which alpha tocopherol ...

Vitamin K is a family of fat soluble compounds comprising K1, phylloquinone, found mainly in leafy green vegetables, K2, the menaq...

Thiamine, or vitamin B1, was the first B vitamin to be identified. Its story began with Christiaan Eijkman, who showed in the 1890...

Riboflavin, or vitamin B2, is a water soluble vitamin whose name reflects its ribose derived side chain and its yellow color, from...

Niacin, or vitamin B3, refers to nicotinic acid and nicotinamide, both precursors of the coenzymes NAD and NADP. Recommended intak...

Vitamin B6 comprises pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyridoxamine and their phosphates, with pyridoxal 5 phosphate the active coenzyme f...

Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is the only vitamin that contains a metal ion, cobalt, and has the most complex structure of all the vi...

Folate, named from the Latin folium for leaf because it was first isolated from spinach leaves, occurs naturally in foods as tetra...

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, with about 99 percent stored in bones and teeth as hydroxyapatite. Official reco...

Iron is an essential trace mineral found in hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood, in myoglobin, which stores oxygen in mu...

Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body and the second most abundant cation inside cells after potassium, with ...

Zinc is the second most abundant trace mineral in the body after iron. Official recommended intakes vary by age, sex and life stag...

Selenium is an essential trace element incorporated into proteins as selenocysteine, the 21st amino acid, forming selenoproteins s...

Potassium is the main cation inside cells, with about 98 percent of body potassium found intracellularly. Official adequate intake...

Sodium is the main cation in the fluid outside cells and is essential for fluid balance, nerve impulse transmission and muscle fun...

Omega 3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats whose first double bond lies at the third carbon from the methyl end of the chain. Th...

Omega 6 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats whose first double bond lies at the sixth carbon from the methyl end. Linoleic acid i...

Protein is a macronutrient that provides 4 calories per gram and is made of chains of amino acids. Proteins build and repair tissu...

Dietary fiber consists of carbohydrates and lignin that resist digestion in the small intestine and pass into the colon. Official ...

Water makes up about 60 percent of body weight in adults and is essential for life. It is the medium for chemical reactions, trans...

Carbohydrates are a macronutrient that provides 4 calories per gram and the main fuel for the brain and for muscles during intense...

Dietary fats provide 9 calories per gram, making them the most energy dense macronutrient, and are needed to absorb vitamins A, D,...

Choline is an essential nutrient, recognized as such by the Institute of Medicine in 1998, with intake recommendations that vary b...

Iodine is a trace mineral that is an essential component of the thyroid hormones thyroxine T4 and triiodothyronine T3, which regul...

Copper is an essential trace mineral. Official intake recommendations exist, and an upper intake level has been set because excess...

Manganese is an essential trace mineral stored mainly in bone, liver, pancreas and brain. An official adequate intake has been set...

Molybdenum is an essential trace mineral that forms part of the molybdenum cofactor required by four human enzymes: sulfite oxidas...

Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body after calcium, and most of it lies in bones and teeth as hydroxyapatite...

L tryptophan is an essential amino acid with an indole side chain, first isolated from casein in 1901 by Frederick Gowland Hopkins...

Pantothenic acid, vitamin B5, is a water soluble B vitamin whose name comes from the Greek pantothen, meaning from everywhere, ref...

Biotin, vitamin B7 and formerly called vitamin H, is a water soluble B vitamin that acts as a cofactor for carboxylase enzymes inv...

Chloride is the most abundant negatively charged ion in the fluid outside cells and works closely with sodium and potassium to mai...

Sulfur is among the most abundant minerals in the human body and is supplied in the diet mainly through the sulfur containing amin...

Leucine is one of the three branched chain amino acids, together with isoleucine and valine, and is an essential amino acid that m...

Lysine is an essential amino acid with a positively charged side chain. It is often the limiting amino acid in cereal grains such ...

Methionine is an essential sulfur containing amino acid. It holds a special place in protein synthesis because the start codon use...