- Live
- Repair
- Grow and
- Reproduce
If any of the essential nutrients gets too low in the body, one or more of the above functions will not happen. These are the basic chemicals that people must ingest on a regular basis or something bad will happen to their health. Deficiencies of essential nutrients have been linked to every major disease that humans get including: cancer; diabetes; high blood pressure; stroke; colitis; hyper & hypo thyroidism; etc.
How Many Essential Nutrients Are There?
The essential nutrients fall into the following categories:
- Essential Amino Acids
- Essential Fatty Acids
- Vitamins
- Minerals
Essential Amino Acids
- Isoleucine
- Lysine
- Leucine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Valine
- Histidine
Essential Fatty Acids
- Linoleic Acid
- Linolenic Acid
- Arachidonic Acid (for children)
The body can convert these essential fatty acids to all the other fats your body needs. One of the recently discovered issues with fatty acids is getting the right ratios of these in your diet. Get the wrong ratio and you will have difficulty with pain and inflammation regulation, difficulty learning and athletic performance and a whole host of neurological problems (i.e. depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders, etc.)
Here’s one example about the importance of linolenic acid. This fatty acid is converted in your body, or in plants and animals that we eat, into omega 3 fatty acids. One of these molecules actually makes up about 15-20% of our brains. It plays a major role in producing the myelin sheaths that surround many nerves, providing a type of ‘insulation’ around nerves. If your body is deficient in the omega 3 fatty acids, or gets too much of its competitor, omega 6 fatty acids, the brain will have a large number of problems.
Most US diets have excessive omega 6 fats which are very common in processed and fast foods. This results in slow learning, poor nerve repair, and contributes to many of the neurological disorders which are epidemic in our country right now.
Essential Vitamins
- Vitamin A – Beta-carotene, retinol
- Vitamin B1 – Thiamine
- Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin
- Vitamin B3 – Niacin
- Vitamin B5 – Pantothenic acid
- VItamin B6 – Pyridoxine
- Vitamin B7 – Biotin
- Vitamin B9 – Folic Acid
- VItamin B12 – Cobalamin
- VItamin C – Ascorbic acid
- Vitamin D2 & D3 – Ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol
- Vitamin E – Tocopherol
- Vitamin K – Naphthoquinoids
Essential Minerals



- Calcium
- Chloride
- Chromium
- Cobalt
- Copper
- Iodine
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Molybdenum
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Selenium
- Sodium
- Zinc
Carbohydrates
There are a couple of concepts in this topic however, that deserve greater explanation.
- Fiber – There is a group of carbohydrates that are collectively known as ‘Fiber’. They all share the properties of being: long chains of sugar and; having molecular configurations that make them indigestible for humans. They will enter the human digestive system and leave with basically the same molecular structure. Even though they do not supply anything in the way of chemical nutrition directly to humans, they do supply mechanical properties that improves our health. This indigestible material keeps the colon more completely full. This allows for proper intestinal transit times and prevents constipation which in turn prevents a host of potential problems such as bacterial overgrowth, autointoxication and diverticulosis.
- Calories – Carbohydrates are a very common source of calories that are converted by the body into energy molecules that keep us alive. Other nutrient categories such as proteins and fats can also supply our caloric needs. Carbohydrates are so dominant in our societies for supplying our caloric needs that many people consider them essential, but diets that are carbohydrate free can be maintained for extended periods of time without ill-health (i.e. specialized Total Parenteral Nutrition, Atkins Diet).
Conclusion
When is the last time you were tested for all of your essential nutrients by somebody who is trained in clinical nutrition?
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