# Minerals --- **Minerals** are a type of inorganic [[nutrients#Micronutrients Vitamins Minerals|micronutrient]] that play important roles in our body's functions. Unlike vitamins, or any of the other nutreints, they are [[element|elemental]], and thus cannot be built up or broken down—they simply exist as themselves. ## Major & Trace We classify the minerals we need to survive based on how much we need to take in and how much exists in the body. **Major minerals** are needed in amounts *greater* than 100mg/day in our diet, and which there are more than 5g of in our bodies. **Trace minerals** are needed in *less* than 100mg/day, and we have less than 5g of in our bodies. Type | Mineral ------|---- Major | [[calcium]], [[phosphate#elemental phosphorus\|phosphorus]], [[sodium]], [[potassium]], [[chloride]], [[magnesium]], [[sulfur]] Trace |[[iron]], [[zinc]], [[copper]], [[manganese]], [[fluoride]], [[chromium]], [[molybdenum]], [[selenium]], [[iodine]] ___