• Calcium

Recommended Intake

• Males and females 19-50 yrs: 1000 mg/day
• Males and females 51-70 yrs: 1200 mg/day

What's Calcium for?

• Involved in bone and teeth structure
• Aids in muscle contraction, blood clotting, blood vessel contraction and dilation, secretion of enzymes and hormones, and nerve function
• Protects against osteopenia, osteoporosis, and hypertension
• May play a role in preventing high blood cholesterol, diabetes, colon cancer, and obesity

Best Food sources

• Dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese
• Kale, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, parsley, watercress, some seaweeds
• Canned fish with the bones in
• Calcium fortified juice, soy milk, tofu, and cereals

• Chromium

Recommended Intake

• Males 19-50 yrs: 35 ug/day
• Males 51+ yrs: 30 ug/day
• Females 19-50 yrs: 25 ug/day
• Females 51+ yrs: 20 ug/day

What's Chromium for?

• Maintains normal blood sugar levels by increasing the effectiveness of insulin as part of Glucose Tolerance Factor

Best Food Sources

• Meat (especially liver), peas, beans, cheese, whole grains, brewer's yeast, red wine

• Copper

Recommended Intake

• Males and females ≥ 19 years: 900 ug/day

What's Copper for?

• Structural component of many enzyme systems
• Allows iron to function in the body, thereby preventing iron deficiency anemia
• Protects against free radicals by acting as an antioxidant
• Required for the health of bones, lungs, and blood vessels
• Helps heal wounds

Best Food sources

• Legumes, fish, liver, shellfish, whole grains, cocoa powder, cereal and cereal products, green vegetables

• Fluoride

Recommended Intake

• Males ≥ 19 years: 4 mg/day
• Females ≥ 19 years: 3 mg/day

What's Fluoride for?

• Plays a role in bone health by contributing to bone mineralization
• Prevents tooth decay and cavities

Best Food sources

• Found in most water, soil, plants, and animals
• Particularly good sources are water (not bottled), tea, and seafood
• Also found in toothpaste

• Iodine

Recommended Intake

• Males and Females ≥ 19 years: 150 ug/day

What's Iodine for?

• Required for the production of thyroid hormones, which control energy metabolism
• Prevents goiters and cretinism (mental and physical retardation)

Best Food sources

• Iodized salt, seafood, iodine-fortified bread, dairy products

• Iron

Recommended Intake

• Males 19+: 8 mg/day
• Females 19-50: 18 mg/day
• Females 51+: 8 mg/day

What's Iron for?

• Required for formation of hemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the muscle, both of which carry oxygen to cells
• Involved in energy metabolism and the immune system
• Helps regulate cell growth and differentiation
• Prevents iron deficiency anemia

Best Food sources

• Animal sources: red meat, organ meats, fish, poultry, eggs
• Plant sources: beans, lentils, whole and enriched grains, green leafy vegetables, dried fruits

Note that animal sources are better absorbed than plant sources, but the absorption of plant sources can be improved by consuming vitamin C-containing foods at the same time

• Magnesium

Recommended Intake

• Males 19-30: 400 mg/day
• Males 31+: 420 mg/day
• Females 19-30: 310 mg/day
• Females 31+: 320 mg/day

What's Magnesium for?

• Assists in nerve and muscle function
• Involved in energy metabolism and controls blood sugar levels
• Regulates muscle contraction and blood clotting
• Maintains bone and teeth health
• Aids in the synthesis of proteins, fat, and nucleic acids
• Supports the immune system
• May help prevent and control hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease

Best Food sources

• Green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, “hard” tap water

• Manganese

Recommended Intake

• Males ≥ 19 years: 2.3 mg/day
• Females ≥ 19 years: 1.8 mg/day

What's Manganese for?

• Involved in energy metabolism and bone growth and development
• Part of an antioxidant enzyme, thereby preventing against free radicals

Best Food sources

• Vegetables, fruit, grains, bran, nuts, tea

• Molybdenum

Recommended Intake

• Males and Females ≥ 19 years: 45 mg/day

What's Molybdenum for?

• Cofactor for many types of enzymes in the body

Best Food sources

• Legumes, grains, green leafy vegetables, milk, liver

• Phosphorus

Recommended Intake

• Males and females 19+ years: 700 mg/day

What's Phosphorus for?

• Required for bone and tooth structure
• Part of DNA and RNA, thus assisting in growth
• Structural component of cell membranes
• Essential to energy metabolism
• Activates enzymes and some B vitamins

Best Food sources

• Deficiency is unlikely as all plant and animal cells contain phosphorus
• Particularly good sources are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk products, legumes, and whole grains

• Selenium

Recommended Intake

• Males and females 19+ years: 55 ug/day

What's Selenium for?

• Part of a powerful antioxidant, thus protects against free radicals
• Helps regulate thyroid function
• Assists in immune function
• May prevent some types of cancer

Best Food sources

• Meat, chicken, seafood, fish, eggs, brazil nuts, grains, garlic, mushroom
• Present in plant foods, but varies by region and type of soil

• Zinc

Recommended Intake

• Males 19+ years: 11 mg/day
• Females 19+ years: 8 mg/day

What's Zinc for?

• Assists in the activity of numerous enzymes
• Essential to immune function and wound healing
• Aids in DNA synthesis and reproductive development
• Maintains sense of taste and smell
• Regulates insulin production, storage, and release
• Helps produce the active form of vitamin A
• Assists in thyroid function

Best Food sources

• Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, milk products, whole grains, fortified cereal, legumes