Vytals Wellbeing

By Dr. Sonam Bhatia, Ph.D. Micronutrients are essential nutrients that your body needs. Vitamins and minerals are important for healthy development, energy production, immune function, blood clotting, and other functions related to health (1).  What are micronutrients? Micronutrients are the class of vitamins and minerals required by our body in small amounts, hence referred to as "micro". However, their role in maintaining the physiology of our body is critical, and deficiency in any of them can lead to severe and deadly conditions. Food is the major source of micronutrients as your body can't produce vitamins and minerals, so they are also called essential nutrients. Vitamins are organic (containing carbon) compounds that are mainly synthesized in plants and animals and are resistant to physical/chemical degradation through the air, water, and acid (2). However, minerals are inorganic in nature, present in soil and water, and play an important role in enzymatic pr