What are trace elements?
Disease description:
I am 28 years old this year, and my child is 3 years old. Recently, I noticed that my child often experiences leg cramps while sleeping. After visiting the hospital for a checkup, the doctor said it was a sign of deficiency in the trace element calcium. May I ask, what exactly are trace elements?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Trace elements refer to chemical elements that account for less than 0.01% of human body weight. Although present in minimal amounts in the body, they play essential roles in sustaining life activities, promoting growth and development, and maintaining health.
There are approximately 70 trace elements, including iron, copper, manganese, zinc, cobalt, molybdenum, chromium, nickel, vanadium, fluorine, selenium, iodine, silicon, tin, and others. Despite their extremely low quantities in the body, these elements have powerful biological functions. They participate in the metabolic processes of enzymes, hormones, vitamins, and nucleic acids, and help maintain normal physiological activities. Trace elements are primarily ingested through food and water and perform multiple physiological functions in the body, such as assisting in the transport of macronutrients, serving as components or activators of enzymes, and playing unique roles in hormones and vitamins. Since the human body cannot synthesize trace elements on its own, they must be obtained through diet, making a balanced diet essential to ensure adequate intake.
However, excessive intake may lead to adverse reactions; therefore, maintaining a balanced intake is necessary.
