WATER AND

MINERALS
 Water and Minerals

A. Water and Body Fluids D. Acid-Based Balance

B. Water Balance E. Major Minerals

C. Fluids and Electrolyte balance F. Minor Minerals

 A. Water and Body Fluids
Functions of The water in the body fluids:
• Carries nutrients and waste products
throughout the body.
• Maintains the structure of large molecules
such as proteins and glycogen.
• Participates in metabolic reactions.
• Serves as the solvent for minerals,
vitamins, amino acids, glucose, and many
other small molecules so that they can
participate in metabolic activities.
• Maintains blood volume.
• Aids in the regulation of normal body
temperature, as the evaporation of
sweat from the skin removes excess
heat from the body.
• Acts as a lubricant and cushion around
joints and inside the eyes, spinal cord,
and amniotic sac surrounding a fetus in
the womb. To support these and other
vital functions, the body actively
regulates its water balance
B. Water Balance

• Water Intake
Regulation
• Water intoxication
• Water Excretion
Regulation
• Minimum Water
Needed
 C. Fluid and Electrolyte Balance

• When mineral salts dissolve in water, they

separate (dissociate) into charged particles
known as ions, which can conduct
electricity.
• For this reason, a salt that dissociates in
water is known as an electrolyte.
• The body fluids, which contain water and
partly dissociated salts, are electrolyte
solutions.
 D. Acid-Base Balance
• The body uses ions not only to help maintain water
balance but also to regulate the acidity (pH) of its fluids.
Like proteins, electrolyte mixtures in the body fluids
protect the body against changes in acidity by acting as
buffers—substances that can accommodate excess
acids or bases.
• Kidneys play the primary role in maintaining
acid–base balance. Thus, disorders of the
kidneys impair the body’s ability to regulate its
acid–base balance, as well as its fluid and
electrolyte balances.
E. Major Mineral

• The distinction between the major minerals and the trace minerals does not
mean that one group is more important than the other. A deficiency of the few
micrograms of iodine needed daily is just as serious as a deficiency of the
several hundred milligrams of calcium. The major minerals are so named
because they are present, and needed, in larger amounts in the body than the
trace minerals.
F. Minor Minerals
• The body requires trace minerals in tiny amounts,
and they function in similar ways—assisting
enzymes all over the body
• Eating a diet that consists of a variety of foods is the
best way to ensure an adequate intake of these
important nutrients.
• Many dietary factors, including the trace minerals
themselves, affect the absorption and availability of
these nutrients..
THANK YOU!
F