What is the purpose of minerals?
People are treated with minerals for several reasons. The primary reason is to relieve a mineral deficiency, when a deficiency has been detected. Chemical tests suitable for the detection of all mineral deficiencies are available. The diagnosis of the deficiency is often aided by tests that do not involve chemical reactions, such as the hematocrit test for the red blood cell content in blood for iron deficiency, the visual examination of the neck for iodine deficiency, or the examination of bones by densitometry for calcium deficiency. Mineral treatment is conducted after a test and diagnosis for iron-deficiency anemia, in the case of iron, and after a test and diagnosis for hypomagnesemia, in the case of magnesium, to give two examples. A second general reason for mineral treatment is to prevent the development of a possible or expected deficiency. Here, minerals are administered when tests for possible mineral deficiency are not given. Examples include the practice of giving young in
