The Role of Essential Metals in Human Nutrition

Minerals, like the essential metals of the human body, are crucial for human health. Although sometimes occurring in only minuscule amounts, their presence or absence can have major consequences for our cells and tissues. However, the function and interaction of metals with proteins and other metabolites in our body are not well investigated. Therefore, this book gives an introduction to metal biology and does so in a unique manner. It is based on research conducted at the University of Limerick, Ireland. It is written with students in Food and Health Sciences interested in metals and a delicious dinner. To describe the biological cycle of metals, the book starts with unique recipes developed by the students, cooked with selected ingredients based on the content of a specific metal, thereby creating a dish with maximum metal content. We then follow each metal through the gastrointestinal system, explore its distribution in the body, and describe its major functions until it is finally excreted, and the reader is hungry for the next metal and meal. This book is written for students in Life Sciences, especially Physiology, Food and Health Sciences, Nutritional Sciences, Biosciences, related fields, researchers, teachers, and the interested public. Every day, we make choices about what we eat. So why not think about which metal we may like most today and cook a meal that reminds us again of the role of this metal in the human body? Reading this book will hopefully fill the stomachs as much as the readers’ brains. Bon appetite.