Assessing Dietary Intake of Minerals in the Form of Mineral Ratios may be more Informative for Evaluating their Status than by their Individual Intake

Abstract

Conventionally, evaluating dietary intakes of minerals in relation to their recommendations are considered on an individual basis. However, minerals are consumed in food together, and not one at a time. The objective was to analyze NHANES data from 2011–2012 and assess mineral intakes of middle‐age population, calculate the mineral ratios and compare them to the DRIs. Summarized NHANES data were accessed from the “What We Eat in America” website, and values for K, Na, Ca, P, Mg, Zn, Fe, Cu and Se are reported here. All values for minerals were converted to mg. Subsequently, the ratio of minerals within the DRI was compared to NHANES data. According to the DRIs, males and females (aged 51–70 years) should consume 8,340mg and 8,437mg of the reported minerals/d, respectively. NHANES data showed that males consumed 10,343mg while females consumed 7,866mg of those minerals, from food, in one day. According to the DRI ratios, for every 1,000mg Ca males should consume 4,700mg K, 1,500mg Na, 700mg P, 420mg Mg and 8mg Fe. However, NHANES analysis showed that males consumed 2,900mg K, 3,724mg Na, 1,460mg P, 310mg Mg and 15mg Fe for every 1,000mg Ca. Because the DRI for Ca for older females is higher, they consumed 2,910mg K, 3,362mg Na, 1,350mg P, 320mg Mg and 15mg Fe for every 1,000mg Ca. Based on the calculated ratios, the most obvious difference was between the recommended 3‐to‐1 for K/Na ratio compared to the 0.8‐to‐1 ratio actually consumed (for both males and females). This indicates that looking at deficiencies in relation to excesses, in other words, at the mineral ratios, may provide more information regarding mineral status, and may take mineral‐mineral interactions into account which might be more important than just individual values.Support or Funding InformationNo funding source.