By Nicoletta Morabito (food technologist)

Copper, selenium, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, silicon, cobalt, nickel: these are the names of the main mineral salts, which are essential for maintaining the chemical-physical balance of our cells. They act as biological catalysts, carrying out their function in many basic physiological activities. In short, they work alongside enzymes, supporting their activity, and offer the same assistance to hormones and vitamins. A deficiency in oligoelements can manifest as fatigue, irritability, headaches, a weakening of the immune defences, and other minor but chronic ailments.

Obtaining oligoelements through diet

Our bodies are unable to synthesise oligoelements, which must therefore be taken in daily through food. A varied diet drawing from the main food groups (meat, fish, milk and dairy products, cereals, vegetables, fruit, legumes) provides the necessary quantities of oligoelements.

Anyone following a restrictive diet should therefore pay particular attention — not only at a caloric level, but also when one or more food groups are excluded — as the risk of developing an oligoelement deficiency is never far away. Elderly people who follow a monotonous diet are at risk, as are athletes and pregnant women, whose increased nutritional requirements are not always met with the right supplementation.

What to eat to supplement oligoelements

It should also be considered that food often arrives at the table depleted of many essential elements — such as minerals and vitamins — as a result of modern farming, livestock rearing and food preservation practices. Choosing fresh, organic produce and never forgetting to include fruit and vegetables at mealtimes is certainly a habit to adopt in order not to lose the valuable contribution of oligoelements.