Calcium

Blood Clotting: Involved in several steps of the blood clotting mechanism.
Bones and Teeth: Most important function is in the development and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth. Need is greatest during periods of rapid growth including childhood, pregnancy and lactation.
Cell Wall Permeability: Regulates the passage of fluids across cellular membranes by affecting cell wall permeability.
Enzyme Function: Activates various enzyme systems responsible for muscle contraction, fat digestion and protein metabolism.
Muscle Contraction: Helps to initiate muscle contractions. As such, it plays a vital role in the contraction-relaxation cycle that regulates a normal heartbeat.
Nerve Transmission: Plays a role in the regulation and transmission of nerve impulses.
Signal Messenger: Low extracellular calcium signals the release of parathyroid hormone, which increases calcium absorption.

Iron

Collagen and Elastin: The synthesis of collagen and elastin require iron.
Energy Production: Much of iron’s functional activity in electron transport and energy production has to do with its ability to convert back and forth between its reduced or ferrous state (Fe++), and its oxidized ferric state (Fe+++). This is how oxygen is either held or released.
Fatty Acid Metabolism: Necessary for the synthesis of the amino acid carnitine, which plays a role in the metabolism of fatty acids.
Immune System: Iron is one of the substances that is necessary for optimal immune response.
Liver Detoxification: Plays a role in the cytochrome P450 liver detoxification enzymes.
Neurotransmitters: Part of the enzyme that initiates the synthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine.
Oxygen Storage: Myoglobin is an iron-containing protein in muscles that acts as an oxygen acceptor and an oxygen storage reservoir in muscle.
Oxygen Transport: The major function of iron is for oxygen transport by hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. The heme portion of hemoglobin contains four atoms of iron. Iron picks up the oxygen in the lungs where the concentration is high. Iron binds the oxygen and then transports it to the tissues and releases it wherever it is needed.

Magnesium

Blood Pressure: Can lower elevated blood pressure. However, the effect is usually only moderate, and thus magnesium should not be viewed as a primary treatment for hypertension.
Bone: Involved in calcium metabolism, the synthesis of vitamin D, and the integrity of skeletal bone-crystal formation.
Cardiovascular Function: Decreases platelet stickiness, helps thin the blood, blocks calcium uptake, and relaxes blood vessels.
Enzyme Activity: A cofactor for oxidative phosphorylation in the production of ATP. Essential for the production and transfer of energy for protein and lipid synthesis, contractility of muscle and nerve transmission.
Heart Disease: Adequate magnesium intake reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and increases the rate of survival following a heart attack. If intravenous magnesium is given during the early stages of a heart attack, it results in a 70% decrease in deaths within one month following the event.
Metabolism: Required for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, as well as activity related to calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C. It is vital for the health of nervous and muscular tissues throughout the body.
Teeth: Helps to bind calcium to tooth enamel, thus creating a barrier to tooth decay.

Potassium

Acid/Base Balance: Potassium is one of the main electrolytes that helps control pH levels in body fluids.
Blood Pressure: In part regulated by potassium. Low potassium levels are associated with elevated blood pressure.
Electrical Activity: Helps regulate electrical activity, which in turn, regulates the activity of muscle and nerve cells and the beating of the heart.
Glucose: Conversion to glycogen requires potassium.
Osmotic Pressure and Water Balance: Potassium is one of the electrolytes that control these functions through the activity of the sodium-potassium pump.

Zinc

Anti-viral Activity: Although its mechanism is not known at this time, zinc apparently possesses antiviral activity.
Antioxidant: Cofactor for the antioxidant enzyme Zn/Cu superoxide dismutase.
Immune System: Helps regulate a wide variety of immune system activities, including T-lymphocytes, CD4, natural killer cells and interleukin II.
Insulin Activity: Is a component of insulin and recently was discovered to be a regulator of insulin activity.
Sensory Perceptions: Involved in sensory perceptions of taste, smell and vision. Necessary for salt-taste perception, dark adaptation and night vision.
Serum Vitamin A Levels: Controls the release of stored vitamin A from the liver.
Sexual Function: Zinc is necessary for the maturation of sperm, ovulation and fertilization.
Thyroid: Promotes the conversion of thyroxine to triiodothyronine.
Wound Healing: Facilitates wound healing, especially in burns, surgical and other types of scars.

(The information and photo for this article were provided in part by Ram Chaudhari, senior executive vice president, CSO & co-founder, Fortitech, Inc., Schenectady, NY.)