Secondary deficiency of minerals

Secondary deficiencies can occur due to factors unrelated to deficiency in dietary intake. It can resulted from the inability of the body to use specific nutrients properly for example, when food cannot be absorbed into the body while in the alimentary tract or when food is not able to be metabolized.

Factors producing secondary deficiencies in minerals include too high an intake of one mineral, which can inhibit the absorption of another mineral. Often, transport system from the gut to the blood stream involve the interdependent transport of substance such that a deficiency of one may affect the bioavailability of anther.

Too much of one mineral can also have a negative impact on the metabolism and excretion of another. Excessive long term consumption of competing minerals such as iron, might suppress immune response by producing a secondary deficiency of zinc.

Secondary deficiency of minerals