Dietary Minerals
<p><b >Dietary minerals</b> (also known as <b >mineral nutrients</b>) are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_element" title="Chemical element" >chemical elements</a> required by living<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism" title="Organism" >organisms</a>, other than the four elements <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon" title="Carbon" >carbon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen" title="Hydrogen" >hydrogen</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen" title="Nitrogen" >nitrogen</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen" title="Oxygen" >oxygen</a> present in common <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_chemistry" title="Organic chemistry" >organic molecules</a>. Some major minerals are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium" title="Calcium" >calcium</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorous" title="Phosphorous" class="mw-redirect" >phosphorous</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenium" title="Selenium" >selenium</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium" title="Magnesium" >magnesium</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium" title="Potassium" >potassium</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium" title="Sodium" >sodium</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc" title="Zinc" >zinc</a>and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine" title="Iodine" >iodine</a>. Most minerals that enter into the dietary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiology" title="Physiology" >physiology</a> of organisms consist of simple <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_element" title="Chemical element" >chemical elements</a>. Larger <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_compound" title="Chemical compound" >aggregates</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral" title="Mineral" >minerals</a> need to be broken down for absorption. Bacteria play an essential role in the weathering of primary minerals that results in the release of nutrients for their own nutrition and for the nutrition of others in the ecological <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_chain" title="Food chain" >food chain</a>. Scientists are only recently starting to appreciate the magnitude and role that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microorganisms" title="Microorganisms" class="mw-redirect" >microorganisms</a> have in the global cycling and formation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomineralization" title="Biomineralization" >biological minerals</a>. Plants absorb dissolved minerals in soils, which are subsequently picked up by the herbivores that eat them and so on, the minerals move up the food chain. Larger organisms may also consume soil (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophagia" title="Geophagia" class="mw-redirect" >geophagia</a>) and visit<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_lick" title="Salt lick" class="mw-redirect" >mineral licks</a> to obtain limiting mineral nutrients they are unable to acquire through other components of their diet.</p>