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We need vitamins and minerals to make our bodies work properly. These substances are also called micronutrients. Our bodies do not produce vitamins or minerals by themselves, so to make sure that we get all the different micronutrients we need, we have to eat a variety of foods that contain them. But too many people around the world do not get enough micronutrients, and actually suffer from a kind of &ldquo;hidden hunger&rdquo;.

The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, estimates that 250 million preschool children lack vitamin A and because of this, between a quarter and half a million children become blind every year. Deaths from other illnesses can also be reduced by about a quarter if children get vitamin A, because having enough of this micronutrient in the body strengthens the immune system.

Vitamins and minerals boost our immune system, support normal growth and help the billions of body cells and the organs to do their job.

Vitamin A is for example important to keep our eyes healthy and working well. Carrots and other orange-colored vegetables and fruits contain a substance called carotenoids that the body can convert to vitamin A.

Vitamin A, D, E and K are stored in fat in our bodies and are released in very small amounts when our cells need them.

Vitamin C and the different B vitamins are soluble in water and cannot be stored in our bodies. We have to get them through our food every day.

We get vitamin D from dairy products, fish and eggs, but our bodies can also produce vitamin D when we are exposed to sunshine.

Vitamins are produced by plants and animals, whereas minerals comes from the soil and are eaten by animals or absorbed by plants and water. We get our minerals from the food we eat.

Minerals are needed for growth and maintenance of body structures. They also help to maintain digestive juices and the fluids found in and around our cells.

The main minerals that the body needs include calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and sulfur.

Other minerals, called trace elements, are needed in very small amounts. Trace elements include: iron, copper, fluorine, iodine, selenium, zinc, chromium, cobalt, manganese, and molybdenum.

Micronutrients are necessary for millions of processes in our bodies every day, and it is therefore important to know from which kinds of foods we get the different vitamins and minerals. It is totally possible to avoid this kind of hidden malnutrition, which is not so easily noticed as what we normally call malnutrition &ndash; when a person does not get sufficient food from the main food groups: proteins, carbohydrates, fats and fiber &ndash; and their bodies and limbs become thin or their stomachs become bloated. It is a question of spreading knowledge about foods that are rich in micronutrients, how to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables that provide them bountifully or how to obtain them through green leaves, berries and mushrooms collected from the wild.

Sufficient vitamins and minerals keep the body functioning at its best and prevent many illnesses. We should start up or support a common effort in our area to see to it that everyone gets nutritious food containing lots of micronutrients, which will help the body fight off diseases and make it grow and develop optimally.

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