Seven minerals have been known since antiquity, some going back since 6000 B.C. Many years passed before the concept of essential nutrients developed. It was more of a trial and error method that various peoples gradually learned that certain diseases were associated in some way with diet and that specific foods were helpful in their treatments. It was not until the last half of the 19th century there was a realization that food was made up of classes of nutrients, which included an ill-defined supply of inorganic salts.
Mineral Nutrition, The Early Years, contains 16 chapters of historical information related to deficiency and toxicity of mineral elements. The first chapter is an introduction dealing with historical considerations, classification, distribution, developing the science of nutrition, general mineral functions, methods of analyses, requirements, bioavailability, status detection and incidence of mineral deficiencies and toxicities. Chapters 2 through 13 emphasize historical discovery and development of 14 elements but also includes information on chemical properties, functions, sources and deficiencies and toxicities in humans and animals. Chapters 14 and 15 deal with history of the minerals more commonly associated with a toxicity (fluorine, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, aluminum and molybdenum). Chapter 16 is history of the "newer trace elements".
