Healthy Eating Minerals

Molybdenum Sources and Functions

Molybdenum Sources and Functions

All of the nutrient minerals work together to keep you healthy and feeling good. Here is a summary of the role of molybdenum, a trace mineral, in your good health.

Molybdenum Sources and Functions

*The lower value is for infants up to 6 mos., higher value is for infants up to a year old.
† The first value is for children 1-3 with the amount increasing until age 18.

Just a trace

Note that the adequate daily intake of molybdenum is given in micrograms (µg). A microgram is .0001 milligrams (mg), so it is a very small amount.

Deficiency not likely

Since you need only a very tiny amount of molybdenum to be healthy, deficiency is very rare and generally only associated with disorders, such as Crohn’s Disease, or a genetic predisposition. Since the molybdenum content of soil may vary, it is difficult to say definitively which plant foods will have significant amounts of this mineral.

Interesting Fact: Plants need molybdenum to produce an enzyme that is part of nitrogen conversion. If the soil is low in molybdenum, the plants may convert the nitrates to nitrosomines. Since this would expose those who eat the plants to nitrosomines, which are implicated in cancer,this may be a good argument for organic gardening and for good soil management.

Upper Level

The upper intake level for adults for molybdenum has been established at 2 mg.

Molybdenum Sources and Functions

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