Biology / Unit 12 Bio 2785 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Essential Nutrients
Captions available
The idea
Essential nutrients — certain amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals — cannot be synthesized by the body and must come from diet.
In practice
Humans synthesize only eleven of twenty required amino acids; the rest must be eaten.
Where people slip
"Essential" describes dietary necessity, not overall biological importance — non-essential nutrients matter too, only via a different synthesis route.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Biology