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Micronutrients

Why micronutrients matter

What role do micronutrients play?

Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are essential components of nutrition, for maintenance of health, growth, and importance of disease.1-4

Micronutrients assist in:1,5-8

  • Cellular growth and differentiation
  • Metabolic pathways
  • Immune regulation
  • Tissue function

Although each micronutrient can be responsible for specific physiological functions,1,9 it’s important to ensure that micronutrients are not just considered in isolation, as their role is often complex and integrated.1,4,5,7

What is an adequate intake of micronutrients?

The UK Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNIs) defines the daily levels sufficient for ~97% of ‘the healthy population’ aged 12+ for some vitamins and minerals across ages and genders.5,10  To view the government guide, please visit here.

While these reference values are valuable for guiding nutrition in healthy patients, applying them to individual patients may be challenging. Determining the adequacy of micronutrient intake on an individualised basis requires clinical judgement, particularly in relation to illness, altered physiology, or increased nutrient requirements.5

What about micronutrient malnutrition?

The definition of malnutrition can also encompass insufficient intake, availability or utilisation of vitamins, minerals and trace elements and is an important element in managing malnutrition.11

In the context of nutritional support, if there is concern about the adequacy of micronutrient intake, NICE Clinical Guideline 32 advises a complete oral multivitamin and mineral supplement should be considered by appropriate healthcare professionals.11

To learn more about the current guidelines, please visit the Guidance page here.

What are the consequences of malnutrition?

Find out more about cost of malnutrition for patients and healthcare systems.

Find out more >
  1. Amrein K, et al. LLL 44 – 2 e Micronutrients in clinical nutrition: Vitamins. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN 61 (2024) 427e436.
  2. M.M. Berger, et al. The science of micronutrients in clinical practice e Report on the ESPEN symposium. Clinical Nutrition 43 (2024) 268e283.
  3. Nutrition support in adults. NICE Quality Standard 24. Published 30 November 2012.
  4. Berger, M et al. ESPEN micronutrient guideline. Clinical Nutrition. 2022;41:1357-1424.
  5. Shenkin A. Micronutrients in health and disease. Postgrad Med J. 2006 Sep;82(971):559-67.
  6. Gombart AF, Pierre A, Maggini S. A Review of Micronutrients and the Immune System-Working in Harmony to Reduce the Risk of Infection. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 16;12(1):236.
  7. Shenkin A. The key role of micronutrients. Clin Nutr. 2006 Feb;25(1):1-13.
  8. Ishiguro E, et al. Chapter 6 – Impact of Nutrition on the Gut Microbiota, Gut Microbiota 2018; 105-131.
  9. British Nutrition Foundation. Vitamins and minerals. Available at: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritional-information/vitamins-and-minerals/
  10. Department of Health (DoH) (1991) Dietary reference values of food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom. Report of the Panel on Dietary Reference Values of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy, London.
  11. NICE. Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition. Clinical Guidelines CG32. NICE, 2006 (last updated August 2017).

References accessed February 2026.

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