Micronutrient
Micronutrient — A micronutrient is a nutrient required by the body in small amounts (milligrams or micrograms per day) for normal physiological function. Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals; they do not supply energy directly but are essential cofactors for the metabolic processes that release energy from macronutrients.
What is a micronutrient?
A micronutrient is a vitamin or mineral that the human body requires in small amounts — typically milligrams (mg) or micrograms (mcg) per day — to function. Unlike macronutrients, micronutrients do not provide calories directly. They serve as cofactors, enzymes, hormone components, and structural elements.
The two principal categories are:
- Vitamins — organic compounds: water-soluble (B-complex, C) and fat-soluble (A, D, E, K)
- Minerals — inorganic elements: macrominerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium) and trace minerals (iron, zinc, selenium, iodine, copper)
How are micronutrient needs measured?
The National Academies publish Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), which include:
- Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) — average daily intake sufficient for 97-98% of healthy individuals
- Adequate Intake (AI) — used when an RDA cannot be established
- Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) — the maximum daily amount unlikely to cause adverse effects
Most quality calorie tracking apps draw micronutrient data from USDA FoodData Central, which publishes per-100g values for hundreds of nutrients across foundation foods and standard reference items.
Why micronutrients matter for tracking
Calorie tracking apps differ widely in how seriously they treat micronutrients. Cronometer is the consumer leader in micronutrient breadth, tracking 80+ nutrients per food item. Most photo-based AI apps track only macros plus a small handful of micronutrients (sodium, fiber, sometimes calcium and iron).
Clinical Nutrition Report grades micronutrient tracking as a meaningful differentiator for users with specific medical or athletic concerns (iron-deficient runners, post-bariatric patients, vegetarians watching B12, etc.). For the average user pursuing weight management, macro-only tracking is generally adequate. See our entry on food databases for discussion of database completeness.