8 Nano-Structured Minerals and Trace Elements for Food and Nutrition Applications Florentine M. Hilty and Michael B. Zimmermann Laboratory for Human Nutrition, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland 8.1 Introduction Deiciencies of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) are major global public health problems. They are particularly common in developing countries and are estimated to affect more than two billion people worldwide (WHO/UNICEF/UNU, 2001). Iron deiciency can cause anemia, reduce cognitive development, and lower work capacity (Zimmermann and Hurrell, 2007). Zinc deiciency can impair growth and immune function (Inter- national Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group, 2004). Worldwide, the main cause of these deiciencies is low dietary bioavailability of iron and zinc from monotonous, plant-based diets (Hurrell, 2002b; Zimmermann et al., 2005). Many postmenopausal women in Europe and North America do not meet their recommended calcium (Ca) intakes and are at risk of poor bone health (Newmark et al., 2004). The U.S. NHANES III study reported that 87% of the older women surveyed did not meet their Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for calcium of 924mg per day (Ervin and Kennedy-Stephenson, 2002). In populations with suboptimal intakes, encouraging consumption of calcium-rich dietary sources (e.g., dairy products; high-calcium mineral waters) is the best approach to increase intakes (Heaney, 2006). The main strategies to alleviate mineral deiciencies are food diversiication, food fortiication or supplementation (Abrams and Atkinson, 2003; Surgeon General, 2004; Allen et al., 2006; Rafferty et al., 2007). However, food fortiication can be dificult in certain food matrices, especially for iron (Hurrell, 2002a). Absorption of poorly solu- ble iron compounds can be improved by particle size reduction (Motzok et al., 1975; Verma et al., 1977). Reducing the size of mineral and trace element compounds to the Nano- and Microencapsulation for Foods, First Edition. Edited by Hae-Soo Kwak. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.