Nutrition Question:

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In order to be absorbed, minerals, whether from foods or in supplements, have to be combined with a "carrier" molecule. When this molecule is a fragment of protein (an amino acid), and the mineral-amino acid compound forms a stable molecule, it is referred to as an amino acid chelate. Because the body is very efficient at absorbing amino acids, chelated minerals are more easily transported across the intestinal wall than are non-chelated minerals.