What does it do?
Manganese gets around. Not only does it help with the formation of sex and thyroid hormones, it also lubricates joints, helps balance blood sugar levels, is used by the body to metabolise food, and is needed to activate many of our enzymes - including one antioxidant enzyme which breaks down free radicals in the body.
What’s the story?
Manganese and iron battle it out for absorption in the body, so anyone deficient in iron should be aware that they may have increased manganese levels. Funnily enough, tea drinking populations (so that’s Britain then….) are also thought to be exposed to higher levels of manganese, although it isn’t thought to have any harmful effects.
How much do I need?
There’s no RNI for manganese in the UK, as no one’s yet managed to crack an efficient way of assessing manganese levels in the body. The adequate intake is usually recorded as being 1.4 mg per day and over.
That said, the EU Scientific Committee for Food considers a ‘safe and adequate intake’ to be 1-10 mg per day- which obviously gives us quite a bit of wiggle room. In the US it’s rather less, with the adequate intake level 1.8 mg per day for adult women over 19, and 2.4 mg/day for adult men aged 19 and over.
What are good sources?
A mixed bag, but something for everyone here. Good sources include nuts, green leafy veg, eggs, wholegrains, soybeans (so tofu, tempeh, soy milk and edamame beans), liver, bananas, and – perhaps more surprisingly, coffee and tea. Tea is in fact one of the richest sources of manganese available to us, so let no one ever try and put you off your afternoon cuppa ever again.
Any ideas for using those ingredients?
ginger banoffee pie/shakshuka/tofu and aubergine stirfry/date and nut butter/chickpea, aubergine and dates/liver alla veneziana/freekeh with roast fennel and salsa verde
References
British Nutrition Foundation (2021) Nutrition Requirements. Available here.
UK Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals (2003). Safe Upper Levels for Vitamins and Minerals. Available here.
United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library (2011). Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs): Recommended Dietary Allowances and Adequate Intakes for vitamins and elements. Available here. [accessed 6th July 2017].