eli5: If vitamins are things considered essential to human life, why is salt not considered a vitamin?

Question

Salt isn’t regularly considered a spice, nor is it discussed as a vitamin like A, B, etc. But isn’t it necessary in small amounts for humans?

In: 402

Answer 1

Nutrition discusses “vitamins and minerals.” Salt is a mineral. It’s not a vitamin.

Salt is a rock. Absorbable potassium, magnesium, copper, iron, these are metals. We need them in our bodies, so we place them under the category of “minerals” when discussing nutrition.

Vitamins are organic chemicals found inside living things. You don’t dig for Vitamin K.