Man­ganese is an essen­tial trace min­er­al that your body needs in small amounts to main­tain var­i­ous phys­i­o­log­i­cal process­es and over­all health. Here are some of the rea­sons why your body needs man­ganese:

1. Antiox­i­dant Defense: Man­ganese plays a role in antiox­i­dant defense by acti­vat­ing enzymes like man­ganese super­ox­ide dis­mu­tase (MnSOD). These enzymes help neu­tral­ize harm­ful free rad­i­cals and pro­tect cells from oxida­tive stress and dam­age.
2. Bone Health: Man­ganese is involved in the for­ma­tion and main­te­nance of healthy bones. It is a com­po­nent of sev­er­al enzymes and pro­teins that con­tribute to bone devel­op­ment and min­er­al­iza­tion.
3. Con­nec­tive Tis­sue For­ma­tion: Man­ganese is nec­es­sary for the syn­the­sis of gly­cosamino­gly­cans (GAGs), which are essen­tial com­po­nents of con­nec­tive tis­sues, includ­ing car­ti­lage and ten­dons. This is impor­tant for joint health and over­all struc­tur­al integri­ty.
4. Blood Sug­ar Reg­u­la­tion: Man­ganese plays a role in glu­cose metab­o­lism by par­tic­i­pat­ing in the syn­the­sis of insulin, the hor­mone that reg­u­lates blood sug­ar lev­els. It may also help enhance the action of insulin.
5. Lipid Metab­o­lism: Some enzymes that con­tain man­ganese are involved in the metab­o­lism of fats and cho­les­terol. Man­ganese is nec­es­sary for the acti­va­tion of these enzymes.
6. Brain Func­tion: While the exact role of man­ganese in the brain is not ful­ly under­stood, it is known to be impor­tant for nor­mal brain func­tion. Man­ganese defi­cien­cy can lead to neu­ro­log­i­cal symp­toms.
7. Immune Sys­tem Sup­port: Man­ganese is involved in the func­tion­ing of the immune sys­tem. It helps in the pro­duc­tion of immune cells and the reg­u­la­tion of immune respons­es.

It’s impor­tant to note that man­ganese is required in only small amounts, and exces­sive intake of man­ganese can be tox­ic and lead to neu­ro­log­i­cal issues known as man­gan­ism. Most peo­ple can obtain an ade­quate amount of man­ganese through a bal­anced diet that includes foods like nuts, seeds, whole grains, leafy greens, and tea. The rec­om­mend­ed dai­ly intake of man­ganese for adults is rel­a­tive­ly low, typ­i­cal­ly in the range of 1.8 to 2.3 mil­ligrams. How­ev­er, spe­cif­ic dietary require­ments can vary depend­ing on indi­vid­ual fac­tors and health con­di­tions. If you have con­cerns about your man­ganese intake, it’s advis­able to con­sult with a health­care pro­fes­sion­al or reg­is­tered dietit­ian.