Inorganic substances that are not broken down during digestion and absorption and are not destroyed by heat or light.

• A. Minerals
• B. Vitamins
• C. Enzymes
• D. Nucleotides

Answer: (A)

Minerals are inorganic nutrients that pass through digestion largely unchanged and are not destroyed by heat or light. They are absorbed in their intact ionic or small complex forms, which means their chemical identity remains the same despite cooking or digestive processes. While processing can reduce mineral content by leaching into water, the minerals themselves aren’t broken down by enzymes or degraded by heat in the way organic nutrients often are. This contrasts with vitamins (organic and often heat- or light-sensitive), enzymes (proteins that can denature with heat), and nucleotides (organic building blocks of nucleic acids), which explains why minerals best fit the description.