Did you know that minerals play an important role in our health? Did you know that they are actually more important than vitamins? Why? Let me explain.
When you think about it, minerals are bound to play an important part in our diets. After all, rocks are the source material for soil that is the main resource of nutrition for plants, animals and ultimately humans. While deficiencies of a single mineral are quite common, just think of how many people are iron deficient and suffer from anemia. But what happens if we are marginally low in a number of minerals?
We end up low in energy, feeling rundown, we have headaches, and we are a target for every virus and bacteria going around. These effects are apparent in those people who exist mainly on fast foods or poor diets low in fresh fruit, vegetables and quality protein.
It is also a known fact the absorption of many minerals and synthesis and absorption of vitamins declines with old age. As the body ages, the assimilation process slows down. Additionally, extreme exertion, stress and exposure to environmental pollution raises our requirements for minerals, especially zinc, calcium and iron. I have found in my 19 years as a natural practitioner that most people are unaware of just how vital minerals are for our health. Worse still most people still believe that we can get all we need from our food as long as we eat healthily.
Now I believe we should eat as much fresh food as we can, but I also understand that most of our soils and therefore our food is much lower in nutrients than we need. Regrettably, millions of years of erosion and centuries of unwise farming practices have made good, mineral rich soil a scarce commodity. Soil tests from all over the world have revealed that our soils are severely lacking in minerals. This in turn produces mineral deficient plants with greatly reduced food value for us humans and the animals we eat.
Maybe this is the reason nutritional experts who represent world governments point to only 12 or 13 minerals as being necessary for average health and to another 8 or 10 minerals as possibly providing some benefit. I have always wondered why they have never studied the probable necessity of the other 70 or more minerals on earth!
Have you ever looked at the full list of minerals in a full spectrum mineral supplement, rather than the few listed on many of the so-called mineral supplements available?
Most everyone has heard of calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc, and a few have heard of manganese, selenium, copper, chromium and potassium. But how many of you have heard about the health benefits of all of these minerals:
Metallic Solids (64) aluminum, arsenic, barium, beryllium, bismuth, boron, cadmium, calcium, cerium, chromium, cobalt, copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, gold, hafnium, holmium, indium, iodine, iridium, iron, lanthanum, lead, lithium, lutetium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, neptunium, neodymium, nickel, niobium, osmium, palladium, platinum, plutonium, potassium, praseodymium, rhenium, rhodium, rubidium, ruthenium, samarium, scandium, silver, sodium, strontium, tantalum, technetium, terbium, thallium, thorium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium.
Metalloid (6) silicon, germanium, antimony, selenium, tellurium and polonium.
Non-Metallic (4) boron, carbon, phosphorous and sulfur.
Yet all of these minerals were available in our soils once for uptake into our food sources and ultimately by our cells, which require minerals to synthesis our vitamins, neuro-chemicals, enzymes and hormones to name just a few of the compounds our cells manufacture.
Minerals are by far more important than vitamins for good health. Approximately 99% of the body is comprised of minerals yet minerals are generally overlooked when nutrition is considered. Did you know vitamins are basically useless in the absence of minerals? Gary Price Todd, M.D., says the human body needs at least 60 trace minerals in order to maintain a disease and ailment free state. If this is true, its’ easy to understand why sickness is so prevalent throughout the world. Foods we raise or purchase today contain, on average, no more than 16 to 18 minerals. This small number of minerals in plants is due to a mineral deficiency of the soils around the world. Dr. Linus Pauling, two times Nobel Laureate, said “one could trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency”.
Let’s take a look at some of the more important minerals and how they work to keep you healthy and full of vitality:
o Calcium – the builder: Calcium gives bones and teeth their strength and rigidity and helps the nerves to function properly. To be absorbed the calcium you take in needs to be water soluble and needs acid for proper digestion. Calcium is absorbed best in conjunction with certain other minerals and vitamins like Vitamin D, and Boron.
o Zinc is involved in more body functions than any other mineral. Zinc affects menstrual irregularity and female sexual organs. Without zinc the carbon dioxide exchange could not occur at a rate fast enough to keep humans alive. Zinc levels are low in women with PMS and there is a high correlation between zinc deficiency and depressive moods in women. Men and boys approaching puberty often suffer from low zinc and need supplementation to avoid low energy levels. Zinc also helps in healing and keeping the immune system working well, and it is an important boost during flu season.
o Potassium maintains the body’s water balance in conjunction with sodium. More potassium to sodium, at a ratio of 2 to 1, is necessary for proper fluid retention. Potassium is now deficient in our diets while sodium (salt) intake has soared. Natural potassium/sodium ratios in American women have been out of balance for many years, causing fluid retention and its many unwanted symptoms.
o Phosphorous is another extremely important mineral, it is supposedly abundant in many foods, yet due to soil depletion this is no longer true. Phosphorous helps calcium to bind our bones, and helps us convert our food into energy. Many people who are having weight problems could look seriously at their phosphorous intake as a deficiency can cause weight changes.
o Chromium is intimately involved in blood-glucose regulation. It is useful for women who experience food cravings, typically for chocolate and certain carbohydrates, such as pizza. America has the highest rate of chromium deficiency in the world.
o Iron is essential to all menstruating women. About 30-40 mg. of iron will be lost during an average female menstrual cycle. Even a slight iron deficiency can result in fatigue and lethargy.
o Selenium alleviates hot flashes, helps vitamin E work better, and is important in reducing the risk of breast cancer.
o Manganese deficiency causes decreased ability to remove excess sugar from the blood. It also improves memory and dizziness is a sure sign of manganese deficiency.
o Iodine is necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid. Without adequate thyroid activity women will suffer excessive fatigue, excess weight, and constipation.
o Sulfur may be one of the most important minerals for humans. It is a non-metallic mineral, widely distributed in nature. It is an important structural atom in many proteins and small organic molecules. Sulfur is involved in the quality and maintenance of many types of tissues and structures within the body including hair, fingernails and skin. It combines with nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen to build protein, a main ingredient of muscles, skin and organs. It has been called the “beauty mineral” because it enhances those body externals It aids in healing surface wounds and skin disorders such as psoriasis and eczema.. Sulfur also plays an important role in the production of insulin. Diabetics should consume a goodly amount of sulfur. We know of many Diabetics who have virtually eliminated the disorder after consuming a mineral composition containing large amounts of sulfur for six to twelve months. Sulfur has also been used with favorable results in treating arthritis because it is an integral part of the amino acid, cysteine and when cysteine combines with glutamic acid and glycine in the body it synthesizes an amino acid called glutathione which is one of the most important amino acids in the body.
So now you know why you need minerals, what is the best way for you to restore your essential mineral balance? A full spectrum mineral supplement from vegetable sources is the most efficient way to be sure you are getting all the minerals you need in your diet. They are available although not very easy to find although we have managed to find an excellent full spectrum mineral supplement created from vegetation laid down during the time of the dinosaurs, one of the best you can get.
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