OVERVIEW ON MINERALS
Minerals are the nutrients that exist in the body, and are as essential as our need for oxygen to sustain life. Minerals are also found in organic and inorganic combinations in food. In the body only 5% of the human body weight is mineral matter, vital to all mental & physical processes & for total well being. They are most important factors in maintaining all physiological processes, are constituents of the teeth, bones, tissues, blood, muscle, and nerve cells.
Minerals are essential for good health. The body utilizes over 80 minerals for maximum function. Because our plants and soils are so nutrient depleted, even if we eat the healthiest foods, we are not getting all the minerals we need. Minerals are very important in keeping the blood and tissue fluids from either becoming too acid or too alkaline and they allow other nutrients to pass into the bloodstream, and aid in transporting nutrients to the cells. They also draw chemicals in & out of the cells. A slight change in the blood concentration of important minerals can rapidly endanger life.
Essential Trace Minerals for Your Health
You woke up feeling great. You hit the gym early. Today was the day for your most brutal training session ever.
But something went wrong. You added 10 pounds on your bench and failed at the sticking point. Getting through those extra reps was extra hard. After your shower, your muscles still ached. Instead of feeling exhilarated, you felt tired and discouraged that you didn’t meet your goals. It could have been just an off day, but it could be something else. Maybe something’s missing from your training diet. Trace elements are the “micronutrients” your body requires in very small doses. They help your heart to beat, your muscles to grow. Without them, your body won’t function properly. And it’s easy to miss out on one or more vital trace elements, even if you’re careful to eat a “balanced” diet.
Much has been written about the importance of the dietary minerals calcium potassium and iron, but it’s only recently that researchers have brought to our attention the long-term effects of calcium deficiency, especially in women (osteoporosis). A deficiency of iron takes less time to show itself (anemia), whereas potassium deficiencies show up suddenly and dramatically. Now selenium (once known only as a deadly poison) has been introduced into our health vocabulary. Preliminary studies show that it may protect both animals and humans against some forms of cancer. More and more, scientists are discovering that physical manifestations such as premature aging, baldness, diabetes-type reactions and weakened bone mass may be attributable to a deficiency in one or several of these “micronutrients,” They play a subtle part in the body’s metabolism, but not because of their caloric value.
The earth’s crust is constantly being depleted of these essential minerals both by natural and man-made forces, and foods rich in trace elements are depleted even more by processing. Also, sources such as iodized salt (iodine) and high-cholesterol foods like red meat and eggs (rich in chromium and zinc) are disappearing from our diets. So how can we be sure of getting what we need and in the right balance for optimum health?
The quickest way is to take the right mineral supplement. (KR FOREVER AUSTRALIAN MINERAL DROP) Here’s a list of some of the trace elements and major minerals that should be in your mineral supplement, along with a discussion of why they’re important to you :
CALCIUM - Most calcium in the human body is found in the bones and teeth. We now know that our need for calcium extends far beyond our formative years. Twenty percent of an adult’s hone calcium (2-3 pounds) is reabsorbed and replaced every year. Calcium participates in all muscle contractions, is vital to the functioning of nerve cells and enzyme activity and is responsible for transmission of impulses from nerves to muscles. Calcium should be combined in a two-to-one ratio with magnesium. Taking in more magnesium than calcium leads to anesthesia, e.g., magnesium concentration is high in hibernating animals.
MAGNESIUM - This essential mineral regulates body heat, the contraction of muscles and the synthesis of body protein. It is necessary for calcium and Vitamin C metabolism as well as for phosphorus, sodium and potassium. It is important for converting blood sugar into energy. If you live in a hard water area, you’re getting more magnesium than calcium in your water.
SELENIUM - Until 1956 selenium was listed only as a poison in textbooks, so it came as a surprise when the late Klaus Schwartz discovered it was an essential nutritional factor in preventing the death of liver cells in rats. In further experiments he discovered that sub toxic amounts in the drinking water or diet of breast-cancer prone mice caused a dramatic reduction of tumors. It was later found that in certain areas of the US where the soil (and thus the vegetation) is known to be low in selenium, more women die of breast cancer. It is also believed to protect against heart disease, muscular dystrophy, premature aging and immune incompetence.
4 Minerals You Need For Healthy Hair
Minerals have an important role in the promotion of hair growth. When you have a mineral deficiency your hair will suffer as a result. However, overdosing on minerals could cause you severe hair loss.
Ok? So what should I do?
You must eat foods that have the minerals you need for healthy hair. By getting your minerals from food sources you make it nearly impossible to overdose on minerals.
1. Trace Mineral Silica
If you are missing a mineral in your diet it's probably the trace mineral silica. It's the most important mineral when it comes to healthy hair and probably the one mineral that's usually absent from most American diets. Supplementing your diet with silica alone will probably help you more than any of the other minerals combined because Silica helps utilize several other nutrients. Boron, copper, manganese, magnesium, fluorine, phosphorus, zinc and strontium all benefit from silica supplementation.
The only problem is that its very hard to get trace minerals because of the way most western civilizations cook and process their food.
So How do you supplement Silica in the body? It's difficult but not impossible.
You can get enough trace mineral silica in your diet by eating Oats, millet, barley, whole wheat, and algae.
2. Iodine
Iodine is very important when it comes to combating hair loss. You must have Iodine for healthy hair. However, you need a certain kind of Iodine. Not just any Iodine will do. The kind of Iodine that you would get in your generic table salt isn't the type of iodine you need for hair growth. That type of iodine could easily cause you to overdose on iodine and actually cause you more hair loss.
You don't want that.
So stay away from iodized salt and and start getting your iodine from food sources. These include kelp, yogurt (low fat), cow's milk, boiled eggs, strawberries and Mozzarella cheese.
3. Zinc
Zinc is another mineral that you could easily overdose on. Too much zinc could actually block the absorption of other minerals. However, that doesn't mean that you don't need zinc for healthy hair. Zinc is very important when it comes to tissue growth and hair growth in particular. It helps to secrete the scalp with much needed oil and avoid dandruff that could possibly cause hair loss. It also helps with the absorption of other nutrients that you need.
Organic beef, beef liver, lima beans, organic / wild turkey, chickpeas, split peas, raw cashews, pecans, green peas, almonds, ginger root and organic egg are all good food sources of zinc.
4. Iron
Avoid taking iron supplements. You should get all of your Iron from food sources. If you you decide to take an iron supplement anyway then avoid ferrous sulfate which is hard to absorb.
Oysters, liver, lean red meat, poultry, tuna, salmon, Iron-fortified cereals, dried beans, whole grains, eggs, dried fruit, dark green leafy vegetables, wheat, millet, oats, brown rice, Lima beans, soy beans, dried beans and peas, kidney beans, almonds, Brazil nuts, prunes, raisins, apricots, broccoli, spinach, kale, collards, asparagus, dandelion greens.
The Role of Calcium and Magnesium in Asthma
CALCIUM - Calcium is known primarily for its function as the main mineral component of bones. But calcium has other important functions, some of which are pertinent to asthma. The control of smooth muscle contraction is governed by changes in the intracellular concentration of calcium ions. (1) In the presence of calcium, ATPase is activated to hydrolyse ATP and provides an available energy source for muscle contraction.
Bones act as a calcium reservoir, supplying calcium when blood values decline and absorbing excesses when blood values are elevated above normal values. Calcium blood levels are generally independent of dietary intake, but may be altered by regulatory controls such as glandular malfunction or lack of vitamin D. (2)
MAGNESIUM - Mg is a cofactor in over one hundred enzyme reactions in the body and as such is important for protein formation, DNA production and nerve conduction. Magnesium is also important in bone formation. Magnesium is normally conserved by the kidneys and intestinal mechanisms, allowing blood levels to remain stable through a wide range of dietary intakes. Magnesium assists in calcium uptake, but it also competes with dietary calcium for the same absorption site in the intestine. Excessive dietary calcium (or phosphorus) is much more likely to block magnesium absorption than vice- versa in the typical American diet. Magnesium absorption is also inhibited by excessive dietary fat, phosphate, lactose, phytates and oxalates which form insoluble compounds with magnesium. Magnesium is also lost in diarrhea, long term use of diuretics, excessive sugar intake and protein malnutrition. (3-6)
In the intracellular fluid compartment, magnesium is the second most abundant cation, after potassium. (7) The two cations are so strongly associated that that it is difficult to maintain cellular potassium levels during magnesium depletion , despite adequate potassium intake. Thus adequate body stores of magnesium and adequate repletion are necessary to prevent and effectively treat potassium loss. (8,9)
POTASSIUM - In the last half million years of evolution, the human body developed mechanisms to conserve sodium, a sometimes rare commodity and excrete potassium, the most common mineral in the primitive diet. The main regulator of this mechanism is the adrenal hormone, aldosterone. Potassium salts are excreted in the normal functioning of the kidney but in varying degrees of dehydration even more potassium is lost (in the urine) from the intracellular compartment as the body attempts to save remaining water along with sodium. Modern diets and lifestyles tend toward chronic elimination of potassium and its metabolic partner, magnesium.When asthmatics are put on intravenous fluid repletion in an emergency room situation, potassium is the first component.
MAGNESIUM and SMOOTH MUSCLE RELAXATION - Magnesium is essential in muscle relaxation after contraction. A severe Mg deficiency causes neuromuscular symptoms such as tetany, an extreme and prolonged contraction of the muscles (10) Within the cells of striated and smooth muscles, magnesium is considered a natural calcium antagonist counteracting the adverse effects of excessive intracellular calcium. Excess magnesium blocks calcium entry, while low magnesium levels potentiate the actions of calcium. (11,12) Magnesium also plays a key role in the production of energy which is needed by the chest wall muscles and the diaphragm to perform the work of breathing. In a double blind study, individuals with low magnesium levels had an increase in the power of their respiratory muscles after receiving an intravenous infusion of magnesium. This effect was not seen in healthy individuals with normal magnesium levels.
What Is Mineral Water?
If you’re seeking the answer to the question, “what is mineral water?” you’ll find many different answers across the internet, in books and in scientific journals.
However, the simplest answer is that mineral water is water that is filled with natural minerals. But what does this mean itself? After all, mineral water can come both from a natural source or an artificial source. So what does this mean?
When you buy bottled mineral water at your local store, you may believe that you are drinking natural mineral water just because the label says so, but the truth is that some mineral water may simply have been distilled or tap water that has had minerals added to it at a later stage in a bottling or preparation plant.
When you buy bottled mineral water at your local store, you may believe that you are drinking natural mineral water just because the label says so, but the truth is that some mineral water may simply have been distilled or tap water that has had minerals added to it at a later stage in a bottling or preparation plant.
There are two types of natural mineral waters, traditional mineral water and sparkling mineral water. Sparkling mineral water, unlike sparkling water, does not contain added carbonation. The bubbles in sparkling mineral water occur only through natural processes.
Additionally, mineral water is different than bottled water and tap water because it has not been treated in the same way as these other types of water. All water is initially mineral water until it is boiled, like distilled water, or sent through a softener or some sort of cleaning process. These cleaning processes commanded by state and federal water regulations in the US remove the minerals that many people find to be beneficial in maintaining their general health and well-being.
What mineral water is “made of” is another important question to ask when you’re deciding whether or not it can be beneficial to your health. The fact is that there is a long list of different minerals that may be present in mineral water that could be potentially beneficial to your health. These different types of minerals might include the following: calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, sodium, potassium, chloride, nitrates, sulphates, fluoride and even bicarbonates.
The type of minerals found in the mineral water you are drinking will depend on the source of the water. For instance, minerals to be found in the hills of Italy differ from those to be found in the Rocky Mountains. Yet both places produce, bottle and export mineral waters.
Mineral water, no matter where it comes from or what minerals make it up, is an excellent addition to a healthy diet and exercise program as it will not only keep you hydrated, but also replace minerals that you lose through the normal course of your day.
What Is Mineral Water? What You May Not Know About It?
Mineral water has been touted as a tasty and healthier water to drink than ordinary tap water or bottled water. This is probably because of the minerals in water that many people believe to be beneficial to the body.
Mineral water has been touted as a tasty and healthier water to drink than ordinary tap water or bottled water. This is probably because of the minerals in water that many people believe to be beneficial to the body.
Advantages of Drinking Mineral Water
While there may be information on mineral water that could perhaps discourage you from drinking it, if you are careful in buying a reputable brand, you will get a lot of benefits from it. Drinking mineral water is the easiest way to get the essential minerals that your body needs for its proper detoxification and for the proper functioning of the bodily systems.
Mineral Water: Health Benefits derived from drinking Mineral Water
There are a great number of benefits you could gain from drinking mineral water. This is because the minerals contained in this kind of water provide a number of therapeutic advantages. One way to attain the optimum development of the body is by taking in the essential vitamins and minerals.
The great thing about the minerals contained in water is they can be easily absorbed by the body. In fact, it is easier for the body to absorb the minerals from water than from most foods. Thus, it can be argued that mineral water is somewhat essential for day to day healthy living.
Here are a number of benefits that can be gained from mineral water health for your body:
1. It Can Help Detoxify Your Body. Taking In Mineral Water Is Important In Eliminating The Toxins That May Have Entered The Body Through The Foods That You Consume Every Day And Through The Air That You Breathe. Because Of The Detoxification Properties Of Mineral Water, The General Health Of Your Brain And Body Can Be Improved And The Risk Of Contracting Degenerative Diseases Can Be Decreased.
2. Mineral Water Can Help In Preventing Problems With The Nervous System. Poor Quality Water Can Cause Pollution Of The Fluids In The Nervous System And This In Turn Can Cause Its Normal Functions To Falter. The Complex And Small Waterways Of The Nervous System Through Which The Body’s Cells Get Electric Signals Coming From The Brain Could Be Impaired By Impure Water. However, If You Drink Mineral Water Regularly, You Will Help Your Nervous System Remain Healthy.
3. It Aids In Heightening The Body’s Natural Healing Capability. Because Over 70 Percent Of The Human Body Is Made Up Of Water, It Is Not Unusual To That Water Intake Can Have A Lot To Do With The Overall Health Of The Body.
The Magnesium Contained In Mineral Water Contributes To Making The Bones And Muscles Strong, Aids In Making The Body Relax And In Sustaining The Proper Blood Pressure, And Enhances The Immune System Of The Body. You Can Therefore Be Sure That Taking In Pure Water Is Important In Helping The Body Restore Itself.
4. Mineral Water Works At Promoting Proper Digestion And Nutrient Absorption. The Minerals Contained In Mineral Water Such As The Chlorides And The Bicarbonates Are Important In Promoting Proper Digestion As Well As The Effective Regulation Of The Stomach And Intestinal Acids. Because Of This, Mineral Water Helps In The Optimization Of The Benefits Gained By The Body Through The Foods That Are Taken In As They Are Digested Effectively. The Food’s Nutrients Are Also Extracted Properly.
What can Mineral Deficiencies Do?
Minerals are essential to the functioning of organ systems and our entire body. Some of these minerals exist in large amounts in our body such as calcium. Others such as manganese exist in trace amounts but are, nonetheless, critical to our health and well- being.
Minerals are inorganic substances (unnatural and man made) and they regulate processes within the body. Minerals are in different structures within the body to create enzymes, hormones, skeletal bones, skeletal tissues, teeth and fluids. Calcium and phosphorus are the two most common minerals found in the body. Some of the other prevalent minerals found in the body are; iron, zinc, sodium, potassium, magnesium, fluoride, sulfur, copper, and chloride.
If mineral levels are overabundant in the body, such as sodium, they may facilitate negative effects in the body. High sodium levels may elevate blood pressure. If mineral levels are inadequate in the body, such as iron, they may facilitate negative effects in the body. Low iron levels in women can produce anemia (a deficiency in blood iron levels). Anemia can restrict oxygen and carbon dioxide removal from the cells. Low calcium levels can facilitate irregular muscle contractions, bone density loss, blood clotting and improper brain functioning.
Here is a run-through of the main minerals your body needs and the effects of their deficiency:
Calcium is essential for building and maintaining healthy bones, muscle contraction and blood clotting mechanism. Calcium is also essential to build healthy teeth. Calcium deficiency symptoms include muscle aches and pains, muscle twitching and spasm, muscle cramps and reduced bone density. Vitamin D is essential for proper calcium absorption and utilization.
A lack of calcium can cause rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults. Both conditions cause softening and weakening of the bones and can result in proneness to fractures. Postmenopausal women are especially likely to have calcium deficiency because of the reduction in estrogen during this period in their lives.
Estrogen helps to keep calcium in the bones. Women, particularly older ones, need to supplement their diets with calcium. Calcium and vitamin D are important for maintaining bone density and reducing the risk of fractures. In elderly, ambulatory, white women over the age of 65 who were not using estrogen replacement, supplementation of calcium and vitamin D produces a significant improvement in bone density and reduction of fractures.
Through a combination of diet and supplements, women receiving hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) should get at least 1200 mg/d of calcium, while the goal should be 1500 mg/d for women not receiving HRT. Recommendations for vitamin D intake are now 400 IU/d for women aged 51 through 70, and 600 IU/d for those over 70 years of age.
Children and teenagers, those on restricted diets (avoiding dairy products), the elderly, vegans and those concerned about osteoporosis also have higher needs for calcium.
Chromium is involved in the processes that make glucose available for energy. It is also important for the metabolism of amino acids (the ‘building blocks’ of proteins) and fats. Deficiency symptoms include glucose intolerance or insulin resistant hyperglycaemia (excess sugar in the blood), raised serum lipids and weight loss. Studies have shown that chromium helps to lower blood sugar in individuals with type II Diabetes.
Older people (over 55) plus those who exercise regularly as this may increase the loss of chromium from the body in urine, and will need chromium supplementation. Note, however, that some chromium supplements contain yeast, which can interfere with certain prescription medicines. Individuals with diabetes should only take chromium under medical supervision. Chromium is unsuitable for pregnant or breast-feeding women, or for epileptics.
We need copper for proteins involved in growth, nerve function and energy release. It is vital for the formation of some important proteins. It is a critical functional component of a number of essential enzymes, known as cuproenzymes. Two copper-containing enzymes, ceruloplasmin (ferroxidase I) and ferroxidase II are involved in iron metabolism. Copper is stored in appreciable amounts in the liver. It also has anti-oxidant properties and involved in the regulation of gene expression.
One of the most common clinical signs of copper deficiency is an anemia that is unresponsive to iron therapy but corrected by copper supplementation. The anemia results from defective iron mobilization. Copper deficiency may also result in abnormally low numbers of white blood cells, which can make you susceptible to infections and unable to combat them when they occur.
Iron-deficiency anemia is a form of anemia caused by lack of iron. The body needs iron to make hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to body tissues. Much of the iron our body is stored in the bone marrow that makes blood cells. When there is not enough iron in the bloodstream, the body uses the bone marrow reserves. If this iron stored in the bone marrow is low, red blood cells do not form properly: they are smaller than usual (microcytosis) and fewer.
As a result, less hemoglobin is available to transport oxygen throughout the body. Iron-deficiency anemia is the leading nutritional deficiency in the world and the most common type of anemia. In the United States, approximately 5% of women and 2% of men have iron-deficiency anemia.
When you have iron-deficiency anemia, you will likely have fatigue, dizziness, irritability, headaches, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath during exercise, a pale appearance, brittle nails, and cracked lips.
You should not take too much iron supplements. Besides the risk of constipation, a recent study reported in Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that women who store too much iron in their body may be at increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
Magnesium plays important roles in the structure and the function of the human body, involved in more than 300 essential metabolic reactions, including energy production. The adult human body contains about 25 grams of magnesium. Signs of magnesium deficiency include low calcium, hence the diseases associated with it, low serum potassium levels (hypokalemia), retention of sodium, low circulating levels of parathyroid hormones (PTH,) neurological and muscular symptoms such as tremors, muscle spasms, tetany, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and personality changes.
Manganese is a mineral element that is both nutritionally essential and potentially toxic. It is involved in bone development, wound healing, and it has anti-oxidant properties. It is also actively involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids and cholesterol. Signs of manganese deficiency include impaired growth, impaired reproductive function, skeletal abnormalities, impaired glucose tolerance, and altered carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
The other trace minerals such as Molybdenum, selenium, phosphorus, iodine, potassium, sodium and zinc play important roles in our health and well-being and their deficiencies can create a variety of health problems for us. Thus, iodine lack can cause goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland and its associated symptoms and an important health problem throughout much of the world. A high-quality liquid multivitamin will contain all the minerals that your body needs. Americans spend almost $2 billion on vitamin and mineral supplements each year. There is doubt that this is money well spent all told.
A good multivitamin is the foundation of health and nutrition. Take a look at our scientific reviews of many of the popular brands for factors such as ingredients, areas of improvement, quality level, and overall value. If you are looking for a high quality liquid multivitamin, we suggest that you take a look at the Multivitamin Product Comparisons.