A healthy human body needs nutrients.  Carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals, vitamins and water in correct proportions are the keys to health and longevity. ¹ Let’s take a moment and focus on minerals. Here is the question: Are you getting enough minerals in your daily diet? We will explore this question shortly, but first, you might be wondering why minerals are important. Here are some examples of how minerals are used within the body.

Did you know that selenium is a major antioxidant?  It can protect cell membranes, working against free radical generation and preventing cancer.  Magnesium can lower blood pressure and protect against cardiovascular disease. ²  Calcium is another a very important mineral.  It helps build strong bones as well as regulate the body’s pH. ³  There are also many other trace minerals and trace elements required for health and longevity.

So where can we get these minerals that are necessary for health?  Diet is a key source of minerals.  The foods we eat and the water we drink contain minerals.  However, is diet enough when it comes to getting all of the minerals the body needs to stay healthy?  The answer is almost always no.  Let’s look at some of the reasons why diet alone is not enough when it comes to getting minerals.

Where have all the minerals gone?  This is a very important question that must be considered when we look at the soils where our crops grow.  Since plant life is at the bottom of the food chain, mineral deficiencies in the soils do affect the entire food chain.  Processing can also destroy some of the mineral content in our food. ⁴ Then there are the choices we make on what to eat.  Many people do not eat a wide variety of whole and unprocessed foods on a daily basis.  So how can we make sure we are getting enough minerals?

The solution for getting more minerals is simple.  Supplementation and dietary changes are the best ways to get more minerals.  There are several supplements to choose from.  However, not all supplements are created equal.  Some mineral supplements are better at absorbing into the body.  We recommend our Legendary Liquid Trace Minerals together with our Liquid Chelated Mineral RDA’sbecause these complexes are easily absorbed by the body.  In fact we use some of the active components of our Legendary Phytogenic minerals to enhance the absorption of our other mineral supplements.

To wrap things up minerals are a key nutrient to your good health.  Without minerals our bodies cannot be at their best. Are you getting enough minerals?

Sources:

1. Know Your Nutrients.  University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.
   http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/nutrition/nutr4827.html
2. Dr. George Obikoya.  The Benefits of Magnesium.  The Vitamins and Nutrition Center.
   http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/vitamins/magnesium.html
3. Calcium.  The Linus Pauling Institute.
   http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/calcium/
4. Sally Fallon.  Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry.  The Weston A. Price Foundation.
   http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/dirty-secrets.html

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at 9:55 am and is filed under Diet, Minerals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.