Mineral Basics

Last time we discussed vitamins and today I’d like to give you an overview of minerals. So many people focus on certain vitamins, but did you know that without minerals you can’t properly utilize the vitamins you take!

Every living cell is dependent on minerals in order to function properly. Minerals are naturally occurring elements found in the earth. And since we come from the earth (Genesis 2:7), it is critical that we get adequate minerals. Maintaining chemical balance in your body depends on having the correct minerals in the proper, balanced amounts.

There are macrominerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus – and micro or trace minerals – boron, chromium, copper, germanium, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, silicon, sulfur, vanadium and zinc. You need both, although as the name implies, you only need small amounts of the trace minerals.

Minerals are primarily stored in your bone and muscle. You may remember hearing that when a woman is pregnant if she doesn’t get enough calcium for the growing baby, it will be pulled from her bones and teeth. Very true. Something you may not be aware of is that minerals are used by your body to buffer excess acidity – a big problem today.

When you eat a diet of processed, sugary foods known as the Standard American Diet or SAD (and it is!), you create an acidic condition in your body. Your blood must remain at a very precise pH level and your body, having been so intelligently designed, will pull minerals from wherever it needs to in order to buffer that excess acidity. This becomes even more of a problem if you don’t get enough minerals. It will lead to dental problems, osteoporosis and make weight loss all but impossible! Is it any wonder we tend to shrink as we get older?

As with vitamins, I suggest the highest quality, whole food minerals you can find. A great supplement that has pretty much all the vitamins and minerals you need each day, as well as other cofactors is a green drink. These would include wheat grass, barley grass, spirulina, chlorella and kamut. These green foods are so nutritionally dense that I use a green drink as my “multi.” While I use a powder I mix with water, you can get green foods in capsule form as well.

I don’t usually recommend taking minerals separately. I know many people take calcium supplements in hopes of avoiding osteoporosis. I prefer to take a balanced mineral supplement. Including magnesium, silica and vitamin D3 as well as calcium will protect your bones better than mega doses of calcium. However, if your doctor has told you to take 1200 mg. of calcium – at least be sure to take it in divided doses because your body cannot process more than 500 mg. at any one time.

Take a step:

Just as your children can compete with each other for your attention, minerals also compete with one another for absorption. Too much calcium can affect magnesium absorption; too much zinc depletes copper. If you are considering supplementing minerals, I suggest you look for a high quality, whole food mineral formula to get the proper ratio of minerals for vibrant health.

One tip: if you also take a fiber supplement or are eating a high fiber food, it decreases your body’s ability to absorb minerals – so take them at different times!

Until next time I wish you vibrant health!

Ann