Minerals

Minerals are necessary for good health.  Minerals are used by the body to build bones, produce hormones and in regulating your heart.  Eating a variety of foods is the best way to get the minerals your body needs, but you may need a mineral supplement.

Minerals are broken down into two categories:  macrominerals and trace minerals.

Macrominerals are minerals that your body needs in larger quantities such as calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur.

Trace Minerals are minerals that are required in only very small amounts by the body such as cobalt, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc.

Calcium - More than 99% of the body's calcium is stored in the bones and teeth.  The remaining 1% is found in the blood, muscle and the fluid between the cells.  Calcium is used to contract muscles, the expand and contract blood vessels, in the secretion of hormones and enzymes, and in relaying information through the neurons in the nervous system.

• Calcium is found in bread, broccoli, cereal, cheese, Chinese cabbage, cottage cheese, kale, milk, orange juice, salmon, sardines, spinach, tofu, turnip greens, tortillas, and yogurt.
• Infants and children need calcium to build strong bones.  Vitamin D helps improve calcium absorption.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Hypocalcemia, and Osteoporosis.

Chromium - Chromium is  a trace mineral found in food.  It is also a toxin that comes from industrial pollution!  Chromium slows the decline in the ability of insulin to maintain normal glucose levels thus slowing the body's resistance to insulin and helping to control type 2 diabetes.  This has been found in some studies, but is not a proven theory.

• Chromium is found in apples, bananas, basil, broccoli, garlic, grape juice, green beans, orange juice, potatoes, red wine, and turkey breast.  Vitamin C and niacin increase chromium's absorption into the intestinal tract.
• Deficiency Symptoms: (Deficiencies are very rare.) Impaired glucose tolerance, neuropathy, and weight loss.

Iron - Iron is essential to most life forms.  Iron is an important part of many proteins and enzymes and is essential to oxygen transport.  It regulates cell growth.  Heme iron comes from hemoglobin which is the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells and is found in meat.  Nonheme iron is derived from plant foods.  This type of iron is added to iron-enriched or iron-fortified foods.  Heme iron is more easily absorbed, but most dietary iron is nonheme iron.

• Heme iron is found in chuck beef, tenderloin beef, chicken breasts, chicken legs, chicken liver, clams, crab, halibut, oysters, pork loin, shrimp, turkey, and tuna.
• Nonheme iron is found in black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, navy beans, pinto beans, enriched white bread, whole wheat bread, cereals, grits, molasses, blackeyed peas, oatmeal, raisins, soybeans, spinach, and tofu.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Fatigue, irregular body temperature, decreased immunity to diseases, and decreased immunity to diseases.
• Excess Iron Symptoms:  Toxicity, or death.

Magnesium - Half of a body's magnesium is found in bone and the other half is inside the cells of the body's tissue and organs.  Approximately 1% of your magnesium is in your blood and the body works hard to maintain this level.  Magnesium helps maintain muscle and nerve function, keeps the heartbeat regular, keeps bones strong and maintains a healthy immune system.

• Magnesium is found in almonds, avocado, banana, kidney beans, pinto beans, cashews, cereal, chocolate milk, milk chocolate, halibut, lentils, milk, oatmeal, peanut butter, peanuts, blackeyed peas, potatoes, raisins, soybeans, spinach, brown rice, wheat bran, wheat germ, and yogurt.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Symptoms are rarely seen in the U.S.  Loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and weakness.

Selenium - A trace mineral that is combined with proteins to created selenoproteins.  Selenoproteins are antioxidant enzymes and help prevent damage to the cells from free radicals.  Selenoproteins help regulate thyroid function and assist the immune system.

• Selenium is found in beef, chuck roast beef, Brazil nuts, enriched white bread, enriched whole-wheat bread, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, chicken breast, eggs, macaroni, oatmeal, brown rice, white rice, spaghetti, tuna, light-meat turkey, and walnuts.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Symptoms are rare in the U.S.  Heart disease, hypothyroidism, weakened immune system.

Zinc - Zinc is an essential mineral that is in most cells of the body.  It helps in the activity of about 100 enzymes.  Zinc helps your immune system, helps in healing wounds, helps maintain the sense of taste and smell, is used in DNA synthesis and helps in normal growth from embryo to adolescence.

• Zinc is found in fortified beans, cereals, dairy products, nuts, some seafood, and whole grains.
• Deficiency Symptoms: Slow growth, loss of appetite, weight loss, wounds that are slow to heal, eye and skin lesions, mental lethargy, and the sense of taste not working correctly.