Deerfield Spa
Minerals. There’s great hype about and familiarity with iron and especially calcium, but scarcely a word about the trace minerals. Selenium, boron, vanadium, gallium, to name a few, sound so foreign. Copper, cobalt, manganese, chromium and molybdenum are the essential trace minerals. The essential trace minerals are necessary to maintain life, which makes them pretty important – even miniscule amounts can strongly influence health. Fortunately, trace minerals are easily found not only in food but in water as well. Our bodies need very small amounts of trace minerals. In fact, each trace mineral accounts for less than .005% of the body’s makeup. So then why are they so important?

Trace minerals complete chemical reactions and act as catalysts for chemical reactions. They are necessary for communication within the nervous system, hormone production, formation of blood and bones, utilization of vitamins and nutrients, reproduction, growth, repair and maintenance – basically everything we need to live. While naturally available, many people do not have the optimal amounts of trace minerals. Even if you eat foods rich in trace minerals, there is the possibility that the levels are insufficient. Top soil on our plains and farms are eroding at an alarming rate. Farming methods as well as wind and water erosion are washing top soil to the sea. With them go a host of minerals. Trace minerals are less available now to plants, the animals that eat plants and so on up the food chain. Obviously, there are still trace minerals in the soil or plants would not grow. However, levels are probably far from ideal. Even with an ideally healthy diet rich in various proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, trace mineral supplementation may be necessary. However, it is important to note that while a little supplementation can be good, a surplus is not better.

Most trace minerals are toxic in high amounts and are supplemented in micrograms which equals 1/1000 of a milligram. There is still much to be learned about trace minerals. While we know they are necessary for life, the recommended daily allowance of many has not, as yet, been ascertained. For complete absorption by the body, minerals must have an electrical charge, otherwise they cannot pass through protective cell membranes. Inside and outside the cell are positively and negatively charged ions. It is the electrical attraction of opposite charges that allows minerals to pass through the cell membrane. For this reason, it is easier for the body to absorb ionic (charged) minerals. Ionized mineral supplements can be purchased at your local health food store. However, our bodies can also break down mineral molecules to create ionic minerals. This occurs in the stomach and in the small intestine. In the stomach, hydrochloric acid breaks apart mineral molecules leaving positively and negatively charge atoms, or ions. Free form (unattached) amino acids also aid in making minerals bioavailable by wrapping around the mineral molecule, thereby making absorption easier.

There are many aspects to good nutrition. Satisfying all nutritional needs, whether the required amount is great or small, is crucial to our good health. Our bodies are incredible machines with an innate intelligence. I believe that we can either limit or expand our lives and our health. If we provide our bodies with the necessary raw materials, our innate intelligence will take it from there. What we eat and what we drink affects us physically, mentally and spiritually. So take good care of your body; it’s the only one you have.