| Why Take Mineral
Supplements? |
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Researchers differ on exactly how many essential
minerals there are (the general consensus is
around 60), but they all agree that a diet which
lacks enough of these minerals can eventually
lead to disease and death.
Unfortunately, minerals don't occur in a uniform
blanket around the crust of the Earth, but
rather, are found in veins and patches. Since
different minerals appear in different
concentrations from place to place, there have
always been a wide variety of deficiency-related
diseases.
To eliminate random mineral-deficiency diseases
in livestock, the agricultural industry adds
minerals and trace minerals to animal feed so
that every mouthful delivers optimal nutrition.
By contrast, humans have historically been told
that "you can get everything you need from your
four food groups." Today, people are beginning to
realize that this just isn't true.
 For over 100 years,
American farmers have used the simple fertilizer
NPK to achieve the maximum yield per acre
possible. As a result, our farm and range soils
are exhausted of organic material and depleted of
essential minerals. It is more important now than
ever before to supplement our diets with
minerals.
Minerals are the basic building blocks of all
things, both living and non-living. Their
functions in our bodies are critical and are
essential for good health. The body utilizes over
60 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. Evidence of
mineral malnutrition are various minor and
serious health conditions such as energy loss,
premature aging, diminished senses, and
degenerative diseases like osteoporosis, heart
disease, and cancer.
 In many
cases, these could be prevented with
proper mineral supplementation. The more you
learn about the benefits of minerals, the more
control you will have over your own health!
Every living cell depends on minerals for proper
structure and function. Minerals are needed for
the formation of blood and bones, the proper
composition of body fluids, healthy nerve
function, proper operation of the cardiovascular
system, among others. Like vitamins, minerals
function as co-enzymes, enabling the body to
perform its functions including energy
production, growth and healing. Because all
enzyme activities involve minerals, they are
essential for the proper utilization of vitamins
and other nutrients. Nutritionally, minerals are
grouped into two categories: bulk or essential
minerals, also called macro-minerals, and trace
minerals or micro-minerals. Macro-minerals such
as calcium and magnesium are needed by the body
in larger amounts. Although only minute
quantities of trace minerals are needed, they are
nevertheless important for good health.
Micro-minerals include boron, chromium, iron,
zinc, and many others.
Three basic classifications of minerals exist.
They are "metallic minerals," "chelated
minerals," and "colloidal minerals."
Metallic minerals are found in their pure
elemental form or as salts such as sodium
chloride and zinc sulfate. They are the most
commonly used form in nutritional supplements,
especially for the essential minerals, because
larger amounts are indicated. They are generally
the least expensive form of minerals but their
primary disadvantage is that their degree of
absorption is the least of all three forms.
Although they have their place, metallic minerals
do not represent the full spectrum of all the
trace minerals that are known to be of value in
human nutrition.
Chelated minerals are the next step up the
ladder in so far as the body's ability to
assimilate. The term "chelate" originates from a
Greek word that means "claw". In this process, be
it either in the laboratory or in nature itself,
a metallic mineral is "chelated" with an amino
acid. The amino acid actually surrounds the
metallic mineral like a claw and thereby helps to
solubilize it, making the "mineral chelate" more
bioavailable or useful to the body. Examples of
chelated minerals are the magnesium aspartate
(magnesium chelated with the natural aspartic
acid) and chromium picolinate (chromium chelated
with picolinic acid). In many cases, chelated
minerals are about 40% more efficient in regards
to absorption and assimilation into the body than
metallic minerals.
 Colloidal minerals are
those that occur in nature in the colloid state.
That is, they are minute particles that either
are or can be easily dispersed in a medium such
as water. In that they are made up of such small
particles, there is a major increase in surface
area giving them greater exposure to the liquid
or solvent they are to be distributed in. This
results in increased solubility, bioavailability,
absorption, and usefulness to the body.
Plant-derived colloidal minerals provide the best
of all forms of minerals not only because of this
increased solubility but also because they are
associated with natural plant tissue. This gives
them all the advantages of chelated and metallic
minerals and more! |
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