About your Minerals
What about your Minerals ?
Like other plants and animals, we humans rely on organic and inorganic nutrients to support our cellular processes and the structural components that keep us alive and kicking.
Minerals are essential for our health and must be obtained from food, as the human body cannot produce them. Plants have been a major dietary source of minerals. Since modern farming practices have depleted the topsoil of nutrients, plants are not a sufficient source of minerals anymore.
Each mineral plays a unique role in the body and each is essential to the proper physiological execution and regulation of numerous biochemical processes. Processes such as muscle contraction, nerve conduction, hormone regulation, cellular energy metabolism, protein synthesis, and immune system function are all supported by minerals.
Minerals are found in all our bodily tissues and fluids and they mostly act as integral components of enzymes. Calcium is critical for bone development and maintenance. A deficiency leads to osteoporosis and an increased risk of fracture.
Minerals can be divided into two groups:
- Macro minerals: are present in the body in relatively large quantities. They include potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.
- Trace minerals: are required in micro- to milligrams. They include zinc, selenium, chromium, copper, iron, iodine, vanadium, manganese, silicon, and molybdenum.