Minerals are like “spark plugs” for our bodies. We need proper levels of minerals to take our food and produce energy from it. Without the help of minerals, it is difficult for our bodies to create energy.
It’s important to know that our bodies cannot produce minerals independently. We have to get them from the food that we eat and digest them.1
Categories of Minerals
There are two categories of minerals: Macrominerals, also known as major minerals, and microminerals, also known as trace minerals.
Macrominerals include magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfur. Our bodies need larger amounts of macrominerals than microminerals.
Microminerals are present in smaller amounts in the body and are required in smaller amounts in the diet Some examples of microminerals include zinc, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and molybdenum.
What are the Important Functions of Minerals in the Body?
- Helpers or cofactors for thousands of enzyme reactions in the body
- Helps bring nutrients into and out of the cells
- Contract and relax muscles
- Helps with nerve control
Minerals can be powerful helpers for our body when in balance. They affect our hormones, including thyroid hormones, insulin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol. They help support healthy bones and teeth. They help to support immune function and energy production.
In this modern world, our mineral levels can slip out of balance due to many factors.
What Can Increase or Decrease Your Need for Minerals?
- Diet: Processed or refined foods
- Decreased mineral content in our soil today
- Supplements/vitamins when it’s not appropriate for your body’s needs or in the wrong amount
- Prescriptions: SSRIs, antibiotics, PPIs, antacids, diuretics
- Exercises
- Chronic stress: Both physical and emotional
- Fatigue
- Toxic exposure: Cookware, self-care products, cleaning products, etc
- Infections
- Environment: Mold
Ninety percent of people have some sort of mineral deficiency.
Dr. James DiNicolantonio
Factors to Consider When Restoring Mineral Balance
Many people are led to believe that restoring mineral balance is as simple as taking a mineral supplement. Restoring or maintaining mineral balance is not just about taking minerals. Besides diet, it’s important to address lifestyle factors too, such as stress management, sleep and exercise to name a few. For minerals to be effectively used and absorbed they need cofactors, or helpers. For example, for calcium to effectively be used in the body it depends on proper digestion, hydration, fatty acids, hormone function, vitamins, and other minerals.2 All of these factors help to balance calcium levels and support homeostasis in the body.
You might be wondering how you would know if you might be dealing with decreased or low minerals. Minerals affect many processes in the body and can produce many symptoms when not adequate.
Conditions and Symptoms Associated With Low Minerals
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Skin issues
- Frequently feeling cold
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Reflux
- Poor appetite
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Blood sugar issues
- Brain fog
- Muscle cramps and spasms
- PMS
- Hot flashes
The Importance of Balancing Patterns and Ratios
Minerals are team players. They are synergistic or work with other minerals when supporting the body. When looking to address imbalances, it’s most helpful to avoid addressing single minerals but look at patterns and ratios that provide a deeper insight into the body on a cellular level. When we supplement with one single mineral, we run the risk of throwing other minerals further off track. For instance, calcium needs to be in balance with other macrominerals, especially potassium. There are also several trace minerals important for the proper use of calcium.
Looking into your mineral status can be super helpful for optimizing your health. Minerals are helpers for every single metabolic reaction in our bodies. For our bodies to create hormones and digestive secretions, detoxify toxins, and produce energy, minerals are needed to make this happen. If you are interested in learning more about how to balance minerals and optimize your health, subscribe to my newsletter. I’ll be adding hair tissue mineral testing to my services early this fall, and you can be the first to know.
Resources:
- Nutritional Therapy Association. Mineral-Balance-Dysfunction-Guide. [PDF file]. 2020. P 12.
- Nutritional Therapy Association. Mineral-Balance-Dysfunction-Guide. [PDF file]. 2020. P 6.
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