Minerals
In this section of Seattle Organic Restaurants, I’m going to talk about the benfits of different minerals in your diet. The function and structure of every cell depends on the minerals. Minerals regulate muscle tone, help in formation of blood and bone structure and maintain healthy nerve function.
Minerals can help the body to produce energy, and grow and heal itself. If one mineral in the body is out of balance, it can cause mineral imbalances, and health issues and illnesses. Minerals are found in rocks; rock structures contain many salt minerals. Over millions of years the rock structures are broken into smaller pieces by erosion and as a result they formed the soil.
The soil is then broken by microbes into different minerals. The plants or animals consume the minerals in the soil and we obtain minerals by consuming the animals and plants. Unfortunately over time, erosion and modern agriculture has exhausted the soil and soil doesn’t have all the nutrients and minerals. Minerals are two types based on their nutritional value; bulk and trace minerals. Our bodies need bulk minerals in larger amount than trace minerals. Bulk minerals are magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium and calcium.
Trace minerals are manganese, molybdenum, silicon, sulfur, vanadium, zinc, boron, copper, iron, iodine and selenium. Mineral supplements can help you to maintain a good health; however consuming excessive quantities of minerals can cause mineral toxicity or mineral imbalances. For example too much calcium can affect magnesium absorption and too much zinc can decrease the level of copper in the body significantly. Fiber supplements can also decrease the absorption of minerals; therefore they should be taken at different times.
