Essential Minerals and Optimal Health
Can’t we just EAT right and get everything we need? [Nope]
Do we really need to take extra minerals ? [Yep]
Did you know that most illness is avoided with proper nutrition?
Did you know that veterinarians prevent diabetes in animals?
Did you know that cows in domestication rarely have birth defects?
[Most birth defects are prevented in domesticated animals]
Did you know studies show nutrition matters more than genetics?
Have you heard that most illnesses improve with optimal nutrition?
Did you know that 2/3 of our “Essential” nutrients are MINERALS?
Did you know that athletes sweat more in 5 years than “couch potatoes” do in 75 years?
Are you aware that sweat is loaded with minerals?
Did you know that our farmlands’ minerals are depleted?
Did you know plants cannot make minerals?
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Got your Attention? Read on….
A little background:
Farmers and veterinary scientists add vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fats to animal feeds, and have been do so for over 50 years. Are you curious about why this is?
As simple as it sounds – this makes animals healthier.
Our soil is depleted, that is, our farmland has been stripped of minerals. [We need around 60 minerals]
We have used a “fertilizer” for over 100 years, NPK or nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
We have also utilized levees for around 100 years as well.
With 5-7 years of using the same soil without flooding [no new minerals] the minerals are depleted.
[If your checking account is all withdrawals/no deposits = trouble.]
Evidence of this is seen in animals’ failure to thrive, birth defects and a long list of illnesses. [When the don’t have dietary supplementation of minerals, etc]
Plants and animals both need minerals to live and thrive. [Plants are more susceptible to disease, too]
Plants take metallic or rock-like minerals into their system and turn them into colloidal minerals [98% absorbable].
Minerals from plants have a 98% absorption rate.
Plants CAN make Vitamins, Amino acids/protein and Oils/Fats.
Plants can NOT make Minerals.
Minerals must be in the soil or they will not be in plants.
Animals, by design, acquire their minerals through eating plants or by eating other animals [who have eaten plants and other vegetation like algae or seaweed].
Animals are not designed or suited to eat rocks for their mineral needs [neither are we].
“Rock like” or Metallic minerals are 3% absorbed.
Until we repair our soil and farmland we MUST supplement our diets to ensure complete mineral nutrition.
We have done this is animals for over 50 years. [We deserve a similar effort]
If the Mainstream authorities were to say –
“Take nutritional supplements to stay healthy”
– people will ask, WHY?
The answer is simple, yet unsettling.
Due to our farming methods our food supply is inadequate to provide proper nutrition.
Or put another way – You can’t get your 90 some odd ESSENTIAL nutrients from food alone.
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Have you heard that Folate prevents certain birth defects?
Vitamin B9 prevents neural tube defects.
Did you know that veterinary medicine and farmers have known this since the 1950’s?
Does this make you wonder why we, as humans, have needlessly missed out? Me, too.
It was not until the 1990’s that we, as doctors, admitted that “you cannot get enough B9 from foods alone” and finally recommended that women should take extra B9 [Folate].
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Zinc – an Essential trace mineral.
Zinc deficiency was linked to birth defects in 1952.
Did you know Zinc deficiency in expectant mothers has been linked to Down’s syndrome?
Zinc deficiency is also linked to cleft lip/palate.
Have you heard of this connection between Zinc deficiency and birth defects?
A report from the NIH…… ______________________________________
US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
Zinc deficiency in pregnancy and fetal outcome.
Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences, and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India.
Abstract
Maternal zinc deficiency during pregnancy has been related to adverse effects on progeny, and there are data showing that mild to moderate zinc deficiency (as assessed by available indicators) is quite common in the developing world.
Observational data relating zinc deficiency to adverse fetal outcome have produced conflicting results, mainly because of the lack of a valid indicator of zinc deficiency in pregnancy.
Studies of human pregnancy and zinc supplementation, including those from developing countries, have failed to document a consistent beneficial effect on fetal growth, duration of gestation, and early neonatal survival.
Preliminary results from unpublished studies in developing countries have also proven to be discouraging.
However, recent data and some preliminary findings indicate a beneficial effect of maternal zinc supplementation on neonatal immune status and infant morbidity from infectious diseases, and there is also preliminary evidence that, zinc supplementation may prevent congenital malformations (cleft lip/palate).
With respect to neuro-behavioral development, the evidence is conflicting, with only one study reporting a positive outcome.
More research is required to assess the benefits of the large-scale introduction of zinc supplementation during pregnancy on congenital malformations, immune functions, neurobehavior, and overall neonatal survival in countries where zinc deficiency is a problem. Currently available information does not support the routine use of zinc supplementation to improve pregnancy outcome.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16491666?dopt=Citation
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Notice the final comment ……
“Currently available information does not support the routine use of zinc supplementation to improve pregnancy outcome.”
Remember what I mentioned about veterinarians preventing birth defects? They prevent them.
There is compelling evidence in animal studies that zinc prevents birth defects.
The good news is that we can do the same.
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A Quick Comment:
In mainstream medicine the basic method of treatment is medication or drugs.
Medications are not nutrition and can be quite toxic even in small amounts and may elicit severe adverse reactions.
Medications are generally “Disablers” – they block an enzyme or normal process – to correct or “disable” a symptom’s occurrence.
Nutrients are generally Non-Toxic.
Nutrients are “Enablers” – they enhance function and correct underlying cause of the same symptoms that pharmaceuticals target.
Often times scientists/Doctors apply the thinking “less is better” to both medications as well as nutrients, but it is a faulty approach for supplements – Because “optimal is better” with nutrients.
If you think about it. We call them dietary supplements because they augment our nutrition – an extension of our food.
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Back to Zinc
If you take a high quality multi-vitamin-mineral product you will get plenty of zinc and copper.
[Copper deficiency is also associated with birth defects]
We should always take supplements in a balanced fashion.
Taking a single nutrient alone can cause problems.
Too much zinc will cause a copper shortage, and vice versa.
Now – An Overview of Zinc:
We need zinc for bone, joint and muscle health.
A zinc deficiency – prostate problems and increased infection risk.
Wounds don’t heal without zinc.
Smelly Feet? [smelly tennis shoe syndrome] – you need some zinc.
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There are another 58 minerals to talk about.
~ The Major Minerals: Calcium, Phosphorus, Chloride, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium.
~ The Trace minerals: [Some of them]
Boron – is an important element to promote healthy bones and joints that aids Vitamin D in prostate health, metabolism and regulation of hormone levels.
Chromium – aids in sugar and fat metabolism.
Cobalt – an essential component of vitamin B12.
Copper – essential to elastic fiber maintenance and hair color.
Fluorine – beneficial for bones and teeth.
Iodine – essential for thyroid hormone production.
Iron – needed for hemoglobin in red blood cells.
Manganese works with copper and calcium to decrease bone loss and increase bone health.
Molybdenum helps to break down toxic build up in the body.
Nickel – facilitates the the utilization of calcium.
Selenium – shown to reduce cancer risk, improves bone and joint health [ may reduce osteoarthritis], has anti-aging properties and ridding of free radicals and toxic minerals.
Silicon or Silica – provides benefits to bone, tendon, artery, and cartilage health and development.
Vanadium – helps bone health and promotes collagen synthesis.
Zinc -Essential for a healthy immune system. It helps with muscle growth and the synthesis of protein, and collagen production.
~ Ultra-trace minerals are found in found in very small amounts in the body.
A short diversion…. _______________________________________
From the October 2011 Acres magazine, page 22-23, “Modern Micronutrient Malnutrition” by Lawrence Mayhew
“Ultratrace elements are defined in the scientific literature as essential elements that are required in the daily human diet at a rate of less than 1 ppm, typically less than 50 micrograms per day (ug/day). A microgram is 1,000,000th of a gram.
So, the scientific definitions of trace and ultratrace elements are described in terms of benefits to livestock and humans, taking the definition away from the restricted monarchy of fertilizers, placing them into the realm of human health.
Trace element essetiality should be defined in terms of metabolism and performance of any organism that utilizes them, whether they are plants, microbes, or mammals.
By that criteria, at least 18 elements can be considered as essential ultra-trace elements: aluminum, arsenic, boron, bromine, cadmium, chromium, fluorine, germanium, iodine, lead, lithium, molybdenum, nickel, rubidium, selenium, silicon, tin, and vanadium.
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Arsenic, usually considered a toxin, in minute amounts helps prevent certain cancers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/14/medicalresearch.health
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Take Home Message……….
We cannot get “Full Spectrum Nutrition” from foods alone.
We MUST to supplement our diets to get “Full Spectrum Nutrition”.
To achieve Optimal Health we need “Full Spectrum Nutrition”.
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And as I always say….
To achieve optimal health we need Full Spectrum Nutrition.
Around 90 nutrients are considered ESSENTIAL.
These nutrients can be divided into 4 groups:
Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids [Protein] and Fats/Oils.
If Optimal Health is the goal, it is virtually impossible to get “everything you need” from foods alone.
To get full spectrum nutrition we ALL need to supplement our diets.
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Supplements to consider:
1) Get a good multiple vitamin/mineral product. Versions with “Chelated” minerals are best. I also like those with some plant based vitamins.
2) Take a quality Calcium product. Look for MCHA as the calcium source and one that includes Magnesium, vitamin D and some assorted trace minerals.
3) Take Omega 3 oils. Flax oil is the best to start. Adding Krill or fish oil later [BTW – Krill oil in the container has a distinctive odor – if you place 3-4 desiccant packs in the bottle and refrigerate it, the odor is gone in 12 hours]
4) Find a good Colloidal mineral product for trace minerals. Make sure it’s from Humic shale and NOT ionic minerals. Humic shale is the “fossilized” remains of the dinosaur days. Plant based colloidal minerals are 98% absorbed.
5) Vitamin E is difficult to get in sufficient amounts from foods. I advise people to supplement with at least 400 IU per day. Natural versions are best, look for “d-tocopherol” but avoid “d-l-tocopherol”- it’s the man-made version and is only 25% usable. Look for a vitamin E with mixed tocopherols that also contains selenium.
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