MINERALS
Minerals are simple-structured substances that play major roles in
many metabolic functions. Many minerals are components of enzymes, which
are catalysts of chemical reactions in the body. Additionally, minerals
regulate and control the normal function of human and animal tissues,
muscles, and organs. For example, sodium and potassium play a vital role
in maintaining proper fluid balance. Calcium acts as a major structural
component of bones and teeth. Iron carries oxygen throughout the body in
blood.
The
importance of minerals to good health has become increasingly
important over the years as the depletion of our soils. Taking any
form of minerals does not ensure that the minerals will be absorbed
into the body and utilized by the tissues. |
The tissues of all living things are comprised primarily of four
elements: oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen. These four are the major
constituents of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and water, the major
compounds in plant and animal tissue. When plant or animal tissue is
burned, it releases gases. The ash is the rest of the minerals that were
present in the tissues.
Bones, teeth, nails, skin, hair and all other tissues require these
minerals for their formation. These same minerals also play important
roles in the function of the body, such as the production of energy and
the control of body systems. When any of the elements are lacking, the
result will be structural weakness and system dysfunction or, in other
words, disease. The deficient levels of a particular mineral may not mean
that the
mineral is deficient, but rather that high levels of another mineral
are depressing levels of another mineral by interfering with its
absorption.
Major
Minerals: The tissue requires relatively large amounts of some
minerals such as
calcium,
magnesium,
phosphorus, sodium,
chloride,
potassium,
magnesium and
sulfur. These minerals needed in larger quantities are called
macro-minerals.
Trace Minerals: The remaining minerals that are essential for good
health are known as trace minerals, or micro-minerals. The trace elements
generally recognized as essential to good health are
chromium, cobalt,
copper, fluorine,
iodine,
iron,
manganese,
molybdenum, nickel,
selenium, silicon
and
zinc.
Since most people in today's hurried world don't have
time to eat regular nutritious meals, it is important to supplement our
diet with
vitamins and
minerals. It is especially important that we receive the highest
quality product in a form that will be quickly and easily absorbed. And
it is difficult to obtain the necessary vitamins and minerals from food
because of mineral-deficient soils that are common throughout the world
today. It only takes 10 years of intensive farming to exhaust the minerals
in any tract of land. The depletion of necessary nutrients by cooking and
processing living foods adds to the difficulty in obtaining vital minerals
and vitamins from our food. Severe vitamin deficiencies will result in
serious illnesses. Even a modest deficiency in certain vitamins, can have
a profound effect on health. |