

Iron : is beneficial for the formation of red blood cells and muscle growth and can be found in red meat, poultry, fish and seafood, and dark, leafy veggies.Here are the trace elements considered essential by the United States Food and Drug Administration: Here are the trace minerals recognized as essential by the FDA: Trace minerals also ensure the proper development of neurological functions and enzymes throughout the body. They’re also responsible for supporting your blood system and are necessary for the healthy growth of certain hormones. Some act as antioxidants such as copper, selenium, manganese, and zinc, protecting the body from long-term damage. Related article: Magnesium Deficiency – Needs for Magnesium not met in most people 7. One consequence of careless stewardship of the Earth is disease, some caused by trace mineral deficiencies. Humans have done a good job multiplying but not replenishingĮver think about how in the Bible, the Lord commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the Earth? Humans have now done a pretty good job of multiplying, but have done a poor job of replenishing the Earth. Although the world’s soils have become depleted, the seas are a nearly perfect source of minerals and trace minerals. Water only flows downhill and carries with it vital nutrients. Life has always been closely associated with the seas. Forrest Nielson with the USDA explained that the more likely one was to find a mineral in seawater, the more likely that the mineral would be safe and essential for human health. The Earth’s major fluids and the body’s major fluids are very similar in mineral balance. Fun fact: The body’s fluids mirror the Earth’s. Related article: Mineral Resources International – 50 Years of Improving Global Health 5. This inland sea is between six to ten times more concentrated than seawater. As the water evaporates, it leaves the minerals behind. The Great Salt Lake receives water and minerals from the Uinta, Wasatch, Sawtooth mountains, the entire Great Basin area, and has no outlet. One amazing repository of minerals is the Great Salt Lake, in Utah. As water evaporates from the seas, it evaporates as pure water and leaves the minerals behind. Now it’s time for some good news: As the soil is depleted, the seas become enriched. The earth’s water cycle washes minerals from the soil.Īs the soils have become depleted the oceans have become enriched Related article: Minerals and Immune Function 3. You cannot go into a grocery store and see how much chromium there is in the broccoli or the iron content in a bunch of spinach. Processing, such as peeling, extracting, heat-treating, and early harvest for storage and transportation, further diminishes the nutrients in foods. These macro minerals dramatically increase harvest yields but the world has seen a steady and dramatic decrease in the nutritional value of the foods we eat over the last 40 years. NPK fertilizer is the most common fertilizer but it replaces only three basic minerals: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Farmers get paid on kilos and bushels they produce but not on how mineral-rich their vegetables are. We have all heard that we get what we pay for. While healthy eating is a good start, the problem is that our soils have become depleted through modern farming practices that focus on production rather than nutrition. Here is some bad news, even if you think you are eating well: food cannot contain minerals that have been depleted from the soil. Food only contains trace minerals if trace minerals are present in the soil. Related article: Trace Elements in elete Electrolyte Add-In 2. On the flip side, if we correct the deficiency, health problems can often be reversed. Being essential also means that a trace mineral deficiency will cause health problems. They have to come from food or drink, ideally water. Trace minerals are essential nutrients just like the macro minerals (think: calcium and magnesium), and the body cannot produce them by itself. Just because trace minerals are only needed in small quantities, doesn’t mean they aren’t critical for health. After all, if you were to ask a server how much copper you would be getting from a meal, you would get a bewildered stare. Unless you’re a health expert you might not know much about the mineral content of the foods you eat or the effects of a trace minerals deficiency.
