All You Need to Know About Minerals
In nutrition, minerals are essential for a healthy body and healthy hair. Every living cell on this planet depends on minerals for proper function and structure. No matter how many nutrients, enzymes, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates or good fats you give your body, without proper minerals they cannot be absorbed.
Minerals are the building blocks for all cellular and system processes in our bodies. Simply put, minerals are the middleman you can’t live without. When your body has all its minerals, tissues regenerate more quickly. Increasing your mineral intake will:
- Increase energy
- Provide restful sleep
- Aid digestion and elimination
- Increase hydration
- Reverse signs of aging
- Balance moods
- Aid weight-loss
- Increase circulation
- Strengthen hair, skin & nails
- Aid absorption of nutrients
- Accelerate cell rejuvenation
Eating foods rich in minerals is not only good for your body, it’s also good for your waistline. Have you ever noticed why most processed snacks never fill you up and you always wind up wanting more? It’s because processed foods are devoid of any nutrients. So your body tells you that you’re still hungry in hopes that you will eat more to give it what it needs. But, when you give your body whole foods high in minerals, you begin to consume less, because your appetite turns off when full, meaning all your mineral stores have been replenished.
Unfortunately due to over-planting and the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, the soil from which food used to get its minerals and trace minerals has been depleted. It is not an understatement to say that all conventionally grown foods today are mineral deficient in some way.
However, don’t despair, the highest sources of mineralised foods come from organically grown food or sea vegetables that come directly from the sea. Sea vegetables such as kelp and Wakame in particular, have an extraordinarily high mineral content. Celtic sea salt and Himalayan salt are also wonderful additions to a balanced diet. Other great mineral sources are:
DARK GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of both vitamins and minerals. They are also great sources of fiber. Generally the darker the leaves, the more phytonutrients the vegetables have.
CACAO BEANS
Unlike chocolate, cacao beans contain no sugar and between 12% and 50% fat, depending on variety and growth conditions. Cacao is remarkably rich in sulfur and magnesium. It is also one of the highest sources of magnesium of any food, which is why you crave chocolate when stressed. Magnesium balances the brain’s chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with more happiness.
SEA VEGETABLES
Sea vegetables provide all minerals and trace elements required for your body’s physiological functions in greater quantities than that of land plants. For example, magnesium is twice as abundant in kelp and alaria than in collard greens, walnuts, bananas, potatoes, oatmeal, and even sockeye salmon! And one half cup of hijiki has as much calcium as one cup of milk and more iron than 2 eggs! More importantly, sea vegetables present these essential nutrients to your body in a chelated, colloidal, optimally balanced form, which makes them extremely bio-available. That means your body understands how to absorb and utilise them immediately.
