Minerals are minuscule in size but are a huge contributor to the health and processes of the body. They compose about 4% of our body and we do not produce them so we must obtain them through the food that we eat. Minerals are actually what remain as ash when plant or animal tissues are burned; they come from the earth and will eventually return to the earth.
Roles of Minerals
- Act as cofactors for enzyme reacitons
- Maintainance pH balance in the body
- Facilitation of the transfer of nutrients across cell membranes
- Maintaining proper nerve conduction
- Contracting and releasing muscles (specifically the heart)
- Regulating tissue growth
- Provide structural and functional support
Minerals have two classifications: macrominerals and microminerals.
Macrominerals include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, sodium and chloride. Microminerals also known as trace minerals include iron, boron, chromium, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, silicon, vanadium, zinc, lithium, germanium and rubidium. Calcium is one of the most important minerals and sufficient levels of it depend on many cofactors like systemic pH, hormonal function, hydration both water and electrolytes, other minerals, vitamins, fatty acids and digestion. Almost everyone gets enough calcium but they are missing the cofactors that allow the body to absorb and use it properly. The mineral supply of our bodies is largely concentrated within the skeletal system, especially calcium with 99% of it being stored in our bones. Healthy bone metabolism is dependent upon minerals as well as vitamins, hormones and exercise.
This is where we see the foundations begin to connect to each other because digestion is essential for proper mineral absorption within the body. Calcium is especially dependent on digestion because it is only absorbed in an acid environment and requires HCL. Fatty acids are required for the transport of calcium and other minerals across the cell membrane into the cell. Hydration ensures that blood is fluid enough to efficiently transport calcium throughout the body to other tissues. Balanced electrolytes, which are electrically charger ions of calcium, sodium, potassium and chloride bicarbonate are also an important factor of hydration because we require them to retain water as well as the appropriate transfer of calcium and and out of cells.
Calcium
So what are bones? They are hard, calcified connective tissue that are composed of primarily mineral salts that make them hard and collagen fibers that give bone its’ strength. Bones form before birth, just like skin and they continue to rebuild and repair for our entire lifetime. Old bone tissue is continuously destroyed and new bone tissue created in it’s place by a process called bone remodeling. Bone also has some pretty obvious functions within the body like structural support, protection for our organs and soft tissues as well as the production of blood cells.
What most people don’t know is that bones also play a key role in the body’s calcium homeostasis because calcium is only made available for other tissues when bone is broken down through the bone remodeling process. Bone remodeling involves three types of specialist cells, the first called osteoblasts are bone forming cells that convert cartilage to bone. Second, osteocytes are primary bone cells that maintain the bone tissue and third, the osteoclasts are the bone-destroying cells that also aid in the reabsorption of calcium. Bone also helps to buffer the pH level of the blood in this way. Calcium is released from bone and sent to the blood stream when the blood pH level falls, or becomes to acidic – this is because calcium is an alkaline substance. When blood pH becomes too high or alkaline, the reverse happens and calcium is taken from the blood and deposited back into bone. A hormone called the parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamin D are also important in this process because it decreases the loss of calcium in the urine, helps pull calcium from digestion into the blood and increases osteoclast activity in the bone which frees up calcium.
Calcium and magnesium are also responsible for the contraction and relaxation of the heart and a deficiency or imbalance of these two can cause an irregular heartbeat.
Zinc
Zinc is another extremely important mineral that most people are deficient in. It is depleted by stress, refined carbohydrates, coffee, other caffeinated beverages, alcohol. Deficiency can also effect sexual activity and fertility in men.
Functions of zinc:
- Production of stomach acid
- Synthesis of cholesterol fats and proteins
- Regulates the release of vitamin A from the liver
- Critical for cell growth and cellular replication of DNA
- Skin and bone integrity
- Prostate health
- Optimal function of the immune system
- Essential cofactor for essential fatty acid metabolism and synthesis
- Needed for taste perception
- Natural wound healer
- Neutralizes free radicals
Minerals are so important and so often overlooked. One of the biggest issues with mineral sufficiency is that our agriculture is creating soil that is less and less mineral rich. Many people also experience deficiencies because of poor digestion. It is important to start at the very beginning of the foundations when addressing mineral deficiencies, all the way back to diet and digestion.
The final foundation is hydration and there are so many common issues that could be solved just by drinking more water it is truly baffling to most people. I will discuss the importance of water in the body, symptoms of dehydration as well as how to calculate how much water you should be drinking a day in relation to other beverages.
Check back in for hydration!