Mighty Minerals - The Majors

As I stated in my last post, minerals are divided into major and trace. The major minerals are also the best known and include: calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Since these are needed in larger quantities than the trace minerals, I thought it best to start here with the first three.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body - around 2% of your body weight. Even small children are taught that calcium is important for teeth and bones, but calcium's role in nerve transmission, muscle contraction (especially your heart), hormone production and blood coagulation is less well known, but not less important. There is also some research emerging that links calcium to the prevention of colon, breast and prostate cancers (although it is too early to know conclusively). The best sources include dairy products, dark leafy green vegetables, seeds and soybeans. The daily recommended amount varies for sex and age but is typically between 1000 - 1200 mg per day.

Chloride is best known as the other half of the compound sodium chloride (aka salt). It is an anion (has a negative charge) and it is the dominant anion in your blood where it balances the cations (positively charged): sodium and potassium. Chloride helps regulate the pH of your blood, is found in your cerebrospinal fluid, helps with the conservation of potassium, and is involved in the production of stomach acid (hydrochloric acid). The most obvious source of this mineral is salt, but it can also be found in vegetables like tomatoes and asparagus. The daily recommended value for this mineral is 750 mg per day (not hard to get with the amount of salt in the typical diet).

Magnesium is othe fourth most abundant mineral in your body and is of the major essential minerals found in your bones, teeth and muscles. In the body it is usually combined with phosphate. It is a cation like calcium and potassium. Magnesium is required for the ATP cycle (metabolism), as it activates the enzymes involved in the process. It also has a role in the nervous system, muscle contraction (keeps your heart beat regular), repair of DNA, and blood vessels. The best sources of magnesium are meat, poultry, fish, dark green leafy vegetables, soybeans, nuts and seeds. The recommended daily value for magnesium is 400 mg per day.

We will complete the major minerals phosphorus, potassium and sodium on the next post - so check back soon!

Mighty Minerals

I feel like I'm back from a sabbatical it has been so long since I last posted. No, I haven't abandoned my blog; I've just been trying to make time for all the commitments in my life! So before any more time elapses, let's get into our next topic - Minerals.

Minerals are part of the micronutrients our bodies need to keep running, especially those that have been defined as essential. The essential minerals actually outnumber the vitamins and amino acids our bodies require - surprising given how little we typically learn about them. Minerals were established as being essential way back around 1874, but that doesn't mean that scientists didn't recognize how important some of the minerals were before then; iron was known to be important around 1664, calcium around 1842 and sodium around 1849.

The list of essential minerals is usually broken further down into "major" and "trace"; obviously we need larger quantities of the major minerals and fewer of the trace minerals in our diet. The list includes: arsenic (trace), boron (trace), calcium (major), chloride (major), chromium (trace), cobalt (trace), copper (trace), fluoride (trace), iodine (trace), iron (trace), lithium (trace), magnesium (major), manganese (trace), molybdenum (trace), nickel (trace), phosphorus (major), potassium (major), selenium (trace), silicon (trace), sodium (major), vanadium (trace), and zinc (trace).

The roles minerals play within our bodies are varied; some are structural like calcium which strengthens bones, some are catalytic like zinc's involvement as a component of enzymes, and others play a role in signal transduction like sodium and potassium in muscle cells. Many of the minerals play multiple roles within the body - some of which I'll cover in the next few posts. And like with vitamins, it is important to remember that there is an issue with dose - as you may have observed, some of the essential minerals are toxic (especially lead & arsenic); more is not always better!

So I hope that you are still interested in becoming more food literate and I hope you will find learning about minerals interesting, so please check back soon. I'm going to start with the major minerals and work my way to the trace. And as always - I welcome questions & feedback, so don't be bashful - let me know what is on your mind!