Health
WANT TO GET HEALTHY? DON’T OVERLOOK
TRACE
MINERALS By Franz Gliederer, MD, MPH and Joy Stephenson-Laws, JD
Like vitamins, minerals are nutrients you get from food that provide nourishment to your body. In fact, there are six types of nutrients that your body cannot live without. They are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. While each has its own role to play in ensuring your body functions at its best, none is more important than the other. The primary role of minerals is helping your body carry out its daily functions and processes in the most efficient and beneficial way possible. There literally is no bodily process, on either the cellular or systemic level, that can operate at its best, or even continue to operate efficiently for that matter, without the right amounts of minerals. They are that critical to your body’s daily functioning. If your body doesn’t get enough, or gets too much, of any of the critical nutrients, you increase your risk of disease or other medical problems. For this reason, minerals can have a significant impact on blood pressure, weight management, cancer prevention, depression, pain, PMS and digestion, to name a few. So, what are trace minerals? Unfortunately, most people, including many health care professionals, tend to focus on making sure they have enough of the more well-known minerals such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur and calcium. But there is a whole other group of minerals that, while they are not often in the spotlight, are just as essential to your well-being. These are the “trace” minerals, typically metal ions, that your body needs, 26
but in very, very small amounts when compared to other minerals. They have essential functions including the following: • Being crucial building blocks for hundreds of enzymes. • Facilitating a multitude of biochemical reactions. • Being a requirement for normal growth and development as well as neurological functions. • Serving as anti-oxidants. • Supporting the blood system. • Being necessary for certain hormones. • Being required for normal gonadal development. Here is a rundown on the most important trace elements: Iron: is an essential component of many proteins and enzymes. It is vital in the formation of red blood cells and lean muscle. Iron deficiencies occur worldwide in children, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and individuals with medical conditions such as gastroenteritis and parasites as well as in persons involved in recurrent intense physical exercise. Strict vegetarian diets may also contribute to iron deficiency. You can find iron in red meat, poultry, seafood and dark leafy vegetables. Chromium: helps with insulin functions and glucose metabolism. Not getting enough chromium can lead to symptoms that mimic diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance and a need for higher insulin levels. Normally, a well-balanced diet that
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includes fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, and grains should easily cover your dietary needs for chromium. Copper: is a component in many enzymes involved in such key functions as energy production, iron metabolism, healthy connective tissue, neurotransmission, and the making of hemoglobin. Copper deficiencies can occur from malnutrition, malabsorption or excessive zinc intake. Symptoms may include abnormal blood cells, bone and connective tissue changes, decreased immune function, bone demineralization and increased risk for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Copper occurs in a wide variety of foods and is most plentiful in organ meats, shellfish, nuts, seeds, wheat bran cereals and whole grain products. Copper toxicity is rare but can occur with very high levels. Zinc: is necessary for normal growth and development in children, proper functioning of the immune system, many neurological functions and reproduction. Dietary zinc deficiency is quite common in the undeveloped world and may affect some two billion persons. It can cause impaired development, anemia, skin rashes, neurologic abnormalities and decreased immune function. Zinc rich foods are oysters, beef, crab meat, dark-meat chicken, turkey, pork, yogurt, milk, cashews, chickpeas, almonds, peanuts, and cheese. Iodine: is a well-known key component of the thyroid hormone. Too little thyroid in drinking water and nutrition NOVEMBER 2017
