Minerals And Their Functions
Deficiency Signs: Muscle cramps or tremors, insomnia or nervousness, joint pain or arthritis, tooth decay, high blood pressure. Dosage: 400 to 1,000 mg Toxicity: Problems of excessive calcium arise from other factors such as excessive vitamin D intake (above 25,000 IU per day). Excess will interfere with absorption of other minerals, especially if their intake is slightly low. May lead to calcification of kidneys, heart, and other soft tissue, for example, kidney stones. Best Food Sources: Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, almonds, brewer"s yeast, parsley, corn tortillas, globe artichoke, prunes, pumpkin seeds, cooked, dried beans, cabbage, winter wheat. Helpers: Works well in ratio of 3:2 calcium to magnesium and 2:1 calcium to phosphorous. Vitamin D and boron. Exercise. Robbers: Hormone imbalances, alcohol, lack of exercise, caffeine, tea. Lack of hydrochloric acid and excess fat or phosphorus hinder absorption. Stress causes increased excretion.
Primary uses: Helps in stomach acid production and acidbase balance. Deficiency signs: Acid-base imbalance. Best Food Sources: Salty foods.
Primary uses: Helps vitamin B-12 in blood cell production Best Food Sources: Meat
Primary uses: Involved in extracting energy from the citric acid cycle and in blood production. Deficiency Signs: Fatigue and anemia Best Food Sources: Seafood, organ meats, and legumes
Primary uses: Forms part of glucose-tolerance factor (GTF) to balance blood sugar. Helps normalize hunger and reduce cravings, improves life span, helps protect DNA and RNA. Essential for heart function. Deficiency Signs: Excessive or cold sweats, dizziness, or irritability after six hours withour food; need for frequent meals; cold hands; need for excessive sleep or drowsiness during the day; excessive thirst; addiction to sweet foods. Dosage: 25 to 200 mcg. Toxicity: There is a wide range of safety between the helpful and harmful doses of chromium. Toxicity occurs only above 1,000 mg, which is five thousand times the top therapeutic level. Best Food Sources: Brewer's yeast, whole wheat bread, rye bread, oysters, potatoes, wheat germ, green peppers, eggs, chicken, apples, butter, parsnips, cornmeal, lamb, Swiss cheese. Helpers: Vitamin B-3 and three amino acids-glycine, glutamic acid, and cystine-combine with chromium to form glucose tolerance factor (GTF). Improved diet and exercise. Robbers: High intake of refined sugars and flours, obesity, additives, pesticides, petroleum products, processed foods, toxic metals.
Primary uses: Needed for thyroid hormone synthesis Deficiency Signs: Goiter (thyroid enlargement) and decrease of metabolic rate Best Food Sources: Seafood and iodized salt
Primary uses: As a component of hemoglobin, iron transports oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from cells. Component of enzymes, vital for energy production. Defidiency Signs: Anemia, for example, pale skin, sore tongue, fatigue, listlessness, loss of appetite, nausea, sensitivity to cold. Dosage: 5 to 15 mg Toxicity: None below 1,000 mg. Best Food Sources: Pumpkin seeds, parsley, almonds, prunes, cashews, raisins, brazil nuts, walnuts, dates, pork, cooked dried beans, sesame seeds, pecans. Helpers: Vitamin C (increases iron absorption), vitamin E, calcium but not in excess, folic acid, phosphorus, stomach acid. Robbers: Oxalates (spinach and rhubarb), tannic acid (tea), phytates (wheat bran), phosphates (fizzy soft drinks, food additives), antacids, high zinc intake.
Primary uses: Strengthens bones and teeth, promotes healthy muscle by helping them to relax, so important for PMS. Important for heart muscles and the nervous system. Essential for energy production. Involved as a co-factor in many enzymes in the body. Deficiency Signs: Muscle tremors or spasms, muscle weakness, insomnia or nervousness, high blood pressure, irregular heart beat, constipation, fits or convulsions, hyperactivity, depression, confusion, lack of appetite, calcium deposited in soft tissue, for example, kidney stones. Dosage: 50 to 400 mg Toxicity: None below 1,000 mg Best Food Sources: Wheat germ, almonds, cashews, brewer's yeast, buckwheat flour, brazil nuts, peanuts, pecans, cooked beans, garlic, raisins, green peas, potato skins, crab. Helpers: Vitamins B-1, B-2, B-3, D, and zinc, calcium, and phosphorus. Robbers: Large amounts of calcium in milk products, proteins, fats, oxalates (spinach, rhubarb), phytate (wheat bran, bread).
Primary uses: Helps form healthy bones, cartilage, tissues, and nerves. Activates more than twenty exzymes, including an antioxidant enzyme system. Stabilizes blood sugar, promotes healthy DNA and RNA. Essential for reproduction and red blood cell synthesis, important for insulin production, reduces cell damage. Requred for brain function. Deficiency Signs: Muscle twitches, childhood growing pains, dizziness or poor sense of balance, fits, convulsions, sore knees, joint pain. Dosage: 1 to 9 mg. Toxicity: Not a concern Best Food Sources: Watercress, pineapple, okra, endive, blackberries, raspberries, lettuce, grapes, lima beans, strawberries, oats, beets, celery. Helpers: Zinc, vitamins E, B-1, C, K Robbers: Antibiotics, alcohol, refined foods, calcium, phosphorus.
Primary uses: Helps rid the body of protein breakdown products such as uric acid. Strengthens teeth and may help reduce the risk of cavities. Detoxifies the body from free radicals, petro-chemicals, and sulfites. Deficiency Signs: Deficiency signs are not known unless excess copper or sulfate interferes with its utilization. Animals show signs of breathing difficulties and neurological disorders. Dosage: 100 to 1,000 mcg Toxicity: Intakes of 10 to 15 mg/day cause a high incidence of goutlike symptoms associated with high uric acid. Best Food Sources: Tomatoes, wheat germ, pork, lamb, lentils, beans. Helpers: Protein including sulfur-containing amino acids cargohydrates, fats. Robbers: Copper, sulfates
Primary uses: Forms and maintains bone and teeth. Neded for milk secretion. Builds muscle tissue. Is a component of DNA and RNA. Helps maintain pH of the body. Aids metabolism and energy production. Deficiency Signs: Dietary deficiencies are unlikely since it is present in almost all foods. May occur with long-term antacid use or with stresses such as bone fracture. Signs include general muscle weakness, loss of appetite, and bone pain, rickets, and osteomalacia (softening of bones). Dosage: 1,000 mg, Not necessary to supplement Toxicity: No known cases; however, it may result in deficiency of calcium, increased neuroexcitability, and conbulsions. Best Food Sources: Present in almost all foods. Helpers: Correct calcium to phosphorus ratio, lactose, vitamin D. Robbers: Too much iron, magnesium, aluminum
Primary uses: Enables nutrients to move into and wast products to move out of cells. Promotes healthy nerves and muscles, maintains fluid balance in the body, relaxes muscles, helps secretion of insulin for blood sugar control to produce constant energy. Involved in metabolism, maintains heart functioning, stimulates gut movements to encourage proper elimination. Deficiency Signs: Rapid irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness, "pins and needles," irritability, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, swollen abdomen, cellulite, low blood pressure result from an imbalance of potassium to sodium ratio, confusion, mental apathy. Dosage: 3,500, Not necessary to supplement Toxicity: At an intake of around 18,000 mg. cardiac arrest may occur. Best Food Sources: Watercress, endive, cabbage, celery, parsley, zucchini, radishes, cauliflower, mushrooms, pumpkin, molasses. Helpers: Magnesium helps to hold potassium in cells. Robbers: Excess sodium from salt, alcohol, sugar, diuretics, laxatives, corticosteroid drugs, stress.
Primary uses: Antioxidant properties help to protect against free radicals and carcinogens. Reduces inflammation, stimulates the immune system to fight infections, promotes a health heart, and helps vitamin E's action. Required for male reprodictive system, needed for metabolism. Deficiency Signs: Family history of cancer, signs of premature aging, cataracts, high blood pressure, frequent infections. Dosage: 25 to 150 mcg, None established Toxicity: None below 750 mcg; when it interferes with normal structure and functions of proteins in hair, nails, and skin, garlic breath may occur. Best Food Sources: Tuna, oysters, molasses, mushrooms, herring, cottage cheese, cabbage, beef liver, zucchini, cod, chicken. Helpers: Vitamins E, A, and C. Robbers: Refined food, modern farming techniques.
Primary uses: Maintains the body's water balance, preventing dehydration. Helps nerve functioning. Used in muscle contraction, including the heart muscle. Utilized in energy production, helps move nutrients into cells. Deficiency Signs: Dizziness, heat exhaustion, low blood pressure, rapid pulse, mental apathy, loss of appetite, muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, reduced body weight, headache. Dosage: 2,400 mg, Not necessary to supplement Toxicity: May occur with high intake from processed foods and restricted water intake, edema, high blood pressure, kidney disease. Best Food Sources: Sauerkraut, olives, shrimp,miso, beets, ham, celery, cabbage, crab, cottage cheese, watercress, red kidney beans. Helpers: Vitamin D Robbers: Potassium and chloride counteract sodium, to keep a balance in the body.
Primary uses: Component of over two hundred enzymes in the body, component of DNA and RNA, essential for growth. Important for healing, controls hormones that are messengers from organs such as the testes and ovaries, aid in coping with stress effectively. Promotes a healthy nervous system and brain especially in the growing fetus, aids bone and teeth formation, helps hair shine. Essential for constant energy. Deficiency Signs: Poor sense of taste or smell, white marks on more that two fingernails, frequent infections, stretch marks, acne or greasy skin, low fertility, pale skin, tendency to depression, loss of appetite. Dosage: 5 to 20 mg, Toxicity: 2,000 mg or more can result in gastrointestinal irritation vomiting, anemia, reduced growth, stiffness, loss of appetite, and death. Zinc has been administered to patients in tenfold excess of the dietary allowance for years without adverse reactions, but copper levels should be monitored. Best Food Sources: Oysters, ginger root, lamb, pecans, dry split peas, haddock, green peas, shrimp, turnips, brazil nuts, egg yolks, whole wheat, rye, oats, peanuts, almonds. Helpers: Stomach acid; vitamins A, E, and B-6; magnesium, calcium, phosphorus. Robbers: Phytates (wheat), oxalates (rhubarb and spinach), high calcium intake, copper, low protein intake, excess sugar intake, stress; alcohol prevents uptake.
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