We all know vitamins are good for us, but have you though about how many of the neccesary minerals you're getting each day? Minerals are critical for the formation of blood and bone, body fluids, cellular growth and healing, energy, muscle tone, and nerve function. Minerals are also vital in the absorption, function and effectiveness of many vitamins. This means if minerals are not present in the proper proportion, then vitamins are not sufficiently absorbed. This can leave you deficient in both vitamins and minerals, taking a toll on your overall health!
One of the best ways to see what your body needs is to schedule a nutritional consult. It's an opportunity to sit with Dr. Derenzo, discuss your goals, find your weaknesses, and learn just what your body needs to function at its best. Call us today to schedule your nutritional consult!
Want a sneak peek at what your body might be missing? Check out just a few of the minerals our bodies need and what they do for us!
Calcium
- Builds and protects bones and teeth
- Helps with muscle contractions, blood clotting, and nerve impulse transmission
- Plays a role in hormone secretion and enzyme activation
- Helps maintain healthy blood pressure
- Sources- Yogurt, cheese, milk, tofu, sardines, salmon, leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and kale.
Chloride
- Balances fluids in the body
- A component of stomach acid, essential to digestion
- Sources- Salt (sodium chloride), soy sauce, seaweed, tomatoes, and celery.
Chromium
- Enhances the activity of insulin
- Helps maintain normal blood glucose levels
- Needed to free energy from glucose
- Sources- Meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and cheese.
Copper
- Plays an important role in iron metabolism
- Helps make red blood cells
- Sources- Liver, shellfish, nuts, seeds, whole grain products, beans and prunes.
Iodine
Helps set body temperature
- Influences nerve and muscle function, reproduction, and growth
- Prevents goiter and a congenital thyroid disorder
- Sources- Iodized salt, processed foods, and seafood.
Iron
- Helps transoport oxygen throughout the body
- Needed for chemical reactions in the body and for making amino acids, collagen, neurotransmitters, and hormones
- Sources- Red meat, poultry, eggs, fruits, green vegetables, and grain products.
Magnesium
- Needed for many chemical reactions in the body
- Assists calcium with muscle contraction, blood clotting, and regulation of blood pressure
- Helps build bones and teeth
- Sources- Green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, legumes, cashews, sunflower seeds, halibut, whole wheat, and milk.
Manganese
- Helps form bones
- Helps metabolize amino acids, cholesterol, and carbohydrates
- Sources- Nuts, legumes, whole grains, and tea.
Phosphorus
- Helps build and protect bones and teeth
- Part of DNA and RNA
- Helps convert food into energy
- Part of phospholipids, which help shuttle nutrients into and out of cells
- Sources- Dairy products, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, liver, green peas, broccoli, potatoes, and almonds.
Potassium
- Balances fluids in the body
- Helps maintain steady heartbeat and send nerve impulses
- Needed for muscle contractions
- A diet rich in potassium seems to lower blood pressure
- Getting enough potassium from your diet may benefit bones
- Sources- Meat, milk, fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes.
Selenium
- Acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells
- Helps regulate thyroid hormone activity
- Sources- Organ meats, seafood, walnuts, grain products and sometimes plants (depends on the soil selenium content).
Zinc
- Helps form many enzymes and proteins and create new cells
- Frees Vitamin A from storage in liver
- Needed for immune system, taste, smell, and wound healing
- When taken with certain antioxidants, zinc may delay the progression of age-related macular degeneration
- Sources- Red meat, poultry, oysters, beans and nuts.