“University studies have shown that the bioavailability of minerals found in the food you eat is higher than isolated mineral salts found in supplements.”
A quick scan of any typical supermarket in North America will showcase in super-sized proportions that, although we are certainly not starving from lack of calories, exploding health care costs reveal a dietary deficiency in the microscopic building blocks necessary to maintain human vitality. The fact that we can overeat and still be grossly deficient in nutrients demonstrates just how effective food processing has become in stripping nature’s foods of vital micronutrients. Fast food may taste good, but it is full of empty calories.
Eating is feeding; the question is what are you feeding? If food is used in an attempt to feed emotional emptiness, then our diet will resemble the behavior of a drug addict. The food industry knows we use food like drugs, capitalizing on our addictions by adding loads of harmful salt, fat and sugar, all as physically addictive as heroine. The key to improving health is to stop making food choices according to emotional needs. Although it sounds simple, the application can be tough going.
One thing that helped me along the path was to educate myself about what is healthy. Learning about the hidden treasures in whole foods provided an inspired push to eat better. I found it exciting to see just how much nutrition bang I can get for the calorie buck. How many nutrients can I feed my trillions of cells in a 2,000-calorie day? For the price of a Big Mac, you can buy a sweet cantaloupe, an organic banana, two pounds of carrots and a handful of raw almonds. That is loads of tasty eating, packed with vitamins and minerals, and containing fewer calories and fat than the Big Mac. Now that’s exciting.
Minerals
Unlike vitamins, minerals are not created by plants or animals but are inorganic elements found in the earth. Plants and the flesh of animals do play an important role in increasing the bioavailability of minerals for the human cell. Since minerals are inorganic and cannot be affected by light or air, they are more stable than vitamins.
There are seven major minerals that we need. Calcium and phosphorous are essential for strong bones, teeth and muscle. In smaller amounts, magnesium is important for healthy bones. The other major minerals that are responsible for fluid-regulating electrolytes are sodium, potassium and chloride. Lastly, sulfur works with proteins and vitamins. Trace minerals include: chromium, selenium, fluoride, zinc, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum and cobalt. Finally we have the ultra-trace minerals, nickel, arsenic, silicon and boron.
You can get too much of a mineral. For instance, the only way of reducing iron in the body is through blood loss. It makes sense then that menstruating women must take care to eat iron-rich foods. But it is also important not to take too much iron in the form of supplements.
Unlike plants, humans are not rock eaters. University studies have shown that the bioavailability of minerals found in the food you eat is higher than isolated mineral salts often found in supplements. It has been recently discovered that minerals need protein to be absorbed into cellular receptors. It comes as no surprise that pills cannot replace the complex cooperative elements found in fresh fruit and vegetables. Coincidence? No, by careful divine design with your health in mind.
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