Benefit Of Food Minerals

According to "Integrative Medicine," the benefit of food minerals is the support for your cells and the structure of your body and help regulate your various body processes.

For example, the mineral calcium helps keep your bones healthy, and your body requires iron to produce red blood cells.

Furthermore, sodium and potassium help regulate body processes and play an important role in maintaining a healthy nervous system and fluid balance. In addition, food minerals help vitamins and other nutrients in your body work more efficiently.

Intake Recommendations
Common food sources tro gain the benefit of food minerals include fresh fruit, vegetables and protein sources such as meat and beans. You can also consume minerals in supplement form if you do not eat a well-balanced diet.

However, according to "Mineral Components in Food," supplement sources of minerals do not provide as many health benefits as consuming minerals from whole food sources.

NOTE: Additionally, some minerals can actually cause harm to your body functions if taken in excess. You should speak with a medical professional before taking any mineral supplement.

About Minerals and Their Sources
In nutrition, minerals are those elements for which the body's requirement is at least 100 mg per day, and trace minerals are those elements that are needed in smaller amounts. Dietary minerals are derived from the earth's crust.

Plants extract the minerals from the soil, and humans and animals, in their turn, consume the plants.

There are seven major minerals. Calcium occurs mainly in the teeth and bones, but a small amount is found in blood plasma and other body fluids, where it influences nerve transmission, blood clotting, and muscle contraction.

Dairy products and green leafy vegetables are dietary sources of calcium, and an adequate intake of vitamin D is required for calcium absorption.

Phosphorus, also found in dairy products, is closely allied to calcium in bone and tooth formation and its association with vitamin D. It is present in every cell in compounds such as nucleic acids and adenosine triphosphate.

Magnesium, also present in every cell, is necessary for carbohydrate and protein metabolism, cell reproduction, and smooth muscle action.

Dietary sources include nuts, soy beans, and cocoa. Sodium is in the skeleton and extracellular fluids and is necessary for fluid and acid-base balance, cell permeability, and muscle function. It occurs in table salt (sodium chloride, the main source) and such foods as milk and spinach.

Potassium, which is found in intra- and extracellular fluid, plays a major role in fluid and electrolyte balance and in heart muscle activity, and is also required for carbohydrate metabolism and protein synthesis. Its sources include legumes, whole grains, and bananas.

Chlorine is found in extracellular fluid, where it helps maintain normal fluid-electrolyte and acid-base balance, and in the stomach, where it helps provide the acidic environment necessary for digestion.

Table salt is its main dietary source. Sulfur, which is important to the structure of proteins, is also necessary for energy metabolism, enzyme function, and detoxification.

Sulfur is obtained from protein foods, such as meat, eggs, and legumes. Some trace minerals are considered "essential" in human nutrition.

The essential trace minerals include:
iron, which is a constituent of hemoglobin
iodine, which is necessary for thyroxine synthesis
cobalt, which is a component of vitamin B12.

Other essential trace minerals are chromium, copper, fluorine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc.

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