Q. WHAT IS A MINERAL?
A. An inorganic element, such as calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, or zinc, that is
essential to the nutrition of humans, animals, and plants.
Q. What is the difference between inorganic vs. organic minerals?
A. Please understand these facts:
1. Minerals are inorganic, as they exist naturally in the soil and water.
2. Minerals are organic, as they exist in plants and animals.
3. Only plants can transform inorganic minerals into organic minerals.
4. Animals must eat plants or plant-eating animals to obtain their organic minerals.
5. Inorganic minerals are useless and injurious to the animal organism. (That’s us!)
How the Confusion Began:
Because inorganic minerals and organic minerals have the same chemical compositions, the early nutritionists confused them. The mineral, iron, in the bloodstream has the same chemical composition as the mineral, iron, in a nail—iron is iron, after all. However, these nutritionists incorrectly reasoned that there were no other differences between these two forms of iron. As a consequence, there actually were iron mineral supplements that consisted of surplus powdered nails.
Perhaps you have heard the expression, “mad enough to chew nails.” In this case, mad or unbalanced is certainly the correct word.
Chemically, it is true that iron in the bloodstream and iron in nails are the same and that calcium in rocks (known as dolomite) is identical to calcium in the bones.
However, it is a grave error to believe that the body can digest and assimilate and utilize powdered nails and crushed rocks.
This is why you must be very careful about any mineral supplement you take. Calcium supplements come mostly in pill form and largely consist of an inorganic form of Calcium.
Eating leafy green vegetables such as collard greens, spinach and broccoli are considered a good source of plant based Calcium but, due to the mineral deficiency of our farm soils the average person falls well short of getting enough Calcium through their diet.
Why are minerals important?
Minerals are the spark plugs of life because they are required to activate thousands of enzyme reactions within the body. In a way they are more important than vitamins since plants manufacture vitamins but minerals must be obtained from the soil. If the mineral is not in the soil, it cannot possibly be in the plant. Since our very existence is dependent upon the body’s ability to utilize minerals because minerals activate enzymes and enzymes control all the chemical reactions that take place in a living system, i.e. our bodies.
Health Problems From Lack Of Minerals
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans typically lack a sufficient amount of the minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and the vitamins A, C, D and E needed to maintain good health.
Mild calcium deficiencies can cause heart palpitations, insomnia, and irritabil-ity.
Without adequate minerals, research has shown that people de-velop chronic life threatening diseases like; diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, bone loss, and dementia.
Key Minerals We Need Daily
List of Minerals Believed to be Essential to Humans and Their Roles in the Body:
Mineral Roles in the Body
Boron: promotes healthy bones, teeth; metabolism of other minerals
Calcium: blood clotting, intracellular signaling, muscle contraction
Chromium: insulin and glucose tolerance responses
Cobalt: contained in vitamin B12
Copper: formation of hemoglobin; absorption and use of iron; skin, hair pigmentation
Fluoride: prevents dental carries; crystalline structure of bones and teeth
Iodine: contained in hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).
Iron: contained in cytochromes , myoglobin, haemoglobin.
Magnesium: mineral present mainly in the bones; maintains electrical potential in nerve and muscle cells
Phosphorus: contained in bones, teeth; role in energy metabolism
Potassium: role in fluid and electrolyte balance; heart muscle activity; metabolism and protein synthesis
Selenium: proper heart function; possibly prevents certain cancers
Sodium: present in extracellular fluid
Sulphur: energy metabolism, enzyme function, and detoxification
Zinc: contained in enzymes, transcription factors
Through the process of photosynthesis, sea vegetables take in the inorganic minerals in the ocean and made them organic, thus they are the highest source of organic minerals on the planet.
Another way to get minerals absorbed by the body is to chelate an inorganic Calcium source like calcium carbonate into a highly absorbable organic form of Calcium. (see below)
“Chelated” minerals, those bonded with food acids, are known to be better absorbed in the human body as they are recognized as food substances.
Organic Calcium Forms:
-Calcium amino acid chelates has 65-80% absorption rates. They are fairly expensive and not as easily found.
-Calcium ascorbate gives you the benefit of Vitamin C as the other part of the molecule sans the acidity of the vitamin. It’s both expensive and hard to find.
-Calcium aspartate is the second best absorbed – 85% – of the commercially available types of calcium. Along with calcium orotate, it is the hardest to find.
-Calcium citrate is the most recommended by doctors, because it is the most easily absorbed. Unfortunately, it contains only about 21% of elemental calcium – you have to take more tablets to get enough calcium.
-Calcium gluconate and calcium lactate contain about 15% elemental calcium, similar to citrate in terms of absorbability and lack of side effects. But these cost more – as much as 3 to 10 more than the cost of calcium citrate
-Calcium orotate is the best absorbed of the commercially available types of calcium with 90-95% absorbent rate.
Bottom line: educate yourself about the supplements you take…don’t fall for the hype and slick marketing you see in the media today.
The two mineral supplements I take utilize both these processes. The sea vegetables in Body Balance use photosynthesis to metabolize inorganic minerals into an organic mineral form and OsteOmegaCare uses Orotic Acid as a chelating agent which forms Calcium Orotate, the highest absorbable form of Calcium available.
Leave a comment