The Power of Minerals

Increasing minerals is one of the many things addressed on my 28 Day Health Challenge  because they are vital for good health - but many people are deficient in them.   

Read to the bottom to find out how you can do a home test to see if you are deficient in iodine – one of the important trace minerals. 

We forget that we are made up of the substances of the earth!  

We are sun, water, air, soil, minerals, seed, food, virus, bacteria, and parasites all living together. 

We are a living biome.  While we make every effort to spend some time outside in the fresh air to get as much 'nature' as possible with the aim of getting balance in our lives, we need to spend just as much time looking at ourselves from the inside - as a living being - with depleted resources that are out of balance. 

Minerals that have been depleted from our soil, are depleted in our food, and therefore they are depleted from our bodies at a cellular level.  The five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.  Trace minerals include iodine, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, and selenium.

Without a healthy supply of minerals we decrease the assimilation of water, vitamins and other nutrients.

Magnesium and calcium are known to help us relax and thus repair.  

Two primary trace minerals getting more notice for their power to revitalise us are iodine and iron. 

Minerals are key ... to both our restful nights and daily energy levels.

Foods highest in minerals include: 

Nuts & Seeds – which are packed with an array of minerals but particularly rich in magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper, selenium and phosphorus. 

Seafood – including oysters, clams, and mussels are concentrated sources of minerals and packed with selenium, zinc, copper and iron. 

Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, cabbage & Brussel sprouts) are especially rich in sulphur, a mineral that’s necessary for cellular function. In addition to sulphur, cruciferous vegetables are a good source magnesium, potassium, manganese and calcium.  

Eggs – organic –they’re high in iron, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium as well as many vitamins, healthy fats, antioxidants, and protein (do not avoid the yolks – that’s where all the minerals are!).  

High School Science

Minerals are foundational to soil and our health! 

Macro:

Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium

Potassium, Sodium

Chloride, Sulphur

Micro

Iodine, Iron, Copper

Cobalt, Selenium

Manganese, Zinc 

Essential Oils make the cell membranes more permeable, therefore more receptive to vitamins and minerals. 

How to test for iodine deficiency at home:

Buy yourself a bottle of iodine from the pharmacy (more difficult to get these days -so maybe Amazon). 

Put a little on a cotton ball and rub about a two-inch square on the inside of your thigh at bedtime.  

In the morning see if the yellow iodine stain is still there.  

If it’s still there, then your body has sufficient iodine in it and doesn’t need any more, but if the iodine has disappeared, then your body needs it and has drawn it into the body.  This is a quick, simple and effective test.  If the iodine mark disappeared you can continue to use the iodine up as a food supplement, but do aim to increase your intake of sea vegetables and the other foods named above.  

TIP - if you put the bottle of iodine on the closed loo seat, it will remind you to check your inner thigh in the morning.  

Suzie Webb