Common Mineral Deficiencies and Your Health

There’s a direct correlation between common mineral deficiencies and illness or disease. Dr. Linus Pauling, the winner of two Nobel Prizes in Medicine, believes that every sickness, every disease, and every ailment can be traced to a mineral deficiency. Deficiencies are largely believed to be rare in our society, when in fact they are really very common. 

For example, the average American diet provides only 40 percent of the RDA of Magnesium, leading authorities to estimate that 80 percent of the population is deficient in magnesium. And 68 percent of the population receive less than 2/3 RDA of Zinc, while 80 percent of the population may be deficient in chromium. As much as 98 percent of Americans eat a potassium-deficient diet, and most adults in the United States are not acquiring adequate levels of calcium.

We should obtain balanced levels of minerals and vitamins from our food, but this does not occur because our food is stripped of its nutrients in processing and our food is grown in soil that is depleted of minerals and vitamins.  Soil is destroyed with chemical fertilizers, insecticides, overuse of soil, etc., which makes our society more deficient every day.

Minerals work as building blocks for our bones, muscles, teeth, nerves, connective tissue, and body fluids.  They are cofactors to enzymes that speed up the biochemical reactions required by the body to function effectively and are also cofactors with vitamins.  Each vitamin needs a specific one to make it work. Vitamins can’t be utilized if minerals are not present.  Therefore, if you’re taking vitamin supplementation without the proper mineral balance in your body, it is useless.

Minerals are necessary for every biochemical process and activity of the body. They are responsible for maintaining the (pH) balance of the body, proper cellular metabolism, nerve conduction, muscle function, organ function, hormonal secretion of glands, digestive competence.

They are also necessary for activation and utilization of amino acids, carbohydrates, enzymes, fats, oils, phytochemicals, proteins, sugars, and vitamins, providing nutrients into our cells, and removing wastes from all cells, tissues, fluids, glands, and organs.

Additionally, they provide structure and function for the hair, skin, nails, and five senses. They are essential for detoxification, the anti-oxidation process and protect us from toxic heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium, aluminum, arsenic, and lead.

If these crucial nutrients are not present in the body in adequate amounts, the body will find alternative pathways to use, which are less efficient, and this will lead to chemistry imbalances, which leads to deterioration in the organs, glands, and body systems.  The result will be poor health and degenerative health conditions.

Most of us know that osteoporosis is linked to a deficiency in calcium, but most are not aware that diabetes and hypoglycemia are connected to chromium, and vanadium and that cancer and heart disease are connected to selenium and copper.  Anxiety and depression are linked to copper, selenium, magnesium, and many others.  Muscle pain and spasms are connected to magnesium.

Symptoms of Common Mineral Deficiencies

The list of symptoms that can develop as a result of deficiency is vast, but here are some of the most common:

  • Depression
  • Schizophrenia
  • Thyroid disorders
  • Compromised immune function
  • Liver dysfunction or not functioning optimally
  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Vision disorders
  • Hypertension
  • Headaches
  • Migraines
  • Insomnia,
  • Stroke
  • Arthritis
  • Hypoglycemia
  • Diabetes,
  • Cancer
  • Osteoporosis
  • Arteriosclerosis
  • High cholesterol
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • PMS
  • Binging/cravings food
  • Impaired Detoxification System
  • Obsessions
  • Muscle pain/spasms
  • Asthma
  • Heart disease
  • Dysautonomia
  • Candida overgrowth
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Manic Depression
  • Cancer
  • Addiction
  • Heavy metal toxicity
  • Alzheimer’s
  • High blood pressure
  • MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
  • Adrenal Fatigue
  • Autism
  • Neurotransmitter imbalances
  • In more serious cases, even an unexpected sudden onset of death, which is often unexplained.

Two Types of Minerals

There are two types of minerals – macrominerals and trace minerals.  The body needs larger amounts of macrominerals and smaller amounts of trace minerals.

Macrominerals

Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Sodium
Potassium
Chloride
Sulfur

Trace minerals

Manganese
Iron
Copper
Iodine
Zinc
Cobalt
Selenium
Boron
Chromium
Molybdenum

Minerals are the cornerstones of good health.  They are essential for all prevention and treatment programs.   It is important to work with a physician knowledgeable in this area and not treat yourself because supplements should be highly absorbable, balanced, and individualized.  The symptoms of mineral deficiency overlap with many other illness symptoms and it will be necessary to rule out or in other factors that may need to be addressed.

Treating yourself with random supplementation can cause problems because too much of a particular mineral can be just as bad as not enough. They need to be balanced and individualized to meet your specific needs.  Some need to be taken in conjunction with others to work properly or taking one without another can cause a deficiency in another area. The best way to assess whether you have any of the common mineral deficiencies is with an RBC Mineral Test.

The average M.D. or even Nutritionist is not educated in the facts about soil depletion and the epidemic of nutritional deficiencies in our society.  An orthomolecular doctor, doctor of environmental medicine, a clinical ecologist, or someone who practices functional medicine would be a good choice.

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