The Missing Link to Improved Health
Minerals: The Missing Link to Improved Health
When it comes to eating a well balanced diet, we know that eating a variety of foods is key to optimizing our nutrient, vitamin, and mineral intake. Today, we will be diving deeper into minerals specifically. If you’re interested in improving aspects of your health such as blood sugar control, hormone or energy production, or overall metabolic function — keep reading!
So…what’s the big deal about minerals? Turns out…a lot!
Minerals play a fundamental role in our health and are required for every process in the body to work as intended.
Indeed, if you want to support your hormone production, blood sugar control, thyroid function, energy production, or overall metabolism, then focusing on minerals will do you many favors! Without sufficient levels of minerals, none of these processes will happen optimally.
If your interest is piqued, keep reading to learn more about what minerals are, why they’re important, where they’re found, and how you can optimize your intake!
What are Minerals?
Minerals are elements found in the food we eat. The body can’t produce minerals on its own, so we must get adequate intake from our diet. Since we know minerals are required for every process in the body to work properly, this makes minerals essential. We want to support the body so it can perform functions necessary for life!
Why are Minerals Important?
Minerals don’t give us direct energy like calories do, but without them, we’re unable to generate energy in the body. Minerals kick off many important reactions in the body to allow processes like energy and hormone production, muscle contraction and relaxation, digestion, fluid balance, detoxification, and nerve signals to occur.
Yes, all of these are dependent on minerals!
You can think of minerals like supporting characters in a show. Even though they aren’t the “star” of the show, their presence is a key aspect to the overall performance and success of the show. Same goes for minerals in the body — without them, the show would be lackluster and quite frankly, wouldn’t go on.
What are the Major Minerals?
There are 13 essential minerals: calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, iron, selenium, iodine, phosphorus, chloride, sulfur, and manganese. These are broken up into macro-minerals and micro-minerals.
While all are important, we will be talking about the four macro-minerals in more detail below: magnesium, potassium, calcium, and sodium.
Where Do We Get Minerals?
Whole, minimally processed foods are the best place to get minerals. When we focus on getting our minerals from whole foods, they’re typically used more efficiently and effectively since they come packaged with other important nutrients that often work in tandem. Again, think of the complete cast of a show, with all the characters working together for the plot of the show.
Minerals don’t work in isolation — they work best together, like a team. This is why supplementing, while beneficial in some cases, should be approached with caution. Over-supplementation of one vitamin or mineral can skew levels of other important nutrients. This can lead to less than optimal function in the body or nutrient imbalances.
What Depletes Our Minerals?
There are four big factors to consider that will deplete our mineral status in the body. Some are in our control, while others are out of our direct control.
Stress. Minerals are used up during the stress response in our bodies, whether that stress is emotional, physical, mental, or environmental
Dieting and under-eating. When we put ourselves on restrictive diets and under-eat, we do not take in sufficient amounts of mineral-dense foods, which can lead to mineral depletion. Cutting out certain macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, can also lead to mineral depletion. Dieting also makes it easier to focus on “low calorie” food products with little nutrition, instead of nutrient and mineral dense foods.
Soil quality. Minerals are found in soil, however if the soil is depleted then that means depleted mineral levels in the plants and animals that we eat, which then leads to depleted mineral levels in our bodies. Unfortunately, much of the soil on farm lands today is depleted.
Medications and supplements. Certain medications and supplements can impede or deplete mineral status in the body.
How Do I Combat Depletion?
While we don’t have complete control over every factor that may lead to mineral depletion, there are two big ways that we can minimize depletion of minerals.
Focus on a high quality diet with mineral-rich foods. Prioritize eating enough food, with most being whole, minimally processed, nutrient and mineral dense foods.
Manage stress levels. As stated, stress is one of the biggest factors that depletes minerals in the body. Finding healthy ways to build resiliency to, and manage, stress levels is crucial.
You can think of minerals like supporting characters in a show. Even though they aren’t the “star” of the show, their presence is a key aspect to the overall performance and success of the show. Same goes for minerals in the body — without them, the show would be lackluster and quite frankly, wouldn’t go on.
A Deeper Look at the Four Macro-Minerals
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral that packs a big punch: did you know that magnesium is needed for over 3000 enzymatic reactions in the body to occur?
Some of the big functions within the body that require magnesium include:
Insulin sensitivity
Blood sugar regulation
Vitamin D absorption and usage
Carbohydrate and fat breakdown for energy
Blood pressure regulation
…Pretty important stuff!
Most Americans are low in magnesium, which can happen for a number of reasons. Stress (emotional, physical, and mental) depletes magnesium, so if you’re under stress in any way or ill, you’re more likely to have low magnesium. Minerally-depleted soil, poor diet, and certain medications also contribute to low magnesium levels.
Getting enough magnesium from food can be challenging, but the following foods do contain a fair amount:
Cooked greens like spinach, cacao, and lentils
Pumpkin seeds
Cashews
Bee pollen
Oysters
Beans and legumes are also good sources but may be better absorbed if they are soaked or sprouted before consuming
Other non-food sources like epsom salt soaks can help increase magnesium levels
If you’re interested in supplementing with magnesium, there are many different forms to consider – schedule a visit to come in and chat with Dr. Hite, Lindsey, or Clara to find which form of magnesium supplementation is best for you!
Calcium
Calcium is a mineral needed for proper nerve and muscle function, insulin release, thyroid and hormone health, and bone mineral density. Without enough, we’re at greater risk for osteoporosis, poorly balanced blood sugar, and even allergies.
Dairy is a well-known source of calcium, but we can also get calcium from foods like:
Cooked greens like spinach, kale and collards
Sardines with bones
Salmon
Bone broth
If you choose cheese, milk, or yogurt, try options that have minimal ingredients
Should you supplement with calcium? Possibly, however it’s important to remember that nutrients work together. For example, the body needs adequate amounts of both vitamins D and K2 to be able to properly utilize calcium and deposit it into our bones and teeth – not arteries!
Potassium
What’s so great about potassium? Well…a lot! It works to enhance your body’s insulin sensitivity, blood pressure regulation, proper fluid balance, muscle contraction, and cardiac function. It also helps support thyroid hormone uptake into the cells. Without sufficient potassium, these functions will suffer.
Potassium is readily found in foods like:
Potatoes and sweet potatoes
Citrus/oranges and orange juice
Carrots
Banana
Avocado
Squash
Beets
Cooked greens like spinach
Coconut water
Despite this, most Americans lack adequate amounts, in part due to stress depleting potassium levels in the body.
…but don’t reach for that potassium supplement unless indicated by your healthcare provider! It’s best to rely on whole food sources of potassium to support levels in the body, so try roasted potatoes to have alongside a protein and veggie, or smearing avocado on a piece of sourdough, adding roasted beets to a salad, or snacking on an orange and Greek yogurt.
Sodium
Don’t worry, we’re not here to tell you to cut out all sodium! In fact, not getting enough sodium can lead to issues like insulin resistance, cramping, and low blood pressure. Sodium plays a crucial role in regulating blood sugar, maintaining electrolyte balance, and transporting nutrients into the cell. We also need sodium to help make stomach acid, which helps us break down and digest the foods we eat. So, we certainly need it!
…However, most Americans are consuming too much sodium out of balance with other minerals like potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Why is this?
Highly processed and packaged foods like fast food, chips, frozen meals, snack foods, and processed meat products like bologna are all very high in sodium and low in other essential minerals – yet these make up the bulk of what many Americans eat on a consistent basis.
When we look at the bigger picture, it’s not just about cutting out all sodium, but rather focusing on ways to increase your intake of potassium, magnesium, and calcium to create a better balance, as well as improving overall diet quality and food choices.
The best way to do this? Prioritizing whole, minimally processed foods (hello, fruits and veggies!) while decreasing your intake of the more highly processed, high sodium foods, and then seasoning meals or beverages with sea salt as needed.
In Conclusion
Minerals play a fundamental role in our health and are required for every process in the body to work as intended — such as hormone production and function, energy production, blood sugar control, thyroid function, and overall metabolism. Without minerals, these functions will fall short and we will experience some form of metabolic dysfunction and poor health.
You can think of minerals as the supporting characters in a show. Even if they aren’t the star of the show, the show can’t go on without them.
There are 13 minerals in total, but the four macro-minerals are magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium. These can be depleted in the body by stress, poor diet, soil quality, and certain medications and supplements.
The best way to improve our mineral status is by focusing on food sources that are high in minerals, as well as managing our stress. Generally, a food-first approach is the most ideal, safest, and effective way to approach mineral depletion.
A special note: As we continue to build out nutrition resources for the clinic at large, my email inbox is always open if you have a specific nutrition or lifestyle-related question you'd like answered. We're now also offering free group classes twice a month, and personalized one on one nutrition and lifestyle coaching packages. If you have any questions or are interested in learning more, please reach out!
Yours in Health,
Clara Collie RD, LDN, CPT
Clinical Dietitian, Health Coach
clara@wellspringdpc.com