found in soil and water and are ingested via food and drink.
There are at least twenty-two minerals essential to human health (over
sixty-five minerals have been found in the body), and these nutrients are
divided into two categories: major minerals and trace minerals. Major
minerals are present in the body in amounts greater than a teaspoon, while a
trace mineral can total less than a teaspoon. The terms “major” and “trace” do
not reflect the importance of a mineral in maintaining optimal health, as a
deficiency of either major or trace minerals produces equally harmful effects.
Henry Schroeder, M.D., Ph.D., of Dartmouth College has said, “Your
mineral needs are even more important than your vitamin needs, since your
body cannot make minerals.”
Minerals work either together or against each other. Some minerals
compete for absorption, so a large intake of one mineral can produce a
deficiency of another. This is especially true of the trace minerals, such as
copper, iron and zinc. In other cases, some minerals enhance the absorption
of other minerals. For example, the proper proportion of calcium, magnesium
and phosphorus in the diet enhances the absorption and use of all three
minerals. Absorption is also dependent on body needs. A person who is
deficient in a mineral will absorb more of it than someone who is adequately
nourished. The three minerals that tend to be low in the average Western-
world diet are calcium (utilization may be the big problem here), iron and
zinc.
Commercial food processing definitely reduces the nutrient content of
food and can be dangerous to human health. The refining of whole grains
(including wheat, rice and corn) has resulted in a dramatic reduction of their
natural-food-complex nutrition. The milling of wheat to white flour reduces
the natural-food-complex vitamin and mineral content by 40-60 percent.
Food refining appears to reduce trace minerals such as manganese, zinc and
chromium, as well as various macro-minerals (magnesium). The treatment of
canned or frozen vegetables with EDTA (a preservative) can strip much of
the zinc from foods. High rates of calcium-metabolism disorders suggest that
the forms of calcium many are consuming simply do not agree with the body,
or are not assimilated properly, resulting in calcium loss.
Calcium UtilizationBone, nerve and connective tissue weakness can be a direct result of poor
calcium utilization. This results in: hemorrhoids, varicose veins and
spider veins, wrinkles, hernias, aneurysms, prolapsed conditions of