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Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals What are minerals? The Science Minerals are inorganic elements found in your body that must be supplied by your diet for good health. They cannot be manufactured by your body and therefore must be obtained from the food you eat.
Plants obtain minerals from the soil in which they grow and subsequently, you can get the minerals you need from the plant foods you eat. You can also get minerals indirectly from animal foods, because the animal has eaten the plants and stored the minerals in its body. Another source of minerals is the WATER you drink, with the type and amount depending on your particular water supply. Minerals vs. Vitamins The other day my husband asked me about the difference between vitamins and minerals. I think this is a common question, since we so often lump vitamins and minerals together in our thinking (and in our “vitamin” pills!) The major difference between vitamins and minerals is, while vitamins are organic compounds, minerals are single, inorganic elements that come from the earth. If you took chemistry in school, you will remember the “Periodic Table of the Elements” which shows all of the elements that have so far been discovered. Each of these elements exists as single atoms of matter that can bind with other atoms to become molecules of various compounds. Vitamin molecules are made up of atoms of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, sometimes with the addition of another element, such as Nitrogen. On the other hand, minerals, such as Calcium, are basic elements.
Fun Fact: Vitamins can be easily destroyed by heat or light, but even if you burn a plant to ashes, the ashes will still contain the same minerals that were in the living plant. Two categories of minerals Nutrient minerals are usually divided into two groups—major minerals and trace minerals. This categorization is not based on importance, since they are all important, but rather on the amount present in your body, as well as the amount you need for good health. In other words, major minerals, like calcium, are found in larger amounts in your body and you need to obtain a greater amount from your diet than you do with trace minerals, such as copper. For specific information on each of these minerals, please click on the links below.
Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals Major Minerals
Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals The Scoop Okay, you can take off your safety goggles and put away your Bunsen burner, beakers and test tubes! What you need to know about minerals is that they are important to your overall good health. If those cartoon character vitamins that your mom gave you when you were a kid tasted bad, it was most likely because of the minerals, particularly iron, that they contained. While calcium is probably the mineral that is most discussed in the news, and it is an important one, you can see that there are at least 15 other minerals that are important too. Minerals are found in varying degrees in most of the food groups. Fruits… Vegetables… Cereals… Grains… Meat and other Protein foods… Dairy products… Some foods are fortified with minerals In addition, you will find that flour and cereal products as well as some milk products are fortified with minerals. Many orange juices are now being fortified with calcium. Caveat: Minerals cannot be destroyed by cooking, but you can lose them by cooking vegetables in water and then dumping out the water. The minerals will go down the drain. Consider steaming vegetables or lightly cooking them. How much of these minerals do I need?
Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals The Science The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for minerals varies based on age and gender, with a separate recommendation for pregnant and lactating women. It is difficult to say exactly how much of a mineral is needed because there are so many variables besides the obvious ones of age and gender. Each of us is a unique individual, and the availability of minerals from the foods we eat, or even from a pill will vary based on individual factors. The amount we absorb can be affected by our overall health and nutritional status. It can also be affected by the source of the mineral and by foods we eat at the same time. The RDA tries to take all of these factors into account, but it is still, at best, a general guideline. Where it is not possible to establish an RDA, due to insufficient scientific evidence, an Adequate Intake (AI) has been established. This is the average amount of the mineral that a healthy group of people consumes. Like the RDA, it is only a guideline, so that you have an idea of how much of the mineral you may need. For the specific RDA or AI for each mineral, please click on the link (or button)for that mineral.
Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals The Scoop While the RDA/AI for minerals is useful in a scientific sense, or if you are comparing labels on the foods or supplements you purchase, the best way to insure that you are getting enough minerals, is to eat a variety of nutritious whole foods. Selecting foods from all of the food groups will help ensure that you have all of your bases covered with regard to minerals. Having said that, many health experts recommend that you take a daily mineral (and vitamin) supplement just to be sure that you are getting enough of these nutrients. Caveat: As with anything, you can get too much of a good thing. Don’t overdue on mineral supplements. Your body can handle excess to a point, but beyond that, minerals can become toxic. Toxicity is not likely to occur if you get your minerals from food. Why do I need minerals? You need minerals to be healthy and to feel good. Minerals, together with the other nutrients, Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats, Vitamins and Water, help keep your body working properly. Each mineral has a significant role to play in the your total good health. What if I don’t get enough? Without enough calcium, your bones will be frail and your muscles may cramp. These are some of the things we know about the need for minerals, but there are probably other important roles of minerals that we have yet to discover. Can I get too much of these minerals? All nutrients, even water, can be toxic if you overdo. In the case of minerals, because of the propensity for supplementation with pills, there is a greater potential for getting too much. If you get your minerals from food, toxicity is very rare. If you supplement with pills, be aware of the dose and realize that minerals can become toxic if taken in mega doses. For specific problems with overdose and toxicity, please click on the links above for the individual minerals.
Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals Healthy Eating Minerals The Secret Eat a variety of fresh, whole foods. Cook vegetables lightly by methods where the minerals are not leached out and poured down the drain. Eat foods from all of the food groups daily. Supplement with an appropriate dose if you feel you need to fill in the gaps. Simple, isn’t it?
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