How to treat a mineral deficiency?

How to supplement minerals in the body?

Minerals occur naturally in food and beverages. However, it sometimes happens that even with a regular and balanced diet, it is not possible to keep them at an optimal level. In such cases, people often resort to food supplements to make up the deficit.

Pharmacies, brick and mortar shops and an abundance of online stores offer supplements containing a specific mineral, various combinations with vitamins and even comprehensive mixtures. There is a huge spectrum of options at a wide range of prices. 

When choosing the best way to supplement minerals, it is important to bear in mind that the human organism can only absorb minerals from organic compounds.

How to provide your body with minerals from natural sources?

Natural sources of minerals include fruit, vegetables, seafood, fish and other types of meat, as well as various seeds. The green parts of plants contain minerals in organic form as chelates. This is an arrangement where a mineral has two ligand bonds – most often with amino acids. 

Another option is mineral intake in liquid form – drinking water with minerals dissolved in it (mineral water, spa water). A common disadvantage of this source is that most of the mineral content is inorganic in nature and the human body cannot use it. 

An interesting alternative is seawater, whose undoubted benefits people are just starting to discover. Seawater can be used as a quick and comprehensive way to supplement organic minerals, which the body is able to absorb quickly and which therefore supports faster regeneration. It contains most of the elements in the periodic table (78 minerals and trace elements), vitamins, carotenoids, fatty acids, polypeptides, organic acids, enzymes, polysaccharides, polyphenols, chlorophyll, natural antibiotics and antifungals. Its composition is much more varied than even the best artificially made dietary supplement can offer. 

Price comparison of selected mineral supplements

We are bombarded practically on a daily basis with adverts for artificial mineral supplements. Their manufacturers try to justify high prices with extravagant claims. Nevertheless, pure seawater represents a very interesting option, as you can see for yourself:

Synergistic efficacy of minerals

To obtain the benefits of minerals, it is not sufficient to take just one to tackle our existing health problems. The body needs a broad spectrum of minerals in the right proportion because “there is strength in unity.” Many of the effects of minerals depend on their combination with other minerals – synergistic effects.

Let’s consider magnesium as an example. It is one of the most abundant minerals in the body. Bones contain around 60% magnesium, with 30% being interchangeable and serving as a reservoir to balance the concentration of the mineral in serum.

Roughly 20% is found in skeletal muscles, 19% in other soft tissues, and less than 1% is found in extracellular fluid.

Magnesium is used in many reactions that are important for the proper functioning of the human body. It is necessary for the synthesis of nucleic acids, and it is an important cofactor not only of a number of enzymes, but also of transporters. Intracellular magnesium forms a complex with ATP and thus plays a key role in protein synthesis, cell replication and energy metabolism.

A magnesium deficiency (but also phosphorus, potassium and vitamin D) impairs the body’s use of calcium. Calcium acts as a cofactor of enzymes for energy metabolism, and any deficit of it could affect blood pressure or blood clotting, amongst other things.

Calcium, magnesium and zinc help to reduce high histamine levels in the event of an allergic reaction. However, the maximum efficacy of zinc depends on the presence in the body of sufficient levels of other elements (e.g. copper, potassium). These examples show how it is not enough to supplement a single element, and the body really needs a combination to function properly. 

Alcohol and minerals

To maximise its absorption of useful minerals and other substances from foods, the body uses a complex digestion process. This begins in the mouth, where the enzymes in saliva begin to break down food. It continues through the stomach into the intestines, from where nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and undigested food remains are expelled from the body.

It is widely known that the Czechs are a nation of beer-drinkers, whereas wine dominates in South Moravia. Did you know that alcohol consumption is one of the factors that reduce the level of minerals in the body? And that if you restock minerals in the right amount, you can reduce your morning-after headache? 

The word “alcohol” comes from the Arabic expression al-ghul, which originally referred to a “fine substance”.

How does alcohol affect mineral levels?

It does not influence them directly, but it has a negative impact on the digestive process:

• It increases the secretion of gastric juices and histamine, which can promote inflammatory processes in the digestive system.
• It causes mineral imbalances – alcoholics tend to have elevated iron levels.
• It prevents the breakdown of nutrients into usable molecules by reducing the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas.
• It disrupts the absorption of nutrients by damaging cells in the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.
• It prevents certain nutrients from crossing into the blood.

If the body does not have enough minerals for its activities, it draws them from its reserves. Depending on the quantity of reserves used, minor or major health problems may develop. This is why it is necessary to boost mineral intake when consuming a larger amount of alcohol. Your body will be grateful, and it will be much less angry than usual the morning after.