Minerals are naturally occurring substances you can find everywhere. They are present in food, crops, rocks, mountains and water, as well as inside the human body where they help give structure to various physiological systems. Your bones and teeth, for instance, are composed of minerals like calcium and phosphorus that give them hardness and strength. Thanks to them, your bones can protect your organs and support your weight. [1]
Minerals are also important for the production of certain biomolecules your cells need to function and survive. For example, without iron your body won’t be able to produce a protein called hemoglobin, which helps transport oxygen from your lungs to your tissues. Your cells need oxygen to convert stored energy into a usable form that can fuel their activities. [2][3]
Minerals are also required for the production of some hormones. For example, your thyroid gland can only create hormones in the presence of iodine. Thyroid hormones are important for your growth, development and metabolism. [4] To ensure adequate levels of these hormones, you need to have a sufficient amount of iodine in your body.
However, minerals are inorganic substances, so they can’t be produced by the human body. Like some vitamins, you need to get them from external sources, such as food and supplements. That’s why the minerals your body needs are called essential nutrients. Fortunately, plants are very good at absorbing minerals from soil, so you can get generous amounts of these essential nutrients by eating a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Minerals you should be getting from your diet
Minerals have specific roles to play inside your body. While they’re all equally important, you need higher amounts of certain minerals than others. Minerals you need to get more of from your diet are called macrominerals, while those you need smaller amounts of are called microminerals, or trace minerals. [5]
To give you an idea of how minerals impact your overall health, here’s a list of macrominerals you should be getting from your diet and their functions: [6]
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Calcium – Calcium is the building block of bones. While collagen – a fibrous protein that gives flexibility to various tissues – provides the structural framework for your bones, calcium crystals fill in all the nooks and crannies to ensure that your bones don’t break easily. [7] Calcium is also the trigger that makes your muscles and blood vessels contract or relax. What’s more, it allows chemical messengers called neurotransmitters to be released so your nerve cells can communicate. [8]
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Chloride – About 60% of your body is made up of water. There is water inside and outside of your cells. But when cells take up nutrients like glucose from the blood, water inevitably gets inside. To restore balance, cells use specialized transporters that pump charged particles called electrolytes outside of cells to get rid of excess water. In this case, sodium is the electrolyte that gets pumped out because water passively follows sodium. Chloride also follows sodium to neutralize the charge outside and keep the transport pump shut. Your body is able to maintain fluid balance because of these interactions. [9][10]
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Magnesium – Some enzymes need the help of other molecules, or cofactors, to perform their functions. Magnesium happens to be a very good cofactor to more than 300 enzymes inside your body. These enzymes regulate important processes, such as the production of proteins and the maintenance of blood sugar and blood pressure at normal levels. Your body also uses magnesium to produce energy, synthesize DNA and make the antioxidant, glutathione. [11]
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Phosphorus – When it comes to building and repairing bones and teeth, your body needs more than just calcium. Phosphorus, the second most abundant mineral in your body, works with calcium to keep your bones healthy. [12] Phosphorus also helps produce ATP, a molecule your body uses to store energy. It even helps activate many enzymes and B vitamins by binding to them. In addition, phosphorus serves as a structural component of cell membranes and helps transport molecules in and out of your cells. [13][14]
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Potassium – One of the main functions of potassium is as an electrolyte that helps maintain fluid balance. Whenever your cells pump out sodium to release excess water, they accept potassium from outside to maintain the correct ratio of these electrolytes. [15]
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Sodium – Like potassium, sodium is an important electrolyte that plays a key role in fluid balance. It also regulates the electric charges that move in and out of your cells. Because of this, sodium is essential for the transmission of nerve impulses throughout your body and the contraction of your muscles, including your heart. [16]
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Sulfur – Like magnesium, your body uses sulfur to produce and maintain important molecules, such as your DNA. [17] Sulfur is also a structural component of methionine and cysteine, two amino acids that your body uses to make proteins. [18] Cysteine is important for the production of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that protects your cells from free radical damage. [19]
Although you don’t need large amounts of trace minerals, they’re just as important as macrominerals. Individually, they also perform functions no other mineral can. For instance, your body needs chromium for blood sugar control. A 2004 article published in Diabetes Educator noted that this mineral is an important factor that enhances the activity of insulin. [20] Insulin is the hormone responsible for encouraging cells to absorb glucose from the blood.
The trace mineral copper is important for normal erythropoiesis, or the process by which stem cells develop into mature red blood cells. Copper is also involved in energy production and the formation of connective tissue. [21] Fluoride, which can be found mostly in your bones and teeth, reacts with hydroxyapatite crystals – the crystals formed by calcium and phosphate – to form fluoroapatite. This hard, crystalline solid stabilizes bone mineral and hardens your tooth enamel. [22]
The functions of manganese have a huge influence on your metabolic health. Besides its involvement in how your body breaks down carbohydrates, manganese also plays a role in calcium absorption and blood sugar regulation. It is also a structural component of an antioxidant enzyme known as superoxide dismutase. [25] Similarly, the mineral selenium is a component of selenoproteins that serve as antioxidants. Selenoproteins are also involved in reproduction, DNA synthesis and thyroid hormone metabolism. [24]
Zinc is a trace mineral found in cells throughout your body. It is an important cofactor to hundreds of enzymes that directly affect the functions of your organs. [25] Studies show that people who are deficient in zinc suffer from serious health problems, such as growth retardation, cognitive impairment and immune system dysfunction. [26]
Why nutrient deficiencies are common today
The nutrients that you need are naturally occurring and are readily absorbed by plants. In an ideal world, you could easily meet your daily nutrient requirements by eating a variety of fresh produce every day. But modern agricultural practices have made this difficult to achieve.
Over the years, numerous studies have linked industrial farming practices, such as the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, heavy irrigation, intensive tillage and concentrated monoculture production to soil erosion and a reduced capacity of the soil. These practices deplete the soil of nutrients and also reduce its organic matter content. [27] Since plants get most of their nutrients from the soil, conventionally grown crops tend to be less nutritious than organically grown ones.
A 2014 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition proved this by looking at the results of 94 comparative studies that focused on the nutrient content of organic and conventional food samples. The researchers found that organically grown fruits and vegetables have considerably higher levels of antioxidants, beneficial phytonutrients and essential nutrients than their conventionally grown counterparts. [28]
Sadly, most of the produce sold in groceries today are conventionally grown, and many people still opt for conventional produce because it costs less than organic produce. Many people also gravitate toward fast food and processed foods, unaware that food processing removes what little nutrients are left in conventionally grown ingredients. Because of these trends, many Americans suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. A nutrition report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that 10% of the U.S. population is deficient in many essential nutrients, including minerals like iron, iodine, calcium, copper and potassium. [29]
How to boost your nutrient intake
Besides improving your diet by eating more nutritious organic produce, taking vitamin and mineral supplements is the best way to ensure you meet your daily nutrient requirements. But did you know that you can also boost your mineral intake by simply drinking your favorite beverage?
Health Ranger Select Concentrated Mineral Drops is a high-quality formula that you can add to your drinking water, juice or post-workout shake or smoothie to provide your body with essential minerals you may be lacking. Derived from Utah’s pristine Great Salt Lake, this nutritious formula makes it easy to get a pure, concentrated dose of various macrominerals and trace minerals every day.
Health Ranger Select Concentrated Mineral Drops can easily restore electrolytes naturally lost through perspiration. It can also help boost your intake of essential minerals like iron, calcium, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, selenium, sodium, phosphorus and zinc. In order to retain each mineral’s ionic properties, our premium formula is naturally concentrated using just sunshine and a natural evaporation process. You can be sure that our product is not exposed to artificial heat or destructive processing.
Health Ranger Select Concentrated Mineral Drops has no taste and is easy to incorporate into your daily diet. As one of the best and most potent hydration solutions on the market, it can help you maintain healthy energy levels and promote normal strength and endurance. Our premium formula also supports healthy cognitive function and hydration.*
Health Ranger Select Concentrated Mineral Drops is non-GMO, non-China, certified Kosher and Halal-certified by our vendor. It is made in the USA, Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) and adheres to GMP standards for FDA compliance. It also extensively lab tested by our Consumer Wellness Center Labs for glyphosate, heavy metals and microbiology.
Boost your intake of essential minerals with our high-quality concentrated mineral drops today!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose any diseases.
References
[2] https://www.ucsfhealth.org/
[6] https://www.uofmhealth.org/
[7] https://americanbonehealth.org/
[9] https://www.uofmhealth.org
[10] https://med.libretexts.org/
[12] https://www.uofmhealth.org/
[14] https://sightandlife.org/
[15]https://www.khanacademy.org/
[16] https://www.saltassociation.co.uk/
[18] https://www.healthline.com/
[19] https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/
[20]https://ucdavis.pure.elsevier.com/
[21] https://journals.plos.org/
[22] https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/
[23] https://www.mountsinai.org/
[25] https://www.cambridge.org/
[26] https://molmed.biomedcentral.com/
[27] http://www.fao.org/
