The more we find out about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and easting a healthy diet, the more we also find out about different nutrients. This also includes the roles they play in your body, as well as the foods you can get them from. One of the topics that needs to spark a conversation is the importance of consuming trace minerals in your nutrition plan.
Trace minerals are named so because your body does not need them in large amounts – however, that does not reduce the positive impact that they have on the body. While you can get these minerals from many sources, many people unfortunately do not take them. The exception is when you choose to seek out these minerals from certain supplements, as the effects of pollution and irresponsible farming methods have changed the composition of soils.
Why does the body need them?
These are very important to the body, since they assist it to carry out important biochemical reactions. According to nutrition experts, the minerals from your diet are divided into two major groups. These are the macro-minerals, which consist of the six major ones including potassium, magnesium and calcium, and trace minerals, which are nine and include molybdenum, copper, chromium, fluoride and manganese.
As long as your diet is a balanced one, you do not need to worry about getting theseminerals in your body, and that includes the trace ones as well. Your body generally needs only 100mg of them every day to accomplish the requirements of everyday living.
Some of the functions they help out with include enhancing energy production, producing new hormones, building new bones and blood, maintaining the health of the immune system, as well as numerous other functions.
You not only need to get them through your diet, but also knowing where to get them, at least nutritionally. It is similar in some ways to the relationship between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, different minerals will improve your health when you do not consume too much of them.
Dietary sources
Sea vegetables
These are among the most powerful sources of trace minerals, yet they happen to be among the most overlooked. They include vegetables such as kelp, nori, and dulse. They are a common feature of Asian dishes, and they are also useful as a form of seasoning. They will contain many trace minerals, although iodine is a particularly common mineral.
Sea vegetables also happen to be among the most complete foods on earth, including spirulina and chlorella. They also come with an array of omega-3 fatty acids, minerals and vitamins, and they can actually be an excellentprotein source.
Wild fish
These fish are more of a source of trace minerals than the farmed fish, especially in addition to sea vegetables. This is because they consume more algae within their diets, and could be the major reason why they tend to be more nutrient-dense. Among the best wild fish you can get in terms of this is the salmon.
This fish in particularly rich in iodine, phosphorus and selenium. You will also get plenty of vitamins, including Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, choline and omega-3 fatty acids. This combination makes it get into the league of ‘super foods’, because it protects the brain from inflammation. In addition to salmon though, you can also get these benefits from wild cod, herring and sardines.
Fermented food
There are cultures in the world that consume fermented food extensively in their diets, such as kimchi (a Korean food), as well as pickles and sauerkraut. They all have many trace minerals, and the fermentation process actually helps the body absorb them more efficiently.
Interestingly, the mineral density of the salt that makes these foods is also an important consideration. What this means is the more you use a salt that is rich in minerals, it can make the resulting food have higher levels of nutrients. When you have this combination of minerals that are highly absorbable, biologically active enzymes, as well as probiotics, will make them an excellent option for trace mineral requirements.
Dark green leafy vegetables
When you compare all vegetables, the dark green leafy ones always are dense in terms of their nutrient composition when you want to get trace minerals, aside from sea vegetables. An example you can check out is kale, as it contains manganese, copper, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus.
Other sources you can consider are spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, turnip greens, iceberg lettuce and collard greens. If you can eat these in your diet every day, then it is even better. For people who follow the low-oxalate diets, then it is a better idea to steam some of these vegetables lightly before you eat them, as this will reduce the content of oxalates.
In addition, the use of greens powder (make sure it is a high quality one though) can help in incorporating these minerals in your foods. These powders will feature some of these vegetables, as well as organic grass juices.
Avocados
These are one of the best foods you can consume, mainly because of their versatility and high density of nutrients. They remain an underrated source of trace minerals though, even if they remain more than just some tasty fruit. They also give your body copper, magnesium, iron and potassium, in addition to a host of other nutrients.
These nutrients include Vitamin K, the B-class of vitamins, healthy fat (they are some of the best plant sources of fats), as well as fiber. Ketogenic diets are particularly where they shine, because they can help the body ward off illnesses related to the die, such as keto-flu.
Eggs (pasture-raised)
The practices of farming today have led to the depletion of nutrients in foods that were once healthy. The exception to this is eggs that come from chicken that grew on organic pasture – the egg yolks are always darker. These eggs contain high levels of phosphorus and selenium, as well as other nutrients like Vitamin D.
Final thoughts
The increase in awareness of nutrition has led to many people discovering the benefits of minerals in the diet. Fortunately, you can still get them as long as you know where to look.
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