Recently it seems that people are facing so many health issues. But, unfortunately, it is not just boomers and mid-lifers but younger people as well. After 40-50 years of processed food, microwave ovens, and plastic containers, our health issues spiral out of control.
Mineral deficiencies may be
Table of Contents
Let me start 26 years ago…
My daughter was having issues in school. Of course, the school wanted to go down the ADD road. I went to the library and started to do research. The only book not checked out on this subject was, Food Must Be the Answer.
Dyes, Chemicals and Synthetic Vitamins
The book explained how dyes and chemicals were damaging our cells. It also touched on how the synthetic vitamins and minerals added to our food are not as bioavailable as naturally occurring vitamins and minerals in whole foods. But how do we get this additional nutrition when our food is also deficient?
Many folks will run out and get supplements, but is that the right way to go? Many supplements are of poor quality and not what they say they are.
So much made sense once I learned that the American diet is mainly comprised of chemicals. Then, to add insult to injury, we are eating the same foods over and over. There is very little variety in the American diet.
This started me on a journey and health quest that has affected my family to this day.
Food had to be the answer!
They were describing my child and her behaviors in the book. She was being poisoned with too many food dyes, preservatives, artificial ingredients, and the same “staple” ingredients over and over, day after day. Sugar, wheat, dairy, soy, and corn were the main staples in her diet. We would add overcooked vegetables to the mix, but as we know, they are not ideal and hold very little nutritional value.
Not only was she suffering emotionally, but she was also suffering physically as well. She was behind the curve when it came to coordination. She had difficulty staying on task, and she was more impulsive than her peers.
The book’s idea is that children starve for nutrients. I would argue the adults are too. Eating the same foods day after day was not giving them a wide variety of nutrition or meeting their nutritional needs.
The idea is, they were becoming sensitive to those daily foods that they were overindulging in. Not to mention that those “staples” were over-processed and devoid of nutrition because of improper farming techniques and pesticides.
26 Years Later
We know better now, right? I am no longer the radical goat’s milk drinking, fresh veggie eating freak I once was. But, most people know they are supposed to eat this way even if they don’t.
Now eating clean is the new normal, families are the picture of health. Organic food is more readily available. People are incorporating more fresh vegetables into their diet. We have access to grass-fed meat and dairy products! We have come so far. So many are on the same page! Or are they?
Are We In Denial?
I would disagree with you if you said that we are on the right track, just from what I see in people’s grocery carts. Convenience in a stressed-out world commonly overtakes people’s desire to take the time to shop for and cook healthy meals. Oftentimes people do not really understand what healthy even is.
They will buy into marketing schemes from corporations that will trick you because you are too tired or in denial over what you are purchasing. Items labeled “all-natural” or have “healthy” looking packaging will pull people in. It’s a sales pitch! Remember that when you venture into the aisles. Marketing is very powerful.
Let’s say you are doing everything “right”
Are you still sick? Or at least feel stressed, tired, and generally icky. Stress alone can cause issues for your body. This can cause your body to use certain minerals like Magnesium and Potassium, and if you are not eating correctly, you will become low in these amazing minerals. In addition, we are not absorbing these minerals into our cells, and our cells become sick.
Certain prescription medications can wreak havoc and create these imbalances as well.
Wheat and other products in the US are infused or “enriched” with synthetic isolated vitamins that are not properly absorbed by the body and have caused many to have an overload of iron in their bloodstream rather than the iron being absorbed by their cells.
In addition, bromated bread is causing havoc on our thyroid. Since we do not get enough iodine in our diet, especially with better salts like sea salt, the bromine in the bread is displacing the iodine our thyroid desperately needs.
Potassium bromate is also illegal in the European Union, Canada, Brazil, and elsewhere because it causes cancer in rats and mice. However, in the United States, it has remained legal since it was first patented for use in baking bread in 1914.
It has also been suggested that the pesticide, Round-Up, is making people sick. I have seen many folks who felt much better than eating the regular wheat found in most commercial products by just switching to organic grains.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Truth About Bread, Bromines, Iodine Deficiency, and Your Thyroid
The Consequences of Mineral Deficiency, Hormones and Other Chemicals
We are finally starting to understand the health risks associated with feeding our animals with hormones. However, one common problem I never really heard about until the last ten years is PCOS or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
In the past four years, I have worked with six women with this and similar hormone-related conditions. My daughter suffers from PCOS, and I suspect I may, too, from some of the symptoms I have had over the years. At one point, 3 out of my eight employees working for me had this condition. It often goes undiagnosed.
It is suspected that one factor in the rise of this and similar conditions is the use of plastic containers and baby bottles. Even worse … microwaving them. Also, people with PCOS who do change their diet see significant improvement in the condition. Hormonal imbalance is a major factor.
Is it really your fault?
Yes and no. Companies making these foods utilize flavor enhancers, making them highly addictive. Detoxing from these foods can be tough. Your body and taste buds have become used to getting these chemicals, and your body rebels when it senses that this way of life is coming to an end. I get it. Most people do not want to deal with it and won’t until a major medical issue.
I remember when I got sucked into the diet soda world trying to avoid sugar. Then I found out the perils of aspartame, and detoxing from that was no picnic. I had a headache, nausea, and gastric discomfort for a solid week. I thought I had the flu until someone told me to look up detoxing symptoms from Aspartame. The symptoms were the same.
Food can be highly addictive. You have to make the decision that food will no longer have that power over you. You have to choose health overindulgence.
What Can You Do?
This is a blog, not a medical study, and I am not a doctor, so I want to keep this short. However, I want to give you some tips to start to implement and slowly change your lifestyle. I am a big believer in the 80/20 principle when it comes to food. Eat clean 80% of the time, and you can have the bad stuff the other 20% during the holidays, special events, and parties.
You will want to start with proper testing. Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) HTMA is a safe and non-invasive pathology test. It measures the levels and comparative ratios of nutrient and toxic minerals found in hair. HTMA is one of the most valuable screening tools available in preventative health care.
- Get an HMTA. Hair Mineral Test Analysis. Many go right to Magnesium as a supplement, but if your ratios between Potassium and Mag are off, this can be a mistake. This test will let you know what is too high or too low. Then you can react appropriately instead of playing the Russian Roulet way of finding what works.
- Get your minerals from food. Eat nutrient-dense foods like avocados, nuts, dark green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, beets. Buy organic when you can. You can supplement with minerals that are food sourced too.
- Educate yourself on the signs. It is not normal to lose your hair or have bone loss in your mouth and teeth. Dry skin, hair loss, dental issues, brittle nails, inflamed joints, and exhaustion do not have to be your story at 50 or even 60.
- Find a new Doctor. If they are the type to throw you on prescriptions and not worry about the cause, fire them. Doctors are starting to get on board and change their practice to include holistic and traditional medicine.
- Stop taking isolated synthetic vitamins. Or eating foods that have them like pasta and bread. They rarely work long-term, and your body does not know how to process them. For example, Vit D is a hormone obtained from food and the sun, not a bottle. Too much of any one thing can cause an imbalance, and you want to make sure they are derived from food.
- Only take supplements that are derived from food. You also want to make sure you are taking high-quality supplements. Companies are now starting to offer USP Verification. Research your supplements on LabDoor.
- Understand that everything affects another thing. Mineral imbalance affects so much, so if you are getting too much of one thing, that can also cause issues. As an example, hormones become off, then the adrenals slow down, which affects your thyroid. It is important to do testing and research before starting any new health program.
We are wonderfully made. Man’s interference has the human machine out of whack. Everything you do has a consequence. I don’t want to sound dramatic but managing people in a retail situation, and you get to be around a diverse group. I have seen so many issues with younger people who should be the picture of health. So much of it could be corrected with a healthy lifestyle.
Birth control, chemicals, hand sanitizer, preservatives, and food chemicals all take a toll. I used to watch some of my tellers lather themselves in hand sanitizer. The ones who did it the most were the sickest. I know money is gross. But I touched it all the time, hugged my customers, and never got sick.
Here are the reasons to get an HMTA
- Heavy Metals
- Energy Levels
- Mineral Deficiencies and Imbalances
- Adrenal Function
- Mental Health Concerns
- Fatigue and Anxiety
- Thyroid Function
- Carbohydrate Tolerance & Blood Sugar Imbalances
- Nervous System concerns
- Protein Synthesis
- Inflammation
- Metabolic Rate
- Liver & Kidney Toxicity
Minerals, Their Function, and Their Sources
I found this great list of minerals and their functions for you to reference from the University of Michigan. I’m afraid I have to disagree with some things on this list, such as fluoride in our drinking water. We get plenty from the foods we eat. You will want to focus on the whole food sources from this list. Not all of these sources are a great choice.
Macrominerals
| Mineral | Function | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium | Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction | Salt, soy sauce; large amounts in processed foods; small amounts in milk, bread, vegetables, and unprocessed meats |
| Chloride | Needed for proper fluid balance, stomach acid | Table salt, soy sauce; large amounts in processed foods; small amounts in milk, meats, bread, and vegetables |
| Potassium | Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction | Meats, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes |
| Calcium | Important for healthy bones and teeth; helps muscles relax and contract; important in nerve functioning, blood clotting, blood pressure regulation, immune system health. | Milk and milk products; canned fish with bones (salmon, sardines); fortified tofu and fortified soy milk; greens (broccoli, mustard greens); legumes |
| Phosphorus | Important for healthy bones and teeth; found in every cell; part of the system that maintains acid-base balance. | Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, processed foods (including soda pop) |
| Magnesium | Found in bones; needed for making protein, muscle contraction, nerve transmission, immune system health | Nuts and seeds; legumes; leafy, green vegetables; seafood; chocolate; artichokes; “hard” drinking water |
| Sulfur | Found in protein molecules | Occurs in foods as part of protein: meats, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, legumes, nuts |
Trace minerals (microminerals)
The body needs trace minerals in very small amounts. Note that iron is considered a trace mineral, although the amount needed is somewhat more than for other microminerals.
| Mineral | Function | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Iron | Part of a molecule (hemoglobin) found in red blood cells that carries oxygen in the body; needed for energy metabolism | Organ meats; red meats; fish; poultry; shellfish (especially clams); egg yolks; legumes; dried fruits; dark, leafy greens; iron-enriched bread and cereals; and fortified cereals |
| Zinc | Part of many enzymes; needed for making protein and genetic material; it functions in taste perception, wound healing, normal fetal development, production of sperm, normal growth and sexual maturation, immune system health. | Meats, fish, poultry, leavened whole grains, vegetables |
| Iodine | Found in thyroid hormone, which helps regulate growth, development, and metabolism | Seafood, foods grown in iodine-rich soil, iodized salt, bread, dairy products |
| Selenium | Antioxidant | Meats, seafood, grains |
| Copper | Part of many enzymes; needed for iron metabolism | Legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, organ meats, drinking water |
| Manganese | Part of many enzymes | Widespread in foods, especially plant foods |
| Fluoride | Involved in the formation of bones and teeth; helps prevent tooth decay | Drinking water (either fluoridated or naturally containing fluoride), fish, and most teas |
| Chromium | Works closely with insulin to regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels | Unrefined foods, especially liver, brewer’s yeast, whole grains, nuts, cheeses |
| Molybdenum | Part of some enzymes | Legumes; bread and grains; leafy greens; leafy, green vegetables; milk; liver |
Wrap Up
Hopefully, this article will start you on a journey. A journey that will lead you to better health. We as humans love our routines and rituals, but we need to be explorers when it comes to food. It is difficult to break these bad habits, but it is totally worth looking into this further.
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Always consult a licensed health care professional before starting any supplement or nutraceutical. Especially if you are pregnant or have any pre-existing medical conditions. Individual results may vary.
*Statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any product(s) on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Always consult a licensed health care professional before starting any supplement or nutraceutical. Especially if you are pregnant or have any pre-existing medical conditions. Individual results may vary. These are from my own experience and the experience of others and only our opinions.
