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Minerals are inorganic elements that
are essential constituents of all cells. They contribute from
60% to 80% of all the inorganic material in the human body (particularly
the teeth, nails, bones, soft tissues, muscles, nerve cells,
enzymes, hormones and blood). Although minerals only comprise
4-5% of our body weight, we cannot exist without them.
Minerals and trace elements serve as vital catalysts for the
biological reactions that take place within the body. Minerals
are also necessary in maintaining a healthy acid-base balance,
play an important role in regulating blood volume and maintain
the delicate water balance in our body's tissues.
The term bioavailability refers to the degree to which a particular
nutrient is available for use in the body. There are many
factors which influence bioavailability, including the actual
compound form of the mineral or trace element. The absorption
of minerals and trace elements (excluding electrolytes) is generally
less efficient than that of other nutrients.
Chelating mineral supplements with amino acid ensures they
occur in a highly bioavailable form. Since most forms of
inorganic minerals are positively charged, the need arose to
develop an organic mineral delivery system that is negatively
charged. This bioavailable organic form, which combines minerals
with amino acids, is called amino acid chelate. Preparing a
mineral complex as an amino acid chelate has two very important
advantages, as it provides a bond that is:
Just strong enough to hold the
mineral and the chelate amino acid together within the stomach
Just weak enough to make its central mineral
ion available for absorption within the intestines
The Differences Between Major Minerals and Trace Minerals
Nutritionists classify minerals that
are essential to life as either major minerals or trace elements.
Major minerals are needed in larger amounts (hundreds
of milligrams per day) and trace elements are required in
much smaller amounts (typically micrograms). As minerals
are required for nearly every bodily function, it is of the
utmost importance to get the proper amount of minerals for
two reasons: to help prevent disease states and to maintain
normal body functions.
Major minerals such as calcium,
magnesium and potassium are needed in large amounts in the
body and play a direct role in our physical structures. We should
consume these minerals in high milligram quantities, and even
in gram quantities each and every day.
Trace elements are the second group of required minerals.
They are needed in smaller amounts, and they have a major
impact on thousands of bio-chemical activities. This group includes
minerals such as phosphorus, zinc and copper. We know the least
about the potential benefits of trace minerals. Research is
constantly discovering the important biological functions of
these rare elements that had previously been thought to be unnecessary
in the living system.
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Why our Food Supply is Mineral Deficient
We have become reliant on canned, pre-cooked,
chemically altered and denatured food. Farmers use chemical
fertilizers high in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but
most fertilizers are deficient in many vital minerals.
Vegetables and fruits are often harvested before they have fully
ripened, and most vegetables and fruits are grown on the
same piece of land year after year (called mono-cropping),
which diminishes their nutritional value and mineral content.
All of these factors have made it nearly impossible for us to
obtain all the nutrients we require from the foods we consume.
This is why mineral supplementation has become so important
in ensuring our optimal health.
How our Bodies Absorb and Assimilate Minerals
The principal function of the digestive
system is to breakdown foods into the components necessary to
maintain health (nutrients, mineral, protein, etc.). This process
works in the following way:
Saliva initiates the breakdown
of starches in the mouth with amylase.
In the stomach, hydrochloric acid and gastric
enzymes begin to breakdown proteins and, at a smaller level,
carbohydrates. This process requires about one to four hours,
depending of the nature and the quantity of the food ingested.
Minerals are released from our food by the action of hydrochloric
acid and gastric enzymes within the stomach.
Peristaltic action pushes the chyme out
of the stomach.
Then, the bile and various pancreatic enzymes
complete the digestive process (the liver, bladder and intestine
are involved in the process).
Finally, minerals are ultimately absorbed
within the upper portion of the small intestine.
The form of a mineral supplement is of prime importance in
attaining maximum bioavailability. Quantity is less important
than the quality of the supplement. For example, anemic people
may take large quantities of an incorrectly balanced iron supplement
without observing any amelioration (improvement) of their condition.
The Science Behind Mineral Absorption
If all available forms of minerals were
absorbed with equal efficiency, we would be eating soil as the
most direct source of nutrients. But, this source is not bioavailable
as the minerals within soil are in an inorganic form.
When minerals are incorporated into living cells, they are
classified as organic. A characteristic of the majority
of inorganic minerals is that they are positively charged. The
principal problem preventing their absorption is that the intestinal
wall possesses a negative charge. The conflict between these
charges causes the vast majority of minerals ingested in the
inorganic form to be lost. That explains why only a very small
percentage of inorganic minerals are properly transformed and
utilized by the body.
Once free, the mineral, which carries a positive electrical
charge, will have two choices:
Attach
itself to a very strong negatively charged carrier by creating
a bond too strong to be broken in the stomach. In this case,
the mineral and the carrier are strongly bound together. They
then pass through the intestine without being digested or
absorbed. A mineral in this form is of little value to the
body.
Pass into the intestine as an unattached,
positively charged mineral ion. In this case, intestinal villosities
(where surface contact is very important), are carrying a
negative charge, creating an attraction between them (-) and
the mineral (+). As a magnet, this attraction is so strong
that the positive metal will adhere to the villosities without
being absorbed into the bloodstream. The mineral is then neutralized
by the proteins that bind to it, and it is later evacuated
by the body without being properly assimilated.
Taking a Liquid Chelated Mineral Supplement Can Provide Superior Health Benefits
Most mineral supplements are inorganic,
and for this reason they are very poorly absorbed and assimilated
by the body. For example, it is generally accepted that only
a small portion of inorganic iron,
from 5 to 10%, is transformed and assimilated when it is ingested.
The remaining portion of inorganic iron has the potential to
be stored by the body and may create ill health effects.
However, the body can assimilate up to 98% of liquid chelated
mineral supplements, which contain minerals in organic form.
This also allows the body to naturally eliminate the excess
minerals that the body doesn't need, which helps to prevent
the over accumulation of certain minerals in the body. A
well balanced liquid multi-mineral supplement that combines
both major and trace minerals in amino acid chelate form ensures
the highest bioavailability and the maximum beneficial health
effects attainable from a multi-mineral supplement. |
