About 57% of Americans take some vitamins or a supplement according to the CDC. That is good because our foods are lacking in nutrients. Unfortunately, most people take a mineral supplement that gives them little to no bang for their buck.
There are numerous issues with mineral supplements:
• Multivitamins may not contain the required amount of needed macrominerals such as magnesium and potassium
• Most multivitamins do not contain any trace minerals like zinc, selenium or chromium
• Most supplements are in tablet form, which may pass out of the body partially digested or completely undigested
• Most mineral supplements are made through chemical processes in laboratories rather than derived from plants and other natural materials
Dairy and other dietary sources are not the best options for getting needed minerals either because:
• Most adults have allergies, sensitivities and intolerances to dairy products
• Dairy and meats are high in unhealthy fats, steroids and hormones
• Yogurts are mostly loaded with sugar, fructose and other unhealthy additives
• Due to mineral-depleted soils, fruits and vegetables have low levels of minerals
• Fruits and vegetables are loaded with toxic pesticides
The burning question then becomes: “Where do I get my minerals?” You actually have a few good options:
• Organic/pesticide-free fruits and vegetables
• Whole-food mineral supplements
• Soluble mineral supplements
• Dairy from organic free-range cattle
Studies show that organic fruits and vegetables have a much higher mineral content than non-organic ones due to better farming practices by organic farmers. These are therefore a good source of minerals. Take it one step further and find a local farm with pesticide-free produce rather than just organic.
The next closest thing to getting your minerals from fruits and veggies is to take a whole-food supplement. This is a supplement made by concentrating fruits and veggies. So, unlike the normal mineral supplements that are made with ingredients synthesized in a lab, you will get your minerals from nature. For example, wheatgrass is particularly mineral rich, so most whole food supplements contain wheatgrass concentrates or extracts. I’m not a huge fan of popping lots of pills, even if they are whole-food based so here’s a whole-food powder I use to make a drink.
So my second supplement choice for getting minerals is via soluble mineral supplements. Because they are delivered to the stomach already dissolved, they will definitely be available in the body since their solubility will not be subject to the pH of the stomach or influenced by whether they were taken with a meal. It’s still possible for these soluble minerals to get bound up by fiber or phytate lurking in the stomach from you’re your last meal though. That is unavoidable.
Lastly, you can choose to get your minerals from healthy dairy products. Although humans, especially adult humans, weren’t made to nurse a cow, if you would prefer to get your minerals from organic, free-range, grass-fed dairy then that is way better than from non-organic dairy. If you’re not getting your organic dairy products from free-range, grass-fed cattle though, then stick to the fat-free products because corn-fed cows mean corn oil-filled dairy. And that’s just disgusting. If you don’t fry your foods in corn oil, you certainly don’t want corn oil in your cheese or yogurt.
Go buy one or two good sources of minerals and take your minerals every day. Your body will thank you later.
