Missing: Minerals In Food

Minerals in food have been missing for a long time. I really never understood why until I started taking classes on natural health. The instructor, Steven Horne, AHG, an expert in natural health, explained why most of our minerals in food is non-existent.

A couple of hundred years ago, farmers used organic material to fertilize their crops. Then along came a chemist who analyzed the ashes of burned plant material.

He discovered the ashes were composed of 3 everyday minerals:

So he mistakenly concluded these were the necessary minerals in food. While there are lots of other trace minerals in the soil that get absorbed by the plants, they were too minute and he didn't have the equipment with the ability to identify them.

Farmers started using this “new farming method” of fertilizing the soil primarily using nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and no longer rotating the crops. It must have been easier, faster and cheaper, than what they were previously doing because it's still in existence today in modern agricultural farming.

You might wonder why this continues, especially with all we know about the benefits of mineral in foods. Well, because it produces large, plump beautiful produce that looks great. Compare the the produce at the grocery store to the produce from a farm that grows organic foods, you'll see the difference.

But even though the produce looks great, it's not a nutrient dense fruit/vegetable and it is missing most of the necessary trace minerals needed by the body. A fruit or vegetable with a high mineral content will have a much stronger odor because it's the minerals in foods that make up the taste and smell.

Consequently, the plants became weaker and susceptible to insect and disease damage. Instead of adding organic fertilizers to the soil to correct the mineral imbalances, they started using herbicides and pesticides. It's easy now to see the connection between the deficiency of minerals in food and the decline in our health.

Dr. Jay Vanden Heuvel says in his book, Life is a Teeter-Totter "A U.S. Senate Document "234" showed that 70% of U.S. topsoil used for agriculture was 100% deficient in trace minerals... that was 1936!" He further adds, "There are over 87 macro and micro/trace minerals found to be in the human body so far.”

Plants can make vitamins, but minerals come from the soil and are absorbed through the plants roots. Unfortunately, trace minerals have been stripped out of our soil and are not being replaced. That is why organic foods are so much healthier and tastier too.

Vitamins don't work well without minerals. Minerals help the body absorb and assimilate the vitamins. In fact, most people don't need a calcium supplement, they need sufficient amounts of magnesium, (a trace mineral)to help them use the calcium they get in their foods. Minerals also activate enzymes which we need to breakdown our foods. Minerals are essential for structural strength and are used by many other systems of the body.

To see if you are in need of trace minerals, Take our Everyday Minerals Questionnaire.

There is no substitute for getting our trace minerals in food that is grown in truly organic soil. Since most people don't eat totally organic, today's super supplements are the next best option. The market is flooded with vitamin and mineral drinks and supplements. In order for minerals in food to be absorbed by the body, Dr. Vanden Heuvel says, “they have to be in angstrom sized particles” which is about 1 millionth smaller than a micron.

It's important to get your supplements from a quality supplier. If you would like to take a supplement to get your trace minerals, here are a few healthy choices to consider.

Take Everyday Minerals Questionnaire.

If you want more information about mineral supplements, please feel free to