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Superfoods High in Minerals -- Issue #41
November 15, 2013

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IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. What are Minerals?
  2. Top Superfoods High in Minerals
  3. Mineral Boosting Products

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What are Minerals?

Minerals, referred to as the "spark plugs" of life energy, are essential nutrients for human health. They are the catalysts to our vitality that keep our "battery" charged and running smoothly.

They are important for almost every function of the body and help to keep us hydrated, mentally alert and physically active.

We must obtain minerals from our food because the body does not naturally produce them. The plant-based foods we consume uptake these minerals directly from the earth and transfer them to us when we eat them.

The main minerals the body requires are called macrominerals. They include: calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfur.

Microminerals (or trace minerals), are needed in smaller amounts. They include: chromium, cobalt, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc.

The best way to learn about the minerals you may be currently lacking is to get tested by a qualified laboratory service. This is an important first step to correcting any mineral imbalance you may be experiencing. Minerals work together, so an excess of one can also lead to a shortage of another. Testing is the sure fire way to know what you may need more or less of to provide for optimal health.

Here are some top signs of mineral deficiency that might help you decide whether to undergo further lab analysis.

Top Mineral Deficiency Symptoms:

  • Muscle spasms or cramping, especially in the legs and feet
  • Slow healing of wounds, cuts or bruises
  • Ridges or white spots on the nails or thinning nails
  • Brittle hair or excessive hair loss
  • Foggy thinking and loss of vitality
  • Candida overgrowth
  • Cravings for non-food substances like clay, dirt, paper or rubber

Top Superfoods High in Minerals

1) Seaweeds - Kelp is our number one seaweed for adding more minerals (like iodine) to the diet, but all seaweeds have them in different ratios. When used for therapeutic purposes, seaweeds are best incorporated into blended hot or raw soups for maximum absorption. The seaweeds you purchase should be organically certified or tested free of contaminants.

2) Sprouts - We list a variety of sprouts and their mineral-rich benefits on our website, all of which can be homegrown with a seaweed or seawater mineral solution. This will significantly increase the amount of minerals available to you when you eat them.

3) Nutritive Herbal Tea - One of our personal favorite tea blends uses a combination of nettle, horsetail and oatstraw. These herbs are packed with major minerals and trace minerals your body can easily digest as a liquid tea broth. The tea can be added to soup stocks or mixed with other herbal tea blends.

4) Green Juices - This is fresh, raw, living organic juice made with high quality green leafy vegetables and non-sweet fruits pressed through a juicer. This is a procedure that separates the fiber portion from the liquid in the vegetables and provides a super concentrated mineralized juice extract that is easy for the body to digest and assimilate. (Learn more about green juicing on our website.)

5) Shilajit - This superfood powder is one of the richest sources of many minerals and other elements that are depleted in our soils today. After the extraction process, it is said to contain over 80 trace minerals, including extremely high amounts of fulvic acid. Shilajit is also known to help boost the mineral uptake of other foods.

6) Celtic Sea Salt - One of the best sea salts to use, Celtic sea salt is very high in ocean born minerals. Pink Himalayan salt would be a second choice. As with all salts, avoid using them in excess as they can cause adverse health effects. Adding a pinch of Celtic sea salt to water with a squeeze of lemon is an excellent way to hydrate and re-mineralize the tissues.

7) Marine Phytoplankton - All of the microalgaes including spirulina, chlorella, blue green algae and marine phytoplankton are an exceptional sources of minerals as well as other nutrients. However, marine phytoplankton is "#1" when it comes to mineral content.

8) Bee Pollen - A great superfood to add to smoothies and blended drinks that is packed with highly absorbable trace elements and chelated minerals. Bee pollen is also a food extremely high in enzymes needed to digest these nutrients.

9) Vitamineral Green - One of the best superfood green powders on the market, Vitamineral Green by HealthForce Nutritionals is a vitamin and mineral supplement blending whole, raw food ingredients, enzymes, probiotics and zeolites together in one unique green powder formula. It is a powerful mineral-rich concentration of many green juice extracts, herbs, seaweeds as well as the microalgaes spirulina and chlorella.

9) Raw Fruits, Raw Vegetables and Spring Water - Many essential minerals are contained in the water of all raw fruits and vegetables. Eating a diet high in raw foods ensures that you are getting your supply of minerals as they are not being cooked out of your food. Natural high quality spring water is also known to contain very high levels of many dietary minerals.

Mineral Boosting Products

Kelp - Maine Coast Sea Vegetables

Kelp is the all-purpose sea vegetable that can be used whole, soaked and heated in soup stocks or can likewise be utilized as a granule or powder blended into drinks or added to an assortment of recipes. Aside from its very high iodine concentration, it is also a source of iron, magnesium, chromium, calcium, sodium and potassium as well as lower amounts of zinc and selenium. When consumed as a dietary food source, the polysaccharides in kelp seaweed have been shown to absorb and eliminate radioactive elements and heavy metal toxins from the body. Maine Coast Sea Vegetables are certified organic by OCIA and are tested for heavy metal, chemical and microbiological contaminants.

Vitamineral Green Powder - HealthForce Nutritionals, 500 grams

Vitamineral Green is a therapeutic green superfood powder which nutritionally supports a balanced mineral profile. It contains a full spectrum of naturally occurring absorbable macro and microminerals in a raw enzyme-rich formula that is easy to digest and assimilate. In addition, it contains all the essential amino acids (protein), antioxidants, chlorophyll, soluble and insoluble fibers, tens of thousands of phytonutrients and a plethora of other synergistically bound organic nutrients. It can be conveniently added to any smoothie or used as an encapsulated dietary supplement.

Marine Phytoplankton - Ocean's Alive, 1oz

Marine phytoplankton is one of the top superfood microalgaes derived from certain oceanic phytoplankton species. It is a valuable food source for humans as well as aquatic sea life. An energizing concentration of more than 90 ionic minerals and trace minerals, it is efficiently absorbed due to its very small nano-size molecules. Ocean’s Alive is one of the original producers of high quality marine phytoplankton. Available in as a liquid solution, it can be added to water and consumed as a dietary mineral supplement.

Until our next issue...

May you thrive, prosper and evolve in the best of ways!


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All information in this ezine is the personal view of the author and is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or prescription. This information has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to cure or prevent any disease.



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