Trace minerals
Minerals, the Universe and You
What are minerals, anyway? Minerals are nothing more than elements - the very same elements that graced the periodic table inside you chemistry text book. Chromium, magnesium, iron, zinc and so on. They are the elements that comprise the entire Universe, this Earth and everything in it, including you.
Your body is a masterpiece, formed from these elements. As such, it is important to constantly replenish your body with the elements it expends on a daily basis. Chemical and electrical processes are occurring within your body at every moment. Processes that can only function correctly if the proper balance of minerals are continually being supplied to your system. Iron for your blood, sulphur for your muscles, calcium for your bones and an aggregation of many other elements in balanced trace amounts to ensure the proper function of your body.
The Stripping of Mother Earth
Traditionally, eating fresh grains, fruits and vegetables, grown in nutrient rich soils have been the primary supply for the full spectrum of ionically charged minerals. In today's world, naturally occurring, nutient-rich soil is unfortunately becoming more and more rare. Aggressive modern farming techniques have brought many of the Earth's minerals to the surface, where they have been washed away. Synthesized fertilizers are routinely applied to fields where minerals are depleted, but man-made fertilizers provide only enough mineral substance to support basic plant life. Numerous trace minerals, essential to human life, aren't replenished.
Where Have All the Minerals Gone?
Many of the trace elements once abundant in our soil have been washed into the oceans. There, they are found in their proper proportions - the same basic proportions that are found in healthy bodies. Even today, these life - sustaining sea waters cannot be recreated by science; all elements necessary to support human life are ionically charged and in perfect balance - prime for being absorbed into the cells of your body.
In a few surviving inland seas, such as the Great Salt Lake in western North America, these essential elements exist in highly concentrated, salubrious proportions. The fact that the minerals are in a similar proportion to healthy living matter is a key and this intricate balance of every mineral and trace element in sea water is why it is so beneficial to the human body.
What Are Ionically Charged Minerals?
An ionic mineral is an element that has a charge, either positive or negative. On the molecular level, that means that the element has either one too many or one too few electrons. This unstable ionic state allows the element to bond readily with water, making it possible for the body to absorb it. In this state, an element has specific positive or negative electrical signatures that cause a dynamic equilibrium to take place. The body can then facilitate changes to move nutrients to the areas that need them.
A New Plague; Mineral Imbalance
Because your body requires nearly two thirds of all the elements known to man in order to maintain health, keeping these minerals in balance is a complex, yet incredibly vital task. The events of everyday living demand a continual ingestion of minerals. With 92 known elements and hundreds of isotopic variations, it's no wonder that scientists are only now beginning to discover the complex effects and inter-relationships of minerals in our systems, how minerals maintain a healthy balance and what adverse effects are created by a mineral imbalance.
Experts estimate that 90% of us suffer from mineral imbalance and deficiency to some degree. If this includes you - whether because of frequent exercise, stress or a diet of overly refined, nutrient-poor foods, your body will make futile attempts to correct the situation, usually resulting in food cravings, muscle cramps and general fatigue.
The Importance of Ionic Minerals
Every second of every day, your body relies on ionic minerals and trace minerals to generate and conduct billions of tiny electrical impulses. Without these impulses, not a single muscle, including your heart, would be able to function. Your brain would not function and the cells would not be able to use osmosis to balance your water pressure and absorb nutrients. To ensure you are getting the ionically charged electrolytes your body needs, you should choose only ionic mineral supplements.
The Key Role of Absorption
You cannot benefit from minerals unless you can absorb them. The absorption of minerals takes place primarily within the small intestine. As food passes through, minerals transfer into the blood stream through the walls of the intestine. This can only happen if the minerals are ionically charged. Although stomach acid helps to ionize the minerals in foods, a mineral supplement should already contain naturally ionized minerals to be fully absorbed.
The Secret of Life in a Dead Inland Sea
Western North America's Great Salt Lake is the world's oldest inland sea. A remnant of the last great Ice Age, it has been collecting and concentrating the minerals and trace elements of the surrounding Rocky Mountains for tens of thousands of years. The result is nutrient rich waters which contain over 70 ionically charged minerals and trace elements, eight to ten times more concentrated than normal seawater - and in precisely the same proportion as healthy human fluids. It is from this source that Trace Minerals Research harvests the elements and trace minerals that go into every product.
What Can You Do?
You can start by making sure that you're getting enough minerals in your diet; eat organically grown fruits and vegetables, whole-grain breads and fortified cereals. In addition, take a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. That's a good start, but even these measures are likely to leave your body wanting for the full spectrum of properly proportioned, ionically charged, bio-available minerals and trace minerals.