Are you getting enough? A host of ailments can be traced back to mineral deficiency; low energy, indigestion, stomach problems, allergies, poor skin, weight problems, lack of concentration, eye twitching, muscle cramps, the list is endless. The body isn’t capable of making minerals, they must come from the food we eat. There are some we need more than others; macro minerals - which means a requirement of more than 100mgs a day - we’ll look at these first. Calcium Potassium Magnesium Phosphorous Sulphur Sodium Chloride Then there are the macro minerals - a daily requirement of less than 100mgs - Zinc Copper Selenium Manganese Iodine Iron The previously recommended 5 portions of Fruit and Veg per day is now an absolute minimum (1 portion = 1 medium size fruit or 2 small, 3 tablespoons of cooked veg), 8 portions are now desirable, with the emphasis (5/3) toward vegetables. Grow your own for maximum freshness, or watch for the day deliveries arrive at the supermarket, and steam or microwave, rather than boil (unless you are going to use the water for soup or stock). Also, if you are not peeling your F & V, make sure they are washed thoroughly. I’ve listed below some of the foodstuffs with significant mineral contents, Food list. Calcium - milk, green leafy veg, nuts, fish, pulses, yogurt. Chloride - salt, tomatoes, olives. Magnesium - fish, apples, apricots, bananas, whole-grain cereals, oats, nuts, spinach. Phosphorous - meat, chicken, prawns, oats, fish, eggs, milk and diary products. Potassium - potatoes, fish, dried fruit, bananas, oranges, shell fish, avocado, green veg. Sulphur - diary, meat, seafood, raspberries, beansprout, eggs, garlic, cabbage, sprouts, lettuce. Selenium - seafood, garlic, tomatoes. Copper - liver, kidneys, nuts and seeds. Iron - red meat, liver, eggs, green leafy veg, dried fruit, dried beans and pulses. Manganese - green leafy veg, tea. Zinc - oysters, meat, liver, whole-grain cereals, veg, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. **DO NOT TAKE VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS UNLESS ADVISED BY A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL** Water. Your body is about 70% water, and you need to maintain proper hydration levels in order for it to function properly. Water is essential to flush the body of waste products and toxins. As strange as it may seem, drinking water can actually help you from retaining excess pounds in water weight. When you drink insufficient water, you body keeps a few extra pounds of water around as a “just in case” measure, because it thinks that there may be dry times ahead. Making sure you drink enough water causes the body to get rid of this excess stored water, helping you drop those excess pounds. Drinking water can speed up you metabolism, which helps you burn more calories. If you don’t compensate by increasing your caloric intake, you’ll create a calorie deficit, which translates into weight loss over time. How does that metabolic increase happen, exactly? Well, one of the main mechanisms is through the energy cost associated with heating the water to body temperature. So, the best thing to do is drink really cold water, so your body has to do more work to heat it. That alone can account for about 100 calories per day of added energy usage for every 2 litres of cold water you drink. Drinking tea, coffee, cola, alcohol, and eating chocolate, all cause water depletion as they all contain caffeine. For every fl oz drunk, the same amount of water must be taken in to compensate the body’s loss. So, how much is enough? A minimum of 2 ltrs per day, more if you are exercising. If you can’t keep tabs on the amount you’re drinking, fill 4 half ltr bottles and keep them in the fridge. Drink water as soon as you rise in the morning, it will replenish and refresh the body when it needs it most, it will flush water into the digestive system to prepare it for breakfast and it will wake you up for better than your morning caffeine shot! Karen Harris-Wakenshaw. Copyright protected. |