Minerals
INTRODUCTION
CALCIUM
MAGNESIUM
ZINC
ELECTROLYTES
INTRODUCTION:
Minerals,
there are two types of minerals (not really
types, but classifications), minerals and trace
minerals. A mineral is an inorganic chemical
element. The classification "mineral"
is given to seven such elements that your body
needs at least 100mgs of daily. The
classification "trace mineral" is
given to fourteen such elements that your body
needs less than 100mgs of daily. The minerals
are calcium, chloride, magnesium, potassium,
sodium, and sulfur. The trace minerals are
boron, chromium, cobalt, copper, iodine, iron,
manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium,
silicon, tin, vanadium, and zinc. Actually,
aluminum and lithium are trace elements too, but
little is known about them and why or how much
we need them.
What
vitamins and minerals do in our bodies is very
important to know. Vitamins and minerals are the
reasons we function on the cellular level.
Vitamins make enzymes and hormones, the
essential parts of our living. Enzymes are
compounds your body makes from vitamins,
minerals, and proteins and combinations of them.
Enzymes speed up chemical reactions in your
body. One very important one is the anti-oxidant
enzyme and I will get into it in detail later.
Hormones are chemical messengers that tell your
body what to do. Hormones regulate your growth,
sexual characteristics, blood pressure, heart
rate, glucose levels, and many other functions.
Vitamins and minerals have no calories and do
not give you energy, but lead to the processes
that can cause energy, like oxygen increase in
the blood, more red blood cells, more protein
conversion, etc.. and must be eaten in your food
for you to get them, as well as taking
supplements, which is a good idea even while on
a good nutritious diet. I don't think any of us
could truly eat a good diet every day and even
if we did, some vitamins and minerals would not
be counted for or not in a sufficient amount.
The amounts of vitamins and minerals we should
take is of much controversy. The recommended
daily allowances are there for the purpose of
preventing any deficiency diseases and are not
enough for many people, in fact, they are just
enough for prevention. The fact is, we
should consume twice that amount of certain
vitamins and minerals, but not all of them. With
water soluble vitamins, you could safely take
much larger doses than the RDA and your body
will just wash out the excess in your fluids,
but fat soluble vitamins like I said are stored,
so you could actually build an over supply
and potentially cause problems.
Once you start eating properly and taking in all
of your vitamins and minerals you will be on
your way to a healthier mind and body, but this
will not happen right away. After some
months of a healthy diet, you will begin to fell
more energetic, happier, more optimistic, fewer
illness problems, and just a better sense of
being.
Here is a list of safe dosages for a healthy
adult.
Vitamins
Vitamin A: 5,000 - 25,000 IU's
Vitamins B: Thiamin 2-100 mgs
Riboflavin 50-100 mgs
Niacin 20-100 mgs
Pyridoxine 3-50 mgs
Folic acid 800 mcgs - 2 mgs
Cobalamin 500-1,000 mcgs
Pantothenic acid 4-7 mgs
Biotin 30-100 mcgs
Vitamin C: 500-2,000 mgs
Vitamin D: 400-600 IU's
Vitamin E: 200-400 IU's
Vitamin K: 160-300 mcgs
Minerals
Calcium: 1,000-1,500 mgs
Copper: 1.5-3.0 mgs
Chromium: 50-200 mcgs
Iron: 15-30 mgs
Magnesium: 300-500 mgs
Manganese: 2.5-5.0 mgs
Molybdenum: 75-250 mcgs
Potassium: 2,000-3,500 mgs
Selenium: 70-200 mcgs
Zinc: 15-50 mgs
You may have noticed that some are missing, this
is because the amount is nothing to worry about,
as you will easily consume it in your diet, in
fact, even if you weren’t trying.
CALCIUM:
Why
you should drink your milk. This is a
"no-brainer", Calcium builds strong
bones and teeth. You may not know it, but
Calcium makes up about 2% of your total body
weight. That's 2 - 3 pounds for an average
adult. 98% of it is in your bones, 1% is
in your teeth, and the last percent circulates
in your bloodstream. Calcium also
regulates your heartbeat, blood pressure, blood
clotting (important for people on steroids),
contracting your muscles, and sending messages
down your nerves. It also makes several
different hormones and enzymes, like the ones
that control your digestive system and how you
use and make energy from fats.
There
are 206 bones in the human body, you need all of
them to be strong, especially if you are
training with weights and strength. Not
only this, but your bones get weaker as you get
older, after about 35 years old. Now, if
you are training, you need a lot of Calcium.
If you are training and taking steroids, you
need even more Calcium. Now, If you are
training, taking steroids, and taking thyroid
medicine (Synthroid for instance), you need even
more Calcium. You see, steroids and
thyroid meds rob your body of Calcium.
Alcohol will also do this, so you need to really
watch your intake of vitamins and minerals,
alcohol will rob you of most every vitamin and
mineral in fact.
The
daily intake should be around 1,000 mgs. I
myself, drink 3 - 4 gallons of milk per week, I
am quite sure I am getting my RDI, but if you do
not like milk or cannot drink it (can't imagine
that!!!), then you need to get it elsewhere.
If you like yogurt, it has more Calcium than
milk does, so make that smoothie every morning
for breakfast.
I
am only going to give you 12 foods to get
calcium from since it is found in many foods.
All of these servings have 100mgs or more
CALCIUM
IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
CALCIUM
IN MGS |
Milk |
8
oz |
300 |
Yogurt,
plain low fat |
8
oz |
415 |
American
Cheese |
1
oz |
124 |
Cheddar
Cheese |
1
oz |
204 |
Colby
Cheese |
1
oz |
194 |
Cottage
Cheese |
1
cup |
138 |
Mozzarella
Cheese |
1
oz |
147 |
Swiss
Cheese, processed |
1
oz |
272 |
Ricotta
Cheese, part skim |
1/2
cup |
337 |
Pudding,
instant choc. |
1/2
cup |
149 |
Spinach,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
122 |
Salmon,
with bones |
3
oz |
203 |
MAGNESIUM:
This
little mineral works with calcium in keeping
your bones strong. It also helps keep your
blood pressure down by making your muscles
relax, thus relaxing your heart and keeping the
beat at the right pace. It has also been
noted to make a difference in people with
migraines, asthma, and diabetes. Other
vitamins work better when you have plenty of
Magnesium; Calcium and Vitamin C for
instance do their jobs better with it.
Magnesium and Calcium both are absorbed in your
bones and teeth, but like Calcium, some
Magnesium is left to circulate in your blood.
This amount of Calcium and Magnesium in your
blood is very important. As I said,
calcium makes your muscles "contract",
Magnesium makes them "relax" again,
this signal comes from your blood, otherwise, if
that is insufficient, your body will take it
from your bones as needed, thus weakening them.
This is also why it is very important to have
plenty of the other vitamins that promote good
blood cells and oxygen in your blood, as it
carries these vital substances where they need
to go more efficiently.
The
amount of Magnesium you should take in per day
is around 400mgs - 600mgs. The DRI says
400mg, but the extra will help to keep your BP
down among other things. Remember, when
you are working out, your metabolism is higher
and you are burning, converting, and processing
a lot more and faster, so you need more.
MAGNESIUM
IN FOOD |
AMOUNT |
MAGNESIUM
IN MGS |
Almonds,
dry roasted |
1
oz |
84 |
Banana |
1
medium |
33 |
Black
Beans |
1
cup |
121 |
Bread,
whole wheat |
1
slice |
23 |
Broccoli,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
19 |
Bread,
white |
1
slice |
5 |
Cashews,
dry roasted |
1
oz |
72 |
Chick
peas |
1
cup |
78 |
Flounder |
3
oz |
50 |
Kidney
beans |
1
cup |
80 |
Lentils |
1
cup |
71 |
Lima
beans |
1
cup |
82 |
Milk,
low fat |
8
oz |
34 |
Oatmeal,
cooked |
1
cup |
56 |
Okra |
1/2
cup |
46 |
Peanut
butter |
2
tablespoons |
51 |
Peanuts |
1
oz |
52 |
Peas |
1/2
cup |
31 |
Potato,
baked w/ skins |
1
medium |
55 |
Shrimp |
3
oz |
29 |
Soy
milk |
1
cup |
45 |
spinach,
cooked |
1/2
cup |
79 |
Yogurt |
8
oz |
40 |
White
beans |
1
cup |
113 |
If
you take too much, you will only get diarrhea,
nothing bad. Magnesium is an ingredient in
laxatives and also in antacids.
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to top
ZINC:
Zinc
is essential for making the hormones that
control growth and for the important male
hormone testosterone.
Zinc
is very important for your immune system. In
fact, if you have a bad cold, taking extra zinc
could get you back on your feet several days
sooner. Zinc also helps you heal quickly from
wounds, keeps your skin healthy, helps preserve
your eyesight, and might even improve your
memory. It's no surprise that today many doctors
and nutritionists tell their patients to
"think zinc!"
Over 200 different enzymes in your body depend
on zinc to work properly. Here's just one
example: You need zinc to make the enzyme
alcohol dehydrogenase, which breaks down
alcohol. If you're deficient in zinc, your body
can't process alcohol and you get very drunk on
just a small amount. You also need zinc to make
many hormones, including the ones that tell your
immune system what to do when you're under
attack from germs. Zinc is essential for making
the hormones that control growth and for the
important male hormone testosterone. You have
some zinc in every one of your body's cells, but
most of it is in your skin, hair, nails, and
eyes-and in your prostate gland if you're male.
All told, your body contains just over 2.2 grams
of zinc.
The RDA for Zinc; Even though you use zinc in
many important body processes, you don't need to
eat much of it. Technically speaking, zinc is a
trace element, a mineral you need in only very
small amounts. The adult RDA for zinc is 15 mg a
day or less, an amount that most everybody
easily gets from food. The first hint that zinc
is an important nutrient came almost a century
ago in Egypt, when doctors noticed that poor
young boys who ate almost nothing but unleavened
bread (bread without yeast, it was originally
stated to eat "unleavened" bread in
the time when Moses led the Israelites out of
Egypt. They were to eat unleavened bread
for 7 days during which time the Passover took
place. No longer necessary since the birth of
Jesus Christ. Book of Exodus) were very
short and underdeveloped. It turned out that
their diet had very little zinc. Once they got
more zinc in their diet, they started growing
normally again.
In our modern society, such a serious zinc
deficiency is very rare. A slight deficiency in
zinc isn't that uncommon. Surveys show that many
women get only about half the RDA. You might be
on the low side for zinc if: - You're a strict
vegetarian or vegan. Animal foods such as fish
and meat are the the best dietary sources of
zinc. Fruits have virtually none. Children who
don't eat animal foods are more at risk for zinc
deficiency. - You eat a very high-fiber diet.
The fiber, especially fiber from whole grains,
binds up the zinc in your diet and keeps you
from absorbing it. - You're pregnant or
breastfeeding. You're passing a lot of your zinc
on to your baby. If your diet is on the low side
for zinc to begin with, you might be deficient.
Talk to your doctor about supplements. -You're
over age 50. Your ability to absorb zinc from
your food drops as you get older. - You abuse
alcohol. Alcohol abusers don't eat very well in
general. Even moderate amounts of alcohol flush
out the zinc stored in your liver and make you
excrete the
zinc stored in your liver.
Zinc deficiency has a number of symptoms: slowed
growth in children, slow wound healing, frequent
infections, skin irritations, hair loss, and
loss of your sense of taste. Generally speaking,
you don't have to worry much about being
deficient in this mineral. Anyone who eats a
reasonably- well-balanced diet will get plenty
of zinc.
The best food source of zinc by far is oysters.
There are about 12 mg in a single raw oyster.
Other foods that are good sources of zinc are
lean meat, poultry, and organ meats. You only
absorb about ten percent of the zinc you get
from animal foods, and you absorb even less from
the zinc in plant foods. There's a fair amount
of zinc in beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, but
your body can't use it very well. That's because
these foods also have a lot of fiber. A
substance called phytic acid in the fiber
combines with zinc and keeps a lot of it from
being absorbed.
If you're over the age of 40, your thymus may
have naturally shrunk quite a bit, so it's not
producing the hormones it used to-and those
hormones stimulate your body to produce
infection-fighting blood cells. Getting a little
extra zinc-just 15 to 30 mg-every day may get
your thymus moving again. That means your immune
system will work better and fight off illness
faster.
Are the guys just kidding around when they tell
you to eat oysters for a better sex life?
Believe it or not, they're right. Oysters are by
far the food highest in zinc-and you need plenty
of zinc to make testosterone and other
male hormones. You also need zinc to make
healthy sperm and semen, so getting more zinc in
your diet could help solve male infertility. In
one study, men with low sperm counts took zinc
supplements for six weeks. Their testosterone
levels and sperm counts went up, and nearly half
of them had pregnant wives before the study was
over.
Zinc can also be very helpful for treating and
possibly even preventing prostate problems. Your
prostate gland is a small organ that wraps
around the urethra at the neck of the bladder.
As you get older, your prostate often naturally
gets bigger, a condition called benign prostatic
hypertrophy (BPH).
The enlarged gland squeezes the urethra and
causes a need to go frequently (and also other
urination problems). Sometimes the
problems get so bad that medication or even
surgery is needed.
Finally,
guys, despite rumors to the contrary, zinc
doesn't
stop balding or restore lost hair.
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ELECTROLYTES:
Potassium,
Sodium, and Chloride. These do many
things, but most of all, they control your blood
pressure. Too much sodium and too little
Potassium and you could get an unhealthy high
blood pressure level. On the same note,
too much Potassium and too little Sodium and
your levels could go way too low. Sodium,
Potassium, and chloride are Electrolytes.
Electrolytes are minerals that dissolve in water
and are electrically charged. Remember,
our bodies are about 95% water, so that means
these Electrolytes travel or conduct throughout
your entire body, in the cells, in the spaces
between the cells, your blood, lymph, and
everywhere. Potassium and Sodium particles
have a positive charge and Chloride particles
are negatively charged. These carry nutrients in
and waste and excess water out of your
cells.
All
of these Electrolytes maintain a balance of
water in your body, carry messages along your
nerves, help your muscles contract and relax,
and keep your PH levels under control.
Most of all, they are important in controlling
your blood pressure.
The
daily intake (there is no RDA for them) is about
2,000mgs of Potassium, 500mgs of Sodium, and
750mgs of Chloride. These Electrolytes work
together, keeping your water level what it
should be (in your cells, blood, etc..).
For example, women, during their menstrual
period get extra hormone levels and thus get
bloated and hold extra water. People on
steroids are getting extra high hormone levels
and do the same. To remedy this, they take
diuretics and herbs like buchu and uva ursi.
Doing this makes you excrete water in your urine
to reduce the amount in your body, but the
Electrolyte loss is directly proportionate.
Some diuretics are Dyrenium and Lasix.
Dyrenium will not effect your Potassium levels,
but Lasix will. Remember, too little
Potassium and your blood pressure could go up
and if you are taking steroids, your BP may
already be high. So, if you take Lasix (it
is one of the most common diuretics taken by
steroid users), then you should eat foods that
are Potassium rich.
Potassium
is found in almost everything you eat.
Here is a chart:
AVOCADO |
1/2
MEDIUM |
550 |
BANANA |
1
MEDIUM |
451 |
GROUND
BEEF |
3
OUNCES |
205 |
BLACK
BEANS |
1
CUP |
801 |
BROCCOLI,
COOKED |
1/2
CUP |
228 |
CANTALOUPE |
1
CUP |
494 |
CARROT,
RAW |
1
MEDIUM |
233 |
CHICKEN |
3
OUNCES |
195 |
CORN |
1/2
CUP |
204 |
KIWI |
1
MEDIUM |
252 |
MILK |
8
OUNCES |
381 |
ORANGE |
1
MEDIUM |
250 |
ORANGE
JUICE |
8
OUNCES |
474 |
BAKED
POTATO W/SKIN |
1
MEDIUM |
844 |
PRUNE
JUICE |
8
OUNCES |
706 |
SPINACH,
COOKED |
1/2
CUP |
419 |
STRAWBERRIES |
1
CUP |
247 |
TOMATO |
1
MEDIUM |
273 |
WATERMELON |
1
CUP |
186 |
WHEAT
GERM |
1/4
CUP |
259 |
You
should not need to take Potassium supplements
unless your doctor has said to do so.
Sodium
is a touchy subject, take it, don't take it,
blah, blah, blah. The claim is that sodium
will raise your BP too high, but remember, there
is a balance between sodium and Potassium.
So if you are eating a lot of Sodium in your
food and not enough Potassium, that just might
happen. We probably do eat too much salt,
there is enough in food naturally to give us all
we need, but we add it to everything we eat.
The balance we should maintain is thus; five or
six parts Potassium to one part Sodium.
Our normal diet is probably around 1:2 right
now. This tells us we eat too much Sodium.
Keeping a good balance of Electrolytes will give
you a healthier life, heart, and less stress and
tension.