Affordable Healthcare Series- Mineral Must Haves
I must digress here for a moment before I get into the specifics of certain mineral elements. A mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by living organisms. Minerals are elements that originate in the soil and cannot be created by our bodies. The seven most common major chemical elements (major minerals), in human tissues include Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Chlorine, Magnesium, and Sulfur; in their order of abundance. For example, calcium and phosphorus are the primary skeletal minerals and compose 99% of the mass of the body, minus the water and other fluids. Minerals help the body manufacture essential hormones and help regulate your heartbeat. Minerals help increase your muscle mobility, assist an ideal nervous system, kidney filtration and the building of strong connective tissues! Your garden needs essential minerals because you need these essential minerals.
As mentioned earlier, to re-mineralize the soil in your garden a couple of times a year is one of THE most important decisions you can make to optimize the nutrition in your homegrown food. Heirloom cultivars have the good stuff but only truly maximized when grown in the best soil possible. I get into the simplicity of kick ass Super Soil in my next book, “A Little More Dirt on Soil.” Let’s take a quick look at Molybdenum. Molybdenum is a trace mineral element and is known as the “whole body nutrient.” Plants do not function well when it lacks in the soil. Our bodies don’t function well when it’s not in us. The finest dietary foods containing high DRI levels of Molybdenum are the Lentils, Peas, and Beans. However, no Molybdenum in the soil to enzymatically unlock all the other nutrients equals poor nutrient uptake in the plants. If there’s no enzyme activity from soil to plant, delivering Molybdenum and other necessary nutrients to you, there is also a lack of the same enzymatic activity in your body to unlock and assimilate the nutrients you just consumed. You are what you eat applies to plants as well.
It’s all connected!
There is a vast array of public and scientific opinion about “how much” of a particular mineral element one should consume on a daily basis. When I found the information available to be concurrent and well suited, I included it. If it was not crystal clear, I didn’t try and guess. Just know that high-value minerals in your diet are critical to hundreds of functions in the body. High-value minerals blended into your garden plot are vital for important plant functions as well. So, get it in the soil at the beginning of the season, every season. Especially if you’re growing cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage or legumes.
Trust me, if you want to feel like crap, avoid vital minerals. If you want to grow a crappy garden, deny the plants their minerals! Let’s continue:
CALCIUM
Calcium is an essential nutrient when it comes to bone health and integrity. Your bones are the framework that everything else hangs on to, so take care of this architecture! Bones are living tissue and are constantly in a state of turnover. A daily dietary intake of 1,000-1,500 mg is necessary to prevent your body from taking calcium from your skeleton. The human body will do this to try and maintain normal blood calcium levels. Calcium must be available for the proper functioning of neuromuscular and cardiac systems. Research shows that a proper intake of calcium over a lifetime can prevent osteoporosis. Dietary intake of calcium is best. It is better than over the counter calcium supplements. Accidental excessive calcium intake in tablet form may lead to kidney stones, calcification of soft tissues, and possibly a heart attack or stroke! It can also have adverse reactions to certain medications. The calcium content from Natural sources; raw foods, is greater in its bioavailability and has lower potential toxicity. Be mindful and talk to your doctor before blindly eating pills or making drastic changes to your dietary intakes. Follow the list below for ideal DRI consumption. Grow these:
Kale 139 mg per ¾ cup
Dark Greens; Collards 145-357 mg per cup (35% DRI)
Legumes (lentils, peas, beans (soy and garbanzo) 75-145 mg per cup
Red Bell Peppers 134 mg per cup
Honorable mention: Almonds!
Bottom Line- Happy bones, teeth and muscles.