Remember the periodic table from chemistry class? Do you remember all its elements? Well, dig them out of that dusty box in your brain, because those elements are also essential to our body’s cells.

In addition to proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and water, mineral supplements are an important requirement for cellular health. When planning a “clean” or “mindful” eating schedule, take minerals into account. Our bodies need two types of minerals: micro and macro. 

Know Your Ratios

Our body requires large quantities of macrominerals and trace amounts of micro minerals, but this shouldn’t suggest that we neglect the micro minerals. Generally speaking, a healthy diet is rich in minerals but it is still important to identify the sources in order to maximize the benefits.

Vital minerals include sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and sulfur.  Calcium and phosphorus form the mineralized structures of our body such as teeth and bones, and adequate amounts ensure healthy development. Deficiencies in these two minerals can cause various bone deformities and compromised bone structure. Inadequate amounts at the age of teeth development can cause the improper structure of teeth and increase the risk of cavities, fractures, and staining.

Nervous System Essentials

Sodium and potassium are crucial for the “message transmission processes” that are responsible for the entire activity of our nervous system. Deficiency of these minerals can cause disturbed activity of the nervous system and can impair various bodily functions like sensations, cognitive function, and muscle movements. Sodium is critical for maintaining normal blood pressure.

It is not difficult to ensure you are incorporating these minerals into your meals. Sprinkle a small amount of table salt on top of an omelet or a vegetable salad. Drink a glass of milk at night to strengthen your bones or cook a protein-rich meal or snack of meat and legumes topped with nuts.

Small But Mighty

Trace minerals should not be underestimated.  They are important components of blood and various enzymes that produce your body’s proteins. They also regulate a variety of critical bodily processes including cell renewal and repair, taste reception, metabolic processes, detoxification of poisonous substances, and maintenance of blood sugar.

Be creative and include a number of ingredients to build one meal rich in minerals, instead of concentrating on just one or two minerals. For example, cook a meal decorated with green vegetables such as broccoli. Sprinkle some sea salt and kelp or dulse, which are sea vegetables loaded with minerals.

Simple Additions

Make minerals a staple of your clean eating plan! My favorite way to ensure my minerals intake is to drink coconut water daily. Simple and easy. Make clean eating and looking younger easy because clean eating should not be difficult. Another great option is to swap out your salt with either sea salt or dried seaweed. Honestly, it might sound a little strange but it tastes great and it’s packed with vitamins and minerals. More often than not, we cannot get everything we need from daily nutrition alone. Especially when we get older and it becomes harder to absorb and process our nutrients. That is why it is so important to add daily vitamin supplements into your routine. 

Keep The Balance

Now, we all know eating more fruits and vegetables is good for us. In spite of being loaded with amazing health and happiness benefits, we often fail to reach for the right foods when we are trying to lose weight or even to improve sleep or lower stress levels. More often than not this is due to the fact that fewer people naturally gravitate to fresh fruits and vegetables because we have been conditioned to crave sugar-loaded foods. One of the biggest drawbacks of consuming these types of foods is that they can often lead to an excess of toxins within our bodies while also throwing our hormones out of sync. As a result, most of us put our bodies through two extremes “Feast or Famine”. The biggest issue with this is that these extremes can increase the likelihood that we will binge eat whenever we can.

Magnesium

Our bodies need more than just vitamins. Minerals play a critical role in our overall health. Magnesium is one of those important minerals that we need to maintain in our bodies. When we are deficient in Magnesium it can result in the following symptoms: anxiety, depression, muscle weakness, fatigue, eye twitches, insomnia, anorexia, poor memory, confusion, anger, and rapid pulse. Again, there are ways you can replenish this imbalance with supplements or foods. Some foods to try to include pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews, spinach, quinoa, beans, peanuts, dark chocolate, avocados, and oatmeal. Once everything has been balanced out you can expect less pain, reduced headaches, improved mood, PMS relief, and lowered blood pressure.

Zinc

One of the most important minerals for your immune system is hands down Zinc! Zinc can be difficult to acquire in our daily nutrition to the levels needed for our bodies to function at optimal efficiency. Some of the signs that can develop due to a deficiency are poor neurological function, weak immunity, digestive issues, food allergies, thinning hair, leaky gut, and skin issues such as acne or rashes. Zinc is essential for gastrointestinal support, the central nervous system, reproduction, stable metabolism, balancing blood sugar, and the immune system. You can increase these levels by consuming the following: peas, oats, beans, spinach, nuts, pumpkin seeds, and eggs. The daily target amount for men is 11mg and 8mg for adult women. Because it is so difficult to achieve this dosage via nutrition alone it is strongly suggested to take an additional supplement.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Gluten Free Vegan Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 12 Large Mushrooms
• 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Garlic Clove minced
• 1/2 Cup Gluten Free Breadcrumbs
• 1 Shallot minced
• 1/2 Cup Vegan Parmesan
• 1 Tbsp Basil dried
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400. Remove and mince stems of mushrooms. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a pan and cook garlic, shallots, and stems for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add crumbs, parmesan, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Spoon mixture into mushrooms top with oil and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Need A Hand?

A happy and healthy life is closer than you may think. Our health is something that we all have to deal with daily, and when we don’t feel our best, it shows. If you are tired of just making it through your day then you NEED to start investing in your health today! You are not alone on this journey. If you ever need any help I am always here to do just that. Even if it is something as small as just acting as a sounding board. Do you have any questions or concerns I can help you with? Feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] or you can even book a one-on-one call with me. Be sure to subscribe to gain access to tons of free goodies and check back daily for more great recipes and information!