Minerals – Why We Need Them

Our body needs minerals to keep our bones, muscles, heart and brain working.  Minerals occur in rocks, soil, and water, they are absorbed as plants grow or by animals when animals eat the plants. However, the essential minerals we need for good health are not manufactured in the body, we need to obtain them from foods or from supplements.

Macro minerals such as calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur are used and stored in large quantities in the body. Trace or Micro minerals including chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and zinc are just as vital to our health but we don’t need them in such large amounts.

The best way to ensure get enough minerals in our diet is to eat a wide variety of healthy whole foods and avoid overly refined processed packaged foods and junk foods.  However, even if you think you are eating well, the bad news is that foods which have been grown in depleted soil will not contain many minerals.  Modern farming practices focus on mass production for higher yields and profit which results in mineral poor, impoverished soil reducing the nutrition in foods.

However, organic and biodynamic farmers have the opposite approach, they enrich the soil by growing cover crops and adding compost and mulches.

Studies have shown organically grown foods contain more minerals and vitamins than conventionally grown foods. This is why AGM Foods has a strong commitment to using organic foods as ingredients in our Grainfields range of fermented products. The Grainfields fermented foods and drinks also contain beneficial lactobacillus bacteria to help promote good digestion so that the minerals and nutrients from foods are more easily absorbed.

Signs of mineral deficiency include anemia, fatigue, poor digestion and appetite, as well as chronic fatigue and brain fog.

Supplements are also an easy way to boost your mineral intake. The Grainfields Ionic Minerals contain a balance of 70 naturally occurring macro and micro minerals sourced from Utahs’ great salt lake in the USA.  These minerals are stringently safety tested for heavy metals via the U.S Food Chemicals Codex and our supplier has been producing high quality mineral and electrolyte supplements for over 45 years.

Paying attention to what you eat and possibly supplementing your diet with minerals from a natural source may help to ensure you are getting the minerals you need.


Sources:   Harvard health, Mineral Resources International, Rodale Institute.