MACROMINERALS

Luckily, macrominerals are easily accessible from natural foods. Unfortunately, many people simply
do not eat enough natural food to get all their vitamins.

Sodium

The most important electrolyte minerals in body fluids are Sodium and potassium. Sodium is
necessary for maintaining your proper nerve and muscle function as well. The bulk of human sodium
requirements is obtained from sodium chloride, namely table salt. The RDA for table salt varies
greatly based on climate conditions, body temperature, exercise, disease conditions, and renal
function. The RDA for an adult in a temperate climate is about 500 mg.

ELECTROLYTE is a substance that dissociates in water into charged particles called ions. Positively
charged ions are called cations. Negatively charged ions are called anions. Simply, an electrolyte is a
substance that can conduct an electric current when melted or dissolved in water. Conduct
electricity, essential for muscle and nerve function.

RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCE (RDA): Average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the
nutrient requirements of nearly all (97–98%) healthy individuals; often used to plan nutritionally
adequate diets for individuals.

Foods that contain sodium: King Crab, Fish sauce, Soy sauce, Mayonnaise, Peanut butter, etc.

Chloride

Chlorine (Cl) is an essential mineral, functioning as an important electrolyte mineral. The chloride ion
participates with sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, and carbonic acid in playing a major role in water
metabolism, osmosis, and acid-base balance.

WATER METABOLISM refers to the processes of creating and using water in living organisms. Water
can be created inside an organism through their metabolism, by oxidizing energy-containing
substances in their food1. This is called metabolic water. Water can also be used as a metabolic raw
material, which means that organisms withdraw it from their environment and use it for various
biochemical reactions2. Water is also excreted and returned to the environment by organisms

OSMOSIS is one of the most important ways that plants and animals achieve homeostasis. Keeping
the body's conditions stable makes it possible for living things to survive. Osmosis plays an important
role in the human body, especially in the gastro-intestinal system and the kidneys. Osmosis helps you
get nutrients out of food.

Your blood needs the right balance of acidic and basic (alkaline) compounds to function properly.
This is called the acid-base balance. Your kidneys and lungs work to maintain the ACID-BASE
BALANCE. Even slight variations from the normal range can have significant effects on your vital
organs. Acid and alkaline levels are measured on a pH scale.

Foods that contain chloride include:

 Table salt or sea salt as sodium chloride
 Seaweed
 Shrimp
  Rye
 Tomatoes
 Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and celery
 Olives
 High-sodium processed foods such as deli meats, hot dogs, cheese, and potato chips

Potassium
Balancing your electrolytes requires potassium, much like sodium. Potassium is also essential for
proper nerve and muscle function. Potassium and Sodium play a major role in water metabolism.
Just as calcium and magnesium interact together, sodium and potassium are closely interacting
macrominerals.

Calcium

As we all know, calcium is essential when it comes to bone and teeth formation. It also aids in blood
clotting, maintaining normal muscle function and heart rhythm and keeps many enzymes in the body
functioning normally.

Calcium deficiencies result in a range of diseases and conditions, including osteoporosis,

hypertension and tooth decay. It is recommended that you consume between 400 and 1000mg of
calcium a day through low-fat dairy products, however; nuts, tofu, shellfish, eggs, and wheat are
viable sources of calcium as well.

BLOOD CLOTTING, or coagulation, is an important process that prevents excessive bleeding when a
blood vessel is injured.

Phosphorus

Like calcium, phosphorus is essential for the formation of bones and teeth. It’s also vital to your
energy production and is used to form nucleic acids like DNA. Phosphorus is needed for bone and
tooth health just like calcium, but it’s also a vital part of metabolizing energy. Without phosphorous,
your body can’t turn food into energy and strength. It also is essential to kidney and liver function.
Foods high in phosphorus are usually also high in protein. Dairy, beef, chicken and even cola
beverages have a high phosphorus content.

Magnesium

Much like calcium and phosphorus, your body requires magnesium to help form bones and teeth.
Magnesium is also necessary to keep your nerves and muscles functioning normally and to activate
various enzymes.

Following calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, sodium, and chlorine; Magnesium is the seventh
most abundant element present in the body. It is also closely related to calcium and phosphorus in
its functions in the body. About 70 percent of magnesium is contained in the bones and teeth. The
remainder of the magnesium is found in the soft tissue of the body and extracellular fluids.

Magnesium plays a major role in maintaining the electrical potential across muscle and nerve
membranes. The master molecule of the body, DNA which is concerned with protein synthesis, uses
magnesium in protein formation. Magnesium is important in the storage and release of chemicals in
the adenosine diphosphate/triphosphate energy system. Consequently, magnesium is stored in large
quantities within the mitochondria, the powerhouse of your cells.

ATP (ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE) is the energy-carrying molecule used in cells because it can release
energy very quickly. Energy is released from ATP when the end phosphate is removed. Once ATP has
released energy, it becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate), which is a low energy molecule.

Sulfur

is an abundant mineral in the human body. It occurs naturally and has many functions. Proteins,
vitamins, and other elements in the body contain sulfur, which plays a vital role in several processes
that are essential to life.

Sulfur plays an important role in the body. It is necessary for the production of key proteins and the
building blocks of those proteins, which are known as amino acids. For example, sulfur is needed for
the synthesis, or creation, of the amino acids cysteine and methionine. These amino acids are part of
a powerful antioxidant known as glutathione.

Foods with sulfur include:

 Meat and poultry, especially beef, chicken, turkey, and organ meats
 Fish and seafood, especially lobster, crab, scallops, mussels, prawns, oysters, sardines,
salmon, haddock, and cod
 Eggs
 Dairy products
 Legumes, such as beans, soy products, and jicama
 Nuts and seeds, such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds
 Allium plants, such as garlic, onion, leek, and chives
 Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts
 Grains, such as quinoa, buckwheat, and whey
 Yeast extract