Index To Articles

Minerals And Nutrients - Terence Q Coleman read more ...

How You Can Tell If You Have a Vitamin Deficiency - Dr Jenny Tylee read more ...

Jameth Sheridan on Vitamin Deficiencies, Dental Health and Solutions - Kevin Gianni read more ..

Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Worldwide - Timothy Moore read more ...

Extrathyroidal Benefits of Iodine - Donald R Miller read more ...

Minerals And Nutrients - Terence Q Coleman
(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terence_Q_Coleman)

All functions including the formation of blood, the performance and maintenance of the nervous system, and the formation and fortification of bones, teeth, skin, hair and nails require minerals. In addition, the body also requires minerals to effectively utilize vitamins and other nutrients.

The human body, as all of nature, must maintain its proper chemical balance. This balance depends on the levels of different minerals in the body tissues and fluids. A delicate balance exits in the body between different minerals, (especially the body fluids) therefore the levels of one mineral, is affected by the levels of every other mineral. So if one mineral is out of balance, all mineral levels are affected. If the imbalance is not corrected, this can start a chain reaction of imbalances which leads to illness.
Most trace elements need to be in ionic form to be well absorbed in the intestine. This means that they need to be dissolved in liquid (water) in order for them to be available to the body. Mineral deficiencies are generally due to a nutrient poor diet or an inability to absorb ingested minerals. Enzymes also depend on minerals for their function. In a state of mineral deficiency, the enzymes become sluggish or paralyzed, enzyme detoxification systems are impaired, and a state of disease develops.

"This is the beginning of many chronic disorders. Since the early clinical symptoms of mineral deficiency actually appear as enzymatic dysfunctions, they often go unrecognized. A good example of this is the pervasive magnesium deficiency among Americans. If not reversed, this state of absence of health evolves into a full expression of clinical disease". (Professor Majid Ali).
The macro minerals: This means the body requires these minerals in large quantities. These include calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and chlorine of which dietary supply is crucial because they are not universally distributed. When we look at the trace elements, dietary supply is just as crucial because some of the 16 are very scarce in food. We need only a tiny amount few thousandths of a gram of some trace elements, and a few millionths of a gram of others, such as iodine selenium, and the far lesser known trace elements, it may be thought that they are less important than say calcium, which we need in gram amounts, but this is not so. Recent science shows conclusively that if even one of the essential minerals is inadequately supplied, then the others cannot do their proper work. It is therefore best to find a product which has a broad spectrum of minerals and trace elements and that their presence can be verified by an independent laboratory analysis.

Although modern medicine does document basic mineral deficiencies in the population, it generally overlooks their significance. Instead of first respecting the natural alchemy of minerals and health,(and restoring the optimal mineral nutrition of the body) it employs powerful but inappropriate drugs to treat disease.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, making up about 2% of an adult's body weight. In humans most of the calcium is found in bone and in the dentine and enamel of teeth. Scientists agree that the more acidic the body becomes, the more likely it will suffer from disease. Calcium has an important role in alkalizing the body fluids. Minerals are generally difficult to absorb and you need enough stomach acid to ionize them. It is therefore not appropriate to neutralize the stomach acid with any base substances. The minerals in seawater and coral-calcium occur in an ionized form which makes it very absorbable. Ionized calcium and mineral supplements can make a significant difference to your health, especially when taken together with all 75 minerals and trace elements.

A simple pH saliva test can determine the acidity level in your body fluids and indicate if you are calcium deficient. Alkaline minerals such as calcium will be leeched from the bones to buffer and neutralize any excess acidity in the body fluids around the cells, leading to serious degenerative diseases such as cancer and osteoporosis.

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How You Can Tell If You Have a Vitamin Deficiency - Dr Jenny Tylee
(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Jenny_Tylee)

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies do not always show up as major health problems. This is because most of us are not deficient in one single nutrient. So we don't have diseases such as scurvy (which results from a severe lack of Vitamin C). What we are more likely to have is what is called a 'subclinical' or marginal deficiencies. These marginal vitamin and mineral deficiencies are likely to be the cause for minor symptoms such as headaches, difficulty in sleeping or skin problems. These minor problems is left untreated are likely to become more serious which is why it is important to deal with the vitamin and mineral deficiencies as soon as possible.

Vitamin deficiency signs and symptoms

Our bodies make it clear when we have minor deficiencies. The following is a list of the symptoms and the vitamin and minerals that may be deficient.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you tired a lot of the time?

2. Is your ability to keep going noticeably decreasing?

3. Are you having a hard time keeping your weight stable?

4. Do you often experience physical pain - arthritis, muscle aches, migraines?

5. Do you often get colds?

6. Is your eyesight deteriorating?

7. Is your mental clarity or concentration decreasing?

8. Is your memory on the decline?

9. Are you experiencing more sleeping problems?

10. Are you often depressed?

11. Are you often anxious, nervous or irritable?

12. Do you have difficulty with your bowels either constipation or diarrhea?

13. Is your skin dry and scaly?

14. Do you have problems with pimples and blackheads?

1. If you checked yes to any of these then you could be suffering from vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Have a look at the list below to see what vitamins and minerals may be deficient in your diet.

1. Hair problems - Vitamin B12, B6, Selenium

2. Eye problems - Vitamins A, C

3. Nervousness - B6, B12, B3, B5, Magnesium, Vitamin C

4. Infections - Vitamin A, B-complex, C, Biotin, Calcium, Potassium, Zinc

5. Fatigue - Zinc, Iron, Vitamins A,B,C,D

6. Constipation - Vitamin B-Complex, Vitamin C

7. Diarrhea - Vitamins A, Niacin (B3), B12,K

8. Muscle cramps - Vitamins B1 and D, Biotin, Sodium, Magnesium and Calcium

9. Skin problems - Vitamins A and B-complex, Biotin and copper.

The initial vitamin and mineral deficiencies may only lead to minor problems but they can lead to dangerous problems. The lack of antioxidant nutrients can lead to high levels of free radical toxins in our bodies. An example of this is a toxic substance called acetaldehyde that is produced by the liver in detoxification. These are dealt with by antioxidants. However in the absence of sufficient antioxidant nutrients or in deficiency states these substances have been linked to the development of diseases such as Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease.

If you have signs and symptoms associated with vitamin and mineral deficiencies then you need to review what you are eating to improve your diet, cleanse your system so that you can make the most of the nutrients that you have and take a vitamin and mineral supplement.

References

Bland, J. 1996, Contemporary Nutrition. J & B Associates.

Soothill, R. 1996, The Choice Guide to Vitamins and Minerals. A Choice Book Publication.

Sullivan, K. Vitamins and Minerals: A Practical Approach to a Health Diet and Safe Supplementation. Harper Collins.

Dr Jenny Tylee is an experienced health professional who is passionate about health and wellbeing. She believes that health is not just absence of disease and seeks to actively promote vitality and wellness through empowering others. She encourages people to improve their health by quit smoking, cleansing their body, taking essential vitamin and mineral supplement and many other methods, including herbal remedies.

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Jameth Sherida on Vitamin Deficiencies, Dental Health and Solutions - Kevin Gianni
(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Gianni)

In this article, Jameth Sheridan shares on challenges like vitamin deficiencies and dental health and offers solutions as well. Jameth Sheridan is the co-author of Uncooking with Jameth and Kim and the co-founder of the superfoods company HealthForce Nutritionals.

Kevin: You mentioned teeth issues. We really haven't talked about teeth issues with anyone from this program. And some people on a raw diet do experience hot and cold sensitivity, and is that the sign of teeth starting to rot? What's happening there?

Jameth: Yes it can be, and many a raw fooder has had dental problems, it's actually the group that has the most dental problems in my experience, and especially in the years past, because there's more awareness of that, has been raw fooders, which is ironic. The worst dental health I've seen is in raw fooders.

Kevin: Whoa.

Jameth: Now when I was mostly a fruitarian, I had a few cavities when I was a kid, I think four, and when I was mostly fruitarian, my teeth started rotting out of my mouth. I got many, many cavities, and that was during that similar time of athletics when I was eating so much sugar. Now, someone would say, "Well, I'm eating this raw food, vital, healthy, magnificent fruit," and I'm not at all an anti-fruit person, but by no means do I recommend fruitarianism either.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: I was eating more sugar then I was when I was a regular junk food kid at Halloween and so forth. A regular person, if they eat junk foods and sugars, they'll have a candy bar here, there, maybe once a day, something like that, maybe twice a day. So, two times a day you have sugar passing by your teeth. When you're a raw fooder and eating lots of fruit, you are having sugar pass by your teeth a dozen times a day. I'll have a piece of fruit now. Have a piece of fruit later. And, fruit's so low calorie, you actually have more contact time with sugar on your teeth. And, it's ironic that a regular candy bar has a very limited ability to feed your cells because it's white sugar, it's preservatives, there's very little nutrients in it, it's just absolute crap , and you cannot sustain cellular life very well whatsoever. And, the bacteria that live under your gums, when they get a candy bar, they can grow from that. But, they can't grow nearly as well as they can from fruit sugar because fruit sugar is live, it's vital, it has enzymes, it has life force. The water in fruits and vegetables is a low surface tension structured water which feeds our cells phenomenally better than a candy bar. That's one of the reasons raw foods and whole foods are so good for us. Bacteria under your teeth thrive on fruit sugar like nothing else because it's more vital for them, too. And, they get stronger.

Kevin: Right. Vital for us and them.

Jameth: They grow like crazy because it's a better source of food for them and they're getting it constantly. So, you're more likely, actually, to have dental problems if you're eating lots of fruit versus if you're eating a lesser quantity of refined processed foods.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: Not that I'm recommending that.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: Now dates, for example, for your gums, are the worst of all possible worlds because dates are vital, they're live, but they're also gooey so they stick on your teeth.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: Dates and dried fruits would apply to that. And the answer to that is don't eat that much fruit because there's another component I want to talk about in a minute. And also, make sure your dental hygiene is supreme. Because dental health and just having things go wrong with your teeth is clearly associated with having things go wrong with other organs and systems in the body stemming from the teeth as a source. You don't want to have rotten teeth in your mouth. You've got to get that addressed. And, because I've had some serious dental issues in the past coming from largely fruitarian diets, I floss twice a day, brush twice a day, I floss sometimes more than twice a day, never let anything get stuck in my teeth, and I have a healthy essential oil type mouthwash that I usually use in rinse after I have things with sugar or other things. And, that's prevented any further dental decay.

Kevin: Really? And, what kind of mouthwash is it?

Jameth: Right now, I tend to use one from Eco-Dent. It's just an organic essential oil-based mouthwash, something healthy without sodium, lauryl sulfate or any preservatives. There's other ones out there, I'm sure.

Another thing that happens with people when they eat a lot of fruit is fruit is high in antioxidants, it's high in vitamins, it's high in a lot of magnificent things. And actually, I think that people that say that they eat no fruit, they're throwing the baby out with the bath water. I don't think that's healthy. And, we can talk more about that later. But, fruit is extremely low in minerals. That's just not what fruit contributes to your body, to your diet. That's not what it's there for. It just genetically can't have a lot of minerals in it. Two and three percent, sometimes four percent, whereas the average vegetable might have ten percent. The average superfood vegetable like nettles has about twenty percent minerals. Dramatically different. Even spirulina has about ten percent minerals. Fruit is just really low. When you have that much sugar and that little minerals, it actually starts to de-mineralize your teeth and your bones. And sometimes people's teeth can
become sensitive just from that alone, and they can start to become transparent, too.

Kevin: OK.

Jameth: And, that's not a healthy situation to have. I've actually never met a long term fruitarian who is healthy or who didn't cheat.

Kevin: OK.

Jameth: That's my experience. After 22 years of being in raw, I've never seen that. And there's some famous fruitarian emphasis types speaking today who aren't telling people everything they do.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: I see B-12 being rampant in people who are fruitarian. If someone is a fruitarian, I recommend they don't be, but if they are, they've absolutely got to take a B-12 supplement. I've seen so many fruitarians be B-12 deficient. And then, I've talked to a few of them and said, "Listen, let's get you on some superfoods with probiotics, and grasses, and spirulina," combinations of which have been proven to raise people's B-12 levels without taking a B-12 supplement.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: What I've almost invariably heard from them is "Hey, that's a little bit outside of my box. I don't think that's really natural.. I don't think I can do that." But, they go ahead and take a supplement or take injectable B-12, and I'm thinking, that isn't outside your box? That's not unnatural?

Kevin: Yeah.

Jameth: But it's this philosophy. Now, there have been a few fruitarian types who have taken me up on my offer to help them with superfoods become B-12 sufficient and blood tests have shown they have become B-12 sufficient by taking various superfood complexes.

Kevin: Really? Plant based, or no?

Jameth: Completely plant based. Completely plant based. And, these are ...

Kevin: But, with probiotics?

Jameth: With probiotics in them. Now, I don't know is it the spiraling or the chlorella or some of the other things in the superfood that I'm talking about, or it is the probiotics in there because probiotics make B-12 on their own. Or, is it the combination of all of them because I haven't dissected the 30 different ingredients and just given to someone in a clinical trial.

Kevin: Right.

Jameth: But I know the totality of it does it. B-12 is somewhat of an important issue because it can just ruin someone's health. Everything else in their health can be great , and if their B-12 is deficient, they start to get weak, they can start to get numbness and tingling, they can start to have brain and mental disorders. And, approximately 40% of the average human population in America, 40% of the average Americans are B-12 deficient on a meat-eating diet, on a carnivorous diet. This is not a vegan or a raw issue. If you're fruitarian, it definitely is magnified tremendously. So, if someone has to take a B-12 supplement, it doesn't mean that their life or their lifestyle is failing, it just means that they're taking care of their need, they're doing what they need to be healthy.

And, the reason that I got into raw, and the reason that pretty much everybody gets into raw, is to be healthy. So, if something's not healthy, then you shouldn't do it. And, getting stuck in the philosophy or the various philosophies of raw can get people into trouble.

I don't take a B-12 supplement and I've been a vegan for 22 years. I take my B-12 levels, and they're optimum. But if they weren't, I think it's because I take superfoods and probiotics, if they weren't, I would have not problem taking a B-12 supplement. And, it's like when you're a vegan, also you're on trial with a lot of the rest of the world.

Kevin: Interesting.

Kevin Gianni the host of Renegade Health Show - a fun and informative daily health show that is changing the perception of health across the world. His is an internationally known health advocate, author, and film consultant. He has helped thousands and thousands of people in over 21 countries though online health teleseminars about abundance optimum health and longevity. He is also the creator and co-author of "The Busy Person's Fitness Solution"

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Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies Worldwide - Timothy Moore
(Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Timothy_Moore)

A global progress report on the world's mineral and vitamin deficiencies shows that nearly one-third of the world's population is deficient in key vitamins and minerals. The worst affected countries are Mali, Burundi, Afghanistan, Angola and Burkina Faso. The report also suggests that the lack of proper nutrition affects child mortality rates, maternal health care, poverty and physical and academic potential.

The report on Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency (VMD) - or "hidden hunger", was a collaborative effort between The Micronutrient Initiative, a Canada- based non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating vitamin and mineral deficiencies worldwide, and Unicef, a United Nations mandated advocate for the protection of children's rights. The report included individual Damage Assessment Reports in 80 developing countries.

The VMD report states that all children have a right to a healthy, prosperous life and calls for vitamin and mineral rich foods and inexpensive supplements, while urging world governments to fight diseases that prevent vitamin and mineral absorption.

Vitamins and minerals are thought to be necessary to combat weak immune systems and to increase mental capacity. It is well known that a lack of proper nutrition can cause a range of health issues, from anemia and blindness to cretinism, a condition resulting in stunted physical and mental growth.

The report shed new light on other problems that are less known, such as intellectual impairments associated with iron deficiency, iodine deficiencies during pregnancy (causing 20 million infants a year to be born mentally impaired), and a vitamin A deficiency that causes weak immune systems, resulting in 1 million deaths each year in those under five. It was also reported that one in five people are deficient in the necessary mineral zinc, and that this deficiency increases the risk of pneumonia and diarrhea, further weakening the immune system and causing more complicated health issues.

The VMD also offered some solutions to these issues, suggesting public education, disease control to raise absorption levels, food fortification, and economical supplementation for those pregnant or of child bearing age. They VMD also calls for the food industry to create, promote and dispense these economical supplements and fortified food products, while calling on governments to support the control of vitamins and minerals through legislation and education.

The author of this article is Tim Moore, writing for Vitamins Stuff, a site that offers information on Vitamins and Alternative Medicine.

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Extrathyroidal Benefits of Iodine - Donald W Miller Jr MD

ABSTRACT
In addition to being an essential element in thyroid hormones,iodine has many biological functions. The recommended dietary intake of 100–150 mcg is perhaps 100 times too low. Potential benefits of higher amounts include enhancement of immune function and reducing the incidence of breast cancer. Older studies of therapeutic benefits, particularly with respect to fibrocystic breast disease, need to be updated and expanded.

Most physicians and surgeons view iodine from the narrow perspective of its use as an antiseptic that disinfects drinking water and prevents surgical wound infections, and its presence in thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). They consider iodine's sole function in the body is to be organically bound to the phenyl ring of tyrosine in thyroid hormones. The thyroid gland needs only a trace amount of iodine, 70 mcg/day, to synthesize the requisite amounts of T4 and T3 used to regulate metabolism and ensure normal growth and development. Everyone agrees that a lack of iodine in the diet causes a spectrum of disorders that includes, in increasing order of severity, goiter and hypothyroidism, mental retardation, and cretinism. read more ...

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