Trace minerals are essential nutrients. Your body requires certain minerals in small (trace) amounts for various physiological functions, including hormone production, metabolism, immune function, enzyme activity, and more.
Unlike “macrominerals” such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium, your body needs only trace amounts of these minerals.
What Are Examples of Trace Minerals?
Trace minerals and their roles include:
Iron
- Energy production
- Immune function
- Oxygen transport
Zinc
- Immunity
- DNA synthesis
- Wound healing
- Growth and development of the body
Copper
- Metabolism
- Antioxidant defense
- Connective tissue formation
Selenium
- Antioxidant activity
- Thyroid function
- Immune regulation
Manganese
- Bone formation
- Antioxidant activity
- Carbohydrate metabolism
Iodine
- Metabolism
- Thyroid hormone synthesis
Your body’s cells use trace minerals to maintain optimal overall health. You might think that because you need such a small amount of these minerals, they aren’t important, but this isn’t true.
Deficiency in any of these minerals can cause various health problems and leave you feeling less-than-great overall.
Who Needs Trace Minerals?
Everyone needs trace minerals. If you don’t get the proper amount of these minerals, you might experience a variety of minor and major health concerns.
There are also people for whom these minerals are extra important. This includes people who are:
- Pregnant
- Breastfeeding
- Children
- Adolescents
- Elderly
- Experiencing kidney disease, thyroid disorders, or gastrointestinal disorders
If this list describes you or any of your loved ones, there is a higher risk of a trace mineral deficiency. In many cases, you can alleviate these deficiencies by changing your diet or adding trace mineral supplements.
What Are Some Ways to Ensure You Meet Your Trace Minerals Requirements?
You have several options to ensure you get the trace minerals you need to function. For example:
Diet
Eating a balanced diet is often enough to meet your body’s nutrient needs. Foods that provide you with trace minerals include:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Whole grains
- Beans
- Lean meats
- Seafood
Fortified Food
Foods fortified with trace minerals mean you’ll get more of what you need without significantly changing your diet. One of the most common fortified foods is iodized salt, which helps prevent iodine deficiency.
Cooking Methods
How you cook your food can enhance or detract from the trace minerals you’ll get. For example, using a cast iron provides you with additional iron. Additionally, steaming or stir-frying food preserves the minerals naturally found in food.
Boiling tends to remove minerals from the food, but you could still consume them by drinking the boiled water – not something most people want to do!
Water
Water is one of the most common ways to get trace minerals. Mineral content in water varies greatly depending on the treatment process and your location, so don’t just assume you’re getting enough by drinking tap water.
Dietary Supplements
You might also want to enhance the trace minerals you get with dietary supplements. This is especially true if you are in one of the vulnerable categories.
Speak to your doctor about the minerals you need and in what amount before using any mineral supplement because getting too much of a certain mineral can be just as risky, or more so, than being deficient in a mineral.
What You Need to Know about Filtered Water
If you’re filtering your drinking water because you aren’t comfortable drinking it straight from the faucet, you aren’t alone.
Filtering water is a great idea because water purification systems like the Berkey Water Filter remove harmful chemicals from drinking water.
Filtered water is purified to remove anything you wouldn’t want to consume when drinking. However, during the purification process, sometimes things you want in your water are also removed. This is why it can help to supplement with trace minerals.
Water filtration forces water through a barrier or uses a chemical to remove things like:
- Sediment
- Particles
- Viruses
- Chemicals
- Bacteria
- Heavy metal
Filtering water not only ensures that you aren’t exposed to anything that could harm your health, but it might also improve the taste.
Water filtration methods include:
Activated Carbon
These filters use a carbon filter to capture impurities in water. Activated carbon filters trap a variety of materials, including:
- Herbicides
- Pesticides
- Chlorine
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Reverse Osmosis
This type of filter forces water molecules through a semipermeable membrane to remove:
- Bacteria
- Viruses
- Salt
- Minerals
- Other contaminants
Ultraviolet (UV) Purification
This system uses UV rays to disinfect bacteria and viruses so these contaminants can’t reproduce and make you sick when drinking the water.
Ion Exchange
This type of filter uses resin to remove ions from water. The filter pulls magnesium, calcium, and heavy metals from water. Users also notice that water filtered by ion exchange is also softer.
All of these types of filter systems produce water with:
- Fewer contaminants
- Improved taste and smell
- Protection against illness
- Reduced chlorine
Fewer minerals, although some systems leave minerals like calcium and magnesium in the water, so you don’t need to worry about replenishing healthy minerals
One of the best options for filtering water is the Berkey Filter. It offers clean, pure water that’s healthy and convenient.
Contact Conscious Water if you’d like to learn more about trace minerals and how they make your water healthier or if you’re ready to shop Berkey Water Filters.
