Mineral Absorption 101

The mineral interaction image to the left is the root to the health of all living things.  If you follow the direction of the arrows and take note of the details surrounding  the synergy and interference of opposing minerals you certainly will not become an overnight nuclear scientist but you should be able to receive a little grip on the goal of mineral absorption.  Just a sample of two minerals calcium and magnesium, Mg and Ca will give you a clarification on why these two minerals work so well together and how the advice  we received during our agricultural career to use a lime application that had a generous amount of these two key minerals for our orchard floor would make a difference and it did.   In fact if you look closely at the image above on the very left top side  (very close to the edge) you will see where CA (Calcium) is not very compatible with Fe (Iron) as their arrows are very close but are pointing away from one another.  Basically this information will tell you that if you do not address the issue of combining the right foods together, your absorption factor will suffer.  Simple Goggle searches will tell you what foods are high in a certain minerals and some that are not.

Basically it is virtually impossible to ingest the perfect combinations of food to create the ultimate balance.  Keep in mind that there are scenarios where the compatibility of minerals being an advantage and actually there are scenarios where the interference and antagonism that are involved in certain mineral combinations  does not necessarily mean this is a negative for the working of the body,  in fact there are many occasions where opposition to minerals integrating with one another is a positive.

So what  can you do?  The first thing you can do is eat a balanced diet of diversified foods to insure that you are receiving all the specific nutrients that are needed.  There are occasions where the body is deficient and there are times where there are excesses.  To a large extent the body has the proverbial ability to " take what it needs and gets rid of the rest" and this is  where the antagonism abilities of certain minerals play their role.  There is an electrical term called impedance that is in effect an antagonist with its interference abilities to manage the circuitry of electrical devices.  I am sure that these same principles exist in the human body and supports my theory of a potpourris of natural foods that have the ability to bind their different chemistries to one another,  as well as in many cases impede to one degree or another to design and implement what is needed in the body such as mineral absorption to obtain the optimum results desired.  Excesses have more of an ability to create problems and careful proportions are very important.  I had someone I respect tell me the other day to cut my curcumin roots back to no more than an inch long and less if the roots are plump.  I certainly got my come upins when I exceeded the amount of a chili pepper in a smoothie batch.  I am down to a nubbin on this special food.

Absorption of Minerals and Metals.  The vast bulk of mineral absorption occurs in the small intestine.  The best-studied mechanisms of absorption are clearly for calcium and iron, deficiencies of which are significant health problems throughout the world.

The above image is a taste of the complexity surrounding the issue of mineral absorption.  I don't insert this to portray my self as a smart ass because the chemistry involved between different minerals are a complicated nuclear subject and way way over my head.  We do know that combining minerals as in a diversified diet regimen, chewing the food well or using a high speed blender, digesting the mix as soon as possible, will enhance the mineral absorption process.

It is important that I attempt to convey the basics regarding this subject and how it pertains to health and especially to the health of folks like my wife and I that are getting along in years and our machines are not performing anywhere near what they did when we were younger.  I do believe that the younger you start to address how well your body is preparing for your elder years the better.   It  involves how well you are absorbing minerals and how well these minerals are performing once they enter the blood stream.

There are basically two major influences to the above.

As in my master cider maker feature, enzyme production is released for a very short lived period  (seconds in fact) and there are means to enhance the process with a diversified mix of the right ingredients and introduced as soon as possible to the operation.  There are special foods that enhance the blend process and to name a few, onions, garlic, curcumin and ginger.  In the case of the master cider maker, there were only seconds involved in the pulverizing process, when he "salted" the mix by throwing in one apple of  a special variety into the batch seconds before the pulverizing process.   This process  produced a master blend of cider and I personally believe the same principles apply when the enhancement of minerals are obtained by using the best compatible foods that have nuclear structures that blend with one another.  The important chewing process  with the saliva and enzymes produced by the mouth comes into play along with the optimum digestion process.

The second influences in the pursuit of success is once the product is transferred to the blood network is how well this product performs, not only delivering critical nutrients to the areas of the body that need it, but also the ability for the process to attach to the wastes as in "acid wastes" and eliminate them through the normal processes.  Yes mineral absorption plays a critical dual role in the function of the body.

The second influence by the way is determined not only be the blend that has been absorbed,  but by the amount of Vitamin D3 that is circulating in the blood stream.  We personally try to maintain a 25 hydroxy level of vitamin D3 in the 50 plus range in the blood and as far as I am concerned you can only achieve this with the right amount of sunshine to a generous portion of your body for a modest period of time on days when there is enough sunshine.  It also helps to obtain some of your vitamin D3 through foods such as sardines and a modest amount of Vitamin D supplementation depending on test results.

You will find details on mineral absorption in our main mineral absorption feature as well as our other features on the sun.