Minerals 101: What They Are and Why You Need Them

Minerals 101: What They Are and Why You Need Them

Minerals run your body. Seriously.

Every single cell requires minerals for things like energy production, hydration, or to create hormones (1).

You’ve probably heard of minerals like magnesium or calcium, but there’s also ones like copper and zinc.

This article will talk about the four main ones: magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium (also known as electrolytes), and how to increase your daily minerals for better energy, hydration, hormone support and more.

The Importance of Minerals:

Minerals are a key part of your health because every single cell in the body requires minerals to do things like:

Make hormones
Keep bones, muscles, heart and brain working properly
Make enzymes & energy

See why they’re a big deal?

I’m all about getting these minerals from food first, but the truth is – our soil has become more depleted over the years.

Plus, most women are struggling with things like stress and digestion issues. Therefore, adding in some extra minerals throughout the day may be helpful.

Mineral Depleters:

There’s several things that can deplete minerals in your body. Some of those include:

Stress
Inflammation (whether it’s from food, our environmental sources)
Infection
Chronic dieting or restricting
Poor quality supplements
Pesticides like glyphosate (2)
Water filters that remove minerals

Signs You're Lacking In Minerals:

Common signs you’re lacking in minerals include:

You feel tired all the time even though you’ve gotten enough sleep
You’re drinking a lot of water and also peeing all time
You suffer from constipation and other digestive issues
You have muscle aches and leg cramps
You have random muscle or eye twitches
You struggle with sleep at night
You’ve spent years dieting and restricting
You feel thirsty a lot despite drinking a lot of water
You rely on coffee to have a bowel movement
You have imbalanced blood sugars regardless of eating consistently
You struggle with skin breakouts or rashes
You feel puffy and inflamed

If any of these resonate with you, you could probably could use more minerals.

The 4 Main Minerals & Their Functions:

The four main minerals I’ll talk about here are potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium.

Potassium:

Uses: Allows water into cells, regulates pH of the body, supports metabolism of carbs, helps store carbs as glycogen for later use, helps regulates blood pressure, maintains fluid balance, and helps make energy

Food sources: coconut water, orange juice, potatoes, cream of tartar, avocados, beets, dairy products, animal proteins, melon, grapes and kiwi

Magnesium:

Uses: Can help reduce insulin resistance, makes energy in the body, supports gut health, provides muscle relaxation, supports detoxification, helps relax the nervous system, helps with synthesis of protein

Food sources: coconut water, orange juice, chocolate/cocoa powder, dark leafy greens, squash, seafood

Sodium:

Uses: Helps cells hold on to fluid and nutrients, assists nerves to carry messages throughout the body, regulates blood pressure, maintain fluid balance, alkalizes the body, can help lower stress and insulin resistance, helps muscles and heart contract

Food sources: salt (celtic or sea salt), pickled veggies, raw sauerkraut, condiments such as coconut aminos

Calcium:

Uses: Important for bone and muscle health, helps support thyroid hormones, maintains pH balance, regulates heart and nerve function, plays a role in blood clotting, supports insulin sensitivity

Food sources: dairy products, dark leafy greens (best if cooked), sardines, salmon (with bones), almonds, white beans, oranges/orange juice

How to Get More Minerals:

I’m all about food first, so obtaining these minerals through food is best.

As mentioned above though, our soil has become more depleted over the years.

If you have any of the struggles listed above, you may need to go beyond just food and look at supplementation and/or incorporating one of my favorite drinks of the day: mineral mocktails.

An Easy Way to Incorporate More Minerals: Mineral Mocktails!

One of the easiest ways to increase your intake of minerals (besides food) is to incorporate a daily mineral mocktail.

Not only are they super simple to make, it helps to switch up your beverages throughout the day, and may just become your favorite drink of the day (I know it’s mine!)

A Simple Mineral Mocktail Recipe:

Tropical Citrus Mineral Mocktail:

8 oz. coconut water
4 oz. 100% orange juice
Squeeze of fresh lemon
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. sea salt

200 mg magnesium (from a capsule or powder)
Ice

Optional: 10-15 drops of concentrated minerals. You can get some through Fullscript.

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy in the morning or early afternoon!

The Benefits of Mineral Mocktails:

Before I personally started adding in more minerals to my day, I was feel tired (especially in the afternoon), had days when I just felt puffy and “blah”, and felt like I had to pee all the time.

Luckily, adding in minerals has helped with all of this!

It’s also been helping my clients. Here’s what some of them have told me since incorporating daily mineral mocktails:

“These mineral mocktails have helped me make it through the day without getting tired”

“Adding in minerals has helped me sleep so much better at night”

“I’m finally more regular and don’t feel so bloated anymore”

So, Ready To Get In Those Minerals?

I encourage you to focus on adding more minerals into your day – whether it’s through more intentional food choices, or adding in a daily mineral mocktail.

And if you’re looking for personalized guidance and support with this, apply for my coaching program to start experiencing the benefits of minerals, too!