Minerals: The What, Why & Where to Get Them
PREVIEW: an overview of the (way less than 80) essential minerals we need to eat, each of their unique benefits, how much you personally need, and where to get them.PS — if you end up loving this article, enjoyed learning from it, or found it useful for your family and can think of anyone else who may find it interesting, please help me get it in their hands! Send this article via text, email, or messenger below!
We could never, ever emphasize this enough: MINERALS ARE ESSENTIAL — BUT MISSING FROM ALMOST ALL OF OUR CLIENT’S MEALS.
They are *the* underdog — underestimated and underrated but JUST AS IMPORTANT as the calories, carbs, proteins & fats that get way more attention. We’re not talking about vitamins either. Although we need those too, vitamins & minerals are different, with the biggest difference being vitamins are organic (contain carbon and made by animals or plants) and minerals are inorganic (do not contain carbon and found in rocks, soil, and water). And while “precious metals” (like gold or silver) and “heavy metals” (like aluminum or bromium) are minerals… we’re not talking about those either!
We’re talking about the “essential minerals” our body is banking on us to consume.
We’ve seen them overwhelm a lot of people we meet; they can feel like another complicated, confusing topic of nutrition that puts you to sleep. But our hope is that simplifying them helps you realize the potential they have to POWERFULLY improve your health & incorporate them into your life more confidently!
Important: KEEP NUTRITION SIMPLE! Instead of focusing on the fancy function of each mineral, focus on the fact we need ALL these minerals to function our best. We’ll link some resources along the way — but the goal is to realize REAL FOOD is naturally full of all the minerals you need. If you want a deeper dive (or safe and effective sleep aid), grab a textbook.
We need 2 types of minerals…
Macrominerals:
Macro-minerals are needed in larger (or “major”) amounts, and they include electrolytes, which are just as important as (if not more than) water to be truly hydrated. We like to think of macrominerals as the minerals we need in “large” amounts because they’re used for “large” parts of our body like bones, teeth, heart, muscle, nerves, brain, hydration, and methylation. The macro-minerals are:
POTASSIUM
SODIUM
CHLORIDE
MAGNESIUM
CALCIUM
PHOSPHATE
SULFURThe what & why we need them:
POTASSIUMNeeded for: ”everything” from brain, heart, muscle, nerves, and kidneys; #1 electrolyte inside our cells; HYDRATION/fluid balance
When to consider more: high blood pressure, kidney stones, muscle cramps, dehydrated, fatigue, headaches, dry skin; not hitting 3.5-5g daily
When to consider less: hyperkalemia, kidney disease, ACE-inhibitors or diuretics
SODIUMNeeded for: brain, heart, bone, hormones, immunity, HYDRATION/fluid balance; DIGESTION/stomach acid production
When to consider more: low carb/fasting, whole-foods (70% of salt comes from ultra-processed foods), active lifestyle, exercise/sweat, muscle cramps, high blood pressure; diarrhea, vomiting, fever; pregnancy; not hitting 4-6g daily
When to consider less: if you eat ultra-processed foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday
CHLORIDENeeded for: very similar to sodium; HYDRATION/fluid balance; DIGESTION/stomach acid production
When to consider more: whole-foods lifestyle (less sodium than ultra-processed foods); always paired together as sodium chloride; if you’re consuming enough salt, you’re likely consuming enough chloride too
When to consider less: if you eat ultra-processed foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday
MAGNESIUM —Needed for: 3,000+ enzymatic functions including nerve impulses, muscle contraction, atp production, blood sugar regulation, bone formation
When to consider more: under stress (environmental, emotional, physical, nutritional); pregnancy; headaches, migraines, fatigue, insomnia, insomnia, interrupted sleep, muscle cramps, anxiety, irritability; hypercalcemia, kidney stones, gallstones; high blood pressure; not hitting 400-600mg daily
When to consider less: 10-30% of us are deficient based on blood levels (likely more common because magnesium deficiency doesn’t show on blood tests)
CALCIUM — Needed for: muscle contraction, nerve impulses, bones & teeth, needs vitamin D and K2 to be absorbed
When to consider more: we rarely recommend an intentional increase of Calcium (poor absorption due to low magnesium and inadequate sun exposure/sunscreens/polyunsaturated fats)
When to consider less: kidney stones, gallstones, magnesium deficiency, calcification/hypercalcemia, exposure to wifi (opens voltage-gated-calcium-channels)
PHOSPHATE — Needed for: maintains proper pH
When to consider more: whole-foods lifestyle (less sodium than ultra-processed foods)
When to consider less: if you ea
SULFUR — Needed for: forms proteins; blood flow, joint mobility, glutathione production, detoxification
When to consider more: whole-foods lifestyle (less sodium than ultra-processe foods)
When to consider less: sulfite sensitivity (reaction from cruciferous veggies, DIM, NAD)
The highest whole-food sources to consider eating consistently:
POTASSIUM — avocados, limes, watermelon, potatoes, leafy greens, citrus, coconut waterSODIUM — salt, olives, nuts, pickled veggies, seaweedCHLORIDE — sodium, seaweed, celery, tomatoesMAGNESIUM — dairy, avocado, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, bone brothCALCIUM — dairy, sardines, salmon, mackerel, leafy greens, bone brothPHOSPHORUS — dairy, seafood, chicken, nuts, eggs, bone brothSULFUR — garlic, broccoli, brussels, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, turnipsIn summary: seafood, bones, eggs, dairy, leafy greens, and cruciferous vegetables.
Supplements (the clean, high quality, and honestly real kind) we vouch for that make macrominerals and/or electrolytes convenient:
Microminerals:
Micro-minerals are needed in smaller or “trace” amounts. While these may make up a tiny, tiny part of your nutrition… they have a big, big impact on how our body feels & functions: while some “trace” minerals have specific roles, most are coenzymes that allow other chemical reactions to happen like using oxygen, gene expression, energy production, hormone synthesis, and immune function. The microminerals are:
COPPER
IODINE
SELENIUM
MOLYBDENUM
MANGANESE
ZINC
FLUORIDE
CHROMIUM
IRONThe what & why we need them:
COPPERNeeded for: cofactor for hundreds of enzymes; iron metabolism
When to consider more: fatigue, anemia
When to consider less:
IODINENeeded for: production and conversion of thyroid hormones
When to consider more: cherry angiomas
When to consider less:
SELENIUMNeeded for: methylation
When to consider more:
When to consider less:
MOLYBDENUMNeeded for: methylation, enzymes
When to consider more: MTHFR mutation
When to consider less:
MANGANESENeeded for: enzymes
When to consider more:
When to consider less:
ZINCNeeded for: immunity, sperm production, fetal development
When to consider more:
When to consider less:
FLUORIDENeeded for:
When to consider more:
When to consider less:
CHROMIUMNeeded for: blood sugar regulation
When to consider more:
When to consider less:
IRONNeeded for:
When to consider more:
When to consider less: anemia
The highest whole-food sources to consider eating consistently:
COPPER — beef liver, oysters, avocado, mushroom, cacao, potatoes, bee pollen, seedsIODINE — seaweed, dairy, eggs, shrimp, tunaSELENIUM — beef liver, beef, eggs, tuna, mackerel, sardines, brazil nutsMOLYBDENUM — beef liver, peasMANGANESE — leafy greens, shellfish, bee pollenZINC — oysters, meatFLUORIDE — shrimpCHROMIUM — beef, apples, orangesIRON — meat, seafood, spinachIn summary: red meat, seafood, eggs, organs, leafy greens, dairy, citrus, vegetables, nuts, seeds
Supplements (the clean, high quality, honestly real kind) we vouch for that make microminerals convenient:
A mineral-rich lifestyle
If the listed supplements caught you attention the most, we absolutely get it: clean, high-quality and honestly real supplements make minerals super convenient — but supplements are [drumrollllll] a billion dollar industry designed to “supplement” your meals (not replace them). You’ll never, ever be able to supplement your way out of a mineral imbalance you created with unhealthy routines. The shitty lifestyle will *always* win.
If we’re going to spend our hard-earned money on supplements, don’t use them to replace the habits you can build for free. It’s just like money: if you never live under your means and put money aside to have a stash you can pull from when you need it (+), then you’ll live paycheck to paycheck barely breaking even, or worse, end up in debt when you need money you don’t have (-). Supplements can help move us 1 step closer to optimal health — but we’ll never maintain a healthy body if we continue to fill our day with choices that bring it 2 steps back.
Here’s a list of other mineral-rich foods (full of both macro- & micro-minerals) that we don’t consider “supplements” but whole-food options to start incorporating into your daily meals/snacks a la cart:
Vegetable broth (more minerals than bone broth ¹ ²
You can freeze scraps like carrot tops, celery leaves, or broccoli stems until you have enough to simmer
Nutritive herbs (make sure these tinctures are water-extracted because alcohol does not extract minerals!) including:
Nettle
Oatstraw
Red raspberry leaf
Alfafa
Chamomile
Hibiscus
Red clover (no pregnancy)
Yellow dock (no pregnancy)
Personalize your minerals
While there may be g that recommended [x] amount per day… we don’t recommend you focus on that. Mostly because it wasn’t until just recently that the FDA established Dietary Reference Intakes (minimums) and Upper Limits (maximums) for minerals (2019). On top of that, the highest dose considered safe for many minerals is still unknown, and these DRIs are blanket recommendations that would be sufficient for nearly all healthy individuals of a specific gender or age group. We share more about that in this post all about DRIs and Daily Value %.
Basically, DRIs are useful but not necessarily your sweet spot — because you’re extremely unique with chemical reactions happening in your body at a rate impossible to calculate exactly. No doctor, scientist, or professional will ever (never) be able to guarantee an amount that is ideal for your unique physiology.
PS — if that’s the first time you’re hearing that, then hey hi welcome! That’s why we do what we do! We’re here to help equip you with information that simplifies ways for you find what works for you!
But if you like having a target to aim for, you can calculate your unique requirements per mineral using button below — just keep in mind a few things:
Upper Limits (UL) include the amount you get from food AND supplements
Minerals influence eachother.
And like everything else in our body, minerals work together. Influencing levels of one mineral impacts the level of another mineral(s) which means if/when you decide to focus on increasing your minerals, making sure you get a variety from whole-food sources.
Calcium & Magnesium
Sodium & Potassium
Copper & Iron
TO YOUR HEALTH,
