What exactly are minerals and why are they good for our bodies? Are there any minerals that are bad for us?

I have always learnt that Vitamins and minerals in the RDA is good for us. Haven't heard of the down side unless you are consuming in excess.

Minerals are nutrients that are essential for your body You need it in small quantities in order for it to be effective. We need them in the form they are found in food.They are found in differing amounts in different foods for example: meats, cereals (including products like bread), fish, nuts, vegetables, fruit (particularly dried fruit), milk and dairy.

We need Minerals to help our bodies turn food into energy, to have strong bones & teeth, and to oversee fuids inside our bodies. Essential Minerals include: Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Sulphur and Potassium.

Where do we get the minerals from the supplements we drink?

They are discovered naturally from springs and mountainous area. Most people are mistaken that the minerals that they found in supplements are chemicals.

I thought minerals were formed from chemicals. I have read an article on the internet about it and I’m now convinced. Thanks fjoones .

That was also my intuition. When I researched it, it was from natural mineral and it is not made from chemicals.

dobbiepet - 19 August 2008 07:01 AM

What exactly are minerals and why are they good for our bodies? Are there any minerals that are bad for us?

Minerals are elements to life. Think back to your peridic table of elements, they are all on there. They can be chemically created, but most are harvested from nature. As another member posted, some can be bad for you if taken in excess. Your body needs minerals in order to utilize vitamins. So any multi-vitamin worth anything shuold have some spectrum of minerals in it. I personally like any form of trace minerals, as I feel getting a broad variety of tiny amounts is a better choice than picking only 5-6 and loading up on them. Surprisingly, and not many people might share this view with me, but Calcium is a mineral not to take in excess. My dad was on calcium supplementation for a while and what was not disclosed was the calcium needs other factors in order to properly absorb. By that, I don't mean that the rest DOESN'T get absorbed...it just gets absorbed improperly. It was described to me as, it is so vital to the body that it holds onto it for a rainy day. When other items (like boron, magnesium, vitamin C, etc.) are entered in, the body goes and finds these deposits of calcium and finalyl puts them to good use. My dad had bones fusing, bones spurs, calcified organs, calcified arteries and was blacking out. He went off the higher dosages of Calcium (we're talking only 1,000mg a day!) and started taking mag-cal blends and he's doing much better. There is such a calcium "scare" in the US...but consider, we're the highest consumers of calcium supplements and calcium enriched foods (whether naturall heavy in calcium, like dairy, or enriched...like kid's cereal) and yet we have the highest incidence of Osteoperosis...doesn't make sense... look for yourself.

Too much mineral intake would get a person some negative side effects. Let’s take calcium as an example, this is good for the bones but in excess of the daily dosage might cause kidney disease.

Hello Friends.....

Minerals are the spark plugs of life because they are required to activate thousands of enzyme reactions within the body.


Thanks