MINERALS YOU NEED AND WHY

For years I have believed in mineral water‘s importance to a healthy body. After all, one of our greatest presidents would spend his vacations in Mineral Springs in Saratoga, New York. He is my role model for living with a severe handicap, while exuding confidence and leadership. This handicapped man who fell flat on his face when getting out of bed at the age of 38-years-old led us through the worst of times. He carried over 19 pounds of steel through all those horrific years. And yet we remember his confident smile and the strength of his words. They say, “YOU DON’T CHANGE HORSES IN MIDSTREAM” and so he was elected for four terms of office. The people were confident in his leadership. His smile projected all we needed to get through a depression and a World War. His words were reassuring “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
Unfortunately, in recent years, we have filtered out the best minerals in favor of removing contaminants in our water. Processed food was a major cause of obesity and diabetes.
MAGNESIUM increases the electro-conductivity to nerves, muscles, the heart, other major organs of the body. A Macedonian Cardiologist by the name of Blasé Sekovski, M.D. wrote a prescription for 500 mg of (magnesium gluconate) MAGONATE twice a day, and that led to an end of my arrhythmia problem. Mineral water in Western New York is important to our health. However, all the industries located on Lake Erie and the Niagara River and the additives made our tap water hazardous to our health. Purification filtered out the Magnesium, but it is naturally-occurring in nuts and fresh foods. I prefer to drink mineral water from a natural spring or eat the foods that provide me with it.
Want to lower your blood pressure? Hide the salt shaker. Strengthen your bones? Pop a calcium pill, but this conventional wisdom might be oversimplified, according to new research. The salt we add to food is a minor source of sodium in our diet. There are other nutrients that play an important role in regulating our blood pressure. It takes more than calcium to protect bones, and mineral supplements might carry risks. Here are the health effects of other minerals and the changing recommendations revealed by current research results.
POTASSIUM: In the dietary battle against high blood pressure, sodium restriction has been center stage, but potassium is the unsung hero. It helps rid the body of sodium and protects cells, that line blood-vessel walls.
In fact, the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), not only minimizes the sodium but also maximizes fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods, all of which are good sources of potassium,--in addition to blunting the effects of sodium. A potassium-rich diet is also associated with a reduced risk of bone loss, kidney stones, strokes and type 2 diabetes.
Unfortunately, all Americans consume too much sodium and fat and too little potassium. “There’s a mismatch between what our biological systems are designed for and what we try to make them handle,” says R. Curtis Morris, Jr. M.D. a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
A September 2010 study suggests what might happen if people corrected the sodium-potassium ratio. It found that even if sodium consumption stayed high, increasing potassium to the recommended levels (4,700 milligrams a day) could reduce the risk of heart disease mortality by up to 11 percent and stroke mortality by up to 15 percent.
So is it enough to simply take potassium supplements or use salt substitutes made with the mineral? Probably not. “Those are different forms of potassium and likely will not provide the same benefit as the form found in foods,” Morris, a member of a panel convened by the Institute of Medicine to establish potassium recommendations. Nature provides the best source because the combination of vitamins that compliment each of the others is the one best capable of being absorbed by the digestive system. Pills just do not communicate that same message to our body.
Too much potassium is not a problem for most people, but certain conditions and drugs can interfere with the body’s ability to get rid of the excess. If you have a disorder that causes potassium retention, such as diabetes, heart failure, or kidney disease, seek a doctor’s opinion. There are many drugs that can cause problems with the absorption of potassium. Diuretics like HCL or Diovan (a blood-pressure drug) and ACE inhibitors, such as lisinopril and ramipril (Altace and generic angiogenesis receptor blockers can be contraindicated for your intake of potassium). I go right to the source most-trusted, my pharmacist, and get the “FYI” (For Your Information) before I even consider filling a prescription. A good pharmacist should know all your medications and advise you when there is reason to be concerned. I have had the same pharmacist for almost three decades and he has saved my life many times by informing me of the problems and interactions of certain medications - even those so called “over the counter drugs.”
Many would describe me as a naturopathic expert. I believe in foods like potatoes (potassium) and bananas (potassium), but even there we run the risk of too much and food allergies. A balanced diet is best when it is combined with many vegetables, like soups and stews. The broth is great for the digestive system and helps with regularity. Older people tend to drink less water, but they usually love a hearty homemade soup.
MAGNESIUM - A Vital Partner
Another benefit of the DASH diet is that it provides lot of magnesium, which together with potassium, helps bolster bone by improving calcium absorption. Magnesium also protects against abnormal heart rhythms, blood clots, and high glucose levels.
Magnesium might be especially important for warding off or controlling type 2 diabetes. That was my personal experience and the reason my doctor insisted I write the story and author this blog. Doctors tell me they like the sources I use and the research I report. It helps them to explain the options their patients have: to take the pill or eat the right foods.
Several large studies have found that people who consume the most magnesium are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes or a contributing factor for it called insulin resistance. People who already have the disease might want to talk with an Integrative Medicine physician who understands the advantages of foods that help with long-term blood sugar control. Your body is like your car, it requires constant maintenance and you need to know what kinds of oil, gas, lubricants and fluids are needed to keep it humming along the highway.
SODIUM For lowering blood pressure, the most striking effect comes from cutting sodium while boosting intake of potassium, magnesium and calcium. People who slash sodium intake to around 1,500 mg daily and follow the DASH diet can drop their systolic (upper) pressure by an average of 11 millimeters of mercury.
Watching your sodium intake which comes from processed food, packaged, and restaurant foods. It’s hard to cut back to 1,500 mg without cooking from scratch most of the time and eating more fresh foods. For people with normal blood pressure and no risk factors, a more modest goal of 2,300 mg daily, achievable by adopting the DASH diet alone, might help ward off the upward creep of blood pressure that tends to occur with age.
Making the extra effort to cut back even further is warranted if you’re African-American or have a family history of high blood pressure, or if your blood pressure is high or high-normal. Read labels, some canned green beans and peas contained as much as 960 mg of sodium. One doctor told me a long time ago, “If you want to eat healthy, throw out all your canned food.” Then the food manufacturers finally caved in to demands of a health-conscious public and revealed the contents with a “Nutrition Label.”
CALCIUM presents new concerns. About 60 percent of men and 80 percent of women don’t get enough calcium from their diet. For years, the advice has been to make up the shortfall with supplements, but new research provides an argument for getting more from food.
That analysis, published online in August 2010 by the British Medical Journal, combined with the results of 11 trials involving some 12,000 older people. Researchers concluded that treating 1,000 people with supplemental calcium for five years would prevent 26 fractures, but also lead to an additional 14 heart attacks, 10 strokes, and 13 deaths.
However, it didn’t look at studies that used calcium with vitamin D, and some evidence suggests that the combination for effectiveness prevents fractures. And consuming healthy amounts of calcium, especially from food, might protect health in other ways, such as lowering blood pressure, helping to prevent breast and colon cancer and easing premenstrual syndrome.
Altogether, the research provides an argument for getting most of your calcium from dietary sources. Aim for at least three daily servings of dairy or other calcium-rich foods. If you do opt for a calcium pill, consider one that also contains vitamin D. And looked for products with the “USP verified” seal on the label, which indicates that they meet quality standards set by the nonprofit U. S. Pharmacopoeia.
IRON
Many of my relatives from Italy, came to this country from a Mediterranean environment rich in fruits, vegetables, grapes, wine and plenty of fish. When they came to America, many found that they developed dark circles under their eyes (a symptom of iron deficiency). I met a young lady the other day who had rheumatoid arthritis and iron deficiency. Cooley’s anemia was prevalent in my genes and so I researched it in the University at Buffalo library and the Millard Fillmore Hospital medical library. The blood cells are slightly rounded, not like that found in Afro-Americans, but it is part of the story of why we have problems absorbing iron. It is a risk mainly for strict vegetarians, premenopausal women who have heavy periods, and older people, who might have reduced amounts of the stomach acid needed to absorb the mineral. But because excess iron can be dangerous, you should consider getting a blood test before taking iron supplements. In fact, iron overload is so risky that our experts think all adults should consider having a one time blood test for hemochromatosis, a relatively common genetic disorder that causes people to absorb the mineral so efficiently that it gradually accumulates in the body’s organs and can lead to liver or heart failure, premature menopause in women, and impotence in men. Diagnosis is often delayed because doctors might not connect the damage to iron build-up.
MAGNESIUM FOOD SOURCES:
Halibuts: ALMONDS, CASHEWS, PEANUTS, WALNUTS, COOKED SPINACH, COOKED GREENS, ORANGE JUICE, SQUASH, ARTICHOKE, BANANA, SKIM MILK, CEREAL: OATMEAL-LARGE FLAKE
POTASSIUM
Baked Potato with skin; Avocado, Yogurt, Boiled Beans (Lentils, Black, Lima, Kidney, & Pinto) TRY THEM IN CHILI
COOKED GREENS: Spinach, Swiss Chard, Oranges. Artrichoke Banana, Skim Milk.
CALCIUM
Yogurt, Sardines with bones, canned; Skim Milk; Tofu, Cheese: Cheddar, mozzarella, Pink Salmon with bones, canned, Cooked greens: Kale, Spinach, Turnip Greens, Boiled beans: Great Northern Navy, white NUTS: Almonds, Brazil; Orange
Older people should consider protecting their eyes with the new HD Fitover Glasses that protect them from Ultra Violate Rays. Eat Wild Blueberries (frozen) for the Lutein. It really works.