Ultimate Mineral Guide

Everyone talks about vitamins A through K, but it turns out minerals have a far more important role in human health than most people imagine.

- Jonny Bowden, Phd, CNS

Minerals are often the gatekeeper when it comes to your body’s ability to perform complex, enzyme-dependent metabolic operations and even to access important vitamins.

Take iron. “In my practice, I saw [a lot of] females with anemia,” says Darrin Starkey, ND. “But now we’re seeing more boys with anemia as well.” Starkey points out that the reason for this surge in anemia may have less to do with iron and more to do with molybdenum.

“Molybdenum is the gatekeeper for iron stores in the liver,” says Starkey. “Without it, your liver won’t release its iron stores effectively, and you could wind up with iron-deficiency anemia.”

Molybdenum is what’s known as a trace mineral (also known as microminerals). Minerals in your diet come in two categories: macrominerals such as calcium and magnesium, and microminerals such as iron, copper, manganese, and zinc. The macrominerals are the ones you need a lot of. Microminerals, aka trace minerals, are essential, but in tiny amounts. According to Starkey and many other researchers, the diminishing amounts of these minerals in our soil is causing or promoting a host of human health problems. Not all minerals (in either category) need to be supplemented, though trace minerals as a group probably should be since they’re the minerals most neglected in multivitamins. They’re also the ones that seem to be disappearing from the soil the quickest.

Don’t confuse the importance of a mineral with its value as a supplement. Some macrominerals, including sodium and chloride, are so essential that you would die without them, but they’re almost never taken as supplements. Other macrominerals, such as calcium and magnesium, are among the most popular supplements in America.

Here’s a basic guide to what you need to know when it comes to minerals.

The Macrominerals