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The Minerals
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Ashes to ashes and dust to dust

• When life leaves the body, what is left behind
  will indeed become a small pile of ashes.
• Carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, and water will
  all disintegrate, be consumed, or evaporate.
• What is left behind? Minerals.

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About 5 pounds of minerals.

• Doesnt seem too vital, but they are.
• If we ran a magnet through the ashes, wed get
  less than a teaspoon of iron.
• Vital to absorption of oxygen!

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There are 7 major minerals.

• And many, many trace minerals.
• This doesnt mean that the major minerals are
  more important,
• Just that theyre in larger quantities, so we
  need to eat more of them.

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So today

• Well begin with calcium, phosphorus, and
  magnesium.
• Later, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfate.

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Calcium

• Where do we find it in the body?
• 99 is in teeth and bones.
• What does it do here?
• Integral part of bone structure.
• Also serves as a bank that can release calcium
  into blood.

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How do bones form?

• Calcium and phosphate crystallize on collagen
  protein.
• This happens as our bones form.
• These hydroxyapatite crystals accumulate, giving
  strength to new bone.

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How do they stay strong?

• Fluoride can join this, forming fluorapatite.
• This compound resists bone-dismantling forces.
• Hence, fluoride in toothpaste.
• But fluoride can be toxic in large amounts!

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What else does calcium do?

• Calcium also is important for
• blood pressure
• blood clotting
• muscle contraction
• including heartbeat!
• secretion of hormones

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Possible connections

• Perhaps
• Cholesterol in blood
• Diabetes
• Colon and rectal cancers
• Healthy body weight

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Calcium Balance

• Key to bone health is in calcium balance.
• Body must balance new calcium placed in bones
• With calcium taken from bones.
• Otherwise, we risk osteoporosis.

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How does bone mass vary?
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Where can we get calcium?

• From dairy, tofu, broccoli, greens, whole
  grains
• Toxicities can include interference with
  absorption of other nutrients, and kidney stones.

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Phosphorus

• Second most abundant mineral in the body.
• 85 is attached to calcium in bones and teeth.
• The unsung hero of bones!

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What else does it do?

• It is also valuable for
• acid-base balance
• part of DNA and RNA
• storing and releasing food energy
• present in proteins

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Am I short on phosphorus?

• Probably not, deficiencies are rare.
• Because protein contains phosphorus, where can we
  get it?
• Meat, dairy, and beans are good sources.

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Magnesium

• Only 1 ounce in a 130-lb person
• Still, a lot as far as minerals are concerned!
• Over half in bones.
• Rest in muscles, heart, liver, other soft
  tissues.

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What if dietary intake fails?

• Bones can be tapped for Mg, and kidneys can
  conserve it.

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So what does it do?

• Mg is important for
• operation of 300 enzymes
• release of energy from nutrients
• heart functioning
• muscle contraction

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Why deficiency?

• Inadequate intake, vomiting/diarrhea, alcoholism,
  protein malnutrition.
• Can cause hallucinations that can be mistaken for
  mental illness.
• Half U.S. has intake below recommended.

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Toxicity

• Toxicity occurs from supplements, or children
  with access to medicine cabinets.
• Also older people who abuse laxatives, antacids,
  other meds.
• Diarrhea, dehydration.