Minerals

Have you ever wondered what a mineral is? I am sure you know what vitamins are and you are able to name several vitamins, such as Vitamin c, vitamin d or even vitamin e, but can you name minerals and do you know what they are?

A mineral is a substance occurring in nature and is formed through geological processes. Each mineral has a characteristic chemical composition and specific physical properties. A rock for example is an aggregate of minerals while salt is another form of a mineral. Minerals can range in composition from pure elements and simple salts to complex silicates with lots of different forms. Usually minerals have a crystal structure and are in solid form. In nature there exist about 4000 different materials that are currently recognized as true minerals. A valid list of minerals therefore can be found with the International Mineralogical Association.

Minerals are very significant for the body's health and help with metabolism and body functions. Minerals are as essential to the body as vitamins. Usually they aid each other in their functions. For example vitamin c can triple iron absorption and calcium cannot be absorbed without vitamin d.
Minerals are grouped into two categories. The one category is considered essential in the human diet and should be taken in amounts greater than 1oo milligrams a day, This category is called major minerals. There are seven major minerals for the human body: calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sulfur, sodium and chlorine. The second category is called trace minerals and our diet requires less than 100 milligrams a day for a healthy body.

There is also a difference between colloidal minerals and ionic minerals, which are both part of the trace mineral group.

The human body usually gets minerals from nutrition, but if those are not sufficient enough minerals are available as supplements. There are even liquid mineral supplements on the market such as liquid colloidal mineral supplements. Discount vitamins and minerals make up a good portion of the supplement market. Some vitamin and mineral supplements if taken in overdoses are harmful to thyroids and hypothyroids and other bodyli functions.

Research shows that plant based mineral supplements are better digested and absorbed by the human body than colloidal supplements and the liquid mineral even better than a powder or pill form.

On the market you might also find a substance called mineral water. In lots of places mineral water means in general carbonated water, rich of or enriched with minerals. The term also refers to water rich in natural minerals, occurring in places that are rich of mineral in rocks or soil where the water flows though and picks such mineral up.

Lists of vitamins and minerals as well as vitamin and mineral charts can be found on the Internet and in publications of health organizations and governmental institutions