Tip 242.
Calcium, the Vital Mineral
No mineral is more vital to the human body than calcium.
The human body needs calcium more than any other mineral. A man wei
g
hing 70 kg contains one kg of c
a
lcium. About 99 per cent
of the quantity in the body is used for
building st
r
ong
bones and
t
eeth and the remaining one per cent is used by the blood, muscles a
n
d
n
erves.
Calcium performs ma
n
y important functions.
W
i
t
hout this mineral, the c
o
ntractions of
the heart would be faulty, the m
u
scles would
not contract
properly to make the limbs m
o
ve and blood would not clot. Calcium stimulates
e
nzymes in the digestive process a
n
d coordinat
e
s
the functions of
all other minerals in the
body. Calcium is found in milk and
milk produc
t
s
, whole wheat, leafy vegetables such as
let
t
uce, spin
ac
h, and cab
b
age, carrots,
watercress,
oranges, lemons, almonds, figs
a
nd walnuts.
A daily intake of about 0
.
4 to 0.6 gr
a
ms of calci
u
m is considered
desirable for
an adult. T
h
e requirement is larger
f
or growing children and
pregnant and lactati
n
g women. Deficiency may cause porous and fra
g
ile bones, t
o
oth decay, heart palpitatio
n
s,
muscle cr
am
ps, insomnia and irrit
a
bility.
A large inc
r
ease in the
dietary supply of calcium is needed in tetany and when the bones are decalci
f
ied
d
ue to poor calcium abs
o
rption, as in
rickets,
ost
e
omalacia and the malabsorption syndrome.
L
iberal quantity of calcium is also
nec
e
ssary when excessive calcium has
been lost from the body as in hyperparathyroidism or chronic renal disease.
Tip 243. Chlorine, the Digestive Mineral
Chlorine is
t
he digestive mineral. Ensure your body's supply of chlorine
b
y adequate consumpti
o
n of salt.
In the human body, chlorine is liber
a
ted by the interaction of
common salt, taken alo
n
g with food, and hydrochloric
a
c
id liberated
in the stomach during
t
he process
of digestion.
It is
essential for
the proper distribution
of carbon dioxide and the maintenance of osmotic pressure
in the tissu
e
s.
This food element is necessary for
t
he manufacture of glan
d
ular hormone secretio
ns
. It prevents the building of
excessive fat and auto-i
n
toxication. Chlorine regulates the bl
o
od's alkaline -
a
cid balance
a
nd works with Potassium
in a compound form. It aids in the
cleaning out of body waste by helping the liv
e
r to function.
Chlorine is
f
ound in ch
e
ese and ot
h
er milk products, green leafy veget
a
bles, tomatoes, all berries, rice,
radishes,
l
e
ntils, c
o
con
u
ts and egg yolk. No diet
a
ry allowance has been establish
e
d,
but an average intake
o
f daily salt
w
ill ensure a
d
equate qua
n
tity of chlor
i
ne. Deficiency of this miner
a
l
can ca
u
s
e loss of hair
a
nd teeth.
Tip 244. Cobalt, the Chameleon of Nutrients
Cobalt is the mineral that we consume as a vitamin.
Cobalt is a component of vitamin B1
2
, a nutrition
a
l factor nec
e
ssary for the formation of red blood cells.
Recent res
e
arch in vit
a
min B12 has shown that its pink
col
o
ur is attribu
t
ed to the presence of
cobalt in
it.
The presence of this mi
n
eral in foods helps the synthesis of haemoglobin and the a
b
sorption of
f
ood- iron.
T
he best die
t
ary sources
of cobalt are meat, kidney and liver. All green leafy veg
e
tables cont
a
in some amount of this
mineral. No daily allowance
h
as been set.
Only a very small amount up to 8 mcg is c
o
nsi
d
ered necessary.
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