Essential Nutrients: Micronutrients and Macronutrients

In our heads, we have the world’s most powerful computer.
We are only beginning to understand the importance of trace elements in conjunction with brain health. Food is only starting to be recognized for its ability to protect against diseases. (Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University.)

Macronutrients are nutrients the body needs in large amounts for energy.

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats

Micronutrients are Needed in Small Amounts

These are:

Essential Nutrients

Experts classify these nutrients as “essential” because your body cannot make them, yet requires these nutrients for growth, maintenance, repair, and so much more.

We Need Five Major Trace Elements in Our Bodies

• Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium. The other minerals are known as Trace Elements—we still need them.
• The essential minerals our bodies need include gold, silver and iron.
• Lead and arsenic are essential for a healthy body. The problem is what amount to consume?
• ‘Lead deficiency anemia’ produced growth defects in second-generation rats, in a 1981 study.” (UCLA’s Molecular Biology Institute.)
• These nutrients are deposited into our bones, muscles and overall bodies, and are withdrawn as needed.
• We don’t need to go further into this discussion. I only want to point out the basics. If you want to follow up on this subject please follow this link.

This “Soup” of Nutrients is Not Completely Understood by the Medical World

Our Basic Nutrients Can be Obtained from Our Basic Foods and Water

Trace Elements in our Food
Our bodies need minute amounts of iron, zinc, silver, magnesium, gold, mercury, iodine, . . . the endless march goes on. There are at least 80-trace elements we need. We must get these from our food. Perhaps we can find some of these as supplements—I doubt it. Our best bet is to eat a wide variety of foods grown in good soil.

Be Cautious of Processed Foods
We also need to be aware of the destruction of these essential elements with processing.

Raw Foods or Minimally Cooked Foods

The Cleveland Clinic Health Cookbook says that when you bite into raw broccoli you release a chemical combination that is important to your health. This mysterious balance of nutrients is needed by your estimated 100 trillion cells.

Each cell is a little factory that orders in raw materials and repairs itself. It must get these precious elements from the bloodstream that nourishes them. It seems that we can select the best foods by eating the most colorful food. Black olives, red peppers, black coffee, green plants, red meat, and . . . the endless march proceeds.

Plain Groundwater Should Supply Many Basic Minerals

Plain groundwater from our wells, springs, and rivers can be a blessing to our bodies. Groundwater can supply us with a variety of Minerals and other nutrients. The Contribution of Drinking Water to Mineral Nutrition in Humans, focusing on the positive effects of suites of elements that are known or assumed to interact in the environment or in biological systems. (General Considerations of Mineral Intake form Water. Drinking Water and Health. [National Academy of Sciences, 1977])

People in the Third-World Countries Drink Dirty Water and are Healthy—They Get More of the needed Nutrients

Our City Water Supply Might be Healthiest for Us. My best guess is to fill my water bottle from the tap. The city water is closely monitored for our safety. If in doubt, buy a cheap home water filter that filters through charcoal. My favorite is the Brita one-gallon, counter-top that filters for a fraction of a cent per gallon.

Distilled Bottled Water Has Been Stripped of Nutrients
Surprisingly, most bottled water has probably been stripped of its mineral and any other trace elements it had. If the bottled water has been distilled, all minerals have been left behind.

We Don’t Need All of These Nutrients Every Day

Our bodies learned to “snatch and store” essential nutrients when they were available––especially trace elements like Iodine and Vitamin D. These were not always available in the daily diet

A substance called Brown Fat has been discovered that might supply some answers. This has only recently been brought to the forefront.

Good luck to you my friends.