ÿþ<html> <title>Nutter's Bulk & Natural Foods - Article on Essential Minerals</title> <meta name="description" content="What are essential minerals? Description of potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium and their dietary sources."> <meta name="keywords" content="minerals, essential, essential minerals, trace, trace minerals, potassium, sodium, calcium, magensium, dietary, sources, dietary sources"> <STYLE> A:visited {text-decoration:none} A:active {text-decoration:none} </head> <center> <table width=800 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <td width=800 valign=top> </td></tr> <tr> <font face="Arial" size=4 color="#E0E0E0"> <a href="index.php"><font color=white>Home</a> | <a href="stores.html"><font color=white>Locate A Store</a> | <a href="wellbeing.html"><font color=white>Wellbeing Information</a> | <a href="recipes.html"><font color=white>Recipes</a> </table> <table width=800 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0> <td width=800 valign=top> <a href="artsindex.html"><font face="Times New Roman" size=4" color=red> <br> <img src="peridot.jpg" align=right hspace=12 vspace=6 border=0> <UL> <LI>Calcium <LI>Sodium <b>What do Essential Minerals Do and Why are they Important?</b><br><br> <b>Potassium</b><br><br> Without getting too deep into a physiology lesson, potassium is a major regulator in the body, right from your cells to your nerve impulses to the rhythm of your heart. <br><br> <br> <br> <br> <img src="ladyteeth1.jpg" align=right hspace=12 vspace=6 border=1> <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <img src="lemonwater.jpg" align=left hspace=12 vspace=6 border=1> <br> <br> <br> <img src="seasalt.jpg" align=right hspace=12 vspace=6 border=1> Taking diuretics can cause a sodium deficiency in the body, as with people who take them for high blood pressure. Couple this with a low-sodium diet and you have the makings of a sodium deficiency in the body. If you have to follow a low-sodium diet, natural sea salt is your best option. The sodium-potassium balance in the body is an important one as well. A deficiency of potassium in the blood causes your heart to beat feebly and abnormal heart rhythms appear. <br><br> Sodium is necessary for maintaining proper blood pH which is no small task given the slim margin for error  the body must maintain blood pH between 7.35 and 7.45. <br><br> Sodium is also necessary for proper stomach, nerve and muscle functioning. <br><br> <b>Dietary Sources of Sodium</b><br><br> Virtually everything in our diet contains salt, so sodium deficiencies are rare. Getting the right kind and amount of salt is the trick. <br><br> If you add salt to your food, use natural sea salt, sel de mer, or fleur de sel. There are all different types of gourmet salts you can add to your cooking that are best suited to specific foods. Pink Himalayan gourmet cooking salts contain 84 different minerals so sprinkle away on fish or chicken! <br><br> <b>Supplementing with Minerals</b><br><br> Even if your diet is exemplary, you can still be missing out on essential minerals. The foods we eat today are grown in soil that isn't as rich in minerals as it was 50 years ago and prescription medications can leach precious minerals from your body. <br><br> <b>Nutter's Can Suggest&</b><br> <img src="onlyminerals.jpg" align=left hspace=12 vspace=6 border=0> <br><br> A full range of minerals contributes to bone and joint health, yet any mineral taken at high doses can impede absorption of the others. A balanced multi-mineral supplement supports muscle, cartilage, and bone development and repair; regulates hormones and enzymes associated with inflammation; and supports immune function to fight development of autoimmune disorders that affect bones and joints. <br><br> <br><br> <br><br> <br> </td></tr> <tr> <img src="dancingbanner.jpg"> <td width=800 height=40 bgcolor="#C62A29"> <b>Nutter's Bulk & Natural Foods </b>107, 1601 Dunmore Road SE., Medicine Hat, AB T1A 1Z8 (403) 529-1664 <img src="transpacer.gif" height=20 width=20 ALIGN="absmiddle"> </td></tr> </html>