Guide to Minerals, Part 3

MINERAL	PRIMARY	FOOD	DEFICIENCY
	FUNCTION	SOURCES	SYMPTOMS
Potassium	Needed for muscle	fresh fruits and	muscle weakness
	contraction, heart action,	vegetables, milk &	irregular heartbeat
	nerve transmission, fluid	dairy products, nuts	apathy, confusion
	balance. Involved in	legumes, lean meat	loss of appetite
	making proteins. Needed		(deficiencies are
	for maintenance of acid-		unlikely, unless
	base balance.  Required		excessive water loss
	for formation of glycogen		occurs through
	(short-term storage of		vomiting, diarrhea,
	energy)		extreme sweating
Selenium	Works with vitamin E to	seafoods, lean meat	heart muscle
	act as antioxidant and	whole grains, wheat	abnormalities,
	protect cell membranes	germ, milk, organ	anemia
		meats
Sodium	Needed for normal fluid	salt, soy sauce,	muscle cramps,
	balance, both inside and	monosodium glu-	weakness, mental
	outside cells; nerve	tamate (MSG), most	apathy, loss of
	transmission, acid-base	processed foods	appetite (deficiencies
	balance and muscle	(especially soups,	are unlikely, unless
	contraction	sauces, and cured	another medical
		meats), milk and	problem exists)
		dairy products, meat
Zinc	Works as part of many	milk and dairy	retarded growth,
	enzymes. Present in	products, whole	prolonged wound
	insulin. Needed for making	grains, vegetables,	healing, slow sexual
	reproductive hormones,	liver, egg yolks,	development, loss
	normal sense of taste	oysters, lean meat,	of taste (and as a
	and wound healing	fish, poultry	result, loss of
			appetite)

Used with permission from A Year of Health Hints by Don R Powell, PHD and the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, copyright 2010. www.healthylife.com