Potassium And Sodium

Though potassium is supplied by vegetables and fruits, relatively few vegetables are now being eaten. In the days when most people had home gardens, three to five vegetables were usually served at every lunch and dinner. Potassium is readily lost in the urine during the alarm and resistance reactions to stress and/or when the salt (sodium) intake is high. Deficiencies of potassium, therefore, have become common, especially when illness increases the requirement and decreases retention. Equal parts of potassium chloride and ordinary salt can be used in foods; and tablets supplying a gram of potassium chloride (15 grains) are available at drugstores.

Animal foods and table salt, or sodium chloride, furnish abundant sodium. During inflammations, when the adrenals are too exhausted to produce aldosterone, sodium rather than potassium is lost in the urine, and salty foods should be eaten. Conversely, sodium is retained at the onset of stress and when cortisone is given; during these periods, a low-salt diet should be adhered to and potassium taken, the amount depending on the quantity of water held in the tissues.

Iron

Eggs, meats, green vegetables, and particularly yeast, wheat germ, and liver are all rich in iron. Any diet adequate in other respects will supply more than the 10 to 15 milligrams of iron recommended daily by the National Research Council. If additional iron is desired, ferrous fumarate appears to be the least toxic. Supplements containing ferrous sulfate or chloride should be strictly avoided.

Magnesium

Hundreds of recent studies indicate that almost everyone, especially ill persons, is deficient in magnesium, another mineral which has been largely discarded! during refining. Furthermore, liming soils, a common farming practice, and the use of chemical fertilizers containing potassium prevent magnesium from being absorbed by plants; hence our foods are now particularly low in magnesium. Probably no other single deficiency is so responsible for the widespread use of tranquilizers.

The average diet furnishes approximately 300 milligrams daily, whereas 600 to goo milligrams appear to be required for health; thus supplementation is desirable. I use a tasteless magnesium oxide supplying 250 milligrams of magnesium per tablet or 1/4 teaspoon. The magnesium intake, however, should be approximately half that of calcium. If calcium is excessive in relation to magnesium, urinary losses can cause a magnesium deficiency to be produced. Conversely, excess magnesium induces a calcium deficiency. The magnesium intake, therefore, must vary with the amount of calcium obtained. When extra calcium is needed, tablets or powder containing both calcium and magnesium in proper proportions are available.

Calcium And Phosphorus

Most foods contain phosphorus; hence Americans have an extremely high intake. Except for minute amounts, calcium is supplied only by various forms of milk; even cheeses, unless made of sweet milk, contain little. When the phosphorus intake is too high in relation to calcium, both phosphorus and calcium are lost in the urine. Such losses are greatly accelerated by the stress of illness. Probably no fewer than 2 grams of calcium, therefore, should be taken daily by an ill adult or a sick child. A quart of skim or whole milk, buttermilk, yogurt, acidophil us, or any combination thereof supplies a gram of calcium. The other gram can be obtained from calcium tablets and/or non-instant powdered milk added to milk drinks, cooked cereals, hotcakes, custards, eggnogs, and cream soups.

Unfortunately, such particularly nutritious foods as yeast. liver, wheat germ, and lecithin are all extremely high in phosphorus and low in calcium. Yeast and lecithin to which the proper proportions of calcium and magnesium have been added are now available. Powdered milk can be mixed with wheat germ to be cooked as a cereal and added to breadstuffs containing wheat germ. Liver should be taken at the same meal with milk or a calcium tablet.

When milk cannot be tolerated, calcium gluconate, which dissolves easily and is sweet, can be stirred into foods or juices, but 7 ½ teaspoons are needed to supply 1 gram of calcium; therefore at least 1 1/2 teaspoons should be taken at each meal and before bed. Calcium lactate contains twice as much calcium as gluconate, hence it is less bulky if tablets are used; 8 tablets or 3 ½ level teaspoons supply a gram of calcium. So little calcium is furnished by calcium pantothenate that it is not a source of this mineral.

Iodine

Fallout studies indicate that our iodine intake is far below ideal; and that if the thyroid gland is supplied with sufficient iodine, it will not absorb the dangerous radioactive material. Yet Harvard physicians have found that Massachusetts children absorbed radioactive iodine avidly unless given a continuous daily supplement of iodine, a fact showing that their usual intake was markedly deficient. These studies indicate that small children need 1 or 2 milligrams of iodine per day and adults 3 to 4 milligrams.

In Japan, where seaweed is used as food, abnormalities of the thyroid are non-existent; and the average daily intake of iodine is approximately 3 milligrams. In contrast, hundreds of thousands of Americans have such underactive thyroids, caused in part by iodine insufficiency, that they must take thyroid medication. Unfortunately--and tragically-- our Food and Drug Administration has ruled that no daily supplement may contain more than 0.15 milligram of iodine, or approximately a twentieth of the amount that appears to be advantageous yet never toxic.

Adequate iodine is absolutely essential to health, and it, of all nutrients, is probably most easily lost in the urine. Iodized salt should be used exclusively, but to eat enough salt to supply 3 milligrams of iodine daily is certainly not advisable. In my opinion, the diet of every person, especially anyone who is ill, should be supplemented with 1 teaspoon of granular kelp daily unless a prescription for iodine can be obtained. Kelp tablets can be used advantageously only if the label is ignored and 15 to 25 swallowed each day. Because the Chinese are currently testing bombs and more testing can be expected, I obtained a prescription from my nutritionally minded dentist for 5-grain (325-milligram) tablets .of potassium iodide; every member of our family takes one of these each week.

Trace Minerals

Copper, manganese, zinc, cobalt, and other trace minerals are as essential to health as any of the vitamins. When commercial fertilizers are used, however. they saturate the soil solution to the extent that the trace minerals, which do not dissolve easily, are poorly absorbed. Sea foods, torula yeast, and kelp are dependable sources provided large quantities are taken daily. Green leafy vegetables and whole grains are also excellent if grown on mineral-rich soil without chemical fertilizers.

Unless one uses torula yeast liberally, the only way to be sure these nutrients are always included in the diet is to take a supplement of them. I often sift 1/4 cup of mixed mineral powder into each pound of yeast. If yeast is not obtained regularly, 1 or 2 tablets of trace minerals can be taken after each meal.

About The Author
David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a Penis Enlargement Reviews company known as Male Enhancement Group which is dedicated to researching and comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the market. Copyright 2010 David Crawford of Natural Penis Enlargement This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.