John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

If you would like a one-word answer to the question of whether we should take supplements it is ‘minerals'.

Unlike vitamins and other nutrients, the mineral content of food is directly related to the mineral health of the soils in which it is produced.
While food from the sea has excellent mineral balance, many of our soils are deficient in minerals. New Zealand soils contain very low levels of the cell-protecting trace mineral selenium. Inadequate selenium has been linked to some cancers and immune disorders. This makes sense, as it is needed to produce the critical antioxidant enzyme glutathione. Some minerals have multiple functions and low levels can cause many problems. For example, zinc is known to participate in more than 300 enzymes. Low zinc levels can cause diverse problems, including poor immune function, eye problems, hair loss and skin problems.
Many people take mineral supplements to maintain health or as part of a treatment programme for specific conditions. These can be single minerals, such as iron, iodine or calcium, small groups such as magnesium, calcium and potassium, or as multi-mineral complexes. My view is the single or small groups of minerals should only be given under professional guidance. For example, single iron supplements should only be taken after blood tests show low iron levels. The same applies to iodine and some other minerals.
For most people, most of the time, the best way to get minerals from supplements is through modest dose multi-mineral preparations. This will ensure you are getting the minerals in the correct form and correct balance. My preference is for chelated minerals where the mineral is bonded to amino acids to provide optimum absorption with the minimum risk of tummy upsets. Give me a call if you need more information.

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John Arts is a qualified Nutritional Therapist
and founder of Abundant Health.
Contact John on 0800 423 559.
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