The Alarming Signs Your Body Needs Trace Minerals
Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast
Dr. Eric Berg
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2023
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today I want to cover the different signs of a deficiency in trace minerals.
Trace minerals are minerals needed in tiny or trace amounts. A few examples of important trace minerals are zinc, iodine, selenium, and iron.
Trace minerals are essential for enzymes, which are proteins that run the body.
Symptoms of zinc deficiency:
• Hair loss
• White spots on the nails
• Low testosterone
• Diarrhea
Symptoms of iron deficiency:
• Anemia (weakness, fatigue, cold sensation)
• Brittle nails
• Hair loss
Symptoms of selenium deficiency:
• Infertility
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
Symptoms of iodine deficiency:
• Swelling in the lower part of the neck
You might not notice any symptoms right away, but a trace mineral deficiency could contribute to all kinds of chronic diseases later in life. It could even increase your risk of cancer.
The best sources of trace minerals:
1. Seafood
2. Organ meats
3. Eggs
4. Seaweed or sea kelp
5. High-quality sea salt
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | there are some really important signs or indications that our body is desperately demanding trace minerals. |
| 0:08.4 | So let's talk about trace minerals. What is a trace mineral? It's a mineral that is needed in trace amounts or tiny, tiny amounts, many times below even one milligram in the microgram level. So an example of a trace mineral would be like |
| 0:23.5 | zinc, iodine, selenium, copper, manganese versus other minerals that are needed in larger amounts, |
| 0:31.9 | like potassium, calcium, magnesium. So what is so significant about these trace minerals? Why do we need them in such |
| 0:39.9 | tiny amounts, if at all? Well, trace minerals are essential to enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that |
| 0:48.6 | basically do the work of the body. You might think of enzymes just for digestion, but enzymes are involved in all of |
| 0:57.0 | your biochemistry in making cells, in repairing DNA, in proofreading DNA, in making hormones, |
| 1:03.7 | in converting hormones into the active form, in turning glucose into fat. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of biochemical pathways |
| 1:13.9 | involving these enzymes. And it's incredibly complex. And one thing we know for sure about these enzymes |
| 1:21.2 | is there's a lot we don't know. But we do know these minerals, including trace minerals and regular |
| 1:25.9 | minerals and vitamins, are the co-factors that these enzyme or biochemical pathways depend on. |
| 1:34.1 | And without them, our biochemistry does not work. |
| 1:36.6 | So let's just take, for example, zinc. |
| 1:39.7 | Zinc is involved with over 300 different enzymes having functions ranging from the |
| 1:47.3 | breakdown of alcohol to the production of testosterone to building immune |
| 1:53.6 | weaponry to kill off pathogens also involved in detoxifying chemicals and |
| 1:59.7 | even making neurotransmitters that greatly affect your mood. |
| 2:02.6 | And there's actually over 2 billion people on this planet that are deficient in zinc, |
| 2:08.6 | primarily because of another compound called phytic acid that is in grains like serles |
| 2:16.6 | and crackers and breads and things like that, that basically |
| 2:20.4 | prevent the absorption of zinc and other minerals. And if someone doesn't consume meat, |
| 2:27.2 | red meat or animal products, it's very difficult to get the right form of zinc that is bioavailable. |
... |
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