Street Musician - Guitar Blog » Health

Get Your Teeth Fixed

Kier — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:44:37 +0000

Here’s a quick post about something I learned form my dentist after I visited him a while ago which might be useful for anyone needing excessive dental treatment or procedures that usually cost a bomb – like crowns, bridges, special teeth whitening treatments or dental veneers.

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One thing many singers are paranoid about is the state of their teeth (unless of course you’re referring to guys like Shane MacGowan of the Pogues who’s rotten teeth have been his life long trade mark) and the condition of your teeth and gums can often impact on your self confidence as a performer, especially singers who spend most of their time with their mouth open.

When you’re young, you can drink, smoke and party as much as you like and still keep a perfect set of gnashers, but as you get older the years of abuse eventually start to take their toll and that’s when most people start to think about getting them fixed up.

Shane’s teeth weren’t exactly the perfect set in the first place but he didn’t do his smile any favours by falling over a wall and smashing his teeth in on a pile of bricks whilst on an all day bender in Ireland.

So far my teeth have survived intact and still look alright, so I’ve never really considered engaging in cosmetic dental procedures to brighten my smile, but if I had the cash to waste or perhaps the treatments weren’t so costly, then maybe I would think about it.

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Save Money on Dental Work

The good news is, if you do have an expensive problem with your teeth and are willing to travel a few miles to get things done, or you happen to live near one of the sixteen dental colleges around the U.K. then you can get all these sort of treatments at greatly reduced rates by having them done at the dental training schools as part of the training program for final year students.

My dentist was telling me that they do it in many colleges around the U.K and the particular one he was referring to was the Bristol Dental College.

All the treatments are supervised by qualified dentists and cost much less than they would at a private or NHS dentist.

I thought that was a pretty good bit of advice, so in a few years when I’m really looking in a state and need a bit of a lift, I’ll go and get myself a nice set of gold teeth on the cheap.

Nice !

Here’s a list of the 16 dental colleges around the U.K

Barts and The London, School of Medicine and Dentistry – Queen Mary, University of London
School of Dentistry – Birmingham
Bristol Dental School – Bristol
School of Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire – University of Central Lancashire
Guy’s, King’s & St Thomas’s Dental Institute – King’s College London
Leeds School of Dentistry – Leeds
Liverpool Dental School – Liverpool
Manchester Dental School – Manchester
Newcastle University Dental School – Newcastle
Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry – Exeter
Plymouth
Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry – Sheffield
University of Aberdeen School of Dentistry – Aberdeen
University of Dundee Dental School – Dundee
Glasgow Dental School – Glasgow
Cardiff University Dental School – Cardiff
Queen’s University Belfast School of Dentistry – Queen’s University Belfast

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Give them a call and see what they can do for you.

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Incidentally, last year Shane finally got round to having his teeth fixed.

I can’t believe it !

Vitamins and Minerals – Why We Need Them In Our Everyday Lives

Kier — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:04:14 +0000

Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients the body needs to function properly and stay healthy in your every day life. Trace elements are also vital to the body’s well being, but are needed in much smaller amounts.

If a body has a good supply of these nutrients, then all your internal and external organs, muscles, joints, bone structure, eyes, blood cells, brain and everything else that goes on inside your body should function properly, and your ability to fight infection, ward off colds, turn the food you eat into energy, regulate your blood sugar levels and create red and white blood cells etc. will be greatly increased. Your body should run like clockwork.

Shane could do with a few vitamins & minerals

However, if your body lacks any particular nutrient, you can easily become susceptible to any number of ailments ranging from small or minor problems to major health issues. A serious deficiency in some of them can cause life threatening problems.

For instance – deficiencies in vitamin C can easily weaken the immune system and leave a subject more susceptible to colds, flu, infections and serious illness such as heart disease and cancer. Vitamin C is a powerful anti oxidant and fights the effects of ageing. A lack of it can also cause muscle weakness, dental problems, bruising, water retention and painful joints.

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. A deficiency may result in a long term susceptibility to fractures and problems of the skeletal system. It can also result in a higher probability of developing heart disease.

If you want to stay healthy for your music, you are going to have to make sure that your body receives the regular supply of the vitamins, minerals, trace elements and amino acids that it needs to function properly.

These vitamins, minerals and trace elements are all supposed to be readily available in the food we eat every day, as long as we eat a healthy balanced diet including a wide range of vegetables, whole grains, fruit, nuts and fish.

The problem most of us have is that we don’t eat the diets we know we should, and even if we try to eat healthily for a while, social pressure, work, family life and temptation will generally pull us back into a diet that is essentially inadequate for our body’s needs and most probably lacking in vital nutrients that could help keep us in peak condition.

Refined products such as white bread, white flour and sugar etc. are heavily processed to suit the average consumers tastes, but “during processing, a lot of beneficial nutrients like fiber, minerals and antioxidants are lost, especially in highly processed refined grain products,” says Frank Hu, an epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health who tracks the effects of food on diseases in the American population. “Manufacturers also add a lot of sugar and trans fats back in to enhance the taste,” he says. “So you get rid of the good stuff and add a lot of bad stuff, and that’s the reason those kinds of foods are really detrimental.”

The annoying thing about trying to eat a healthy diet is that buying the best nutrient rich foods such as blue berries, pomegranates, strawberries, fish, whole grain foods organic vegetables and other such healthy produce can be really expensive, as opposed to the unhealthy alternatives.

Healthier less refined food products such as brown or whole grain bread, brown rice, brown sugar etc. are much better for you and although they are unprocessed and therefore have less manufacturing costs they actually cost more to buy than their heavily processed counterparts.

Preparation of really healthy meals can also be much more time consuming than eating a pile of old junk served out of a container or microwave, but the stress of modern day living means we often don’t have time to do this. We all know that eating junk food like chocolate, crisps, take away’s, burgers, pizzas, fizzy drinks, cakes, pasties, ready meals, McDonalds and KFC are no good for us what so ever, but we still eat them every day and excuse ourselves with reasons like, “I’ll go on a diet next week, or I didn’t have time to cook, or I just couldn’t be bothered to make anything decent.”

We can’t deny that eating a cheese burger and chips is much more appealing than eating a plate of vegetables, but the fact is, one will make you fat and eventually kill you and the other will keep you slim, keep your body in good condition and help you live a long and healthy life.

A major problem with trying to gain these elements through eating the correct foods is that modern day farming methods and the strain placed on our agriculture to produce food for an ever growing population has literally sucked the nutrients out of our fields. Although farmers add nutrients to the soil to promote crop health and growth, the levels of natural nutrients present in our farmland and eco system are much smaller than in our previous generations. The addition of an ever growing need for pesticides and bug killing toxins to fight an increasingly resistant population of pests also adds to the concoction of poisons we put in our bodies every day.

Cheap mass produced processed food high in salt, saturated fats and low in vitamins and minerals is increasingly responsible for a generation of people suffering from ill health and prone to life threatening diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

The way we store and cook our food also has a direct impact on the vitamins, minerals and trace elements present in what we eat.

It is a fact that freezing, drying, processing and cooking also greatly diminish the levels of nutrients in our produce.

Eating fresh fruit and vegetables in their raw or partially cooked state has been proven to be much more beneficial in preserving the goodness in our food than through conventional cooking.

Microwaves have been proven to kill vital enzymes in our food, affect vitamin and mineral levels and cause substantial changes to the atomic structure of our food when cooked using them. Deterioration in the levels of haemoglobin, good cholesterol and white blood cells have been noted in the blood of people clinically tested after consuming food cooked in microwaves.

Many tests over the last few years have shown eating food cooked in a microwave has various small yet significant detrimental effects on the user, yet we still commonly use them every day. It seems that in today’s world, we have put convenience in front of our own well being and that of our loved ones.

Even if you do manage to keep a balanced and varied diet, unless you are extremely careful and aware of all the things that affect the food we eat, you could struggle to reach the optimum levels of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and amino acids required to keep your body in good working condition.

Being a musician, your success and earning potential depends not only on your skill and musical ability, but on your own health and bodily well being.

Singers especially need to look after them selves for as soon as you get a cold, flu or sore throat, your singing ability and stage presence goes down the pan. Guitarists, drummers and keyboard players can probably get away with it slightly more than a singer, but the fact remains that you cannot play at your full ability if you feel like death or have been knocked out for the last week or two unable to practice because of the flu.

Not feeling to good

Being constantly subjected to large numbers of people in confined spaces such pubs and clubs is going to dramatically increase your chances of catching something which may affect your future performances or practice regimes. The general public are amazingly uneducated and inconsiderate in their efforts to stop the spread of colds and flu by staying in and avoiding public places whilst being ill. You even hear the most intelligent people commenting on how sick they were the night before or how they feel seriously ill, and yet they are still out and about spreading their germs to each and every person they come into contact with.

People often think it is brave of them to battle through their illnesses by still coming in to work or socialising with friends while feeling sick as a dog, but although their struggle is admirable, they are still being incredibly selfish by placing themselves in social situations and passing on their ailments to others who have not yet been unfortunate enough to come into contact with the bug or virus. This is the reason we have huge flu epidemics that rapidly spread across nations as those who are suffering from their ailments refuse to stay in and venture out before the contagious stage of their virus has passed.

This sort of behaviour will never change, and even if you do manage to avoid mixing with people with ailments, colds and flu, the chances are your children, partner or friends have at some point come into contact with someone else who is ill and could easily pass on the virus to you and others around you without even knowing.

It is for these reasons that it is vital to have your immune system working at its absolute peak at all times to a) prevent you from catching colds in the first place and b) when you do catch one, to get over it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Check out my guides on vitamins and minerals and trace elements to see the sort of foods and supplements you need to be consuming on a daily basis to ensure your body has the correct nutrients it needs to fight infection, colds and flu all year round.

Guide to vitamins, and minerals and trace elements to keep you fit and healthy.

Posted 08.01.09

Vitamins to Keep You Fit and Healthy
Minerals to Keep You in Good Health
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Vitamins – Functions & Food Sources – Guide To Keep You Fit & Healthy

Kier — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:52:20 +0000

If you have read my previous post on vitamins and minerals and how important they are in our daily lives, you’ll know that vitamins perform crucial biological functions in the body and without a replenished source every day, we can fall foul to a huge number health problems. A few vitamins a day can solve many of these ailments and as a musician, you need to be on top form 100% of the time.

It’s time to find out exactly what each one does and where we can find them in our food sources.

Vitamins

Vitamins come under two categories, water soluble and fat soluble.

Water soluble vitamins

Water soluble vitamins require water to be absorbed into the body via the bloodstream and cannot be effectively stored in the body. As they pass through the bloodstream the body absorbs what it needs and any excess nutrients exit the body when you urinate. This means supplies of these types of vitamin need to be replenished on a daily basis.

There are 9 different types of water soluble vitamin. These include 8 types of vitamin B ie. biotin, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamins B6 pyridoxine, B12 cyanocobamin and the more commonly known vitamin C – ie. ascorbic acid..

Vitamin C – Ascorbic Acid

Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins your body needs to fight colds, infection and disease. A powerful antioxidant it helps boost the immune system, promotes cell development, tissue growth the healing of wounds. Vitamin C is also said to protect the body against degenerative diseases such as cancer, cataracts and those that affect the cardiovascular system.

Large concentrations of vitamin C can be found in fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, lemons, limes, papaya, strawberries, peaches, bananas and cantaloupe. Many vegetables are also packed with this powerful antioxidant such as tomatoes, broccoli, green and red peppers, raw lettuce, bean sprouts, cabbage, kale cauliflower, potatoes, beans, spinach and other leafy greens.

Vitamin B1 – Thiamin

Is used in a number of body functions and assists in the formation of blood and the metabolism of carbohydrates. It is required for the health of the nervous system is good for the brain and helps in the synthesis of acids in the digestion system.

Good sources of vitamin B1 are found in wheat germ, whole wheat, peas, beans, sunflower seeds, fish, peanuts, seafood, egg yolk and meat.

Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin

Used in the production of antibodies, red blood cells and the creation of vitamin B3. It helps the body to absorb vitamins B1, B6 and iron. It also helps the adrenal gland, growth and cell respiration.

Main sources of riboflavin are meat, dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and in nuts and eggs. Other good sources are green leafy vegetables, asparagus, artichokes, avocados, broccoli, brussels sprouts, watercress, currants, spinach, kelp, peas, beans, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cayenne, parsley, sage, legumes, whole grains and fish.

Vitamin B3 – Niacin

Helps the body break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates and use them for energy. Is vital for good circulation and healthy skin, cell respiration and the function of the nervous system.

The best sources of vitamin B3 are found in beetroot, brewer’s yeast, beef liver, beef kidney, pork, turkey, chicken, veal, fish, salmon, swordfish, tuna, sunflower seeds, peanuts and green leafy vegetables. The body can make it’s own niacin from an amino acid called tryptophan, so good sources of tryptophan such as eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt, can contribute in the creation of niacin in your system.

Vitamin B5 – Pantothenic Acid

Helps the adrenal gland secrete hormones that maintain healthy skin, muscles and nervous system. Helps create haemoglobin and supports the breakdown of fats, carbohydrates, proteins and the release of energy.

Pantothenic Acid Molecule

Found in meat such as beef and pork, liver, kidney, poultry, fresh vegetables, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, cauliflower, kale, broccoli, soybeans, sunflower seeds, whole-grain breads and cereals, lobster, whole wheat, salmon, eggs, nuts, yeast, fish and legumes.

Vitamin B6 – Pyridoxine

Used in processing fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Assists the immune system and new cell growth.

Good sources include brewer’s yeast, meat, poultry, eggs, carrots, fish – preferably saltwater such as tuna, salmon, mackerel and shrimp etc., liver, kidneys, peas, walnuts, soybeans, fortified breads and cereals, avocados, bananas, carrots, brown rice, bran, sunflower seeds, lentils, wheat germ, and whole-grain flour.

Vitamin B7 – Biotin

Helps with cell growth and the production of fatty acids. Helps the body break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates and use them for energy.

Found in brewer’s yeast , beef liver, kidney, eggs – especially egg yolk, nuts – almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, soybeans, other beans, black eye peas, oat bran, chicken breasts, salmon, spinach, mushrooms and cheese.

Vitamin B9 – Folate – Folic Acid

Essential for forming amino acids, energy production, cell growth and DNA synthesis.

Good sources of folic acid include spinach, dark leafy greens, asparagus, turnip, beetroot and mustard greens, brussels sprouts, broccoli, beef liver, brewer’s yeast, root vegetables, whole grains, wheat germ, bulgur wheat, all types of beans, oysters, salmon, avocado, fruit and milk.

Vitamin B12 – Cyanocobamin

Used in the manufacture and maintenance of red blood cells. Promotes growth and energy. Stimulates the appetite and helps regulate mood, sleep, and the breakdown of fats, proteins and carbs.

Mainly in beef, pork, organ meats such as liver and kidney, shellfish, eggs, dairy products and fish.

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Fat soluble vitamins dissolve in fat and are absorbed by the body through the intestinal tract. Unlike water soluble vitamins, these can be stored in the liver and (apart from vitamin K) are generally excreted much more slowly over a period of time. This means that if you intake too many of them, particularly vitamins A and D, they can accumulate and cause toxic effects in the body.

The four types of fat soluble vitamins are A,D,E and K

Vitamin A – Retinol

Is a great antioxidant that strengthens the immune system, helps protect the body against disease, combats the effects of ageing and helps the development of skin, bone and teeth. Also vital in the maintenance of the eyes and assists with our night vision.

Good sources of Vitamin A include beef, chicken liver, eggs, and fish liver oils, and all dairy products including milk, yogurt, butter, and cheese.

Vitamin A can also be produced in the body by fat soluble nutrients called cartenoids such as beta carotene found in fruits and vegetables. Substantial amounts of beta carotene can be found in dark green leafy vegetables and deep yellow/orange vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and other winter squashes. Fruits like cantaloupe, apricots, peaches,and mangoes also contain beta carotene.

Vitamin D

Promotes strong teeth and bones, assists the heart and nervous system, the immune system and thyroid function. It also helps regulate levels of phosphorus in the body and assists blood clotting.

Vitamin D is present in fatty fish like mackerel, kipper, sardines, salmon, tuna and most of all in cod liver oil. Liver, egg yolk and butter are also good sources. Dark leafy vegetables do provide quantities of vitamin D but in smaller amounts.

The body can also produce sufficient quantities of vitamin D through exposure to natural sunlight. However, this must be done through direct exposure to sunlight and not filtered through glass windows or car windscreens. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun hits the skin and cholesterol from your body combine to create vitamin D.

Vitamin E

Is not only a powerful antioxidant in itself, but it also prevents other antioxidants in the body from oxidising, thus increasing their effectiveness. It helps prevent degenerative diseases such as heart disease, strokes, arthritis, senility, diabetes and cancer. It plays a huge part in the treatment of skin conditions and effectively combats the signs of ageing. Increases stamina and endurance, protects the lungs from pollutants and aids the production of red blood cells. Vitamin E is aslo known as the sex vitamin as it aids the production of sex hormones and boosts your sex drive.

Found in dark leafy vegetables like spinach, kale and other vegetables like carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, turnips, avocado, asparagus and yams. Beef, liver, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds and whole grains offer good supplies and oils such as olive, corn, cotton seed and soybean oils are rich in vitamin E. One of the most potent sources would be wheat germ.

Vitamin K

Plays a huge part in the control of blood clotting in the body and also promotes bone formation and maintenance.

Plentiful supplies of vitamin K are found in spinach and celery. Greens, broccoli, kale, cabbage, asparagus, and dark green lettuce. Liver, bacon, cheese and green tea are also great sources of this vitamin.

After studying the rich array of foods that provide good sources of these vitamins to keep our bodies and immune systems in top condition, it becomes obvious that a few foods keep springing up time and time again.

Broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, celery, asparagus, squashes, kale, nuts of all types, sunflower seeds, legumes – beans of all types, whole grains, wheat germ, potatoes, oily fish and other types of seafood, meat, eggs and dairy products to mention a few, all play major parts in obtaining our daily vitamins for the welfare of our bodies. It also becomes obvious that a wide variety of fruit is also essential for our bodies to remain healthy.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Beef, pork, poultry and organ meats like liver are great sources of vitamins, minerals and proteins etc. but all types of red and white meat and have been clinically proven to contribute to the growth of cancerous tumours.

Try to limit the amount of meat you have in your diet, and
AVOID ALL TYPES OF HEAVILY PROCESSED MEAT
like bacon, sausage, hot dogs, burgers, sandwich meat, packaged ham, pepperoni, salami and virtually all red meat used in frozen prepared meals. Also avoid meat in tinned foods like ravioli and soups along with pizza meats etc.

Heavily processed meat is shown to be the most carcinogenic as it contains large amounts of sodium nitrate which massively increases the risk of developing many forms of cancer.

Dairy products also contain many valuable nutrients but they too have been proved to increase the risk of cancer over a prolonged period of time. Dairy products also contain a large fat content, so try to ensure you limit your dairy intake and eat low fat dairy products.

Do your best to avoid white flour and white sugar products like white bread, sweets, cakes and buns.

Now you know what’s good for you and where to get it, try and vary your eating habits to include some or all of the foods mentioned in the above paragraphs and over a period of time work on cutting the junk food out of your life and replacing it with the good stuff.

Oats, brown rice, beans, legumes, green and yellow vegetables, nuts, fish and small amounts of meat and dairy will get you off to a good start.

Eating these foods will help you stay healthier, look better, live longer and feel great.

There’s no doubt that keeping up with all this can be a time consuming nightmare, and finding the time to shop, prepare, cook and eat a good vitamin rich diet can be tricky.

Vitamin and mineral supplements can go a long way in helping you overcome these difficulties and ensure your body gets what it needs to keep you healthy and perform at your best. The problem is, most dietary supplements people take are not properly absorbed into the body and therefore often wasted. That’s money down the drain.

Check back in a few days to see my guide on the best supplements to take and how to ensure they do what they are supposed to and our bodies get what they need.

Cheers.

Posted 09.01.09

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Minerals Guide – Essential Nutrients To Keep You Fit & Healthy

Kier — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:12:28 +0000

Most people don’t understand the importance of these amazing nutrients in our bodies. If you’ve already read my post on vitamins and minerals in our everyday lives, then you will have some idea of how vital they are to our health and well being.

Minerals are only needed in small quantities in the body, but they play a huge part in the maintaining the correct functions of just about every part of our complex systems.

Minerals

Each mineral is responsible for a great number of chemical reactions in the body, many are just to numerous to mention, but here’s my guide on what they are and their most important functions.

There are two types of minerals present in the human body. Macro minerals and micro minerals. Micro minerals are also known as trace elements or trace minerals.

Macro Minerals

Macro minerals are generally needed in quantities of 100mg/day or more and consist of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, and sulfur.

Calcium

Everyone knows that calcium is good for your teeth and bones, but it also assists muscle growth, lowers cholesterol, prevents osteoporosis, bowel and colon cancer. It prevents muscle cramps and aids normal blood clotting.

Phosphorus

Involved in kidney function, phosphorus helps the body convert food to energy, aids in bone and teeth formation and the contraction of the heart muscle.

Potassium

Potassium also regulates the contraction of the heart muscle and helps the transmission of signals across the nervous system. It promotes cell and muscle growth.

Sodium

Sodium aids the transmission of electrical impulses and the regulation of water content in tissue and blood. It also helps manufacture stomach acids which kill infections present in the food we eat.

Chloride

Regulates acidity in the body and fluid content in tissue and blood. Chloride helps create hydrochloric acid in the stomach.

Magnesium

Magnesium is responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It assists the body to absorb calcium and potassium and process vitamin D. It helps control blood pressure and blood sugar levels and promotes cellular metabolism and the production of energy.

Sulphur

Sulphur assists the immune system and helps rid the body of toxins. It fights the effects of ageing and age related diseases such as arthritis and helps build cartilage.

Micro or Trace Minerals

Trace minerals are also known as trace elements or micro minerals. These micro nutrients are found in unbelievably small quantities in the body, but are still vitally important.

Iodine

The thyroid gland uses iodine in the production of hormones which control our cholesterol levels, regulate how our bodies turn fat into energy and control our body weight.

Selenium

A powerful antioxidant which helps remove toxins from the body, increase energy levels and promotes antibody response to infections.

Manganese

Helps the body make use of other essential vitamins and minerals and promotes brain function.

Copper

Used in the formation of red blood cells, haemoglobin and bones.

Chromium

Helps maintain blood sugar and energy levels. It works with other substances in the body to help control insulin levels, enzymes and cholesterol levels.

Magnesium

Helps the body absorb calcium and potassium. Also stimulates bone and teeth formation, helps control blood pressure and energy production.

Molybdenum

Helps break down sulphite toxins in the body. Helps fight cavities and mouth and gum disorders.

Cobalt

Required to manufacture red blood cells and prevent anaemia.

Fluorine

Beneficial to dental health. Helps prevent dental cavities or caries.

Iron

Required for energy production, oxygenation of red blood cells, producing haemoglobin and a healthy immune system.

Zinc

Promotes a healthy immune system and the growth and maintenance of muscles, hair, nails and skin.

Deficiencies in these essential minerals and trace elements can cause a number of health problems ranging from minor ailments like colds, flu, aches and pains, high blood pressure, insomnia, nervousness etc. to major problems like depression, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, and that is only a few symptoms of calcium deficiency which is only one of elements shown above.

A deficiency in zinc will cause an immune system to perform poorly leaving a body more prone to infections, allergies, skin problems and more likely to suffer from sleep disturbances and other ailments..

Man Flu

Imagine how many people on this planet suffer on a daily basis from minor and major health issues due to a lack of proper nutrition where by many of these could be easily improved or even solved by simply ensuring their diets contain the correct minerals and trace elements it needs to function correctly.

It must be also noted that an excess of these minerals can also cause toxic or hazardous effects on the body, so care should be taken not to intake large quantities or supplements unless properly regulated.

All the above minerals can be found in a wide range of foods as shown in the examples in my article on vitamins, but for most of us finding the time to buy, cook and prepare the foods we need to get these nutrients on a regular basis can be a real problem, and even if we do manage to do this, how can we be sure we are getting the optimum daily doses from our food.

Check back over the next few days to find out which are the best and most effective mineral supplements on the market today and a few secrets about how you should take them to achieve maximum efficiency and well being for you and your family.

Mineral supplements guide coming soon.

Posted 10.01.09