Thors

Guides

Minerals
February 2012

Beta

thorsguides.wordpress.com thorfalk.wordpress.com

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com)

About Thor Falk

I am a 40-something father and husband who currently lives in France. I spent most of my working live so far @lying-high in professional services and @inance, based out of London, with a fair amount of travel. I had been a chubby teenager who struggled, more or less successfully, to keep his weight under control during school and university. However, the perks of my job working lunches, hotel breakfasts, too many drinks and a sedentary lifestyle had over the years taken their toll, and I ended up over 130kg at 186cm. Fat. And out of shape. I was of course always thinking about doing something about it I somehow just never did. Priorities! Until that one day when nothing really, actually. I started dieting, and I started working out, and I lost 20-30kg of body fat, gained some muscle, and I just started feeling better overall. It wasnt an easy journey, and was not without hiccups but I am content. One thing is very clear though: things would have been much simpler had I known then what I know now!

About Thors Guides

If you are on a quest to lose weight, to get @itter, and to generally improve your health especially after decades of abusing your body then there are a number of things you simply need to know about the functioning of the human body. Many people have ignored this, and they might have done more harm than good think yoyo-dieting, injuries, and lasting metabolic damage. You dont need to know everything there is you cant anyway but there is a minimum level of knowledge that everyone simply should have. I have been down that particular rabbit hole in fact, I am still in it and I spent a lot of time researching everything related to the human body. I have come across a lot of information too much, really and the Thors Guides series is my attempt to separate what is important from what isnt, in order to save you the time to rein- vent the wheel. To be clear: I am not promising an entertaining read. The information in Thors Guides is dense, and focused on the area at hand. I am in particular not usually providing much information why a certain piece of information is important, and how the whole puzzle @its together. This is part of a forthcoming project my book and the Guides will be an important part of that.

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com)

Disclaimer
You know that this had to come somewhere, so here it is: (1) Nothing in this book constitutes advice. The author is not licenced to advise in matters related to health, nutrition, and exercise, and he does not propose to do so. (2) The author has carefully researched the information provided in this publica- tion. Despite of this, this information could be false, and it the author can not be held responsible should such incorrect information cause damage, be it directly or indirectly. (3) The reader is advised to independently check all the information provided, especially if he or she relies on it in circumstances where damage could occur. In brief: whatever you do (or dont do), get all the information and advice you need, use your head, make your judgment, go for it, and take responsibility for what you are doing.

About Beta
Some of the Guides are in Beta. This means that I was not yet able to source and/ or verify some speci@ic of the speci@ic facts contained in the Guide, and that I therefore had to make some assumptions. I will usually point out where exactly this is the case. Whether or not a Guide is labelled Beta does not really make a difference. In ei- ther case, the Disclaimer and use-your-head-policy apply just a bit more so on the Beta Guides than on the more settled ones.

Good Luck, and Enjoy !!! -Thor Falk

Thor Falk 2010 Thor's Guides by Thor Falk are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at thorfalk.wordpress.com.

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com)

Dietary Minerals
Dietary minerals are sometimes separated into macro-minerals, which the hu- man body needs in larger quantities, and trace minerals. I have included both categories here, as in either case the quantities are small when compared to the macronutrients, and the distinction is somewhat academic. One issue with minerals is their bioavailability, or rather their variance in that respect: minerals appear naturally in many different con@igurations, and those con@igurations make a signi@icant difference as to how much of the mineral will end up in the blood, and how much will just pass through. To give a slightly tongue-in-cheek example, if you swallow a couple of pellets with your pheasant, you will not die of lead poisoning, even though an amount as low as 100mg would if fully dissolved lead to blood concentrations of 2000 g/dl, when 30 g/dl is an upper acceptable limit. Less extreme, but more relevant in practice, it has been found that the absorption of calcium from citrate is 2.5x higher than from carbonate. Any given mineral is generally used in various contexts in the body, and they in- teract amongst themselves, and with the other constituents of the body, in a highly complex manner. Correctly identifying imbalances without a lab test is near impossible even for an expert. In fact, even lab tests do not always help, as blood levels might be controlled by the body, and despite near-empty or overly- full stores, measured serum levels are within the range. And there is the issue of bioavailability discussed above, which on top of this is highly dependent on the context as well. This means that DIY supplementation with minerals is really hit and miss, and should be avoided if possible. This holds in particular for long-term supplemen- tation programs which should never be undertaken without adequate supervi- sion the body is often capable to deal with small and/or short term distur- bances reasonably well, but there will be a point-of-no-return after which lasting damage will be done. If experimenting with supplements, then at least care should be taken to avoid overdosing, especially on those where the potential ef- fects are more severe. It is also probably a good idea to monitor the effects and, if the supplementation does not seem to do anything, then probably continuing it is not a good idea at best it is a waste of money, at worst it is harmful.

Recommended intakes
In relation to vitamins, and other nutrients, there is a system of recommended intakes, which is slightly confusing. Food labelling all over the world refers to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), which were historically (since 1968) based on a system of Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs). The DRI is the

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com) amount considered to be suf@icient to meet the requirements of 97%-98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the USA. In 1997, the system of Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs; attention: similar ac- ronym, different meaning) was developed, of which the RDA is only one of the components. The other components are the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR; evidently this is below the RDA), the Adequate Intake (AI; calibrated at the same level as the RDA, but in cases where this number is less @irmly estab- lished), and the Upper Limit UL. In some cases the upper limit is Not Determined (ND) in which case arti@icial supplementation is not of@icially recommended. Note the ND does not necessarily mean that there is no toxicity in higher doses.

The minerals in detail

For minerals I have attempted to provide stock levels because I feel that they are one more piece in the puzzle. For example, calcium with 1kg of stock and an RDA of 1g is different from potassium with 150g of stock and about 5g of RDA: for the former, imbalances will take much longer to manifest themselves, and they will be much more dif@icult to correct. The issue with stock @igures is that like RDAs they are highly individual. Un- like RDAs however, which are all sourced from the of@icial recommendations in the US 1, there is no consistent system of measurements, or at least I have not found it. Unsurprisingly, different sources give different numbers, and the differ- ences are substantial. For potassium for example I have found numbers ranging from 0.2% to 0.4% of bodyweight, ie a relative difference of 100%. The point I am making is that the stock numbers I have provided have a rather wide margin of error and care should be taken interpreting them, but in my view even with this uncertainty they provide an important additional piece of information. Calcium (Ca): Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, the av- erage adult body containing in total about 1 kg (1.8%), 99% in the skeleton. The remainder is mainly in the extracellular @luid (ECF), including the blood. There is a vivid calcium exchange between skeleton and the @luids about 20x total ECF levels and 50x serum levels are changed in a 24h period, facilitating a very tightly controlled calcium concentration in the blood. Hypocalceamia a poten- tially life threating condition is not caused by insuf@icient calcium intake (it can be caused by vitamin D de@iciency however, and abnormal magnesium levels) but a pathological disorder, often related to the thyroid. It can be caused by an eating disorder. The situation for hypercalcemia is more or less the same. The DRI is 1g RDA/AI, and 2.5g UL. Potassium (K): Depending on the source of the estimates, the adult human body contains between 150-300g (0.2-0.4%)2 of potassium. It is the main intracellular
1 As an aside, this one-source-policy I have adopted for RDAs is not without issues, as different

countries can also have signi@icant differences in their recommendations

2 Estimates for potassium range from 0.2% to 0.4%: 0.25%, 0.4%, 0.2%

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com) ion for all types of cells, and it is important in maintaining @luid and electrolyte balance. Potassium and sodium are the major cations inside and outside cells re- spectively, and their concentration gradient is maintained by ion pumps in the cell membrane. It is responsible for the ability of cells to produce electrical dis- charge, which in turn is critical for neurotransmission and muscle contraction. Dietary potassium intake is insuf@icient in many Western diets, potentially lead- ing to a number of health problems such as stroke, osteoporosis, kidney stones, and hypertension. Acute potassium de@iciency (hypokalemia) however which can have serious consequences, up to and including death is not usually caused by insuf@icient intake, but by loss of potassium, eg through diarrhea. Hyperka- lemia a potentially fatal condition, especially due to its interference with the hear rhythm is not usually caused by excess oral intake, but for example by the inability of the kidneys to remove excess potassium. The DRI is 4.7g RDA/AI; the UL is ND. Phosphorous (P): The human body contains about 700g (1%) of phosphorous, ca 90% in bones and teeth. Of the remainder, most of it is employed in form of phosphate, which plays an important role in cellular processes, in particular in those related to metabolism. For example, ATP, the ultimate provider of energy, is a (tri-)phosphate. Both primary and secondary de@iciencies are possible, the former however only in connection with a very low intake of protein, as dietary protein an important source of phosphorous. Phosphorous exists in highly toxic con@igurations elemental phosphorous being one of them. This is of little rele- vance however for the con@igurations of phosphorous that are usually present in human nutrition. The DRI is 0.7g RDA/AI, and 4g UL. Chlorine (Cl): The human body contains about 100-150g (0.2%) of chlorine, primarily in the cerebrospinal @luid and in gastrointestinal secretions (in the form of hydrochloric acid). Chlorine is part of table salt, and hence ubiquitous in the human nutrition. Whilst oversupply of chlorine is generally considered un- healthy, no bona @ide toxicity has been established. Chlorine de@iciency in the adult is generally an acute condition, triggered for example by diarrhea, diuret- ics, vomiting or excessive sweating. It affects muscle function and respiration and it can lead, in some cases, to death. The DRI is 2.3g RDA/AI, and 3.6g UL. Sodium (Na): The human body contains about 100-150g (0.2%) of sodium. So- dium a constituent of table salt is an essential nutrient that regulates blood volume, blood pressure, osmotic equilibrium and acidity. Together with potas- sium it operates cellular sodium potassium pump that amongst other things gen- erates a cells electric potential (particularly important for nerve cells to transmit their signal), and controls the cells volume. With table salt being ubiquitous, primary de@iciency is not a concern, but acute secondary de@iciency can occur when the blood is diluted due to a condition like congestive heart failure, a mas- sive edema, or also vomiting or diarrhoea. It can also occur in (rare) cases of overhydration, for example when drinking water throughout an excessive effort (think marathon) without replenishing electrolytes. Outright toxicity is not an issue at quantities that can be reasonably consumed (cases of toxicity occur nev- 6

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com) ertheless), but negative health implications of an oversupply which is endemic in Western diets have been established (eg, high blood pressure). The DRI is 1.5g RDA/AI, and 2.3g UL. Magnesium (Mg): Magnesium is present in every cell in every organism, a total of almost 25g (NOTE: 0.06%) in the adult body, with 60% of this in the skeleton, and almost all the remainder intracellular. For example, ATP (discussed in the chapter on energy systems) is only biologically active when bound to a magne- sium ion. Over 300 enzymes require the presence of magnesium for their cata- lytic action, and it plays an important role in transport processes across cellular membranes. Magnesium de@iciency can lead to hyper excitability, dizziness, mus- cle weakness and fatigue. In more severe cases it can lead to hypocalcemia and hypokalemia3 , retention of sodium, low circulating levels of parathyroid hor- mone, and neurological and muscular symptoms (eg tremor, spasms, tetany) in- cluding heart arrhythmia and failure. Magnesium plays an important role in car- bohydrate metabolism, and its de@iciency may worsen insulin resistance. In healthy individuals, excess magnesium is rapidly excreted in the urine. The DRI is 400mg RDA/AI, and 300mg UL4 . Iron (Fe): The human body contains about 4-5g of iron, a bit more than half of it in the haemoglobin in the blood, and the remainder in ferritin stores that are in all cells, but particularly in bone marrow, liver, and spleen. Iron de@iciency @irst attacks those stores in the body, with little negative effect. When those stores are depleted, the blood is affected, and iron de@iciency anaemia usually results. One important reason for iron de@iciency other than chronic undersupply is blood loss. Absorption of dietary iron is overall rather inef@icient, with absorption from animal sources being more ef@icient than from plant sources (15-35% vs 10- 20%). The body is able to down-regulate intake considerably in case of oversup- ply, so iron toxicity is (in the healthy individual) generally only a problem under extreme supplementation, which can lead to metabolic acidosis, and possibly to coma and death. For more moderate, longer-term exposure (or in case of certain illnesses), iron overload can also become a problem where excess iron is depos- ited in certain organs (eg liver, pancreas, heart, joints, testes) leading to func- tional deterioration. The DRI is 8mg RDA/AI, and 45mg UL. Zinc (Zn): The stock of Zinc in the adult human body is typically 2-4g. It is the only metal that appears in all enzyme classes. . Unsurprisingly, given the number of contexts in which it appears, the symptoms of Zinc de@iciency are very varied., There is a paucity of adequate zinc biomarkers, so diagnosing zinc de@iciency is generally dif@icult. It interacts with other micronutrients in a complex manner, making appropriate supplementation dif@icult. Excess zinc can be harmful, mainly because it suppresses copper and iron absorption, and also because of corrosive properties of the free zinc ion. The DRI is 11mg RDA/AI, and 40mg UL.
3 Low blood concentration of calcium and potassium, respectively 4 In various sources magnesium UL is lower than RDA (here, here, here,) which does not make a

lot of sense to me, but I have as of yet still @ind the explanation

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com) Iodine (I): The stock of iodine in the adult human body is around 0.15g (0.0002%). Its main role in the body is as a constituent of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Iodine and selenium interact in the human body in a complex manner. Iodine de@iciency gives rise to hypothyroid- ism, symptoms of which are extreme fatigue, goitre, mental slowing, depression, weight gain, and low basal body temperatures. De@iciency has been traditionally a problem all over the world, but more recently the addition of iodine to table salt has largely eliminated this problem in the West. Iodine exists in a number of highly toxic con@igurations, including elemental iodine which is a disinfectant, and where 2-3g is a lethal dose. More important from a nutritional point of view is that an excess supply of iodine ions leads to similar symptoms as iodine de@i- ciency. The DRI is 0.15mg RDA/AI (higher for women and almost twice that for breast-feeding mothers), and 1.1mg UL. Copper (Co): Copper is part of a number of proteins and enzymes (eg cellular energy, nerve transmission, blood clotting, oxygen transport). It is is necessary for the proper growth, development, and maintenance for example of bone, con- nective tissue, brain, heart and red blood cells. It is involved in the absorption and utilization of iron, the metabolism of cholesterol and glucose, the immune system (both @ighting infections and repairing injured tissues). Copper is abun- dant, making primary copper de@iciency rare. Secondary de@iciency however can develop for example due to gastric bypass surgery, or overconsumption of zinc. Copper is toxic in high concentrations, eg caused by cooking acidic food in un- lined copper cookware. The DRI is 0.9mg RDA/AI (1.2mg according to NHS), and 10mg UL. Manganese (Mn): The stock of Manganese in the human body is about 12- 15mg, mainly in the bones, then liver and kidneys. It is required for the opera- tions of broad classes of enzymes that are for example used in cell metabolism, as well as for general synthetic processes in the body. In humans, manganese de- @iciency is rare. Manganese is toxic, which at lower doses manifests itself in neu- rodegenerative disorders. At higher doses it can become lethal. The DRI is 2.3mg RDA/AI, and 11mg UL. Selenium (Se): The stock of selenium in the human body is about 10-15mg. It is prevalent in an enzyme found in the white blood cells and platelets, which are important for the bodys immune function. It is also found in muscles, liver, kid- neys, and heart. Selenium is toxic in high doses, leading to a condition called selenosis. Chronic toxic doses are high when compared to the RDA (>2000g versus 55 g) and hence of little relevance in terms of nutrition. Selenium de@i- ciency is rare in healthy humans, but if it occurs the consequences can be severe. The DRI is 55g RDA/AI in the US (75g in the UK), and 400g UL. Molybdenum (Mo): The stock of selenium in the human body is 5mg(65ppb), mainly in liver and kidneys, and also in vertebrae and teeth. Its most important roles is as a part of a number of enzymes. De@iciency is not usually an issue in the West. Molybdenum has been shown toxic in animal experiments, albeit in doses

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com) unachievable with natural food. There is no data on human toxicity. However, doses of 10mg/day did lead to signi@icant adverse effects. The DRI is 45g RDA/ AI, and 2mg UL. Chromium (Cr): It is not clear whether or not Chromium is an essential element in human nutrition: According to the NHS it is (as of March 2011), with an RDA of 25g per day. Recent research (from 2011) however claims to have shown that this is not the case. Toxicity has not been established, and an intake of up to 10mg is unlikely to cause any harm. The NHS considers supplementation unnec- essary. Boron (Bo): Boron de@iciency has been described in animal studies, but not in humans. A normal intake from a Western diet is between 2-4mg. Supplementa- tion is not recommended, but doses <6mg in supplements are not thought to cause any harm. Taken in high doses over extended periods of time however it is thought to reduce fertility in men.

Minerals Thors Guides (thorsguides.wordpress.com)

Beta

Table Dietary Minerals

Mineral Calcium (Ca) Potassium (K) Phosphorous (P) Chlorine (Cl) Sodium (Na) Magnesium (Mg) Iron (Fe) Zinc (Zn) Iodine (I) Copper (Co) Manganese (Mn) Selenium (Se) Molybdenum (Mo) Chromium (Cr) Boron (Bo) Nickel (Ni) DeDi- Toxicity Stock ciency N y 1.3kg N N N N N N N N N N p N N N N Y y n n NE y Y Y y Y Y y NE y y 300g 750g 150g 150g 45g 5g 3g 0.15g 0.1g 15mg 15mg 5mg n/a n/a n/a %BW 1.8% 0.4% 1% 0.2% 0.2% 65ppm 40ppm 2ppm 1.3ppm 200ppb 200ppb 65ppb n/a n/a n/a RDA 1g 4.7g 0.7g 2.3g 1.5g 8mg 11mg 0.15mg 0.9mg 2.3mg 55g 45g 25g* n/a n/a %BW 13ppm 60ppm 10ppm 30ppm 20ppm 5ppm 100ppb 150ppb 2ppb 12ppb 30ppb 0.75ppb 0.6ppb 0.3ppb n/a n/a UL 2.5g ND 4g 3.6g 2.3g 350mg 45mg 40mg 1.1mg 10mg 11mg 400g 2mg 10mg* 6mg* n/a %BW 33ppm ND 55ppm 50ppm 30ppm 5ppm 600ppb 530ppb 15ppb 130ppb 150ppb 5ppb 27ppb 130ppb 80ppb n/a

600ppm 400mg

DeQiciency: For Western countries only; N=not prevalent; P/p=signiQicant/some cases of primary deQiciency; S/s=signiQicant/some cases of secondary deQiciency Toxicity: Y = yes, close to RDA; y = yes, but far from the RDA; n = no, except extremely far from the RDA; NE = Not established. Note that only toxicity from conQigurations usually found in human nu- trition is taken into account. For example, many metals are toxic in their elemental form Stock: approximate amount present in the adult human body, RDA: Recommended daily intake under the DRI system UL: Upper limit under the DRI system (ND = Not Documented) %BW: Stock / RDA / UL as percentage of body weight (assumed at 75 kg), or in parts-per-million/ billion (ppm/ppb) of bodyweight (100ppm = 0.01% = 7.5g; 1,000ppb = 1ppm = 75mg) * Those Qigures are sourced from NHS recommendations n/a: not available DISCLAIMER: The usual disclaimer applies here in particular. Before you decide to supplement with minerals especially in higher doses you should really seek professional advice. Just because no toxicity has been established does not mean that something is good, and, in any case, Dosis sola venenum facit the dose alone makes the poison (Paracelsus). Use your head! Beta: This Guide and in particular this table is in Beta, in the sense that I am not sure that I am able to give a consistent set recommendations, mainly because such a consistent set does not seem to be publicly available. One key takeaway here is that many health agencies eg the UK NHS do not seem to feel that supplementation in minerals is not necessary which is in obvious contradiction (or not) with the fact that the market for mineral supplements is huge.

10