Mineral Supplements: Do They Make Sense?

There are over a dozen trace elements we need in our diets: iron, iodine, sodium, potassium, chloride, copper, and many others. Because some of these minerals are not easy to include in our diets, we're often tempted to add supplements to our diets. But are mineral supplements really the way to go?

When To Take Mineral Supplements

Most of the time, we take mineral supplements in order to correct a specific deficiency. Perhaps the most common of these is anemia - a deficiency in iron that cuases low red blood cell counts. The problem is, not all iron supplements are the same, and even if they were, it's often difficult for the body to absorb them in highly concentrated forms. This is a problem with bioavailability, a term that refers to the amount of a substance that the body can realistically absorb from any given substance. For instance, a friend of mine has a form of anemia found only in Native Americans. Her system could not absorb iron from most foods in sufficient amounts to fulfill her needs. Worse, every supplement she tried gave her inadequate amounts as well. Finally, she found a high-iron liquid supplement that made the iron she needed available to her.

Specific deficiencies like this are not the only reason to take mineral supplements. Pregnant women have increased needs for several minerals in order to support their fetuses, provide the newborn with adequate supplies to last him for a few weeks, and still provide for her own body. In some diseases, also, specific minerals can help the body boost its immune system, reducing the risk of disease and infection.

Anyone on a very low-calorie diet (1200 calories or less) almost certainly needs mineral supplementation, though the supplement will never be as bioavailable as it would have been if eaten in foods. And women who have exceptionally heavy menstrual period benefit from an iron supplement.

When Mineral Supplements Are Not A Good Idea

The problem is, many people think that if these minerals are good for you, adding more is even better for you. Supplements are not always good. Calcium, iron, iodine, fluoride - all these trace minerals, while critical in small doses, can cause serious illness in larger doses and even lead to death.

If you don't have a specific need for a mineral, you probably should not supplement with it. There are plenty of diet plans and health store clerks who will contradict this, telling you that increasing selenium or chromium can help you lose weight and build muscle mass. The problem is, these extra minerals have not been proven helpful in large doses. Worse, many have been shown to cause adverse effects if you take too much of them. And with a single-mineral supplement, you are much more likely to take too much.

If you don't remember anything else about taking mineral supplements, remember this: if you must take them, a multivitamin with minerals will rarely cause toxic levels of any given mineral. Claims of organic, natural, or high potency should never be considered a selling point; if you want organic, natural vitamins, you should get them from vegetables and fruit, and high potency may also mean poison.