Minerals are of immense importance to your physical and mental well being, and the food containing them are crucial for your body and soul. Some minerals are even called "essential" for a reason (es·sen·tial: something basic, something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable; being a substance that is not synthesized by the body in a quantity sufficient for normal health and growth, and that must be obtained from the diet).
Your body does not produce some minerals or may not have them in the proper amounts. Lack of minerals can result in countless physical and mental disorders and illnesses, unless you regulate and balance the minerals by consuming certain foods daily.
Effects Of Keto Flu
In this blog post, we shall look into four critical minerals for those individuals on keto diet. Unbalance of these minerals (electrolytes) is the main cause for keto flu.
Sodium and potassium, magnesium and calcium
Sodium (Na) and Potassium (K) Go Together Like Yin and Yang.
Sodium and potassium are the two primary electrolytes in your body, working together to maintain fluid balance in cells, blood plasma and extracellular fluid. Potassium is found primarily inside cells, and sodium is the main electrolyte in extracellular fluid. You get high blood pressure by consuming too much sodium and not enough potassium.
When sodium levels go up, potassium levels go down, and adversely, when sodium levels go down, potassium levels go up. Potassium levels are also affected by a hormone called aldosterone produced by the adrenal glands.
Importance of Potassium (K)
Potassium is essential for the function of the living cells. It is your body's main mechanism for the transmission of neuron signals, and is also essential for the cardiac system. Without potassium, your heart and muscles would not function properly.
We recommend 3.500 milligrams of daily potassium intake for adults. Here are some of the foods we (COMFORT KETO) use often in our recipes:
You can snag 15% of your daily value of potassium with 1 fresh cup of sliced avocado.
Winter squash offers 896 mg per cup (about 20% of your daily value of potassium). It is rich with antioxidants, specifically carotenoids which have been shown to reduce cancer risk.
Broccoli delivers almost 10% of your recommended daily value of potassium with each cup. With broccoli, you also load up on over 100% of your Vitamin C and valuable amounts of folic acid, Vitamin A, and cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Double stained Greek yogurt is a great source of potassium, incorporating over 10% of your recommended daily value. Yogurt is known for its high Vitamin D and calcium content too which builds healthy bones and helps combat osteoporosis.
One whole medium tomato offers about 8% of your daily value, along with appreciable amounts of Vitamins A, C, and B-6 as well as dietary fiber.
A single cup of carrots will get you 390 mg of potassium. They are high in vitamin A, making them great for the skin, the eyes and even the brain.
You’ll get 323 mg of potassium from a single cup of sliced mushrooms.
Besides being a source of omega 3 and protein, fish is a great source of potassium.
Sodium (Na)
Sodium regulates the blood volume, blood pressure, osmotic equilibrium and pH. It has a significant influence on the clarity of all our senses.
Sodium is crucial for neuron function and the regulation between cells and the extracellular fluid.
Sodium is found in eggs, meat, seafood, carrot, cauliflower, celery, and turnip. We use all these foods frequently in COMFORT KETO recipes.
The daily amount of sodium is 500 milligrams, although most of the people use four times more than its optimum. One teaspoon of edible salt contains 2.000 milligrams (2 grams) of sodium. Studies show that folks consume the excessive amount of 9 grams of salt every day.
Magnesium (Mg) Is Actually The Key To Your Body’s Proper Absorption and Use Of Calcium (Ca).
Calcium and magnesium are two minerals that are essential to your health and an imbalance or deficiency of any of the two can cause serious problems. They work together in many functions, such as regulating heartbeat, muscle tone and contraction, and nerve conduction. Some of these issues related to calcium and magnesium deficiencies are headaches, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, tics, psoriasis, acne and eczema, asthma, blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes and so on.
Where Can You Find Magnesium (Mg)?
Magnesium is important for more than three hundred reasons, that is, for more than three hundred chemical reactions in the body. Most of the people are familiar with its impact on the nervous and immune system.
Along with calcium, magnesium is also important for our bone density. The fact that 50 percent of magnesium is found in our bones while the other half is found in the organ tissue and cells, magnesium should gain more popularity and promotion.
If you consume too much calcium, without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing painful conditions in the body and calcification of the joints and even the brain.
Magnesium's role is also to keep the rhythm of the heart steady and to regulate the blood sugar level and blood pressure. Its benefits for our organism vary being one of the minerals responsible also for protein synthesis and metabolism in general.
COMFORT KETO recipes use foods rich in magnesium. First, there are green vegetables. Nuts and seeds are rich in magnesium as well. One ounce of dry-roasted mixed nuts provides 64 milligrams of magnesium.
The daily value of magnesium is 300-400 mg (men, women respectively).
Why Do You Need Calcium (Ca)?
Calcium is the key mineral for strong and healthy bones. Lack of this mineral results in many different bone illnesses; osteoporosis being the most common among them. Calcium is a material used in mineralization of bones and teeth. Its importance is also recognized in the role it plays in blood flow and in the release of enzymes and hormones.
COMFORT KETO recipes feature several calcium containing foods, for instance, cheese, yogurt, fish, and nuts.
The daily amount of calcium depends on your age. Adults should take daily between 1.000 and 1.300 mg.
A cup of double strained Greek yogurt contains 700 mg of calcium.