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Minerals In Vegetables And Fruits That Are Essential For Health
Minerals In Vegetables And Fruits That Are Essential For Health

Video: Minerals In Vegetables And Fruits That Are Essential For Health

Video: Minerals In Vegetables And Fruits That Are Essential For Health
Video: Important minerals you need and the foods that contain them 2024, March
Anonim

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Eat to your health. Part 2

Vegetables contain salts of more than 100 chemical elements, and cabbage alone contains 50 (almost half of Mendeleev's periodic table), which enhance physiological processes in the human body.

Cabbage
Cabbage

In bread, meat and fats, these minerals are insignificant. Moreover, vegetables are valuable sources of alkaline minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium). Their deficiency leads to a violation of the acid-base balance of blood and other physiological fluids, which results in a decrease in efficiency and a decrease in the body's defenses.

Our bones are the largest consumers of minerals - calcium and phosphorus. It is incorrectly believed that once the skeleton is formed, bone nutrition ceases. Even in a fully formed body, minerals are constantly supplied to the bones. Nutrition is especially important in fractures for bone healing. Calcium, phosphorus, manganese are not only part of the bone tissue, but also activate the heart.

Calcium contributes to the formation and strengthening of bones and teeth, regulates the processes of normal activity of the nervous and cardiac systems in the body, muscle contraction. It is also required for blood clotting. Calcium affects muscle contractility, the acid-base reaction of the body, activates various enzymes, and affects the endocrine system. It increases the body's defenses, has an anti-inflammatory effect.

A decrease in the level of calcium in the blood leads to its excretion from the bones into the blood, causing osteoporosis. In children, the skeleton does not develop properly, resulting in rickets. Lack of calcium also manifests itself in increased excitability, irritability, increased fragility of nails, insomnia, hypertension, numbness of hands and feet, tachycardia, soreness of the gums, in children - in slowing growth.

An adult needs calcium 0.8-1 g per day! Vegetables contain a little of it - from 20 to 80 mg per 100 g of product. The richest in calcium are turnips, lettuce, beets.

Phosphorus is involved in metabolic reactions. This chemical element contributes to the rapid release of energy in tissues, muscle contraction, and also regulates the activity of the nervous system. It improves brain function. In combination with calcium, it is needed by the body to build and strengthen bones and teeth. Phosphorus is abundant in parsley leaves, corn, and green peas.

Manganese is involved in protein and energy metabolism, activates some enzymes, affects the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, helps to obtain energy from food, and promotes the correct metabolism of sugars in the body. A lot of manganese is found in salad and spinach.

There is a lot of iron in the hemoglobin of the blood. It takes part in the transfer of oxygen by red blood cells in the body, and is also part of some enzymes. The iron found in fruits and vegetables purifies the blood. It is especially necessary for pregnant women and the elderly. A lot of iron is found in melon, spinach, pumpkin, sorrel and apples.

Potassium and sodium are involved in maintaining the normal acid-base balance of the body. Potassium is also essential for normal heart function and body development. It stimulates the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles. Diets with a high potassium content promote increased urination, which is effective in kidney failure. This element is also useful for chronic respiratory diseases (bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma).

A decrease in the potassium content in the blood leads to muscle weakness, apathy, drowsiness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, decreased urination, constipation, arrhythmias, bradycardia.

An increase in potassium in the body leads to the excretion of sodium and fluid from it. Potassium is rapidly absorbed from the intestines, and its excess is quickly eliminated in the urine. The need for an adult in potassium 2-5 g per day

The richest in potassium are potatoes, Brussels sprouts, turnips, rhubarb, stachis, spinach, sorrel, corn and parsley leaves. Most vegetables contain 200-300 mg of potassium per 100 g.

squash
squash

An adult needs only 3-6 g of sodium. This means that this is exactly how much table salt should be consumed per day, and not 20-30 g, as many do. In the human body, it gives an alkaline reaction, but delays water exchange, thickens the blood, disrupts metabolic processes. A high level of consumption of table salt can provoke migraines, an asthmatic attack, the appearance of hemorrhoids (from excess sodium, fluid is retained in the circulatory system, which can cause swelling of veins in the anus). Limiting salt intake should also be in osteoporosis. With excessive use of salt, there are diseases of the kidneys, bladder, heart, blood vessels, dropsy, and hypertension. It should be remembered that the chlorine that is part of the salt is the strongest poison, which together with sodium causes the same health problems. However, you should not completely exclude salt from the diet, especially large gray,as it plays an important role in replacing old cells in the body with young ones.

All vegetables are low in sodium, which is especially valuable in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis and hypertension, as well as kidney diseases, especially salt deposits.

Magnesium lowers blood cholesterol. It helps to increase immunity, has a vasodilating and antispastic effect, increases the secretion of bile, stimulates intestinal peristalsis, participates in the metabolic process, promotes the conversion of sugars into energy, regulates muscle activity and normal excitability of the nervous system. Magnesium prevents the formation of kidney stones, is involved in the formation of bones and tooth enamel.

With a lack of magnesium in the body, the calcium content in the walls of the arteries, heart, kidneys can increase, which affects health. Magnesium deficiency first leads to fatigue, frequent headaches, loss of attention, increased sensitivity to atmospheric changes, leading to bone pain. Then tachycardia, interruptions in the work of the heart with severe pain, insomnia, morning fatigue, even after a long sleep, tearfulness, stomach pains, a feeling of heaviness in the body, sudden dizziness, loss of balance, the appearance of flickering dots in front of the eyes, twitching of the eyelids, muscle spasms, tingling and stiffness of muscles, hair loss and brittle nails.

With an excess of magnesium in the body, lethargy, drowsiness, hypotension, bradycardia are possible.

The average daily intake of magnesium is 600-800 mg, during pregnancy, lactation and growth, the dose is increased by one and a half times.

Vegetables contain magnesium from 10 to 40 mg per 100 g. All types of cabbage, especially broccoli, spinach, artichoke, turnip, lettuce, and beets, accumulate this element more than others.

Copper is essential for the proper blood formation process. It promotes the absorption of iron by the body for the formation of hemoglobin. Copper is necessary for a person for the normal functioning of the respiratory system. She takes part in the synthesis of protein and enzymes.

With a lack of copper in food, a person develops an increased level of cholesterol, anemia, pigmentation of the skin and hair, hair loss, rash, fatigue, frequent infections, depression, osteoporosis, and diarrhea.

The daily requirement for copper is 1-3 mg. You should also know that aspirin interferes with the absorption of copper from food. Unfortunately, it destroys vitamin C.

The highest copper content is in potatoes. There is not much copper in vegetables (about 0.1 mg per 100 g). The richest in it are eggplants, tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, rutabagas, beets, celery, lettuce, as well as dogwood, forest apples, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, beer, pearl barley.

Iodine is a biostimulant and immunostimulant. It is important for thyroid hormones, which regulate cellular metabolism, in which it is concentrated. This element is a part of hormones that regulate metabolism, activates the breakdown of cholesterol, regulates the function of the cardiovascular system, prevents an increase in blood clotting and the formation of blood clots. It is important for the normal functioning of the nervous system, growth and body resistance to adverse external conditions. The cells that produce thyroxinal hormone need iodine. With a lack of iodine, the thyroid gland experiences a constant lack of it and cannot function properly for this reason.

Iodine deficiency contributes to the development of goiter, various tumors and cysts, an increase in body weight, causes general weakness, increased fatigue, drowsiness, headaches, dry mouth and skin, chills, frequent colds, hypotension, bradycardia, decreased sex drive in men and violation of the menstrual cycle in women. Children have poor brain development. They have a lag in mental and physical development. The daily requirement for iodine is 100-150 mcg (up to 300!).

Vegetables contain a small amount of iodine. A lot of iodine is found in spinach, watercress. During cooking and long-term storage of products, up to 60% of iodine is lost.

Selenium together with vitamin E protects our body at the cellular level. It acts as an antioxidant like vitamin E but does not replace or interact with it. Selenium affects the factor of reproduction and maturation of germ cells, but, most importantly, it retards the growth and development of cancer cells in the body, and also inhibits the deformation of normal cells. Selenium increases the body's resistance to viruses and fungi, and destroys mold. It is necessary for the body in thousandths of a gram. Refined food does not contain it. It is found in wheat bran, wheat germ, garlic and horseradish, as well as in yarrow and chalice. Jerusalem artichoke, parsley, celery, dill are rich in selenium.

Zinc is essential for normal bone development and tissue repair. It promotes the assimilation and activation of B vitamins. Most of all zinc is found in spinach and zucchini seeds.

For the normal functioning of the gonads and the synthesis of hormones, trace elements such as copper, selenium, zinc, and iron are needed.

Such a valuable element as gold, which has a calming effect on the nervous system, is contained in a single plant - corn, and in the form of soluble and, therefore, assimilated compounds by our body.

kohlrabi
kohlrabi

Minerals of meat, fish and grain products during digestion give acidic compounds. Vegetables, on the other hand, contain physiologically alkaline salts, which maintain in the body the ratio of acids and alkalis necessary for normal metabolism, as well as the alkaline reaction of the blood. To neutralize acidic substances accumulated in the human body in connection with the consumption of meat, fish, cheese, bread, various cereals, it is necessary to introduce alkaline reaction products with food. Especially a lot of alkaline salts in spinach, as well as cucumber, root vegetables, kohlrabi, beans, lettuce and potatoes, eggplants and even tomatoes. Often, people suffering from heartburn escape it by eating fresh cucumber or carrots in their natural form.

By the way, the content of minerals in vegetables can be increased 3-10 times by applying appropriate fertilizers to the soil during the main dressing or in top dressing (both root and foliar), as well as soaking seeds in the salts of these elements before sowing.

To be continued →

Read the Eat for Health serie

:

  1. Nutritional value of vegetables
  2. Minerals in vegetables and fruits that are essential for health
  3. What vitamins vegetables provide us with
  4. What vitamins vegetables provide us with. Continuation
  5. Vitamin content in plant foods
  6. The content of vitamins, enzymes, organic acids, phytoncides in vegetables
  7. The value of vegetables in nutritional care, vegetable diets
  8. Vegetable diets for various diseases

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