Beautifying Minerals

Mineralisation is a key element to naturally achieve beautiful and healthy skin. Clear, glowing skin, strong nails, shiny hair and bright eyes, are all signs of a healthy, well-nourished and deeply-mineralised body.

 

In this article, we explain how you can improve the health and appearance of your skin by incorporating mineral-rich foods into your diet, as a complement of your external skin care. We elaborate on five minerals that have a particularly important role in beauty and healthy skin and give a few other suggestions that will help you to become more deeply mineralised.

 

 

Minerals are nutrients required for every body function, from activating muscles and nerves, to digestion, energy production as well as all healing and regeneration activities of the body.

 

According to research, there are 92 minerals that play a positive role in human nutrition. At least ten of them are major minerals (such as sulphur, calcium, iron, magnesium, etc.) and the rest are trace minerals (zinc, selenium, manganese, etc.)

 

However, most of us are deficient in vital minerals due to the low mineral content of most of our foods. Did you know that practically all our food today is lower in trace minerals than it was a hundred years ago? A study by Dr Weston Price found that healthy primitive tribes ate five to ten times the amount of minerals than we do.

 

The deficiency in our foods stems from modern agricultural practices which do not replenish all the minerals in the soil. Fertilisers are applied but they do not contain all the trace minerals we require. Most crops are bred for higher yields, better taste or appearance, hardiness or bug resistance, but they are rarely bred for a higher mineral content.

 

Mineral-deficient food is one of the main causes of all the health problems that we have today. Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel prizes, said, “You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency."

 

The good news is, there are natural ways to become more deeply mineralised. With a few small changes, especially in your diet, you can experience an overall improvement in health and energy. Eating a mineral-rich diet will gradually benefit your skin too, as gradually “lower-grade” materials and tissues are discarded to make room for new, healthier and more radiant skin.

 

 

 

Silicon is a mineral with remarkable healing, regenerative and beautifying properties. It is highly concentrated in hair and nails, and is also present in skin, teeth, connective tissue, muscles, bones, cartilage and lungs.

 

Silicon has the incredible ability to transform into calcium. Therefore, a silicon-rich diet leads to an increase in bone mineral density, beautiful teeth and jaw formation, and helps to reduce tooth and gum decay.

 

Studies have shown that the oral and external application of silicon improves the condition of aging skin, hair, and nails in women. Silicon increases the thickness and strength of the skin, improves wrinkles, and gives hair and nails a healthier appearance.

 

Silicon plays an important part in the formation of connective tissue. Consequently, it helps to maintain the elastic quality of the skin, tendons and generally, of cell walls.

 

You can increase your intake of silicon, by consuming the following silicon-rich foods: cucumbers (with skin), bell pepper (with skin), tomatoes (with skin), radish, romaine lettuce, marjoram and nopal cactus.

 

 

Sulphur is also known as “The Beauty Mineral”, because it is an essential component in the formation of collagen, elastin, cartilage and keratin. Sulphur gives flexibility, tone and strength to muscles, bones, joints, internal membranes and especially to the skin, hair and nails.

 

Adequate levels of sulphur in the body help to promote a radiant complexion, glowing skin and mineralised hair. However, research has found that most people are deficient in sulphur and that deficiency increases with age.

 

Foods high in sulphur include: rocket (arugula), broccoli, kale, mustard leaves, pumpkin seeds, watercress, spirulina, brussel sprouts, hot chillies, onions and radishes.

 

Therefore it is recommended to take MSM supplement (Methyl Sulphonyl-Methane), a nutritional form of sulphur. Many people who take MSM on a regular basis report that their skin looks and feels better and also, that their overall health has improved.

 

MSM is formed naturally as a by-product of algae growing in the oceans and then is evaporated into the clouds. With rain, it falls to the Earth and becomes food and nutrition for all living organisms. MSM is highly concentrated in plants watered by rain, such as pine bark, wild grasses, aloe vera, etc. MSM is extracted from these plants and is available in supplemental crystal powder form.

 

MSM helps to promote elasticity, healing and repair. It makes cell walls more permeable, allowing nutrients and water to flow freely into cells. It also helps wastes and toxins to flow out. Click here to see our article about the benefits of MSM.

 

 

Zinc is necessary for the proper function of several enzymatic functions important for healthy skin. Zinc is essential for a beautiful skin complexion since it is necessary for the functioning of enzymes that digest damaged collagen and rebuild new collagen.

 

Zinc promotes cell division, repair and growth. It helps the lymphatic system to oxygenate the tissues and eliminate wastes properly.

 

It also works synergistically with other minerals and vitamins. For instance, Zinc in combination with sulphur and vitamin A, helps to build strong hair.

 

You can naturally increase the levels of zinc in your body with consuming the following zinc-rich foods (preferably raw): pumpkin seeds, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, coconuts and pine nuts.

 

 

Iron is one of the most active elements in the human system while manganese plays an important role in the formation of cartilage, bone and connective tissue.

 

We have put iron and manganese together because they have many similar qualities. They help to oxygenate the skin, blood, nerves and brain cells. They are important in building and nourishing the tissues.

 

Some natural sources of iron and manganese include: onions, parsley, spinach, most dark green leafy vegetables, seaweed, hemp seeds, almonds, and many unsprouted seeds.

 

 

a) Choose organic: Eating organic food helps enormously. A US study found that organic produce purchased randomly at health food stores had an average of five times the mineral content compared to conventional produce.

 

b) Include sea vegetables in your diet as often as you can: Kelp, dulse, wakame, and other sea vegetables, are mineral-rich, wild foods. As a wild food, they possess the strengthening, vital life principle lost in domesticated "weak" foods. This vital life principle can be correlated to minerals. All wild foods, in fact, possess more minerals than their domesticated counterparts. Sea vegetables are the most mineral-rich foods found in health food shops.

 

c) If you grow vegetables, enrich them by watering with diluted ocean water: To do this, dilute your plants' water with ten parts regular water to one part ocean water. The ocean naturally contains all 92 minerals, so this practice will nourish the soil, the minerals will be absorbed by the plants (which will become impervious to diseases) and you will be enjoying foods that will have only the minerals that you need!

 

d) Avoid de-mineralised foods such white flour, white rice, white sugar, refined table salt and all artificial or chemical foods. These have been stripped of a significant amount of their trace minerals. It is best to skip them altogether in order to maintain adequate mineral levels.

 

e) Be cautious with the intake of colloidal minerals or mineral supplements. Ingesting daily large quantities of colloidal minerals in liquid form and/or mineral supplements can create trace mineral overdose. The only exception to this is MSM where no signs of overdose have ever been found. If minerals are acquired from foods, toxic overdoses are not possible.

 

f) Reduce your exposure to toxins. Nowadays, we are exposed to high levels of toxic metals and toxic chemicals never before seen on this planet. Changing your diet, breathing clean air and avoiding toxic products help reduce your exposure to toxins. Other methods include removing dental amalgams and moving to a cleaner home or work environment if necessary.

 

 

One last point. There are differing views about whether minerals are better assimilated through eating cooked or raw foods. On the one hand, some nutritionists point out that cooking helps to break down fibres, releasing minerals and allowing better utilization of the food. On the other, raw food experts argue that mineral-rich raw foods contain their minerals in their correct proportionate arrangements, making them more assimilable by the body, while cooking disrupts this mineral organization.

 

Our own experience is that some people are able to assimilate mineral-rich foods in their raw state but for others, cook food works better. Our recommendation is that you do your own research and see what works best for you.

 

©Raw Gaia, 2007 – The world’s first full range of living, organic and vegan skin care products