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Sources of minerals and trace elements and their uses

Calcium

function in body: Growth and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones; nerve function; blood clotting; muscle contraction; metabolises iron.

sources: Fish (especially those eaten with bones); soybeans; dairy products; almonds; sesame seeds; sunflower seeds; watercress; fortified cereals. Vitamin D facilitates uptake. effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis.

Chromium (trace element)

function in body: Functioning of skeletal muscles; storing and metabolising sugars and fats.

sources: Unrefined wholegrain and cereal products; fish and shellfish; brewers yeast; beef.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause depression, confusion, irritability. Excess can be toxic.

Cobalt (trace element)

function in body: Component of Vitamin B12 which prevents anaemia.

sources: Meat; liver; kidney; shellfish; green leafy vegetables. effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes lack of Vitamin B12, leading to pernicious anaemia; bowel disorders; weak muscles.

Copper (trace element)

function in body: Formation of red blood cells; growth of bones; absorption of iron; pigmentation of hair and skin. sources: Shellfish; nuts; liver; kidney; pulses; brewers yeast; tap water from copper pipes.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause anaemia, low white blood cell count. Excess can be toxic.

Fluorine (trace element)

function in body: Strengthens teeth and bones.

sources: Fluoridated tap water and toothpastes; fish (especially

those eaten with bones); meat; tea; cereals.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes tooth decay,

osteoporosis. Excess causes mottled and discoloured teeth,

increased density of bones in the spine, pelvis and limbs and

calcified ligaments.

Iodine (trace element)

function in body: Production of hormones in the thyroid gland which control metabolism; promotes growth; promotes energy; mental alertness

sources: Iodised salt; Irish moss; kelp; seafood; fruit and vegetables grown in soils containing iodine.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes goitre, weight gain, lack of energy. Excess can cause thyroid diseases.

Iron

function in body: Production of haemoglobin; distribution of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide in body tissues; production of myoglobin (red pigment in muscles). sources: Red meat; liver; kidney; oysters; kelp; pulses; dried fruits; nuts; oats.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes anaemia. Magnesium

function in body: Healthy teeth and bones; functioning of the nerves, muscles and metabolic enzymes. sources: Wholewheat cereals and products; eggs; meat; nuts; pulses; seeds.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes muscle cramps, tremors, tics, loss of appetite, nausea, insomnia, irregular heart beat.

Manganese (trace element)

function in body: Functioning of the nerves, muscles and many enzymes; bone strength.

sources: Whole grains; nuts; pulses; avocado; egg yolk; green leafy vegetables.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause bone deformities and impede growth rate.

Molybdenum (trace element)

function in body: Metabolism of iron; male sexual function; prevention of dental caries

sources: Oats; barley; pulses; root vegetables; liver.

effects of deficiency or excess: Excess can prevent body from

utilising copper.

Phosphorus

function in body: Conversion and storage of energy; healthy bones; function of muscles, nerves and some enzymes; intestinal absorption of certain foods.

sources: Meat; poultry; fish and shellfish; nuts; seeds; pulses; dairy products; eggs.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes bone pain; stiff joints; disorders of the central nervous system; weakness. Excess can interfere with intestinal absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc.

Potassium

function in body: Maintains balance of fluids and pH in the body; disposal of body wastes; aids in sending oxygen to the brain; function of nerves and muscles.

sources: Fresh fruits and vegetables; whole grains and products; prunes; milk.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can case muscular weakness and paralysis, low blood pressure; thirst; loss of appetite; sensitivity to noise. Excess can aggravate some heart conditions.

Selenium (trace element)

function in body: Functioning of the red and white blood cells; along with Vitamin E works as an anti-oxidant; detoxifies metals including cadmium, mercury and lead; may protect against some cancers; prevents dandruff and some skin disorders; healthy liver function.

sources: Garlic; onions; whole wheat and products; fish and shellfish; red meat; chicken; broccoli; brewer’s yeast; Brazil nuts.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency causes premature aging, cardiovascular disease and asthma and may be a factor in cancer. Excess can cause neurological disorders.

Sodium

function in body: Along with potassium maintains balance of fluids, especially water, and pH in the body; function of nerves and muscles.

sources: Common salt, baking powder; cured and smoked fish and meats; kelp; beets; artichokes; coconut; figs. effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause heat prostration, dehydration, low blood pressure and indigestion. Excess causes high blood pressure, heart disorders and oedema (fluid retention).

Sulphur (trace element)

function in body: Synthesis of protein; promotes healthy skin, hair and nails; combats bacterial infection. sources: Meat; fish; dairy poducts; eggs; pulses; cabbage. effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause skin diseases.

Zinc (trace element)

function in body: Formation of insulin in body; release of Vitamin A; healing; healthy reproductive organs; functioning of growth and development enzymes.

sources: Red meat, liver; egg yolks; dairy products; whole wheat and products; oysters; brewers yeast.

effects of deficiency or excess: Deficiency can cause infertility, enlarged prostate gland, acne and skin disorders, slow healing of wounds, slow physical, mental and sexual development. Excess can cause nausea, diarrhoea, dizziness and dehydration.

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Choking is one of the few true emergencies of childhood in which minutes may determine life or death. A swallowed object is the most common and serious cause of choking. Choking is caused by the obstruction of the airway resulting in an inability to breathe. It is easily identified by two key signs: the child frantically tries to breathe, and the child is not able to cry out or to speak.

If choking continues, the child quickly becomes blue, convulsive, limp, and unconscious. If the object completely blocks the air passage, you have only a few minutes to reestablish an airway before brain damage or death can occur.

The objects that choke children are usually of a shape and size to plug the opening into the throat like a cork. Frequent and especially dangerous causes of choking are peanuts, tablets, glass eyes of toy animals, hard or hard-coated sweets, beads, popcorn, and tiny toys or small parts from toys. Solid particles of food from the stomach may choke a child who breathes in during vomiting. A vomiting baby is safest from choking when lying on his or her stomach.

Choking may also occur in a child who has croup. But choking caused by croup is slightly different and is treated differently. A child choking from croup frantically tries to breathe, but the child is still able to speak or cry. See the article on Croup for treatment of that form of choking.

Signs and symptoms

Choking on an object is easily identified by the two major symptoms. There are frantic, unsuccessful efforts to breathe. The child cannot talk or cry.

Home care

Seconds count! Scream for help. A second adult on the scene should phone the police or paramedic squad for help. (Police are usually more quickly available in most communities than an ambulance, the fire department, or a doctor.)

First, give your child one minute to clear the obstruction by his or her own efforts. If this doesn’t work, place your child’s head down over a chair, table, or your lap and pound hard on his back four times. Broken ribs heal; death does not. Support the child’s head and neck before pounding to avoid fracturing the neck.

Only if safer measures fail should you consider reaching into the child’s mouth with a hooked finger or tweezer in an effort to remove or dislodge the foreign body: there’s a good chance of pushing the object more tightly into the windpipe in your desperation to remove it. If your child is not breathing after the object is removed, give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until trained help arrives.

Precautions

• Never give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until the obstructing object is removed; to do so may force the object further down the throat.

• Prevention of choking is most important. Examine all toys for loose eyes or other small parts. Keep tablets under lock and key. Do not give peanuts, popcorn, or hard sweets to toddlers. (Clean up after adult parties before children can wander unattended into a room.)

Medical treatment

When the object completely blocks the air passage, the child seldom reaches a doctor in time. However, the object may only partially block the airway, even though you may not think so. Your doctor will operate, on the spot, to open the windpipe through the neck (tracheotomy). Then oxygen, artificial respiration, and intravenous fluids will be given.

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Scientific studies have rather consistently demonstrated that companionship contributes to good health. The quality of relationships also is a factor, found Xinhua Steve Ren, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health and research health scientist with the Center for Health Quality, Outcome, and Economic Research of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts. Here are some of his other findings.

•     Separation and divorce can actually improve health – but only in cases where there were serious ongoing marital problems. Separation and divorce are most detrimental to health when the marriage had no prior serious problems and the crisis arose with the sudden discovery of infidelity.

•     Being separated is more injurious to health than divorce. The separated were more than 2 times as likely to consider themselves in poor health than were married folks, while divorced people were about 1.3 times more likely to think themselves in ill health.

•     The quality of a relationship-whether marriage or cohabitation-affects the participants’ health. Those in unhappy relationships are at higher health risk than those who are in happy relationships and, surprisingly, even than those who are divorced.

•     Compared to married people, the unmarried tend to have higher death rates from all causes, have higher levels of stress, and use more health services.

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Tonometry

This is a simple, painless method of measuring the pressure of the fluid in the eyeball. It is valuable to be aware of this pressure because an early rise, if caught, can be treated and can save the person’s sight. It is a test worth doing every two to five years after the age of 40.

Sigmoidoscopy (Looking inside the rectum or back passage)

Most cancers of the bowel lie within the view of a special instrument, called a sigmoidoscope. It is generally considered sensible to have a sigmoidoscopy every three to five years following two negative examinations a year apart at age 50. Other experts recommend one examination at age 56 because this is the peak age for this cancer, which is the second commonest.

Testing the stools for blood

Because microscopic amounts of blood can be lost in the stools in people who have bowel cancers this can be a very good way of detecting such cancers early and certainly long before they start to produce symptoms. It is probably sensible to have such a test done every year after the age of 50.

Testing for anaemia

Recommendations for the screening of adults for anaemia range from, every two to every five years. Women are particularly at risk because of having periods and childbearing. Many millions of people, women especially, are walking around sub-clinically unwell with anaemia yet remain unscreened. This is an easy and cheap test to do and the treatment is straightforward and inexpensive.

Blood sugar tests

Whether or not it is worth screening populations for their blood sugar levels to see if they are undiagnosed diabetics is controversial-mainly because there is no evidence yet that the early detection of diabetics without symptoms does anything to alter the long-term outlook. Some experts think that as the test is relatively cheap it is worth doing every five years until 65 and then every two years. Others feel that looking for sugar in the urine (another sign of diabetes) every five years is quite sufficient.

Screening for sickle cell trait

Certain high-risk populations (mainly black) should be screened prior to childbearing so that they can receive genetic counseling about the likelihood of having an affected baby. Some experts recommend that the test be done at the age of 10 years.

Checking for German measles (rubella) immunity

This disease, whilst not serious during normal life, can produce terrible handicaps in the baby of a pregnant woman who catches it. It is estimated that even with rubella vaccinations being widely available, about 15 per cent of women get to childbearing with no immunity to the disease. The most logical time for screening is just before childbearing age. Pregnancy should not be allowed to occur for three months after the immunization. A girl who is not immune can be vaccinated in her early teens. Many authorities think that every pregnant woman should be routinely tested for antibodies to rubella.

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Pregnancy and child birth is a special part of a woman’s life. This joyous event is the creation of a new life and the start of years of joy, worry, happiness, and anxiety.

Having a healthy pregnancy is the first and most important step in your new baby’s life. It is a great responsibility on both the expectant mother and the father. Their lifestyle and the nutrition of the mother will play the most important part in the development of the unborn baby.

Many studies have shown that a lack of some vitamins and minerals in the diet could be associated with some types of birth defects and that supplements may prevent these defects occurring. The birth defects that may be prevented by taking a multivitamin supplement before and during the pregnancy include spina bifida and harelip.

Correct eating habits, a balanced diet, and supplements of a multivitamin mineral formula could help prevent many of the problems that may be associated with pregnancy and birth defects.

SUPPLEMENTS

folic acid 0.8 mg daily during pregnancy (folic acid requirement doubles during pregnancy)

calcium 1000 mg to 1500 mg daily, 2000 mg daily during lactation (calcium requirements double during pregnancy)

magnesium 500 mg daily

iron phosphate 15 mg 3 times daily

Naturetime

Multivitamin Mineral

(sustained release) 1 tablet daily

evening primrose oil 500 mg 1 capsule morning and night

(supplement may be beneficial during pregnancy induced hypertension)

For morning sickness

Travel Calm Ginger 1 tablet 3 times daily

peppermint tea 1 cup in morning before getting out of bed and then 1 cup 3 times daily

red raspberry leaf tea Drink 3 cups a day during the third trimester. Red raspberry leaf tea has been

traditionally used as a uterine tonic and to help relieve the pain of childbirth

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Did you know 26.3% of Australians died in 1988 of coronary heart disease and another 10.4% died from strokes? (National Heart Foundation 1988 Heart Facts).

When you consider that heart disease is largely preventable, we really must be doing something wrong.

The heart is not the fragile organ most of us are led to believe. It is a very strong muscle about the size of a man’s fist which sits in the middle of the chest. Without our heart the blood would not circulate around our bodies. This fantastic organ, beating at more than 100,000 beats per day, pumping about half a cup of blood per beat, pumps around 200,000,000 litres of blood in the average lifetime.

If you car worked as hard as your heart, then it probably would not last the distance, so those of us who just cannot afford to keep buying new cars do something about this problem. We keep up regular services, make sure the correct petrol and oil are used, warm our engines up slowly and do not over-rev them.

Do we give our hearts the same attention and loving care, taking into account the above figures? The average answer would be no, we do not. v

A number of my patients come in to see me with this standard question: ‘My father died from a heart attack when he was only 48 years of age and now my brother has developed angina. Does this mean that I am next and if so, if there anything I can do?

The answer is that family history only plays a small part in heart disease and a change in other risk factors can make all the difference. You are in a high risk group if you have high blood pressure, smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day, have high cholesterol, are overweight, live a stressful lifestyle or have diabetes. You must seek you practitioners advice and have a full medical check-up.

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The care of the lower bowel or colon is very important but unfortunately many of us neglect the inside. We need to drink plenty of water and eat foods high in roughage. Fresh fruits and vegetables and whole-grain foods are excellent and should be eaten every day in our diet.

We need to give our bodies a cleanout so that everything is functioning properly so we don’t have any of the morbid wastes left behind that can quite often cause side effects such as headaches, or lethargy, or just not feeling up to par. Even cancer can result from not looking after our colon properly, and eating foods high in fibre.

To do this, we need to look after our colon with a Colon Care preparation, containing gentle laxative herbs and agents providing bulk. This will allow us to eliminate the toxins from our body and we should look at doing this periodically to make sure that we are keeping our colons healthy and flushed. It is very important to get rid of these toxins as they can cause many problems.

SUPPLEMENTS

High fibre diet

Water 6-8 glasses a day

Colon Care contains once every two weeks

cassia

buckhorn bark

psyllium seed

aniseed

fennel seed

liquorice root

uva-ursi

Irish moss

agar agar

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Australia has many venomous snakes. The taipan, tiger and brown snake are all very poisonous. Others such as the carpet snake and green tree snake are non-venomous.

It is important to leave snakes alone. Many are not aggressive, unless disturbed, and will not usually bite.

If you are bitten and are not absolutely sure that the snake is non-venomous then the following steps need to be taken.

1 The victim must rest. Reassure the person. Don’t panic as there is an anti-venom available for all Australian snakes.

2 Apply an elastic bandage starting at the bitten area and around the whole limb. If a person is bitten on the foot then start the bandage around the foot and then continue until the whole leg is covered.

3 Take the casualty to hospital or ring or send for medical aid. Funnel-web Spider

The Australian funnel-web spider is very poisonous. It is a large black or reddish-brown spider and is found in rock crevices and under logs and rocks along the New South Wales coast and south-east Queensland. The bite is very painful. The treatment is the same as for snake bite.

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A LARGE GLASS OF FRESH WATER FIRST THING EACH MORNING

BREAKFAST

Glass orange or pineapple juice (unsweetened)

Poached eggs with 1 slice of kibble bread, lightly spread with butter (3 times per week only).

and/or

1 serve of natural muesli, wheat cereal. Add natural fruit to sweeten, some unprocessed bran or oat bran, skim milk or soy milk, no sugar. A little honey may be used now and then.

1 cup of herbal tea.

MORNING TEA

1 medium-sized apple

LUNCH

Salad. (If you are not able to take this type of lunch with you to work and you can buy your lunch, then order salad sandwiches)

Include in your salad: lettuce leaves, cucumber slices, stick celery, tomato, grated carrot and cottage cheese, slices beetroot, pineapple, natural yoghurt; 1 cup herbal tea;

AFTERNOON TEA

1 glass vegetable juice; or 1 glass fruit juice;

DINNER

Glass of water, nut meat or lentils with salad or vegetables. Don’t overcook vegetables, stir-fry with a little olive oil or steamed is best. Use herbs to enhance the flavour, or grilled chicken (no skin) or steamed or grilled fish with lemon or grilled veal and side salad. Add a little cold pressed oil to apple cider vinegar, garlic and some herbs to taste.

Alternate this with steamed vegetables including at least 4 to 5 different vegetables both green and yellow

DESSERT.

Use natural fruit and yoghurt.

Your water intake should be between 6 to 8 glasses per day. This may include herbal tea.

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