Re: Inorganic vs. Organic Minerals

Here's my take on the subject:

I think first and foremost it's important to differentiate between inorganic mineral mineral sources before going on the organic vs inorganic question.

Every living thing requires minerals for proper growth and maintenance, and the most available form is ionic (not only is the smallest available size for easier absorption, but it carries an electric charge which is readily recognizable by the body). Other forms such as colloids and chemically bound mineral aren't as bioavailable. Food chelated minerals can also be a good option to ionic but are dependent on digestion strength.

If you look at soil, it's composed of plenty of minerals (in theory), but a lot of them are trapped in the form of rocks or other solid forms (not bioavailable). These are not readily available for absorption.

However, plants will absorb soil minerals if water is available. The role of water is to help dissolve some of the soil minerals (into ionic form) and help transport them into the plant. So the minerals that are available in the soil (dissolved by water) will be in proportion to the minerals inside the plant.

A high Iodine content soil will give rise to high Iodine vegetables for example (the plant may die if minerals ratios and levels are far too aggressive for growth).

So the soil's inorganic minerals (in the form of ions) are now part of an organic environment (still in ionic form). Every living thing (organic) has minerals only in ionic form (unless they went against nature's path).
That is why most organic minerals are in ionic form.

Inorganic minerals in ionic form can be just as powerful as organic minerals.
For example, sea water contains plenty of minerals in ionic form, therefore they are very easy to absorb by the body (all you need to worry is about mineral ratios such as too high of salt content, etc).

So, an inorganic form of minerals in ionic form is still recognizable by the body - but like anything, you need proper mineral ratio balance.

There are numerous mineral supplements out there that contain forms that may require extra energy and water for absorption. Also, the remaining unabsorbed contents can buildup in the system and cause more harm than good.
A good liquid ionic minerals like sea water has close to no waste because the minerals are already in ionic form.

Another note on the organic form of minerals - again these are in ionic form, and the mineral ratios may be such that they are excellent for humans alone (rather than guessing how much ionic calcium or ionic magnesium supplements to take (ALL about balance).

Since the organic minerals are trapped in cells of the organism, in order to be able to absorb them you need good digestion. For example, chlorella may be very rich in organic minerals, but the cells walls may be so strong that if you eat some chlorella, you may not get much minerals out of it because your digestion may have not opened up the cells walls to release the minerals.

That's why cooking may be beneficial in a lot cases, as it liberates minerals very readily into the cooking medium. (yes cooking also destroys some valuable enzymes, but also destroys harmful inhibitors that are part of the organisms immune system).
In the end it's all about balance.

A note on the distilled water: people who support drinking distilled water may have a good case, as a lot of water sources nowadays are polluted and the minerals in the water may not be in ionic form and potentially "fossalize" you.

However, the best water for a living organism will contain small amounts of ionic minerals. It's not because your body needs the extra minute amounts of the ions in the water (you can get plenty from food); it's because the small amounts of ions arrange the water structure into a more absorbable form.

Distilled water may be seen as "dead" - the water molecules aren't arranged in small absorbable "portions" because there are no ionic minerals to set up it's structure per say.

In nature, the water coming down from rain (which is distilled in theory), is washed down a river for example. In the process, the water leaches minerals from the rocks and the soil, picking up minerals. The water also picks up sun's radiation, oxygen and is magnetized by the earths poles, and the end result is a vibrant water that is structured in such way that can be easily absorbed by an organism.

Ideally a good spring water would reflect such water, however nowadays there may be few good sources.

Mike



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