|
Major Functions |
Signs of Shortage |
Nature's Sunshine Sources |
Dietary Sources |
Herb Sources |
Calcium |
Essential for blood clotting and the structure of bones and teeth, needed for working of nerves and all other electrically active body tissues |
Stunted growth, rickets, osteoporosis, convulsions |
Iron, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Nutri-Calm, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, Vitamin Calcium w/ Magnesium & Vitamin D, SynerPro Calcium-Magnesium, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Dairy products, green vegetables, dried legumes |
Valerian, white oak bark, pau d'arco, kelp barberry, horsetail |
Chromium |
Involved in glucose and energy metabolism, helps regulate blood sugar |
Disturbances of glucose fat and protein metabolism |
Chromium, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, Target P-14 |
Brewer's yeast, chicken, dairy products, seafood, fresh fruit, potatoes with skin, whole grains |
Oat straw, red clover, bee pollen, juniper berries, damiana |
Cobalt |
Promotes normal red blood cell formation, functions in activation of several enzymes, necessary for the manufacture of Vitamin B12 in the body |
None reported in humans, possibly a factor in pernicious anemia |
Trace Mineral Maintenance, Vitamin B12 |
Organ and muscle meats, milk |
Golden seal, capsicum, dong quai, pau d' arco, echinacea, mullein |
Copper |
Needed by cells to utilize oxygen, blood formation, functioning of enzymes involved in iron metabolism |
Anemia, low white blood cell count, bone demineralization |
Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Lentils, wheat germ, blackstrap molasses, some nuts, mushrooms, honey |
Scullcap, sage, white oak bark, horsetail, yucca |
Iodine |
Needed for thyroid gland, thyroid hormones |
Enlarged thyroid (goiter) |
Mega-Chel, Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals, Target TS II |
Seafood, iodized salt |
Kelp, black walnut hulls |
Iron |
Needed in manufacturing of myoglobin and hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying compound in blood) and enzymes involved in energy metabolism |
Iron-deficiency anemia, reduced resistance to infection, fatigue |
Children's Chewable Vitamin, Iron, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Liver, meat, eggs, legumes, whole grains, green leafy vegetables |
Yellow dock, mullein, blue cohosh, butcher's broom, kelp, bilberry, burdock, red raspberry, dandelion |
Magnesium |
Needed by all cells important in electrical activity of nerves and muscles, activates enzymes, protein synthesis, influences cellular calcium levels |
Growth failure, behavioral disturbances, weakness, spasms |
Magnesium, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, Calcium w/ Magnesium & Vitamin D, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Beans, nuts, whole grains, leafy green vegetables |
Oat straw, kelp, licorice, peppermint, burdock, marshmallow, horsetail, parsley |
Manganese |
Cell metabolism, fat production, enzyme function |
None reported for humans |
Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Avocados, beans, oatmeal, nuts, buckwheat |
Red raspberry, bilberry, ginger, gotu kola, white oak bark |
Phosphorus |
Cell energy (ATP formation), key element in cell reactions, structure of bones and teeth |
Weakness, demineralization of bone, loss of calcium |
Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Calcium-Magnesium, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Meat, dairy products, beans, peas, cereals, poultry, grains |
Bilberry, peppermint, yellow dock, fennel, mullein, hops |
Potassium |
Major mineral in body cells, regulates body water balance, nerve function and many cell reactions |
Muscular weakness, paralysis |
Combination Potassium, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral |
Avocados, bananas , apricots, potatoes, and many other foods |
Parsley, blessed thistle, sage, catnip, hops, peppermint, feverfew, kelp, red clover |
Selenium |
Functions in close association with vitamin E, is an antioxidant |
Anemia (rare) |
Defense Maintenance, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals |
Seafood, meat, grains |
Catnip, ho shou woo, valerian, blue cohosh, barberry, blessed thistle, ginseng |
Zinc |
Needed in the structure of cell enzymes, a factor in enzymes involved in digestion, plays a role in prostate health, aids wound healing |
Growth failure, infertility, delayed wound healing |
Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals, Target P14, Target TS II, Zinc |
Widely distributed in food, especially pumpkin and sunflower seeds |
Bilberry, capsicum, sage, spirulina, echinacea, gotu kola |