Minerals: Your Key to Building A Healthy Foundation
We tend to overcomplicate health, just like we do with our own lives at time.. We jump from one shiny biohack to the next, looking for the latest upgrade. But what if the real power lies in getting back to the basics? For many of us, that’s not just enough—it’s the missing piece.
The foundation of your health starts at the cellular level. And minerals? They’re the raw materials your body needs to function. Protein might build your tissues, but minerals make sure those tissues work. Minerals may not be as sexy to talk about, but they are the absolute necessary components to building your health.
Let’s break down why minerals matter, how they get depleted, and what you can do to restore your health by rebuilding your foundation.
Why Minerals Matter
Minerals are required for nearly every system in your body to operate. They support:
Bone and tooth strength
Muscle contraction and nerve signaling
Fluid balance and pH regulation
Immune function
Hormone production
Metabolic function
Detox pathways
Energy creation
Essential minerals like magnesium, calcium, potassium, and zinc act as the gears that keep your internal systems turning. Without the right mineral balance, your body can start to get system errors all over the place. Fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, brain fog, digestive issues, immune dysfunction, and hormone imbalances often have mineral depletion at the root.
How Mineral Imbalances Happen
Minerals go together like peas and carrots. They don’t work well in solidarity, just like human beings. Below is a list of ways minerals get depleted, and the only way to properly balance them out is to test to see where you are depleted, and balance all of them together like a little Philharmonic symphony.
1. Modern Diets
Even if you eat the “cleanest” diet, the mineral content of your food depends on the soil it was grown in. Unfortunately, the soil our crops are grown in is depleted, which means that anything grown in that soil is also lacking in minerals (the biggest being zinc). Regenerative agriculture and homegrown produce are ideal, but they aren’t nearly practiced as much as they should be. Processed foods, extreme dieting, excessive sugar, and alcohol can also make things worse by depleting or interfering with mineral absorption.
2. Supplement Overload
Yes, even supplements can backfire. Not all are high quality, and some can push your mineral ratios in the wrong direction. For example, chronically high doses of vitamin C may disrupt calcium and magnesium balance depending on your unique metabolic type. Supplements are tools, not fixes, and need to be used with precision and better yet, with the guidance of a practitioner who can test your body to figure out what you need (and not get your information straight from social media).
3. Stress
Fun fact: Did you know that your body uses up just as many minerals in the body during periods of stress just like you would during intense physical workouts? Even though you may not have sweated your brains out regularly, your body is still mowing through minerals (and yes I know from personal experience). Your body burns through minerals rapidly under stress. Whether it’s emotional, physical, or chemical stress, the impact is the same. Magnesium, in particular, is used up during stress: Yes, even from exercise. If you’re not replenishing what stress depletes, your body can’t self-regulate properly.
4. Heavy Metal Exposure
Heavy metals sneak into the body through personal care products, cookware, water (well and public), dental fillings, medications, and even food. In some cases, you’re not just exposed in daily life, you’re born with a burden of metals passed down in utero. And if your genetics slow down detox (think MTHFR and similar mutations), those metals tend to hang around. Even copper, which is both a mineral and a metal (and also necessary in the body), can turn toxic if you don’t have enough zinc in your body to balance it out.
5. Pregnancy
Did you ever hear the expression, “You lose a tooth for each pregnancy.” Even though teeth may not be falling out of your head, there is some truth to that. Pregnancy demands a huge amount of minerals to support fetal development. If you were already depleted going into pregnancy (and let’s face it many of us are), it only gets worse afterward. Mineral depletion due to pregnancy can cause a whole array of issues, including postpartum mood changes, energy crashes, and immune shifts.
6. Genetics
You inherit more than your mom’s smile. Your mineral patterns and toxic load can be passed on through generations. If your parents had imbalances or high toxic exposure, you start your life already carrying some of that weight.
Why Minerals Are Key to Detox
Your body has a built-in detox system: liver, kidneys, colon, skin, lungs, and lymphatic and glymphatic systems. They run 24/7, and even not within your conscious control. They need raw materials to do the job. Minerals are a huge part of that equation. Inside every cell, toxins are supposed to exit, and nutrients are supposed to enter. That movement relies on energy (ATP), which is made with the help of key minerals.
Here’s how your body detoxes when things are working:
Detox starts at the cellular level
Then it moves into the tissues and organs
Then the lymphatic system
Then to the liver and bile
Finally out through the colon, kidneys, and skin
If you’re missing the mineral co-factors that power this system, detox gets stuck in stage one. You’re technically “detoxing,” but nothing’s moving. And that’s when symptoms start piling up, along with the junk in your system.
How Minerals Support Detoxification
Sodium - Works alongside potassium to flush toxins out of the cells and pull nutrients in. Also buffers the effects of aluminum.
Potassium- Essential for cellular waste removal and kidney health. Partners with sodium to manage fluid and mineral exchange.
Phosphorus - Powers the filtration cells in your kidneys and plays a role in energy storage and release.
Magnesium - A co-factor in over 3,700 enzymatic reactions; including energy production and liver detox. Different forms support different functions, so targeted support matters (such as magnesium glycinate, magnesium citrate, etc.).
Calcium (especially calcium d-glucarate) - Helps the liver eliminate excess hormones and toxins through improved phase II detox pathways. Reduces the activity of an enzyme (beta-glucuronidase) that can undo your detox work.
Zinc - An antioxidant that supports immune defense and liver detox enzymes. Most people are low due to poor soil quality and absorption issues.
Selenium - Protects cells from oxidative stress and is necessary for the production of glutathion: Your body’s master antioxidant.
How to Replenish Your Minerals (the Right Way)
You can’t just throw a multivitamin at your body and call it a day. To rebuild your mineral foundation, you need personalized data. I recommend working with a practitioner trained in Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). Preferably, a practitioner who prescribes their patients minerals through Endo-Met Labs. Why HTMA? Because hair captures a long-term view of your mineral status. Blood work can fluctuate based on stress, food, or time of day. Hair gives a stable, big-picture view of what’s actually going on. HTMA is also accessible and affordable. You don’t have to go broke to get real answers. You can go slow and steady, adjusting your protocol over time.
Bottom Line
Minerals aren’t as cool as peptides, stem cells, or exosomes, but in my opinion, steady is sexy. They power your cells, regulate your nervous system, detox your tissues, and balance your hormones. Without them, everything else becomes harder. Biohacking might sound like that exciting person who you want to date, but without a steady foundation built on minerals, you’re building on sand. By focusing on restoring your mineral balance, you’re giving your body the tools it’s been begging for.
