Metal Trace Minerals. Their use in Humans. Essay #1. Introduction.
Today's discussion was on Metal Trace Minerals and how they are used and the effects of them. I wanted to do a brief written discussion and just hit the main points. This was a long discussion covering 2 related subjects. The one part was general ideas and the 2nd. part was dealing with Obesity and Diabetes. This essay will cover the first part of the discussion. The 2nd. part, which will be a different essay, will cover Obesity and Diabetes.
Many times the difference between a deficiency and a toxic amount is a very narrow parameter/area. Maintaining a balance within that narrow parameter.area is vital to good health and normal functioning of life.
***There are several types of "Metal" elements, IE; Alkaline Metals, Alkaline Earth Metals, Transitional Metals, Post-Transitional Metals, Metalloids, Lanthanides and Actinides. In this discussion I will use "Metals" in general, when referencing any of these.
If you turn the clock back 25 years, anything discussion wise about metal elements was met with harsh words of toxicity and in reality only the industrial version of them, IE; the inorganic version of them. Forward 25 years and we see a great deal about them. The old industrial version which were the isolated, inorganic version of them are still there, even more so in today's world, but now we are seeing the value of the the organic natural, unadulterated versions coming to light and in good ways.
Many of these have been shown to contribute to bacteria using them to detoxify and clean up bad stuff in the environment While other metal elements are being used in cancer treatments with remarkable results. Some of the highlights of these metal trace minerals are that they do not work in isolation. They work in relationship to each other, sometimes working to complement each other, at times to work in competition with each other and at times just to direct how the combinations function.
Some modes and pathways used are as follows;. ( A number of minerals will use several pathways and modes. One of the primary actions of metals are to attach to proteins). Iron, Magnesium and Cobalt are a contributing aspect to Transference of Carbon and Hydrogen into Mercury, Lead and Selenium salts. Which leads to Bio-methylation which is the source of toxicity of these elements. Zinc will work with a concept called Zinc fingers. This essentially contributes to the 3 dimensional folding of Proteins and Tertiary Structures of Nucleic Acids. Anyway, this basically is all about coordination of the roles of certain metals working together and their process of how they work.
Then we see Zinc, Copper, Silver, Gold, Mercury, and Cadmium, working to coordinate proteins through the use of a Sulfur atom. While others will use Nitrogen or Oxygen to coordinate proteins, with those mainly being Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Iron, Molybdenum and Manganese. Then we see Arsenic, Iodine and Selenium being slightly different in that they use a metal/carbon covalent bond. Then we see Aluminum, Iron, Cobalt and Nickel using a process of Organic Ligands route. Magnesium, Vanadium, Iron, Cobalt and Nickel coordination by using Tttrapyrol Ligands. Then we see Calcium, Strontium, Barium, Lanthanum and Lead using Polysaccharides. Finally we see Platinum, Ruthenium, Chromium, and Nickel being coordinated by Nucleic Acids. So as you can see, a number of these will play an important role in various processes of body functioning.
Now from another angle we see Mercury as playing a role in the regulation of Selenium. But if too much is present, then it leads to other issues. For example, too much Mercury will push out Selenium. This is because Mercury looks and feels a lot like Selenium to the body and if there is a deficiency, then the door to Mercury is opened wide. This is much like Aluminum and Boron. If you end up with a Boron deficiency then Aluminum will rush in to take it's place. If you have Organic Aluminum, then great ,as we absolutely have to have Aluminum, but it has to be the nutritional type and not the industrial type.
The bottom line here is that many Proteins require metals as Co-Factors to develop their proper function. So within the Aromatherapy world, if we understand the roles of each essential oil donor plant, their chemical properties and pair them up properly with known factors, the oils can go a long way in making many of the body systems work much more effectively.As a side note, the bottom line with essential oils is that they make other modalities and nutrients work more efficiently and effectively.
Metals play essential poles due to their interactions with Proteins, metabolites and other bio-molecules. Each metal has a unique mechanism of action with regard to it's impact on human health and well being. The interesting aspect is that these impacts are on a local level and scale. Understanding the role of metals and using that knowledge will go a long way to helping you develop what you do and more effectively meeting the needs of those you are working with.
