Zinc (The Body’s Battery and Healing Force)

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Zinc: The Body’s Battery and Healing Force

I think this element has something special to it and intuitively I cannot explain what it is, but there is definitely a necessity that zinc provides to the human body that is essential to human life. Without zinc, in my opinion, human life is a long and stressful battle that you cannot win. Yeah, that’s pretty bold and I’m pretty confident in making that statement considering Zinc’s effects on protein building, DNA replication, healing, and immunity. Let’s start with protein building. Zinc is a metal from the Earth that can be found in a wide range of foods, but only a few of them allow humans to extract zinc and utilize it’s healthy benefits. Zinc is very often coupled with Copper to produce a battery like power source to energize our cells as a battery would do for the inanimate objects of the world. When humans are outside getting some necessary sunlight the light or energy from the sun, known as photons, provides the electrical spark for zinc and copper to do their thing. Grass fed beef and seafood are great sources of zinc that humans can utilize and reap the benefits. Once digested and absorbed, which needs to be a significant amount every day, zinc is involved with numerous biochemical reactions one of which is the production of proteins which also involves vitamins B9 and B12. It helps amino acids form the necessary proteins for daily living. On the topic of daily living, let’s segue into DNA replication. Along with some of the B vitamins, zinc is used in the DNA process to make sure it runs smoothly, efficiently and without errors that cause mutations and therefore illness or decreased immunity. Which takes us to another function of zinc – immunity and healing. An easy sign of zinc deficiency is checking the fingernails for white spots. If you see even one on any of your nails, you should be cautious but not too concerned because that can be fixed. Something to note is that zinc, when combined with oxygen, forms the compound Zinc Oxide which protects our cells from ultraviolet radiation and therefore is used as a protective cover for our DNA and our all too important skin cells. With an excess of zinc, you will see your wounds heal in half the usual recovery time. I say “usual” because it’s estimated that nearly 2 in 7 people worldwide are deficient in zinc, and I’ll bet you it’s even more than that, so most people probably don’t know what the true healing time should be for wounds. Along the same lines as wound healing, our immune system uses zinc daily to fight off pathogens. This yields me to believe zinc is used in the manufacturing of or in conjunction with our macrophages and white blood cells of our immune system. Outside of meat and seafood, 2 of the best sources of zinc are ginger root and by far the best source are oysters with way beyond 100% of our daily value. My ultimate advice is to move to the beach where you can find oysters and zinc shouldn’t be an issue for you, but I can understand if that’s not an option cause you can’t afford a beach house or oysters for that matter. If that’s the case, then I would suggest cleaning up your eating habits and lifestyle and incorporate a little more ginger root in your diet and life won’t be as much of a health struggle as it is for nearly half of the Earth’s current population.

 

Vitamin K (K for Clotting)

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Vitamin K (K for Clotting)

Anyone know anything about Vitamin K? Not too many people do as it is often forgotten or neglected in regards to its importance. Because of that there is not much research out there on it so let’s just dive right in and back out in a quick paragraph. If you want a great quick read with some good humor to it, keep reading. Vitamin K has 3 different subscripts to it similar to that of the vitamin B family with K1, K2, and K3. All 3 forms help mostly with blood clotting, but K1 helps with bone development and formation by helping some of the bone proteins bind to each other. This could be why vegetarians have low rates of osteoporosis, but being a vegetarian can still create osteoporosis due to other reasons such as phytic acid and numerous other proteins that cause malabsorption in the intestinal lining. But getting back to vitamin K though, I personally feel like it’s super important for clotting the blood. I’m not trying to bleed to death over some paper cut. Vitamin K1 is also known as Phytonadione and is abundantly found in dark leafy greens such as kale, broccoli, spinach, watercress, and turnip greens. An interesting second way to obtain vitamin K2 is via the intestinal bacteria. Those guys are pretty damn good synthesizing vitamin K2, also known as menaquinone. If you have plenty of vitamin K1 and 2 then K3 will be sufficient since it is simply a derivative. The bonus of having lots of this vitamin K is that your microbiome and it’s bacteria will be extremely helpful in keeping your immune system in top shape plus all those green leaves will provide plenty of magnesium and fiber and therefore keep your poops looking just the way they should. So do yourself a favor and eat as many dark green leaves as you can. The fortunate side to vitamin K is that it is fat soluble so we have storage for it as humans, but let’s be honest, nothing beats the feeling of an awesome bowel movement every day. Here’s a true story: I had been visiting my friends the other day and was getting on him for needing to change his eating habits. When he had received some news from his doctor a month prior it scared him a bit so he made a simple change. I told him to quit eating his cereal bran due to the garbage it is made from including wheat (contains gluten) and to eat a lot more dark green salads. After 2 days with no bran and an increase in dark green leaf consumption he proceeds to walk into his roommates room and waits patiently for him to wrap up what he was doing. The roommate turns and says, “Yes? What’s up?” and his response… “I have an announcement. I just had the best poop I’ve had in 6 months!” Hahaha. A priceless moment, that couldn’t be more accurate. Your poop tells all. Lesson learned? Eat your leaves!

 

Vitamin A (I Can See Clearly Now)

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Vitamin A (I Can See Clearly Now)

Vitamin A is an interesting vitamin due to its ability to protect our vision. Dating back almost 2.5 million years ago when humans started roaming the Earth they realized one of our most important features was our vision in order to protect ourselves from predators. Basically it’s a survival mechanism. For hundreds of thousands of years humans have been eating foods high in fats such as animal meats, fish, and avocados because we realized that fat meant survival. But food sources of vitamin A such as sweet potatoes, squash, egg yolk, kale, carrots, and spinach to name a few aren’t fatty foods. So where’s the connection since those food sources have no fat? Great question. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and when those food sources are eaten in a salad with fish, red meat, or avocados, the vitamin A absorption increases greatly. Another way to get it in a concentrated amount is by eating a sweet potato and putting some grass fed butter on it. Yum! That also increases vitamin A absorption in the human body. Moving on to problems associated with vitamin A deficiency. Most people with eye troubles, whether it be cataracts, glaucoma, or even macular degeneration, all suffer from a vitamin A deficiency. Now I’m not saying that if you increase your vitamin A intake you will correct any eye issues you may have. However, I can promise you it won’t hurt (as long as it’s not in too much excess) and it could possibly help in reversing some of your vision problems. Some of you may recognize the words retinoids and carotenoids, both of which are a previtamin A, or nutrients that can be converted into vitamin A for further utilization. Retinoids and carotenoids are plant compounds known as phytochemicals. Vitamin A is considered a strong antioxidant and therefore a significant necessity to our wellbeing. As mentioned in the vitamin D post, when vitamin A and D are both sufficient in the body, we can best utilize both of these vitamins as opposed to getting them separately in which their absorption rates decrease. Vitamin A is used in many different biochemical reactions in the body outside of eye protection. It helps with our skin, immune function, and normal growth and repair. Personally, I can tell you that when I cleaned up my eating habits and lifestyle habits, my skin cleared up very quickly due to my vitamin A and D absorption rates increasing significantly. In the end, if you want to increase your chances of better looking skin, better vision, and most importantly, better chances of survival in this heavily toxic and polluted world, you better start cleaning up your eating and lifestyle habits to yield higher absorption and higher utilization rates of vitamin A.

 

Vitamin E (Why Fat Is Friendly)

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Vitamin E (Why Fat Is Friendly)

Vitamin E is another extremely essential vitamin to the human body, but very often neglected probably because there isn’t much research on it when comparing it to others such as vitamin C or vitamin B. It is a fat soluble vitamin so we must eat good healthy fats in order to store this much needed nutrient. The body knows how to recycle vitamin E, but like everything else recycling only takes you so far. We need to replace it with food intake. Food sources such as spinach, asparagus, swiss chard, broccoli and kale are wonderful sources of this nutrient but you’ll notice they are vegetables and have no fat. If you eat this in your salads be sure to have some fats with it such as olive oil in your homemade dressing and an avocado on top of the salad and you will be sure to absorb and utilize vitamin E. The olive oil and avocado actually have some vitamin E that we can extract from them so it makes sense to eat salads. Other sources of vitamin E are tomatoes, shrimp and the best of all food sources by far are sunflower seeds. Back to what this nutrient actually is and its role in our body. Similar to the vitamin B complex, the vitamin E family consists of two groups known as tocopherols and tocotrienols. The most well known is alpha tocopherol because it is the most active subunit of the family. However recent research is starting to provide evidence that some of the lesser known ones such as gamma tocopherol may have more potency in regards to human health. The primary role of vitamin E in the human body is to protect our fats from getting oxidized which could cause potential damage to our cells since every cell has a membrane made from fats or lipids. Most importantly it prevents oxidized LDL (low density lipoprotein), which is an important protein needed to transport cholesterol to and from the liver for proper use. Yes I said it, we need LDL. It is not bad! It becomes bad when we have too much of it and not enough HDL(high density lipoprotein) that cleans up the oxidized LDL and not enough vitamin E. Most of America if I had to guess have too little HDL and are not eating or better yet not absorbing enough vitamin E. There is a big stipulation in all of this however. Vitamin E works best when its best friend is in abundance, Selenium, which can be found in fatty fish and Brazil nuts. I don’t know about you, but this is making me want a big salad with dark leafy greens, a homemade olive oil based dressing, sliced avocado, topped with a nice piece of salmon, and sprinkled with some unpasteurized goat cheese and chopped strawberries. Yum!

Copper (Cu) (Small But Mighty)

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Copper (Cu) (Small But Mighty)

Copper is one of my favorite minerals and honestly I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s the name, Copper. Or possibly it is because, from deep in my heart and soul, Copper’s element symbol is Cu and I did go to Clemson University… But as I said I can’t really explain why. It is also a pretty cool looking metal and is very much a necessity to the human body. Enough of me, let’s get to viewing Copper on a microscopic scale. Copper is not needed in significant amounts on a daily basis, but it is needed nevertheless. A few sources of copper are Brazil nuts, spinach, kale, chard, sunflower seeds, shiitake mushrooms and shrimp. Copper is kind of like the third wheel in the bone formation process. It is the less than 1% portion of our bone make up with the other two minerals calcium and phosphorus making up the greater than 99% portion. Without it though, you will literally fall apart. Bones won’t remain together because copper is needed as the core metal ion to an enzyme (lysyl oxidase) that allows for the mature production of collagen(1). Ah, collagen. Yes you probably know of that word. It is the fibrous protein that gives great tensile strength to our bones and tendons. So what I really just said is that it is the glue that keeps us standing upright and allows us to use our most primal self defense mechanism, mobility. Interesting metal huh? So how many of you either take statin drugs or know someone who takes them? There are quite a few people who do and it is pretty much for one reason, high cholesterol. Remember, cholesterol is a good thing so what the hell are you doing blocking the synthesis of it? I’ll bet there’s a good possibility it is from a copper deficiency. Here’s how this works. With a copper deficiency we have an increased rate of the cholesterol synthesizing enzyme HMG CoA reductase (hydroxymethylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase)(1). Did I lose you yet? This enzyme basically regulates how much cholesterol gets produced. So at the end of the day when we have a copper deficiency, we then have increased cholesterol production, which causes us to freak out and go visit our doctor, who in turn prescribes us a statin drug to reduce cholesterol because his/her drug rep pushed it on them to prescribe so everyone can get paid. Wow, what a vicious cycle that is. Why not focus on increasing copper intake and absorption and solve your cholesterol problem? What a brilliant idea! Switching topics slightly now. Copper and Zinc both compete for the same absorption pathway to bind to enzymes. We need roughly a 1:8 ratio of copper to zinc in order for Vitamin A to work as a protective antioxidant. Remember, if we don’t have sufficient vitamin A then vitamin D can’t do its job very well (please refer to the Vitamin D post for more information). So if we have too much zinc, then we become deficient in copper and hop on that vicious cycle. Let’s not go down that road. Copper is also one of the key minerals working as a cofactor to the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD), which helps manage the by-product of oxidized subatrates. Without it, the excess oxygen by-products would severely damage our cell’s DNA. Lastly, copper is central to the absorption of iron and therefore paramount in the production of the hemoglobin and myoglobin proteins. Ultimately, as you can see, copper has its hand in many chemical reactions in the human body and must be treated with respect so make sure you eat all those healthy foods discussed not just in the nutrient spotlight sections, but most importantly in all of Morgan’s delicious recipes.

Sources Cited:

(1) Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews: Biochemistry 5th edition. Richard Harvey, Denise Ferrier. 2011.

 

 

Vitamin B Complex (One Big Happy Family)

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Vitamin B Complex (One Big Happy Family)

Unlike the other vitamins, Vitamin B is a complex in both senses of the word. It’s a complex complex. If that sounds funny, read it a few more times. The reason they call it Vitamin B complex is due to the numerous B vitamins that are contained within its family, most labeled with a subscript. Without one the rest don’t work, so it is very important not to EVER take a multivitamin that doesn’t contain the whole family. I dont suggest taking multivitamins at all though. Get them from whole foods produced by Nature. It’s kind of like a big Catholic family with 7 kids. My dad would appreciate the Catholic humor having grown up in a Catholic family of 6 kids. Every B vitamin is water soluble, which means the body does not store them. It also means you must be fully hydrated to absorb and utilize them. Better stay hydrated! Vitamin B1, known as Thiamine, is part of TPP (thiamine pyrophosphate) and is used in the metabolism of carbohydrates. It is critical in the production of energy as well as in the functioning of our nerve cells. With even the slightest deficiency you will start feeling fatigued and depressed. Severe deficiency of B1 is known as Beriberi, which can be prevented by eating most nuts and seeds. Vitamin B2, Riboflavin, is one that is harder to come by but just as important. I have personally had a troubled experience with severe Riboflavin deficiency. I can promise you it is not fun or pretty. In fact it’s extremely painful. Signs of it are a burning of the eyes, lips, mouth and tongue. An inflamed, sensitive left side of the tongue (beefy red appearance) and cracked corners of the mouth will lead to a life of misery because you feel like you can’t eat anything. It hurts to open your mouth to the point of you feeling depressed. And since it is involved in energy production there is a good chance of that occuring. This is the vitamin that gives urine it’s yellow-green appearance when it is in excess. It can be obtained in almonds, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, kale and broccoli to name a few sources. Vitamin B3, Niacin, can be made in the body provided there is enough protein in the diet. The amino acid Tryptophan is used to create Niacin, but you may want to be safe and consume some swordfish, eggs, sesame and sunflower seeds, or almonds to get enough of this important vitamin. It is the building block of the coenzymes NAD and NADP. Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide and Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate respectively. These two are involved in many different chemical reactions on a daily basis. This vitamin is also used in the production of energy as well as in fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Vitamin B5, or Pantothenic Acid, plays an important role in energy production along with its brothers B1, B2, and B3. It is also a component of Coenzyme A (CoA), which is involved with the utilization of fats and carbohydrates. The most important role for B5 though is probably it’s use in the manufacturing of erythrocytes, or red blood cells. This vitamin can be obtained from animal livers if your up for that, or from more reasonable sources such as mushrooms, pecans, sunflower seeds, cashews, avocados, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. The next family member goes by the name Pyridoxine, or Vitamin B6. This brother is extremely important for a few reasons so please don’t mistreat him. B6 is crucial in maintaining immune function and hormone balance as well as being used in the production of proteins, including DNA, chemical transmitters and red blood cells. To earn this guy’s respect, you must consume some bananas, kale, spinach, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or avocados. Vitamin B9, known as folate or folic acid, works side by side with Vitamin B12 in the synthesis of DNA. I’d say that’s pretty critical! It is needed for cell division especially for the red blood cells and cells of the gastrointestinal tract. It got its name from the word “foliage” because it is found in high concentration in most dark green leaves like spinach, kale, and swiss chard. It can also be found in cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, almonds, pecans, and avocados. Last of the immediate family is Vitamin B12, cobalamin. The center piece of B12 comes from the metal Cobalt, which has a bright blue tint to it. B12 is used to activate its brother B9 so they can team up for their use in cell division and the production of DNA. This vitamin creates havoc for vegans and vegetarians because it is only found in animal products such as eggs, salmon, tuna, sardines, trout, beef, oysters and clams. At the end of the day, this huge family is needed everyday if you want to live a healthy and happy life.

Biotin

Sometimes it is referred to as vitamin H and I have heard others relate it to the vitamin B complex so I will give it it’s own small write up. Biotin helps the body to manufacture and utilize both fats and amino acids. It also aids in fatty acid formation and can promote normal functioning and development of the nervous system, sweat glands, skin and hair. It can be synthesized from our own healthy intestinal bacteria so it’s not often talked about, but you can find it in cooked eggs, walnuts, pecans, almonds, cauliflower and mushrooms.

Choline

Choline to some could be part of the vitamin B complex, but it deserves its own write up because it is a reach to include it in the vitamin B family. Choline can be formed from either of the amino acids methionine or serine. It works together with some of the B vitamins in the metabolism of fat which is why some people would potentially include it as part of the big vitamin B complex. A deficiency can cause problems in the liver known as fatty liver disease. It is the precursor to the neurotransmitter Acetylcholine, which is released in the synaptic gap between two nerve cells to make sure nerve impulses get fired correctly. It is also a major component of cell membranes so that many nutrients can permeate into and out of our cells during proper transmission. Sources of choline are egg yolks, preferably in a liquid and not solid state, red meat. It can also be obtained in much smaller amounts from potatoes, cauliflower, kale, cabbage and oranges. This is why foods should be consumed in a variety rather than eating the same foods on a routine basis.

 

Vitamin C (More Than Just An Immune System Boost)

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Vitamin C (More Than Just An Immune System Boost)

If I say Vitamin C, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Fruit? Antioxidant? If you ask a nutritionist, dietitian, or biochemist the answer might be Ascorbic Acid, the science name of Vitamin C, or possibly Scurvy. OK what the heck is Scurvy? I will get to that in a bit. Regardless of your answer, there are many benefits from this wonderful vitamin. First, let’s go through the long list of sources where this vitamin can be obtained. Most fruits you will find at any grocery store contain at least a small amount, but the citrus fruits will contain large amounts such as pineapple, lime, lemon, orange and grapefruit. Many vegetables also contain significant amounts like watercress, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and peppers just to name a few. A few of the berries have a decent amount as well. Berries are my favorite! Some of the benefits from C are aiding in the absorption of iron. Once again, you cannot single out any one mineral or vitamin – they all work as a team. One weak link throws off the sensitive balance of the whole system. In reviewing that chain, if you don’t have enough vitamin C you won’t have enough iron. Without enough iron, oxygen won’t get utilized properly which ultimately means your oxidation of nutrients won’t work thoroughly and then you’ll end up sick. Vitamin C is considered an antioxidant however, so it does help protect the body from too much oxidation on the other hand. Kind of like a checks and balance system. A third major benefit and a crucial one at a minimum is Vitamin C’s role in the production of collagen, proteins that help keep bones from breaking, keep muscles looking tone, and keep strength in the ligaments and tendons. Clearly Vitamin C is important. A few hundred years ago the British Navy learned this lesson the hard way. Being on a ship for long periods of time limited what the sailors could eat. In turn, many developed a deficiency and ended up with Scurvy. One of the men had a few limes with him and after eating one, he realized Scurvy quickly vanished. From then on, the development of this disease has generally been a funny story to tell with an all too important lesson. In order to get the most Vitamin C it is best to consume foods in their whole state rather than slicing vegetables or fruits and storing them in the refrigerator uncovered. C itself will oxidize too, so your best bet is just to eat the grapefruit as soon as you cut into it. Plus it will taste fresher! Because it is a water soluble vitamin, you need to make sure you’re not dehydrated (another reason to drink lots of water) and to obtain enough of it every day. A quick mind altering statistic for you to wrap this one up – something close to 90% of all humans in today’s world live in a chronically dehydrated state ranging from mild to severe. That’s scary! That should partially explain why we need roughly 64 ounces of water (dependent on body size) on a daily basis. It comes in, you utilize it, and it goes out. Very simple process that is way too often neglected. Lesson learned? Drink water and get your Vitamin C.

 

 

Magnesium (Mg) (Keep It Movin’)

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Magnesium (Mg) (Keep It Movin’)

I really like this element partly because it’s fun to say, but primarily because it keeps the poops coming out rather than storing them and creating a state of constipation. OK, yes I said it, get out your laughs… now back to seriousness. On the other hand that word constipation, makes me cringe, literally. How many of you have ever labored over the toilet trying to squeeze one out? It’s not fun is it? In fact, it creates significant amounts of stress both physically and mentally and really throws you out of whack. So let’s get back to the fun part of this by first just saying the word. Magnesium. This element, known as Nature’s laxative, helps us to relax our nerves and digestive system so that we can think clearly and perform at our best. It makes sense that it’s Nature’s laxative too because it’s at the center of every chlorophyll molecule in every plant around the world. Plants take in the sun’s light and energy and produce a beautiful set of flower petals and green leaves due to the process of photosynthesis, which creates the green pigment you see. When humans consume green leaves or foliage, like in a salad, we are hence obtaining some magnesium and we all know that leaves, sometimes called “roughage”, contain lots of fiber therefore allowing for an easy bowel movement. Green leaves help with peristalsis, the contracting of the intestines to keep food particles moving through the system in a timely fashion. Without going too much on a tangent though, let’s return to the discussion of magnesium, yet another Earth metal. This element is involved with hundreds of chemical reactions within the human body. One of which is in the promotion of new cells. Without it or with a deficiency of magnesium, new cells at some point in your lifespan will more than likely turn out slightly mutated, which can cause cancerous cells to develop. Eating dark green leaves in salads or meals also yields the vitamin B9, Folate. A few lines up I mentioned leaves being considered foliage. You can now probably draw the connection and realize there is no coincidence of why vitamin B9 is called Folate. Aside from green leaves being a good source, magnesium is also found in most tree nuts and seeds such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds just to name a few. You can find magnesium in plenty of other sources too, but the ones just mentioned are generally pretty high in magnesium as well as many other much needed nutrients. After all, if there is one thing you get from this, please get lots of magnesium in your system so you can relax, sleep better, and live a happier life.

 

Sodium (Na) (Let’s Not Be Salty)

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Sodium (Na) (Let’s Not Be Salty)

The all too famous Sodium – not to be mistaken for salt, which is sodium and chloride mixed together to form the compound of NaCl or Sodium Chloride. Sodium is actually a metal, an alkali metal to be exact. The 11th element of our periodic table, devised by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869, is denoted by the letters Na for the Latin word Natrium. Sodium, back in the days of Ancient Egypt, was used to dry out and preserve mummies, hence why in today’s world it is used to preserve foods as well as to melt ice on our highway systems during the Winter months. Regarding the biological uses within the human body, Sodium is known as a blood purifier. When we have enough sodium, not table salt, in the blood we move around as if we are still very young, flexible, and probably stupid thinking we are invincible. Gotta give that credit to sodium! It helps to keep our blood stream alkaline by ridding it of all the acids and toxins that we come across in our daily lives. One of the most common problems many Americans battle today is arthritis, or joint inflammation. You may even be able to relate to this as you’re reading. Sodium helps to keep calcium in the blood stream doing what it does best rather than building up, or calcifying, in the joints causing immense pain and depression because you can’t move how you want to and you most definitely can’t keep up with your kids anymore either. Sodium works with many elements, but it really works well with its life partner Potassium, as I previously mentioned. Sodium and Potassium ions travel through a pump system of channels which allows the muscles to contract and extend without building up too much acid. Basically, they help flush out acid from oxidized calcium and carbon stored in the muscles. The main hurdle is that with every move you make you use up a little or a lot, depending on what you’re doing, of sodium so it constantly gets excreted via sweat, feces, and urine. If you don’t replace it, you are digging yourself an early grave. I would suggest you immediately change your lifestyle habits, get more organic sodium in you, and regain your youth. “Well how do I do that you might ask?” My answer: eat plentiful amounts of celery, carrots, okra, cucumbers, asparagus, root vegetables and unpasteurized goat cheese/milk on a daily basis. These are some common foods, however there are quite a few more containing varying amounts of sodium. To end this with a bold statement that you should always remember – You cannot neglect this element unless of course you want to age quickly!

 

Phosphorus (P) (Food for Thought… Literally)

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Phosphorus (P) (Food For Thought… Literally)

Phosphorus, while in some forms is used to ignite matches, is also a much needed nutrient in the human body, but most of us don’t ever get enough. OK so that’s only partially true. We often get our daily dose, but too often it is in the wrong form. This nutrient comes from both egg yolks and animal meats as well as plant sources. And that is the major difference – which kingdom contains the source. Humans need both, however our storage of this quickly used up nutrient is mostly in our bones. When you eat vegetables, whether it be leafy sources, root sources, or tree stalk sources, your body stores phosphorus in its skeletal structure. Rarely do we get enough from animal sources and this type of phosphorus is what helps keep our brain and nerves from becoming overheated and inflamed from too much usage. Every thought we have uses up this type of phosphorus! And you wonder (or can you?) why too many people have nerve problems or nerve degeneration. When we have enough or even a surplus of both storage types, it makes the human body appear as if it has a slight glow to it. Lightning bugs or fireflies glow in the dark and this is why. Damn, wish I had known that in high school. Probably would have made that A. Oh well, let’s get back to the spotlight. Phosphorus is one of the building blocks to our very protective myelin sheaths that allow for nerve impulses to be properly transmitted from nerve cell to nerve cell via the synaptic gap. I previously mentioned we store the majority of this nutrient in our bones and when it binds to the calcium within the bones it forms calcium phosphate and gives us those strong bones we need to survive. And this is why Nature provides an ideal amount of both calcium and phosphorus together in the numerous species of plants around the world. One without the other doesn’t work, therefore all the dairy products you like won’t really give you the “strong bones” you think your getting due to the lack of phosphorus. Far too often we combine cow’s milk with cereal grains in the morning and we get hit doubly as hard. Many plants contain phosphorus in the form of phytates, which when consumed by humans causes malabsorption in the intestinal tract of many other nutrients including the way too important one, Zinc. This ultimately creates a vicious chain reaction so do yourself a favor and start eating your egg yolks in a runny state (poached) as well as eating grass fed meats – they contain some healthy fats that contain this much needed nutrient. In the end, your brain and nervous system will be very appreciative!