As most people know, minerals and trace minerals are an essential factor in the proper function and structure of all living cells. Similar to vitamins, minerals function as coenzymes, promoting the body performance, energy, growth and healing.

As in other areas of bodily function proper chemical balance is essential. An imbalance of minerals in the body often leads to various types of illnesses. Maintaining mineral balance is essential to good health. Both macro and micro (trace) minerals are stored in bone and muscle tissue. Though mineral toxicity is possible, massive amounts are needed to induce toxicity.

Minerals found throughout the body originally came from mother earth, in the form of rock. As erosion breaks down the mineral salts of rocks into smaller and smaller particles, the small particles eventually end up as soil from which all living organisms such as plants grow. Microbes in the soil utilize the mineral salts, and eventually pass them along to the plant structure through the root system. As plants grow, nutrients including minerals are taken up through the roots and are deposited in the cellular structure of the plant. When the plant is digested by humans or animals, the minerals are easily absorbed into our systems. Absorption of minerals taken in from live plant food is significantly more efficient than taking mineral supplements. Plant synthesis is very efficient, while mineral synthesis using supplements is much less efficient.

Minerals are broken into two classes, macrominerals, and micro (trace) minerals. Macro minerals include calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus. Typically, macro minerals are needed in the tissues in larger amounts then trace minerals. Micro (trace) minerals include, boron, chromium, copper, germanium, iodine, iron, vanadium, and zinc.

Although it is possible to receive adequate amounts of minerals through diet alone, supplementation is generally thought off as being essential to good health. Many researchers indicate that there is a very low mineral content in the farm soils of the world. It is because of the typically low trace minerals content in the soils from which our vegetables are grown that nutritionists suggest trace mineral supplementation. Farmers are concerned with rate of growth of their products and pay little or no attention to minerals, other than those that promote growth of their products.

Since farming depletes the soil of minerals and farmers do not generally replace the used up minerals, the end product, which is the vegetables and fruits we eat have a very low trace mineral content. Supplementation is the logical option.

It is essential to take supplemental minerals in balanced amounts, because cells of the body compete for minerals that are needed. Too much of one mineral can cause cells to ask for and look for other minerals, which if not present, can create an imbalance in the mineral and trace mineral makeup of the cellular structure.

Nutricare capsules consist of 600 mg plant sprouts in powder form containing Phytonutrients, Sterols/Sterolins, Digestive Enzymes, Vitamins and Minerals.
Sterolandia 50 capsules consist of 300 mg of Nutricare and 300 mg of Sutherlandia.

Not Just Any Mineral

Minerals (not rocks) for human consumption

Minerals obtained from plant sources are the minerals absorbed by the human body. Dr Robert Thiel explained this in an excellent article on The Truth about Minerals in Nutritional Supplements. "..many people interested in natural health take minerals, the truth is that nearly all the minerals taken are natural for nothing but sometimes plants. While plants are designed to ingest and break-down minerals, humans are not. The truth about nearly all minerals in supplements is that they are really industrial chemicals made from processing rocks with one or more acids."

Plants, with the aid of enzymes and soil-based microorganisms, can take in from soil the mineral salts that they have an affinity for through their roots or hyphae. After various metabolic processes, when these minerals no longer exist as salts, they become complexed with various carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins present in the plant as part of the living organism. Thus for nutrition, humans eat plants and/or animals that eat plants, whereas plants can obtain their nutrients from the soil. This process is referred to as the "food chain".

Most mineral supplements contain minerals in the form referred to as ‘mineral salts’. Even though mineral salts are often called “natural”, they are rocks (e.g. calcium carbonate exists as the rock commonly known as limestone) or they are chemically produced. Mineral salts are natural food for plants, they are not a natural food for humans - humans do not have roots or hyphae!

Mineral absorption is affected by many factors including the chemical form, structural form, existence or lack of protein chaperones, health, dietary factors, and even medications.

The basic difference between minerals found in foods and those found in industrial mineral salts is chemical.
“The chemical form of a mineral is an important factor in its absorption and bioavailability…there is evidence that the form in which minerals are ingested affects absorption. For example, particle size, surface area, and solubility of a substance affects its dilution rate…In many solid foods, elements are not free, but firmly bound in the food matrix” [Shapes SA,Schlussel YR, Cifuentes M. Drug-Nutrient Interactions That Effect Mineral Status].

This is not true of most minerals in supplements as they are normally industrially processed inorganic rocks (mineral salts) hence they are void of the factors found in a food matrix. Only 100% food minerals have minerals attached in a food matrix.

THE VITAMINS AND MINERALS IN THE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM Camdeboo HEALTH PRODUCTS ARE REAL PLANT FOOD (like the ground sprouts and flax powder found in most products). OTHER PRODUCTS WITH SPECIFIC QUALITIES FOR SPECIFIC CONDITIONS ARE EXTRACTS FROM REAL PLANTS. THEREFORE IT HAS A BIOAVAILABILITY OF ALMOST 100% - WHAT YOU TAKE IS USED BY YOUR BODY TO YOUR BENEFIT.


Read the articles on Real Vitamins and Real Minerals by Dr Robert Thiel and by Michael Teplitsky (shorter).

[If you would like to know more on real vitamins there is a great book discussing natural vs. synthetic supplementation in more detail: The Real Truth About Vitamins and Antioxidants, by Judith A. DeCava.]

Camdeboo Health Products provide you with REAL FOOD SUPPLEMENTS from a natural food source. Several products contain powdered sprouts and/or flax.  Other products are produced from unique plants (nature) with specific qualities related to the prevention of or curing of various ailments and conditions.