Mineral nutrient

“ Lately it has become fashionable to remineralize the earth with heavy applications of rock flours. Unlike most fads and trends, this one is wise and should endure. The best rocks to use are finely ground "basic" igneous rocks like basalts. They are called basic as opposed to "acid" rocks because they are richer in calcium and magnesium with lesser quantities of potassium. When soil forms from these materials it tends to not be acid. Most basic igneous rocks also contain a wide range of trace mineral nutrients. ”

“ It is held that the ash elements which are in organic combination are the forms mainly utilized for tissue construction. While it is not known just what part all the mineral elements take in animal nutrition, experiments show that in all ordinary mixed rations the amount of the different mineral elements is in excess of the demands of the body, and it is only in rare instances, as in cases of restricted diet, or convalescence from some disease, that special attention need be given to increasing the mineral content of the ration. ”

“ The estimation of the value of the flesh-forming materials is far more difficult than that of sugar, starch, pectine compounds, and fat. The nitrogenous constituents of food must be in a highly elaborated state before they are capable of being assimilated. In seeds—in which vegetable substances attain their highest degree of development—they probably exist in the most digestible form, whilst much of the nitrogen found in the stems and leaves of succulent plants, is either in a purely mineral state, or in so low a degree of elaboration as to be unavailable for the purpose of nutrition. ”

“ All of the other elements are derived from the soil except in the case of peas, beans, clovers and other legumes which secure most of their nitrogen from the air.
The mineral elements are not needed in large amounts but well-balanced plant growth is [Pg 77] strictly dependent upon their presence in available form. Of these elements, those most likely to be deficient either in total amount or in availability are nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. ”

“ Among these are the mineral substances which are indispensable for the proper life and growth of plants. These plant nutrients are so indispensable that if any one of them is absent, it is absolutely impossible for the plant to continue its life functions. The indispensable plant-foods gathered from the soil by the root-hairs, in addition to water, are: potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, nitrogen, and phosphorus,—all in their proper combinations. ”

“ In it he stated that plants could obtain from the air all the nitrogen they required, and that, to produce a full crop, it was only necessary to ensure that the soil should provide a sufficient supply of the mineral elements, as he called them, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, etc. Now of all the elements which the farmer has to buy for 4 application to his land as manure, nitrogen is the most costly. At the present time nitrogen in manures costs sevenpence per pound, whilst a pound of phosphorus in manures can be bought for fivepence, and a pound of potassium for twopence. ”

“ In Case 5 will be seen a collection of salt from various countries.
Minerals in Food.
In Case 4 are examples of some of the principal Mineral Substances, excepting water, in food. They are generally essential to proper nutrition. In the body of a man, weighing 154 lbs., there are about 8 lbs. of mineral matter. Different parts of the body show peculiar affection for particular ingredients to the exclusion of others. The mineral salts contained in plants and animals are indestructible by heat, hence they are called “ashes.” ”

“ In view of the fact that these various minerals play an indispensable part in healthy metabolism it is imperative that a sufficiency of them should be supplied in proper proportion in our daily food. It is imperative, if we desire to retain or to restore health to the body.
These mineral elements are to be found in the first instance in the earth, but they are of no use to the body in that form. We cannot digest and assimilate inorganic matter no matter how finely it may be pulverized. ”

“ Mineral compounds must be present in our food, to help in the regulation of the body processes and to enter into the composition of the structure and the fluids of the body. Mineral compounds are best supplied by fresh green vegetables, fruits, and milk.
Water is absolutely essential to the body, is present in large quantities in many foods, and is combined with many other foods during the processes of cooking.
One or more of the food-stuffs sometimes predominate in a single food. For example, rice is almost entirely carbohydrate, and butter is almost pure fat. ”

“ The nitrogen that we draw in from the air with every breath, we breathe out again without being able to use it. This element is necessary to every living cell, but we can make it ours only through our protein food. Nitrogen is cheapest when obtained from the grains, from dried beans and peas. We pay a higher price for it in milk, eggs, fish, meat, and nuts. Carbon, which is found in all foodstuffs except water and some kinds of mineral matter, costs much less, especially when we take it in the form of carbohydrates such as starches and sugars. ”

“ A large number of vegetables, particularly those low in food value, such as greens, celery, etc., are very valuable for their mineral salts. In reality, this substance and the cellulose they contain are the things that recommend the use of these vegetables in the diet. Minerals of all kinds are found in solution in the water contained in vegetables, but chief among them are calcium, sodium, iron, phosphorus, and sulphur. Greens and salad vegetables are particularly high in iron, the element that assists in keeping the blood in good condition. ”

“ In the urine and in the solid excrements of animals we carry ammonia, and, consequently, nitrogen, to our cultivated plants, and this nitrogen is accompanied by all the mineral elements of food exactly in the same proportions, in which both are contained in the plants which served as food to the animals, or what is the same, in those proportions in which both can serve as nourishment to a new generation of plants, to which both are essential. ”

“ An animal deprived of mineral food will die as surely as one deprived of water. In arranging our diets, however, we are not compelled to take the minerals into account, for, with the exception of table salt (sodium chlorid) , the meat and vegetables that we eat provide the mineral material the body requires. Iron, for example, which imparts to the blood one of its most essential qualities, occurs in relatively large amounts in apples, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, peas, carrots, and meats. Only now and then does it become advisable to add iron deliberately to the diet. ”

“ To furnish this condition is the object of nitrogen given to plants as manure. If no nitrogen [Pg 47] is supplied the protein substances cannot be formed, and the plant must cease to grow.
When on the contrary ammonia is given to the soil (by rains or otherwise) , it furnishes nitrogen, while the carbonic acid and water yield the other constituents of protein, and a healthy growth continues, provided that the soil contains the mineral matters required in the formation of the ash, in a condition to be useful. ”

“ While milk contains only a low percentage of iron, it furnishes a high proportion of the day’s supply in children’s diet, because of the total quantity used.
Valuable mineral material in many fruits and vegetables is just beneath the skin. It is dissolved into the water if these foods are boiled. The mineral matter is conserved by baking, or stewing, or steaming, by cooking without paring, or by using the water in which they are boiled. ”

“ On the other hand the other six elements of plant food are contained largely in the mineral part of the soil, as the clay, silt, and sand. thus the iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are called abundant elements, are contained in the mineral matter, and usually in considerable amounts, while they are found in the organic matter in very small proportion. The phosphorus and sulfur are found in very limited quantities in most soils, but they are present in both organic and mineral form. ”

“ Mineral matter is quite as necessary for plant as for animal life, and is therefore present in all food, except in the case of some highly-prepared ones, such as sugar, starch and oil. Children require a good proportion of calcium phosphate for the growth of their bones, whilst adults require less. The outer part of the grain of cereals is the richest in mineral constituents, white flour and rice are deficient. Wheatmeal and oatmeal are especially recommended for the quantity of phosphates and other salts contained in them. ”

“ When we come to know the precise quantity of nitrogen, in a purely, or nearly pure, mineral form14 excreted by an animal, then we shall be in a position to estimate the proportion of its food expended in sustaining the essential vital processes which continuously go on in its body. ”

“ Seeds, too, contain building material for new plants; therefore, the building mineral matter must be stored in their cells. Hard water is known by the lime it contains, therefore this, if drunk, assists in the formation of bone.
The class must be told that the mineral in the juices of plants is mainly for regulating purposes; that is, to keep our bodies in order, or as we say, healthy. When they get out of order, we usually go to a doctor to be regulated or made well. The medicine which he prescribes often contains some mineral in solution, perhaps iron. ”

“ We are quite unable to separate living beings from the other productions of nature by their composition, since they are formed of the same mineral elements. All the aliments of plants—water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur—before their absorption and assimilation belonged to the mineral kingdom. ”

“ The proportion of pulp to added sugar is about as 20 to 80.
Mineral Constituents of Tropical Fruits. —The mineral content of the edible portions of fruits is important, both from a dietetic and chemical point of view.
The mineral substances in fruits not only add to their palatability but also have important functions in digestion and assimilation. The lime and phosphoric acid which the ash of fruits contain are foods that nourish certain tissues of the body, such as the bones. The other mineral ingredients of fruits take an active part in the circulation of the fluids of the body. ”

“ Lawes and Gilbert have taken a prominent position, hold that, as a rule, fertile soils, cultivated in the ordinary manner, contain a sufficient supply of mineral matters for the production of the largest possible crops, but that the quantity of ammonia and nitric acid which the plants are capable of extracting from the air is insufficient, and must be supplemented by manures containing them. ”

“ Mineral Waters.—When water is charged with carbonic acid gas under pressure, carbonated water results, and when minerals, as salts of sodium, potassium, or lithium, are added, artificial mineral waters are produced. Natural mineral waters are placed on the market to some extent, but most mineral waters are artificial products and they are sometimes prepared from water of low sanitary character. ”

“ Certain mineral elements, such as iron, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, etc., which are among the important constituents of the human body, may be taken in the organic form in fruits and vegetables, or in herb extracts and the vitochemical remedies, in large amounts, in fact, far beyond the actual needs of the body, but they will not show in the iris of the eye, because they are easily eliminated from the system. ”

“ Before putting “vegetalism” into practice the first point is to know whether the foods of “vegetal” origin contain, and are susceptible of producing regularly, the divers nutritive principles indispensable to the organisation of an alimentary diet. The principles are the following:—Proteid or albuminoid substances; hydrocarbonated and sweet substances fatty substances; mineral matters, alkalis, lime, magnesia, phosphates and chlorides, etc. In most compound foods, no matter of what origin, mineral materials almost always exist in sufficient quantities. ”

“ MINERAL MATTER, OR ASH, IN VEGETABLES.--The mineral matter in vegetables is found in comparatively large quantities, the average amount being slightly over 1 per cent. The presence of this substance is of great value, because the mineral salts of both fruits and vegetables are essential in the diet of adults in order to keep their health in a normal condition. The mineral salts of vegetables render the blood more alkaline instead of more acid, as do those contained in cereals and meat. ”

“ It must not be forgotten that a striking difference exists between the productions of the mineral and the other kingdoms of nature. Animals and vegetables arrive at maturity by successive developments, and increase by the assimilation of substances, having the power of producing the most important chemical changes upon such matter as comes within the range of their influence; but minerals are equally perfect in the earliest stages of their formation, and increase only, as previously said, by the accretion of particles without their undergoing any change. ”

“ When we consider that every one hundred pounds of wheat crop, as carted to the stack, contains about five per cent. of mineral matter, and one per cent. of nitrogen, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that my soil has a large available balance of mineral substances which the crop could not make use of for want of nitrogen. The crop which has received these mineral manures now amounts to from twelve to thirteen bushels per acre, and removes from the land about sixteen pounds of nitrogen every year. ”