In the February edition, Tomorrow featured an article about an oyster farm in Alvor. Oysters, as mentioned at the end of the article, have an abundance of minerals. But one of the main and most important bio-available minerals that they can provide you, without popping a pill, is zinc.
Zinc can help incredibly with recovery from viruses and adverse skin conditions. It can restore acid reflux, and is a building block for digestive enzymes and bile production. However, too much zinc (over 15 mg a day is considered too much!) can, for example, have a significant effect on sodium levels in our body as well as causing other mineral imbalances.
Obtaining zinc through foods like oysters not only helps replenish vital minerals that support our intracellular functions but also provides us with the best form of minerals for our body to break down and utilise effectively. A synthetic and sometimes difficult-to-digest pill, on the other hand, can affect your gut, liver and kidneys while it is being processed in your body.
Eating just one oyster a week can give you a better mineral status for the entire week compared to popping different vitamins and minerals in pill form every day.
The best way to balance minerals is through food, as nature has always got our backs and cleverly given us the right bio-available balanced nutrients in all whole foods that we consume.
If you are interested in looking at balancing your minerals and want to explore this via a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) test, I can help support you to do this, mainly through food. As a Functional Medicine Nutrition Coach in training, I am looking for case studies and can offer HTMA sessions at a vastly reduced rate for a year starting this month.
Please get in touch with me on Instagram and look out for more interesting monthly insights about minerals, functional medicine and coaching right here.
Nirali Shah-Jackson is a certified HTMA and Shiatsu Practitioner.
Instagram: @mineralmojo
