Minerals and Mental Health Part 2

Can I be honest with you for a minute? Over the past year I have rarely heard God’s voice. In fact, I can count on one hand and tell you what those things were He told me. Going through a health battle, postpartum, major life changes, AND not hearing God’s voice. I don’t ever want to be there but yet I still am. I have been so lonely emotionally and spiritually. And even though I have created one of the closest friendships in this past year, the absence and presence of another adult during the day in my home to be able to talk to, bounce ideas off of, and just do life with has been excruciatingly felt in the deepest parts of my soul.

In my last blog post, I talked about the link between mineral imbalances and how it effects our mental health.

Minerals are our firing cylinders to make every other hormone and organ work properly in our bodies. Copper, in particular, is also the mineral our bodies need in order to produce energy. That’s why, when moms become depressed during postpartum, they literally don’t have enough energy to meet the demands of the day. Therefore, the mind battle becomes, “what’s wrong with me?” and every time the baby cries she doesn’t have the emotional capacity to be there for someone else. She needs someone to be there for her while her body recovers the four pounds of minerals she gave out to her baby over the last nine months.

It’s called Postnatal Depletion and most moms suffer from it because the food we eat is dead food, full of nothing but empty carbs. Our bellies are full but our body is not getting the nutrients it needs.

Copper rises to twice its levels during pregnancy. As soon as the baby is born the body says get rid of it! Within 24 hours the body will get rid of all that excess copper. But, what happens when it doesn’t get rid of enough copper (copper is excreted through the bile so if you don’t have enough bile or it’s too sludgy due to high estrogens and fat intake, it can’t detox properly) or you’re copper deficient?

According to this article, signs of copper toxicity can be:

• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Painful menstrual cycles
• Fibroid tumors
• Adrenal fatigue
• Endometriosis
• Certain types of cancer such as breast and uterine
• Overwhelming sadness
• Inability to bond with baby
• Numbness, disconnectedness
• Heightened irritability, anger, rage
• History of depression with hormonal changes
• Inability to cope with normal stress

The article focuses on higher levels of copper compared to low levels. More people have higher copper tissue levels than lower. I had very low copper levels and still experienced the same mood disorders listed here plus the irregular periods. Many of my other mineral ratios were off as well including thyroid (Ca/K), adrenals (Na/Mg), vitality (Na/K), and central nervous system (Ca/P) ratios. They all work together. Just like dirt isn’t good dirt without the proper minerals and balances.

There is also another mineral ratio that is very important in our body. That is the ratio that indicates bioavailable copper. it’s the zinc to copper ratio. Zinc (found in shellfish, especially oysters) helps to regulate copper. Copper can be unbound in your body which is what copper toxicity is. When too high or too low of copper levels are present, it effects iron in the body. When iron is too high or too low oxidative stress will be present which means inflammation which means other health problems will arise (like preeclampsia). Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body. When there is too much iron in your body because of copper imbalances, there is also too much oxygen in the body. When iron is exposed to oxygen, it causes rust. That’s what oxidative stress is in your body. The same reaction you see on your metal pipe fence is happening in your body.

We are made from the dust so at the core of our health, we must keep our mineral levels in balance.

When one mineral level is off, it will throw others off and contribute to the hormone fluctuations we see so much of. The intricate relationships each one plays in our body is crucial. That’s why we need to know what we’re putting into our bodies as well as where our mineral levels are at.

Taking supplements for the sake of taking them without knowing exactly what you need can cause even more health problems.

One thing I tell anyone who will listen theses days is, stop taking vitamin d and zinc supplements. These two are always synthetic unless you’re getting the from a real food source. Vitamin d is made when cholesterol in the body is activated by UV rays. So, eat more butter and get some sunshine! These two can be hidden in many other supplements. The calcium supplement I was taking had vitamin d in it and many other synthetics. This supplement was hindering my overall health. Start reading labels and make sure your supplements are coming from whole food sources. Chances are, they aren’t, unless you knew beforehand what you were buying. Here is a picture of the label of that calcium supplement I was taking. A good rule of thumb is to buy supplements with as few ingredients as possible and get them from food source supplements only.

In my next blog post, I will share what supplements I’m taking, where to get them, and which ones I recommend from real food sources!

Until next time, be blessed!