Light up your life with electrolytes

“All cellular structures become alive through electrolytic activity. Life begins with electrolytes. Trace minerals carry the life force in our bodies more than any other substance.” Dr. Bernard Jensen

Summer is upon us now, with its heat and activity; vacations and fun; travel and play … did I mention the heat?

Although proper nutrition is important any time of year it is vital during the hot summer months. An imbalance of nutrients (specifically the minerals and trace minerals) in our blood stream and cellular structure can lead to a wide variety of symptoms and maladies which would include:

• irregular heartbeat (tachycardia)
• irritability
• fatigue
• lethargy
• heavy, labored breathing
• muscle twitching and/or seizures
• nausea, abdominal cramping, and/or vomiting
• headache
• edema (swelling)
• muscle weakness and/or tremor
• paralysis
• disorientation
• slowed breathing
• seizures
• coma
• death

These macro and micro minerals are commonly known as ‘electrolytes’ and are often called the spark of life. Technically, electrolytes are substances that become ions in solution and acquire the capacity to conduct electricity. These ionized molecules are found throughout the blood, tissues, and cells of the body. These molecules, which are either positive (cations) or negative (anions), conduct an electric current and help to balance pH and acid-base levels in the body. Electrolytes also facilitate the passage of fluid between and within cells through a process known as osmosis and play a part in regulating the function of the neuromuscular, endocrine, and excretory systems.
The serum electrolytes include:
• Sodium (Na). A positively charged electrolyte that helps to balance fluid levels in the body and facilitates neuromuscular functioning.
• Potassium (K). A main component of cellular fluid, this positive electrolyte helps to regulate neuromuscular function and osmotic pressure.
• Calcium (Ca). A cation, or positive electrolyte, that affects neuromuscular performance and contributes to skeletal growth and blood coagulation.
• Magnesium (Mg). Influences muscle contractions and intracellular activity. A cation.
• Chloride (CI). An anion, or negative electrolyte, that regulates blood pressure.
• Phosphate (HPO4). Negative electrolyte that impacts metabolism and regulates acid-base balance and calcium levels.
• Bicarbonate (HCO3). A negatively charged electrolyte that assists in the regulation of blood pH levels. Bicarbonate insufficiencies and elevations cause acid-base disorders (i.e., acidosis, alkalosis).

With that in mind, it may cross your mind to ask, “But don’t we get these in the foods we eat?” The simple answer would be…no! Unless your diet consists primarily of fresh, raw or lightly cooked organic fruits and veggies, or take a high quality food based multiple vitamin/mineral supplement, chances are you are starting off the summer with a moderate to severe shortage of electrolytes. Below you will see the results to a study presented in THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE Volume 7, Number 2, 2001, pp. 161–173 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. titled:

Nutritional Quality of Organic Versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains
VIRGINIA WORTHINGTON, M.S., Sc.D., C.N.S.
Results: Organic crops contained significantly more vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus and significantly less nitrates than conventional crops. There were non-significant trends showing less protein but of a better quality and a higher content of nutritionally significant minerals with lower amounts of some heavy metals in organic crops compared to conventional ones.

Conclusions: There appear to be genuine differences in the nutrient content of organic and conventional crops.

But these findings aren’t anything new. Below are some quotes from a Senate Document #264 released in 1936:

"Do you know that most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come from are brought into proper mineral balance ?"

"The alarming fact is that foods-fruits and vegetables-grains now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain minerals, are starving us...no matter how much of them we eat!"

"Laboratory tests prove that the fruits, the vegetables, the grains, the eggs and even the milk and meats of today are not what they were a few generations ago. No man of today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health..."

"It is bad news to learn from our leading authorities that 99 percent of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in DISEASE. Any upset of the balance, any considerable lack of one or another element, however microscopic the body requirement may be, and we sicken, suffer, and shorten our lives".

"We know that vitamins are complex chemical substances which are indispensable to nutrition, and that each of them is important for the normal function of some special structure of the body. Disorder and disease result from any vitamin deficiency. It is not commonly realized, however, that vitamins control the body's appropriation of minerals, and that in the absence of minerals they have no function to perform. Lacking vitamins, the system can make some use of minerals, but lacking minerals, vitamins are useless".

"Our soils which are seriously deficient in trace minerals, cannot produce plant life competent to maintain our needs, and with the continuous cropping and shipping away of those trace minerals and concentrates, the condition becomes worse".

Your next question will undoubtedly be, “How can I protect myself and my family during the summer months?” Here are a few general suggestions and products that can help you beat the heat:

• For general health everyone needs to consume half their body weight in ounces of pure delicious water. This means, if you weigh 100 pounds you should drink 50 ounces of water per day. Naturally you will need more according to your physical activities and general health. For instance, anyone that suffers from respiratory ailments can expel as much as 4 quarts of water per day through their mouth and unless they are replenishing this liquid they can suffer dehydration and electrolyte depletion.
• Organically grown fruits and vegetables, predominately the ‘greens’, provide much in the way of a balanced mineral profile. Eating lush, cooling salads and raw or lightly cooked varieties of veggies is a delicious way to stay cool as well as recharged.
• Alacer’s Emergen-C and Electro Mix…nearly everyone knows this company.
• I would like to take a minute to introduce you to Cellfood by Lumina Health. Cellfood is a proprietary super-energized complex concentrate of 78 trace minerals, 34 enzymes, 17 amino acids, electrolytes and dissolved oxygen held in a negatively-charged suspension utilizing deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. Its inventor, the legendary Everett Storey, called Cellfood an electromagnetic equation. Since the blood and lymph fluid are colloidal and negatively charged, the synchronicity between Cellfood and these vital fluids assures the bioavailability of Cellfood's nutrients to every cell in the body. It not only provides the nutrients the cells require, it also provides oxygen.

Visit you local health food market for these supplements and organic produce, preferably local grown.