Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body
Minerals
Learn why our bodies need minerals, through a true story from India.
A second true story, from India. In the 1960s, Indian scientists found that many people in the Himalayan region and the northern plains had a swelling at the front of the neck. This is a sign of goitre. The soil there lacked iodine, so the local food and water lacked it too.
So common salt was mixed with iodine to make iodised salt. When people used it, the swelling clearly went down. Iodised salt is simply common salt with the right amount of salts of iodine added.
Iodine is a mineral. Your book gives three minerals:
| Mineral | What it does | Where we get it | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium | keeps bones and teeth healthy | milk or soya milk, curd, cheese, paneer | weak bones, tooth decay |
| Iodine | helps us do physical and mental activities | seaweed, water chestnut (singhada), iodised salt | goitre |
| Iron | an important part of our blood | green leafy vegetables, beetroot, pomegranate | anaemia: weakness, shortness of breath |
In the book, Gourav breaks a bone in his leg and his doctor gives him calcium tablets. That makes sense: calcium keeps bones healthy, so it helps his bone heal.
Vitamins and minerals are called protective nutrients, because they protect the body from diseases and keep it healthy. We need them only in small amounts, but we cannot do without them.
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