CALCIUM / Magnesium
Calcium is the most abundant mineral element in the body. It occurs primarily in plants, dairy products, and seafoods. Calcium is necessary for healthy bones and teeth, for clotting of the blood for the functioning of nerve tissue and muscles (including the heart), for enzymatic processes, and for controlling the movement of fluids through cell walls. It also acts to balance the amounts of other minerals and promotes better use of iron by the body. Calcium dissolves in acid but is not affected by heat or light.
Among it's many benefits, Calcium builds and maintains bones and teeth, regulates heart rhythm, eases insomnia, helps regulate the passage of nutrients in & out of the cell walls, assists in normal blood clotting, helps maintain proper nerve and muscle function, lowers blood pressure, is important to normal kidney function, and based on current medical research reduces the incidence of colon cancer, and reduces blood cholesterol levels. Deficiency symptoms may result in arm & leg muscle spasms, softening of bones, back and leg cramps, brittle bones, rickets, poor growth, osteoporosis (a deterioration of the bones), tooth decay and depression.
The following quantitative list presents both plants and plant products containing significant amounts of this nutrient, in approximate order from highest to lowest content for a given weight. Plants marked with an asterisk (*) contain significantly more of the nutrient than do the unmarked plants. Those marked with a double asterisk (**) contain considerably more than those with a single asterisk. Unless otherwise noted, all items are fresh and unprocessed. Dried fruits are often included without their fresh equivalents because the dried versions weigh considerably less and therefore contain more nutrients than the same weight of fresh fruit.
Magnesium sulfates are classified as minerals. In nutrition, the term "minerals" refers to chemical elements that are necessary for proper functioning of the body. Our supply of minerals comes almost exclusively through the food chain - plants take them from the ground and incorporate them into organic compounds that we consume by eating either the plants or the animals that ate the plants. The main exception is table salt, which provides sodium and chlorine (and iodine if iodized) in inorganic form.
Minerals are grouped into two types: macrominerals are found in relatively large amounts in the body; microminerals are found in smaller amounts (less than .005 percent of body weight). Along with three microminerals (cobalt, molybdenum, and selenium), macrominerals of specific importance to good health include calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. Magnesium occurs in both plant and animal tissue. It is essential as an enzyme activator, and is involved in the formation & maintenance of body protein.