If you’ve been on the internet lately, you’ve probably heard of minerals. Between adrenal cocktails and mineral mocktails, these nutrients are finally getting the love and attention they deserve.

Mineral status is one of the first things I address with all of my clients because minerals are SO important for us and they make a difference pretty quickly. If you’re feeling fatigued, having GI issues, or working to optimize your hormone function, chances are you need minerals. But here are some tell tell signs you could use some more minerals in your life:

• You always feel tired
• You feel thirsty even when drinking plenty of water
• You pee all day just to keep up with how much water you “need”
• You have muscle cramps and spasms
• Poor muscle recovery after workouts
• You feel puffy
• You bloat all of the time*
• Constipation is just a given at this point
• Your sleep is all over the place
• You have high blood pressure (potassium is your bestie here)
• You struggle to stabilize your blood sugar no matter what you eat

*Psst if you find yourself constantly bloated hi, I see you & I built ya this 4 min quiz to understand exactly why!

Why are minerals so great?

Think of minerals like spark plugs for our bodies- they serve as cofactors for thousands of chemical reactions and keep everything running smoothly. They’re involved in everything from energy production, making hormones and digestive juices, and having a healthy stress response. Plus, minerals are the literal key to cellular hydration. Without minerals, our cells don’t take in water effectively which means all that water you’re drinking is just running straight through you. Minerals are the difference between having cells that are shriveled up like raisins or nice, hydrated, and plump like a grape.

You can take all the supplements in the world, but if you don’t have a good mineral foundation those supps probably won’t be as effective. So minerals should be in your foundation routine no matter what your wellness goals are!

After getting more minerals, you may notice:

⚡️more energy

⚡️better sleep

⚡️fewer cravings

⚡️better digestion

⚡️more reliable BMs

Overall, you’ll notice your body just feels like it USED to *pauses to reminisce on what it felt like to have energy no matter what*

How to get more minerals

There are a tonnnn of different minerals out there, and a many of them play roles in our health, but the minerals we’re focused on today are sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Calcium and iron are biggies too, but we’ll have to chat about those another time.

We do get minerals through our diet, but the high stress of our modern lifestyles means we use up a lotttt of minerals (turns out running on starbucks and people pleasing does in fact take a toll… who knew), so you may need some extra support. Don’t worry- I have you covered with my favorite recipes below!

There are some food sources that give us good amounts of minerals- we can find potassium in coconut water, potatoes (yes, you read that right), melons, avocado, and bananas. Magnesium is found in chocolate/cocoa powder, dark leafy greens, and pumpkin seeds. And we get sodium in dairy products like cheese and cottage cheese, salt, and pickled veggies. But even when incorporating mineral rich foods, it can be tough to hit our goals.

When I’m working with clients, we utilize testing to know exactly which minerals they need and how much, but you don’t need to be exact to get started. Start by drinking 1 to 2 mineral mocktails each day and see how you feel.

Ugh me tooo… for years on end, even while I was studying to be a dietitian *face palm* But it isn’t salt itself that is bad… it’s TOO MUCH salt. And if you’re someone that has high blood pressure, eats at restaurants a lot, or gets a lot of your food from packages, you probably don’t need to add any additional sodium. But if you workout regularly and cook most of your food at home, a pinch of salt here and there can go along way.

Wait, I thought salt was bad?

I know it can feel confusing when nutrition seems so split even on something as basic as salt, but remember, different recommendations work for different people. The majority of Americans do need to cut back on their salt intake, but the majority readers of this particular blog post are…. well, healthy enough to read a boring blog post on minerals, and I’d put good money on that reader (YOU) being healthier than the average American.

70% of the salt intake in America comes from eating out and packaged food. So if you cook most of your meals at home and stick to whole food snacks, you’d likely fall into the “needs more” category. Or at the very least could experiment and see how you feel. As always, talk to your provider and keep an eye on your blood pressure. If it’s already low, you’re likely in the camp that could use some more. If it’s high, don’t even experiment unless you’re working with a doc or dietitian.

If your head is spinning

I don’t blame you. Giving you the a-okay on salt just countered decades of recommendations. And it isn’t for everyone.

If you’re a rule follower like me, you might want cold hard facts before you get all laissez faire with the salt shaker. Inside the Functional Nutrition Intensive, you get an in depth mineral assessment that will look at sodium, yes but also potassium, magnesium, calcium and soo many more minerals. At KBN we believe in looking at the whole picture of your health.

As always, talk to your own nutrition provider, take things slow, and most importantly, listen to your body when making changes to your diet and supplement routine.

My Favorite Mineral Mocktails

Sleepy Time Mocktail

Sunrise Mocktail

Piña Colada Mineral Mocktail

Now time to get hydrating! Give yourself 1-2 weeks with these mocktails and let us know in the comments how much better you feel!

But what if you’re already doing all this and still feel terrible?

Ugh I’m sorry! We’re here to help you through it.

Mocktails and a pinch of salt will move the needle for a lot of people. But if you’ve been drinking your minerals for a month and you still can’t get through 3pm, still bloat by dinner, still wake up at 2am, there’s more going on.

Minerals are a massive piece of the puzzle. But a lot of times, they aren’t the whole puzzle.

That’s why in our Functional Nutrition Intensive, we don’t just stop at minerals. We also dive deep into bloodwork and a GI-MAP so we can see not just that you’re depleted, but what’s driving it. That second part is the one that actually changes things.

If you’ve been doing everything right and still feel awful, that’s usually the missing piece.

If you’re ready to dive in and get a full picture of your mineral, nutrient, and gut status, apply to Functional Nutrition Intensive here and we’ll email you to schedule a free 20 minute call to talk through your symptom story and how this approach can help you get steady symptom wins.