MINERALS

What are minerals?

Minerals are natural substances (generally solid) that are found in the form of salts:

  • organiques the mineral is at least bound to a carbon and hydrogen atom
  • inorganic: the mineral is not linked to these two atoms

There are more than 4,000 different minerals, of natural or artificial origin. Of these minerals, 17 are essential for proper body function: these are the ones that Laboratoires BIOFAR offer you in their products.

The different types of minerals

Minerals are traditionally divided into two categories, depending on their levels in the body:

Macro-elements

  • Present in the body in significant quantities.

  • The 6 essential macro-elements are: calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium and chlorine.

Trace elements

  • Present in the body in smaller amounts, in trace amounts, at levels of less than 1 mg/kg body weight.
  • Of the 11 essential trace elements, the main ones are: iron, iodine, zinc, copper, selenium and chromium.

The reference daily intakes (RDIs) of the macro-elements are higher than those of the micro-nutrients because of their unequal contents in the organism. A deficiency in either of the two categories of minerals, however, will have consequences on health.

Benefits of organic minerals

Organic mineral salts have the advantage of offering:

  • better bioavailability
  • better tolerance

These benefits could be explained by the resemblance of organic sources with the compounds naturally present in our body.

Did you know ?
The organically sourced magnesium citrate chosen by Laboratoires BIOOFAR is significantly more bioavailable than magnesium oxide, an inorganic source.