Major Functions | Signs of Shortage | Nature’s Sunshine Sources | Dietary Sources | Herb Sources | |
Calcium | Essential for blood clotting and the structure of bones and teeth, needed for working of nerves and all other electrically active body tissues | Stunted growth, rickets, osteoporosis, convulsions | Iron, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Nutri-Calm, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, Vitamin Calcium w/ Magnesium & Vitamin D, SynerPro Calcium-Magnesium, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Dairy products, green vegetables, dried legumes | Valerian, white oak bark, pau d’arco, kelp barberry, horsetail |
Chromium | Involved in glucose and energy metabolism, helps regulate blood sugar | Disturbances of glucose fat and protein metabolism | Chromium, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, Target P-14 | Brewer’s yeast, chicken, dairy products, seafood, fresh fruit, potatoes with skin, whole grains | Oat straw, red clover, bee pollen, juniper berries, damiana |
Cobalt | Promotes normal red blood cell formation, functions in activation of several enzymes, necessary for the manufacture of Vitamin B12 in the body | None reported in humans, possibly a factor in pernicious anemia | Trace Mineral Maintenance, Vitamin B12 | Organ and muscle meats, milk | Golden seal, capsicum, dong quai, pau d’ arco, echinacea, mullein |
Copper | Needed by cells to utilize oxygen, blood formation, functioning of enzymes involved in iron metabolism | Anemia, low white blood cell count, bone demineralization | Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Lentils, wheat germ, blackstrap molasses, some nuts, mushrooms, honey | Scullcap, sage, white oak bark, horsetail, yucca |
Iodine | Needed for thyroid gland, thyroid hormones | Enlarged thyroid (goiter) | Mega-Chel, Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals, Target TS II | Seafood, iodized salt | Kelp, black walnut hulls |
Iron | Needed in manufacturing of myoglobin and hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying compound in blood) and enzymes involved in energy metabolism | Iron-deficiency anemia, reduced resistance to infection, fatigue | Children’s Chewable Vitamin, Iron, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Liver, meat, eggs, legumes, whole grains, green leafy vegetables | Yellow dock, mullein, blue cohosh, butcher’s broom, kelp, bilberry, burdock, red raspberry, dandelion |
Magnesium | Needed by all cells important in electrical activity of nerves and muscles, activates enzymes, protein synthesis, influences cellular calcium levels | Growth failure, behavioral disturbances, weakness, spasms | Magnesium, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, Calcium w/ Magnesium & Vitamin D, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Beans, nuts, whole grains, leafy green vegetables | Oat straw, kelp, licorice, peppermint, burdock, marshmallow, horsetail, parsley |
Manganese | Cell metabolism, fat production, enzyme function | None reported for humans | Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Avocados, beans, oatmeal, nuts, buckwheat | Red raspberry, bilberry, ginger, gotu kola, white oak bark |
Phosphorus | Cell energy (ATP formation), key element in cell reactions, structure of bones and teeth | Weakness, demineralization of bone, loss of calcium | Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Calcium-Magnesium, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Meat, dairy products, beans, peas, cereals, poultry, grains | Bilberry, peppermint, yellow dock, fennel, mullein, hops |
Potassium | Major mineral in body cells, regulates body water balance, nerve function and many cell reactions | Muscular weakness, paralysis | Combination Potassium, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, SKL Formula, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral | Avocados, bananas , apricots, potatoes, and many other foods | Parsley, blessed thistle, sage, catnip, hops, peppermint, feverfew, kelp, red clover |
Selenium | Functions in close association with vitamin E, is an antioxidant | Anemia (rare) | Defense Maintenance, Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental Vitamin & Mineral, SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals | Seafood, meat, grains | Catnip, ho shou woo, valerian, blue cohosh, barberry, blessed thistle, ginseng |
Zinc | Needed in the structure of cell enzymes, a factor in enzymes involved in digestion, plays a role in prostate health, aids wound healing | Growth failure, infertility, delayed wound healing | Mega-Chel, Trace Mineral Maintenance, Super Supplemental SynerPro Multiple Vitamins and Minerals, Target P14, Target TS II, Zinc | Widely distributed in food, especially pumpkin and sunflower seeds | Bilberry, capsicum, sage, spirulina, echinacea, gotu kola |
* No significant herbal source