When it comes to foods naturally rich in minerals, it’s hard to beat our list. If you’re also looking for more variety and flavour in your diet, you’ve come to the right place. Consider our mineral rich list next time you go grocery shopping.
Seaweeds. Compared to edible land plants, your local marine seaweeds contain higher concentrations of minerals. In fact sea vegetables supply all 56 minerals and trace elements. This makes them great for meeting your recommended dietary intake of macro and trace minerals.
New Zealand and Australia both have viable and thriving seaweed industries. Here are some common examples from both nations:
A lot of the health benefits of seaweeds come from the minerals themselves. For example one tablespoon of dried seaweed can contain up to 35mg of iron as well as vitamin C which helps to improve the absorption of the iron. Seaweeds are also the richest food source of iodine, a mineral which is typically low in New Zealand and Australian soils. Iodine is vital for a healthy thyroid and is a potent antioxidant that helps to protect your tissues from free radical damage.
Fish. Another food from the sea. Some of the minerals found in fish are:
Iodine – around 20ug per 85g
Selenium – approximately 100ug per 100g
Calcium – around 100mg per 25g
Zinc – around 0.5mg per 100g
Iron – around 2mg per 85g
In New Zealand and Australia choose from orange roughy, snapper, gurnard, tarakihi, dory, flounder, perch and cod. Just avoid the large, deepwater fish because they can contain large amounts of toxic heavy metals.
Shellfish. Our last aquatic stop before we go terrestrial are shellfish. Shellfish are known for their rich zinc and iron content. Most of us are familiar with what iron does. Zinc, on the other hand, speeds up your recovery from the flu by boosting your immune system. Edible shellfish found in New Zealand and Australia include oysters, mussels, paua, cockles, Tua Tua and pipi. Approximately 75mg of zinc is found in six medium-sized oysters.
Organic liver and other meats. In general, the meat from animal organs is approximately 10 to 100 times higher in nutrients (including minerals) than meat from animal muscles (muscle meat). One hundred grams of beef liver contains 11mg of calcium, 476mg of phosphorus, 18mg of magnesium, 380mg of potassium, 8.8mg of iron, 4mg of zinc and 12mg of copper. Don’t forget to choose organic though!
Don’t like liver? There are some great paté recipes online which can turn that liver into a tasty treat.
Leafy greens like kale, spinach and cavolo nero. Cavolo nero is a close cousin of kale and quite popular among classic Italian meals. Alongside other leafy greens, it contains a lot of important minerals, vitamins and fibre. Minerals that are particularly high in leafy greens like kale are calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. 100mg of cooked kale contains around 1mg of iron and approximately 200mg of potassium. You can add them to your salad, smoothie, soup, omelette and so much more. These leafy greens are so versatile, and still manage to be tasty!
Nuts like almonds, brazil nuts and hazel nuts. Nuts are rich in many of our macrominerals and trace elements. For example almonds are a rich source of calcium - 100g of raw almonds contain about 260mg of calcium. Brazil nuts provide us with plenty of selenium, they are estimated to contain about 50mcg per nut (this can vary). Hazel nuts are loaded with manganese and also have magnesium, potassium and zinc.
Why not try including these six mineral rich foods into your diet. Rotate them to keep your sense of taste awake and guessing.
Ruperez, P. (2002). Mineral content of edible marine seaweeds. Food Chemistry, 79(1), 23-26.
JL Smith, G Summers & R Wong (2010) Nutrient and heavy metal content of edible seaweeds in New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 38:1, 19-28
Jimenez-Escrig, A., & Goni Cambrodon, I. (1999). [Nutritional evaluation and physiological effects of edible seaweeds]. Arch Latinoam Nutr, 49(2), 114-120.
MacArtain, P., Gill, C. I., Brooks, M., Campbell, R., & Rowland, I. R. (2007). Nutritional value of edible seaweeds. Nutr Rev, 65(12 Pt 1), 535-543.
Halver, J. (2002). Fish nutrition (3rd Ed.). San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press.
Rinzler, C. (2011). Nutrition for dummies (5th Ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Pub.
Kirschmann, J., & Search, I. (2007). Nutrition almanac (6th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
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