Why Minerals Matter for Healing Acne, Hormone Imbalances, and Digestive Health
Minerals are foundational for good health, supporting nearly every cellular process and ensuring the proper function of organs and systems. For those struggling with acne, hormone imbalances, and digestive issues, mineral status is particularly important, as it can often be a hidden factor influencing these conditions. While many people turn to hormone balancing supplements or restrictive diets to fix their symptoms, addressing underlying mineral deficiencies and imbalances should be the starting point.
In this post, we’ll explore the critical role of minerals, how deficiencies and imbalances contribute to acne, hormone imbalances, and gut issues, and why HTMA testing can be a powerful starting point for identifying underlying mineral needs.
The Role of Minerals in the Body
Minerals are essential nutrients required for countless biochemical processes, such as energy production, enzyme function, and maintaining structural components like bones and teeth. There are two categories of minerals:
Macrominerals: These are the minerals that the body needs in the largest amount and includes calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium.
Trace Minerals: Required in smaller amounts, such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and iodine.
Each mineral has specific roles in the body, and an imbalance or deficiency can disrupt physical and mental health. For example, magnesium helps with insulin sensitivity and muscle relaxation, calcium is crucial for bone health and proper nervous system function, and potassium plays a role in energy production and how thyroid hormone is utilized. If any one of these is out of balance, it can affect various bodily functions and lead to symptoms.
How Minerals Affect Acne, Hormones, and Digestive Health
Minerals play a key role in skin, hormonal, and digestive health, and their impact on these systems is interconnected. Here’s a closer look at how they contribute to each:
Acne
Acne is commonly influenced by hormonal fluctuations, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Here are a few examples of how minerals can impact acne:
Zinc: Known for its anti-inflammatory properties, zinc helps reduce acne-causing bacteria and regulate oil production. It also assists in skin healing and may help reduce scarring.
Magnesium: This mineral helps to reduce stress, which can lower cortisol levels and support overall hormonal balance. It also has calming effects on the skin and aids in the reduction of inflammation.
Selenium: Selenium acts as an antioxidant and can protect skin cells from damage, which is particularly beneficial for those dealing with cystic or inflammatory acne.
Potassium: Helps to maintain cellular hydration and supports the body’s stress response, helping to reduce breakouts.
Iron: Too much iron—especially in the blood or tissues—can lead to oxidative stress, inflammation, and hormonal disturbances, which all contribute to acne
A deficiency or imbalance in these minerals can make the skin more prone to acne, especially if combined with stress or a diet lacking in nutrient density.
Hormone Imbalances
Hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone all require adequate minerals for their synthesis, regulation, and detoxification:
Calcium and Magnesium: These minerals work together to support the thyroid, adrenal glands, and overall hormonal balance. Magnesium, in particular, has a calming effect on the nervous system, which can help regulate cortisol, a stress hormone that disrupts other hormones if imbalanced.
Iodine: Essential for thyroid hormone production, iodine helps support energy and metabolism. Low iodine levels are often associated with low thyroid function, which can lead to hormone imbalances and fatigue.
Potassium and Sodium: These two minerals help balance cellular fluid, nerve function, and adrenal health. Chronic stress can deplete potassium and sodium levels, which worsens adrenal function.
The body’s hormonal system relies heavily on minerals for synthesis, communication, and regulation. Without these crucial nutrients, hormone imbalances that show up as mood swings, irregular periods, fatigue, and acne.
Digestive Health
The digestive system relies on minerals for enzyme production, pH balance, and motility:
Magnesium: Plays a critical role in motility and can help prevent constipation, which is key to eliminating toxins and supporting gut health.
Zinc: Needed for enzyme production, zinc supports the breakdown of food and nutrient absorption. It also strengthens the gut lining, which can prevent “leaky gut” and reduce inflammation in the digestive tract.
Sodium and Chloride: Necessary for producing stomach acid, these minerals help digest food efficiently. Low stomach acid can lead to indigestion, bloating, and bacterial overgrowth.
Potassium: Involved in smooth muscle contraction, potassium assists in keeping digestion regular and can play a role in reducing bloating.
When mineral levels are imbalanced, the digestive system can be one of the first areas to suffer, leading to symptoms such as bloating, gas, constipation, and nutrient malabsorption.
What Causes Mineral Depletions?
Here are a few reasons why mineral deficiencies are becoming more and more common:
Modern-day farming practices have stripped nutrients from the soil, leading to less mineral availability in our food.
Stress!! A culture of busyness and go-go-go lifestyles put the body in fight or flight, causing you to burn through minerals more quickly.
Medications such as hormonal birth control, antacids, & blood pressure medications can deplete certain minerals (magnesium and zinc are two biggies)
Taking high doses of certain vitamins and minerals. For example, excess vitamin D depletes magnesium and taking zinc long term can deplete copper.
Digestive and gut health issues that prevent the proper digestion of food and extraction of nutrients.
Mineral Testing: Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) vs. Blood Work
Both HTMA and blood work are tools for evaluating mineral status, but they offer different perspectives:
HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis): This test analyzes the mineral content of a hair sample, providing insights into mineral levels over the past 3 months. Hair minerals represent what the body is storing, which can reveal trends and patterns in mineral status and imbalances that may not show up in blood work. It also captures heavy metals, such as mercury and lead, which can interfere with mineral absorption and contribute to inflammation.
Blood Work: Blood tests show mineral levels in the bloodstream, reflecting short-term mineral status. Because the body regulates blood levels tightly to maintain homeostasis, mineral deficiencies may not appear in blood tests until they are severe. For example, magnesium levels may appear normal in blood tests even when there is a deficiency, as the body will pull magnesium from bones and tissues to maintain stable blood levels.
Sample HTMA test result
How HTMA Can Guide Healing
HTMA provides insights into how minerals interact with each other and can reveal patterns that might contribute to skin issues, hormonal imbalances, and digestive symptoms. Here are a few examples:
Calcium & Magnesium Ratio: Imbalances in this ratio can indicate a tendency for blood sugar imbalances and insulin resistance. Blood sugar issues are a common root cause of hormone imbalances, skin issues like acne, and digestive problems.
Sodium & Magnesium Ratio: Often referred to as the “adrenal ratio,” this indicates how stress hormones and adrenal function may be affecting your skin, energy, and hormones.
Calcium & Potassium Ratio: Known as the thyroid ratio, this marker can give insight into how well the cells are taking up thyroid hormone. Adequate potassium is needed to help bring thyroid hormone inside the cell and a high calcium can block this action.
Cobalt and phosphorus: These are 2 of the digestive markers on the HTMA that can indicate inadequate stomach acid production and poor protein digestion. A high cobalt can indicate liver stress, impacting hormone balance.
Practical Steps to Improve Your Mineral Status
Here are some actionable steps for optimizing your minerals:
Increase Whole Foods: Include a variety of mineral-rich foods in your diet. Fruit, potatoes, root vegetables, beef, seafood, dark leafy greens, avocado, and dairy foods are excellent sources.
Hydrate with Mineral-Rich Water: Filtered water can sometimes be devoid of essential minerals. Adding trace mineral drops or using mineral-rich bottled water can help replenish key nutrients.
Consider Targeted Supplements: Based on HTMA results, supplementing with specific minerals like magnesium glycinate or zinc may be beneficial. Working with a health professional ensures that these supplements are taken safely.
Balance Electrolytes: Sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium all play a role in cellular hydration and should be in balance. Drinking coconut water with a pinch of sea salt or adding electrolytes to your water can help.
Manage Stress: Chronic stress depletes minerals. Engaging in stress-reducing practices like deep breathing, yoga, or meditation can help conserve mineral levels.
Conclusion
I hope this has helped you to better understand the role that minerals play in healing acne, supporting hormonal balance, and promoting digestive health. By understanding your mineral status through HTMA, you can gain a more comprehensive view of your body’s needs, especially when traditional blood work falls short in revealing deeper imbalances. This insight enables a tailored approach to healing, helping you address the root causes of skin, hormone, and digestive issues more effectively.
If you are interested in assessing your mineral status with an HTMA, click HERE for details on my Mineral Testing Mini-Package.
Kate Netz, RDN, LD
Functional Dietitian
All information in this post is for educational purposes only and does not replace medical advice or diagnosis.
