5 Minerals That Impact Gut Health
Minerals fuel energy, hormones, skin health, and they’re also essential for a well-functioning digestive system. From stomach acid production to motility to keeping microbes in balance, these tiny spark plugs play a big role in how your gut works every day.
Let’s break down 5 key minerals that directly impact gut health.
1. Sodium: Stomach Acid Support
Stomach acid (HCl) is your first line of defense in digestion. It breaks down food, helps you absorb minerals, and keeps your gut bacteria in check.
Sodium is an essential building block for producing stomach acid. Without enough of it, digestion slows down, food can sit heavy in the stomach, and you may see symptoms like reflux, bloating, or nutrient deficiencies.
🔵 Bonus: Cobalt is a also mineral that plays a key role in forming vitamin B12 which is needed for stomach acid as well.
👉🏼 Food sources include: mineral rich salt (Redmond’s Real, Celtic), fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi.
2. Zinc: Digestive Juices + Microbial Balance
Zinc wears many hats when it comes to gut health. It supports stomach acid and digestive enzyme production. Zinc also acts as an antimicrobial mineral, helping your immune system defend against bacterial, yeast, and parasitic overgrowths. And it also plays a role in tissue repair, making it key for healing a leaky or inflamed gut lining.
👉🏼 Food sources include: animal proteins, oysters, raw nuts, pumpkin seeds
3. Copper: Histamine & Immune Defense
Copper often gets overlooked, but it’s a powerhouse mineral for gut health. It works alongside zinc in antimicrobial defense. Copper is also a critical cofactor for the DAO enzyme, which breaks down histamine in the gut. Low copper = poor histamine clearance, which can show up as food reactions, headaches, or skin issues.
👉🏼 Food sources include: bee pollen, organ meats, dark chocolate
4. Magnesium: Motility & Relaxation
Magnesium is probably best known for helping with constipation and for good reason. It supports smooth muscle relaxation and contractions in the digestive tract, keeping stool moving. It also plays a role in energy production for gut cells. Deficiencies in magnesium (which are common in our modern life) can contribute to slow motility, cramping, and incomplete evacuation.
👉🏼 Food sources include: leafy greens, avocado, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate
5. Potassium: Transit Time & Fluid Balance
Potassium is another mineral critical for motility and regularity. It helps regulate the muscle contractions that move food and waste along the intestines. Potassium also balances fluids in the gut to keep stool from getting too dry and hard to pass. It also works in tandem with sodium and magnesium, when one is off the whole system can feel sluggish.
👉🏼 Food sources include: potatoes, winter squash, sweet potato, aloe vera juice, coconut water, cooked spinach, cream of tartar
When these minerals are low, digestion doesn’t just feel “off.” You may experience symptoms like reflux, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or food sensitivities that trace back to mineral depletion.
That’s why running functional testing like HTMA and The Gut Panel can give valuable insight into where your minerals (and gut function) stand. If your digestion has felt sluggish or out of balance, minerals could be part of the picture. This is exactly what we look at in our 1:1 Functional C.A.R.E Method™, where we pair testing like HTMA with personalized nutrition strategies to restore both mineral balance and gut health.
