Manganese is a mineral with many important functions. It mainly helps to absorb other nutritional components more effectively into the body. You can tell from some symptoms whether you suffer from manganese deficiency, one of those symptoms is loss of hair color. If you have a manganese deficiency, you can supplement it by consuming manganese-containing foods. In that case, it is recommended to eat spelled bread and brown rice regularly. Spelled and the whole grain of rice contain relatively high levels of manganese. NB! This article is written from the personal view of the author and may contain information that is not scientifically substantiated and/or in line with the general view.
Contents:
- What is manganese?
- What to do in case of a manganese deficiency?
- What is manganese good for?
- Diabetes and manganese
- Osteoporosis and manganese
- Arthritis and manganese
- PMS and manganese
- What are the symptoms of a manganese deficiency?
- What foods contain manganese?
- Other manganese-rich foods
What is manganese?
Manganese plays many essential roles in the metabolism of our body. It helps the nervous system function normally and manganese ensures that the thyroid gland can produce the prohormone thyroxine. Manganese plays an important role in the production of sex hormones. A manganese deficiency is not common.
What to do in case of a manganese deficiency?
If you think you have a manganese deficiency, you can go to a doctor or herbal therapist. These people are experts in this field. If you suspect you have a manganese deficiency, it wouldn’t hurt to find out which common foods contain a relatively high amount of manganese. Sometimes you have to wait for a doctor’s appointment and during that time you can try to supplement a shortage yourself with healthy food.
What is manganese good for?
Manganese works on several levels in the body. Here’s an overview of what science knows so far about the mineral manganese.
Manganese:
- Helps process key ingredients such as biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and choline better, faster and more efficiently.
- Helps the body produce good fatty acid chains and healthy cholesterol.
- Helps maintain normal blood sugar levels.
- Promotes optimal functioning of the thyroid gland.
- Helps the body to absorb minerals such as magnesium more effectively.
- Is partly responsible for the functioning of the brain.
- Keeps the nervous system in healthy condition.
- Protects cells against free radical damage.
Manganese-rich brown rice grains / Source: Dan McKay, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0)
Diabetes and manganese
With some diseases it is important to eat extra manganese-rich foods. In diabetes patients, the thyroid gland produces less of the hormone thyroxine. Manganese can actually improve this production.
Osteoporosis and manganese
Manganese can be a solution for people suffering from osteoporosis. Many scientists have recently come to the conclusion that taking extra calcium actually leads to weaker bones and increases the risk of osteoporosis. When too much calcium is eaten without other minerals such as manganese and phosphorus, the body signals a calcium surplus, causing calcium to be removed from the bones.
Arthritis and manganese
Manganese helps with arthritis. People with arthritis have less of the antioxidant Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD). Glucosamine, chondroitin and manganese together can eliminate this SOD deficiency and relieve rheumatic pain.Spelled, rich in manganese / Source: Rasbak, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-3.0)
PMS and manganese
PMS is the abbreviation of PreMenstrual Syndrome. Manganese is effective against painful menstruation and mood swings. Scientific research shows that women who have more manganese in their bodies suffer less from painful cramps and other PMS symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, depression, nervousness and irritability.
What are the symptoms of a manganese deficiency?
Although a manganese deficiency is much less common than an iron deficiency, it is still a problem for some people. Many symptoms of a manganese deficiency would not be easy to identify correctly. It is therefore mainly about the combination of factors. Loss of hair color is a specific phenomenon that does not occur often; it is a notable symptom of people with manganese deficiencies. There are several symptoms that may indicate a manganese deficiency:
- Nausea
- Yield
- Poor glucose tolerance or high blood sugar levels
- Skin rash
- Pepitas or pompon seeds / Source: Glane23, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-3.0)
Loss of hair color
- Excessive bone loss or brittle bones
- Low cholesterol levels
- Dizziness
- Palpitations
- Hearing impairment
- Visual impairment
- Muscle contractions
- Amnesia
- Chills
- Infertility
What foods contain manganese?
Eating manganese-rich foods can help you correct a manganese deficiency. In principle, all tropical fruits are rich in manganese, but banana and coconut contain the most. If you eat a tropical fruit every day, it is difficult to develop manganese deficiencies. If you indeed have a manganese deficiency, it is crucial to eat the following foods very regularly. You can add legumes to your regular meal every day or have rye bread and spelled bread for breakfast and lunch. That already makes a big difference. Another tip is to eat oatmeal with pumpkin seeds. Tofu and tempeh are excellent meat substitutes that are also rich in manganese. Foods rich in manganese:
- Spells,
- brown rice,
- Chickpeas,
- Spinach,
- Pineapple,
- pumpkin seeds,
- Tempeh,
- Rye,
- Soybeans and
- Oatmeal.
Other manganese-rich foods
In addition, there are various foods that also contain a lot of manganese but fall just outside the top 10. Examples include: garlic, cucumber, all nuts and seeds, legumes, peppermint, watercress, raspberries, grapes, green beans, green leafy vegetables, beets, strawberries, blackcurrants, cloves, turmeric, carrots and figs. There are plenty of choices of manganese-rich foods for those who would benefit from them.
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