TLDR:
Still bloated, refluxy, or constipated despite eating clean and trying all the usual gut protocols?
The missing piece might not be your food — it’s may be your minerals.
Minerals like magnesium, sodium, and potassium power digestion, stomach acid production, hydration, and motility. But modern life — stress, caffeine, filtered water, and low-sodium diets — depletes these critical nutrients.
Here’s how to start restoring them naturally:
- Drink mineral rich adrenal mocktails (salt + potassium + vitamin C)
- Add more unrefined salt and mineral-rich foods
- Regulate stress and blood sugar
- Use HTMA testing to get data, not guess
✨ Fixing minerals fixes digestion — from the root.
You eat healthy. You’ve tried probiotics, fiber, elimination diets… even cut out coffee.
But no matter what you do, you still feel bloated, puffy, or constipated.
What if the problem isn’t your food… it’s your minerals?
Minerals are tiny nutrients, vital to keeping your metabolism, stress response, and digestion healthy.
And if you’re depleted in these important nutrients (which most people are), your gut simply doesn’t have the tools it needs to run optimally.
💧 What Minerals Actually Do — and Why They Matter
Minerals create the spark that drives every process in your body — from stomach acid production and enzyme activity to muscle movement (including the muscles that move food through your digestive tract).
⚠️ Modern life drains your minerals — here’s why even “healthy eaters” are depleted
In my work as a functional dietitian, almost every client I test shows signs of mineral depletion — even those who eat “clean.”
It’s not because they’re doing anything wrong… it’s because modern life drains minerals faster than most of us can replenish them.
Here’s why 👇
🥤 Chronic stress depletes magnesium, sodium, and potassium — the exact minerals your body needs to stay calm, regulate digestion, and maintain energy.
☕️ Caffeine and other stimulants flush minerals out through urine.
🥗 Low-sodium or restrictive diets often eliminate salt — your main source of electrolytes and the foundation for healthy stomach acid.
🚰 Filtered water, while cleaner, often lacks natural minerals.
🌱 Depleted soil means even the healthiest produce today contains far fewer minerals than it did decades ago.
All of this creates the perfect storm for a sluggish, depleted gut that simply can’t “run” the way it should, no matter how balanced your diet is.
Below are the key minerals I see imbalanced most often on testing, and how they impact digestion and gut function.
Let’s break this down…
🌿 Magnesium: Nature’s Muscle Relaxant
When magnesium is low or imbalanced, many people experience anxiety, cramping, and constipation.
Magnesium supports energy production, hormone balance, and smooth muscle function — all essential for healthy motility and regular bowel movements.
When it’s replenished, your body relaxes, your bowels move, and your system becomes more resilient to stress.
💧 Sodium: The Spark for Digestion
Sodium Deficiency Symptoms: Bloating and reflux after meals, salt cravings, lightheadedness or headaches and fatigue.
Sodium isn’t the enemy! In fact, it’s essential for producing stomach acid (learn more about stomach acid, here), maintaining hydration, and regulating blood pressure.
Because sodium is regulated by the adrenal glands, low sodium often signals adrenal fatigue or low stomach acid — both major contributors to bloating and reflux.
Most of my clients are shocked to learn they actually need more sodium in their diet (in balance with other minerals) after years of avoiding salt.
✨ Pro tip: Restoring sodium with high-quality, mineral-rich salt is one of the simplest ways to improve hydration and digestion.
🍌 Potassium: The Partner to Sodium
Low potassium often shows up as constipation, fatigue, or feeling “puffy.”
Potassium works hand-in-hand with sodium to keep your cells hydrated and your digestion moving.
It’s essential for gut motility — the muscle contractions that move food and bacteria through your GI tract.
✨ When potassium is optimal: your bowels stay regular, your cells stay hydrated, and your energy feels steady.
Other Key Players: Copper + Zinc
- Copper helps regulate histamine breakdown, thyroid hormone conversion, and iron balance — all critical for healthy gut and immune function.
- Zinc supports the production of stomach acid, digestive enzymes, and bile, while strengthening gut and immune integrity.
Imbalances in these minerals can drive bloating, reflux, and sluggish digestion.
⚡️ What Happens When You’re Mineral-Depleted
You might be surprised how much mineral depletion impacts digestion:
- Bloating + reflux: low sodium or potassium = low stomach acid → food ferments instead of digesting
- Constipation: low potassium or magnesium = sluggish motility and weak gut muscles
- Fatigue + brain fog: low minerals = poor hydration, energy production, and nutrient absorption
In short: when minerals are off, digestion can’t run properly — no matter how many foods you eliminate.
🔬 Testing vs. Guessing: Why Data Matters
In my practice, I use Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) alongside stool and blood testing to assess how your body is using minerals over time, not just what’s circulating in your blood that day.
HTMA reveals your body’s stress patterns, adrenal function, and how well you’re absorbing nutrients.
Unlike a blood test that only shows what’s circulating that day, HTMA reveals what’s actually getting into your cells: the deeper picture of how your body’s functioning long-term.
That’s why it’s one of my favorite tools for clients who’ve “tried everything” yet still feel off.
Once we know your unique pattern, we can rebuild your mineral balance strategically — from the foundation up.
🧂 How to Start Supporting Your Minerals Naturally
You don’t need an expensive supplement stack to start, just consistent, foundational habits.
✅ Start your morning with minerals.
Mix filtered water with a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon and add a daily mineral mocktail (my go-to options are RAYVI and Jigsaw Adrenal Cocktail), rich in sodium, potassium, and whole food vitamin C — to restore minerals your body burns through during stress.
✅ Eat mineral-rich foods daily.
- Sodium: unrefined sea salt, fermented foods
- Potassium: fruits, root veggies, coconut water
- Magnesium: leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, avocado (most people benefit from additional supplementation)
- Calcium: bone-in sardines, canned salmon, quality dairy, bone broth
✅ Balance your plate.
Every meal should include protein, fat, and fiber — this stabilizes blood sugar and prevents the mineral loss triggered by stress.
✅ Support your nervous system.
Chronic stress depletes minerals faster than anything else.
Restorative practices like deep breathing, gentle movement, sleep, and nervous system regulation are just as important as nutrition and mineral repletion
🌿 The Bottom Line
If you’ve been chasing gut symptoms without lasting relief, the missing piece might not be another supplement, it might be your minerals.
Minerals power every digestive process — from the acid that breaks down food to the muscles that move it through your gut. When you replenish them, your digestion, energy, and stress resilience all improve from the root.
👉 For example: you’ll stay dependent on stomach acid supplements forever if you never restore your body’s ability to make stomach acid.
✨ Healing isn’t about restriction — it’s about restoration.
FAQ About The Whole-Body Approach
Q: What do minerals have to do with digestion?
A: Minerals power key digestive functions like stomach acid production, enzyme activity, hydration, and motility — all essential for regular, pain-free digestion.
Q: Can mineral depletion cause bloating and reflux?
A: Yes. Low sodium and potassium can reduce stomach acid and slow motility, causing food to sit and ferment in the gut — leading to bloating, gas, and upward pressure that triggers reflux.
Q: Why am I mineral depleted even though I eat healthy?
A: Stress, caffeine, filtered water, low-sodium diets, and depleted soil all drain minerals faster than most people can replace them — even with a healthy diet.
Q: What are the best ways to replenish minerals?
A: Start with mineral-rich foods (sea salt, leafy greens, coconut water) and add a mineral mocktail daily. Balance meals and regulate stress to avoid further depletion.
Q: What is a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)?
A: HTMA is a functional test that shows how your body is using minerals over time. It reveals deeper insights and patterns than a blood test and helps customize your healing plan.
Q: Do I need supplements to fix mineral imbalances?
A: Not always. You can start with foundational habits: real salt, whole food vitamin C, and foods high in potassium and magnesium. Testing helps tailor next steps.
💬 Ready to find out what your body’s missing?
Watch my free training to learn the 4-step Restored Gut Method, where I’ll walk you through how mineral balance fits into the bigger picture of healing bloating, reflux, and constipation for good.
