Nutrient rich foods are important for your health, but what most people don’t realize is that not all nutrients come in raw form. Many vitamins and minerals must be processed before they can be used by your body.

Processed nutritional supplements are usually purified extracts of certain nutrients or combinations of nutrients. These supplements may contain less nutrition per dose than their unprocessed counterparts, however.

The reason these supplements need processing is because most natural substances are unstable. That means they lose some of their activity when you cook them. Processing makes the nutrient more stable.

There are several ways to process vitamins and minerals, so it depends on your personal preference which ones you feel most comfortable with. Some people like adding dried fruits to their powder, while others mix their drink with liquids. No matter what method you choose, make sure to stir it properly and have it for enough time for it to work!

This article will talk about one of the most common ways to process micronutrients: dry mixing. What this does is break down the nutrients into smaller particles that are easier to absorb. You also get a slightly thicker consistency, making it easier to ingest.

Dry mixing is an easy way to prepare many types of vitamin and mineral powders. Now let’s see how to do it! Read on for tips and tricks.

Nuts and seeds

Another important source of minerals is nuts and seeds. Many people tend to disregard them as “healthier” than other foods due to their buttery texture, but they also pack in lots of protein and vitamins too!

Nuts are good sources of vitamin K, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper. And though some people are allergic or sensitive to certain types of nut oils, most people do not have issues with almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, walnuts, or any others.

A 2-ounce (55 gram) serving of dry roasted sunflower seeds provides 6 grams of fiber, 473 mg of potassium, 35 mg of phosphorous, 1,000 mcg of selenium, 9 mg of calcium, and 5% of your daily value for iron. That’s more than half a day’s worth of many nutrients!

And like berries, one serving of nuts delivers enough nutrition to meet the Daily Value for several vitamins and minerals. Make sure to check out our tips here for how to best prepare and eat your nuts to maximize their health benefits.

Herbs and spices

One of the most important things that you can do to improve your health is to learn how to prepare and use herbs and spices correctly.

Many people get overwhelmed with all of the different herbal supplements and what they mean. This is totally normal! Before trying any new herb, it’s good to know what substances in the product could potentially help your health and what might be harmful.

Some examples of herbal extracts include antioxidants like vitamin A, beta carotene, lutein, or zinc; bone strengtheners such as boron or magnesium; gut healing agents like probiotics; and hormone balance boosters like DHEA or thyroid hormones.

There are several ways to use herbal medicine effectively. You don’t have to take an expensive bottle which has fancy marketing slogans. Instead, find a form of the plant that is dry and mix those parts together in a liquid solution you will easily remember.

That way, you won’t need a complicated process for taking your daily dose. You also want to make sure that the ingredients are sourced from natural plants or are at least not contaminated during processing.