Hello, I'm a pharmacist at YoungLong. Have you ever wondered which supplement Americans take more than any other?
A Pew Research Center survey from September 2026 found that roughly 8 in 10 American adults take at least one supplement for their health.
And among those supplements, the clear favorite is "minerals." Two out of every three Americans take them.
That popularity makes sense. Researchers at Oregon State University report that, depending on the mineral, as many as 98% of American adults fall short when relying on food alone.
In other words, taking a mineral supplement is a genuinely smart move.
That said, mineral supplements need to be taken with the right knowledge.
You'll find a surprising number of reviews from people who picked a mineral supplement off the shelf and ended up dealing with nausea, heartburn, indigestion, or diarrhea.
In this post, I'll draw on my experience as a pharmacist, along with information published by government agencies such as HHS and the CDC, to clear up the misinformation and misconceptions surrounding mineral supplements.
[ Contents ]
1. Why mineral supplements matter
2. What's behind mineral deficiency
3. What the key minerals do in your body
4. How to choose a mineral supplement ★★★
5. Why YoungLong Melathione Minerals stands out ★★★
6. Final recap
If you just want the bottom line, feel free to jump straight to [5. Why YoungLong Melathione Minerals Stands Out].
1. Why Mineral Supplements Matter
Along with protein, fat, carbohydrates, and vitamins, minerals are one of the five major nutrients your health depends on.
The most familiar ones include zinc (Zn), which is involved in making protein and DNA; selenium (Se), an essential mineral that plays an antioxidant role; and chromium (Cr), which supports strength and endurance. And the list goes on: calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, iodine, and more.
Many people assume "minerals" refers to one specific ingredient, but "minerals" is actually the umbrella term for all of these. Even though there are so many of them, together they make up only about 4% of the human body.
"Just 4%? And I'm supposed to take a supplement for that?"
Is that what you're thinking right now?
The amount of minerals in your body may be small, but the role they play is anything but.
Inside the body, minerals help orchestrate every metabolic process.
Take "nutrient absorption" as an example. No matter how much protein, fat, carbohydrate, and vitamins you eat, your body has a hard time absorbing them without minerals. You finish a full meal yet still feel hungry, and your energy plummets.
Think of the food you eat as firewood and minerals as the kindling: even the finest logs won't light by themselves. Minerals are the catalyst that allows the firewood of "nutrients" to actually burn.
When you're short on minerals, your body can't turn food into energy and stores it as fat instead, which is one of the pathways to obesity. Minerals also deliver the oxygen you breathe to every part of your body.
The brain is the organ with the greatest demand for oxygen. If your memory suddenly isn't what it used to be, or you find yourself forgetful and prone to headaches, it's worth considering a mineral deficiency.
These symptoms stem from a lack of the minerals that carry oxygen throughout the body. Given how much they do, calling minerals just 4% of your body doesn't do them justice—the top 4% is more like it.
2. What's Behind Mineral Deficiency
Four percent may sound small, but modern life has led us into an era of mineral deficiency.
U.S. national nutrition survey data shows the same trend: Americans get plenty of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, but minerals are consistently where they come up short.
The biggest reason is "soil depletion," driven by pesticides, chemical fertilizers, industrial waste, and household wastewater.
Because your body can't make minerals on its own, you have to get them from food.
And to get a meaningful amount of minerals, that food needs to be grown in nutrient-rich soil.
However, the chemical fertilizer use that began in the 1970s has stripped more than 70% of the minerals from farmland soil.
Harvests have grown larger, but crops raised with modern farming methods no longer contain the minerals they once did.
One research team found that pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers have acidified the soil, with losses of some key minerals reaching as high as 75%.
For those of us living in this environment, the quickest and easiest way to replenish minerals is a mineral supplement that fits your individual needs.
3. What the Key Minerals Do in Your Body
Although minerals are present in only tiny amounts, they carry out hundreds of tasks in the body.
And because they do so much, a shortage becomes the cause of countless diseases.
Let's take a look at some of the key minerals and the roles they play.
1) Zinc (Zn)
Zinc serves as a cofactor for more than 300 enzymes in the body.
It produces energy, helps you bounce back from fatigue, and supports your immune system. It's essential for cell renewal, which matters for skin health and slowing visible signs of aging, and it supports children's growth and wound healing.
That's why zinc is considered essential for keeping the body functioning properly. It also maintains the taste buds on your tongue so your sense of taste works normally.
A zinc shortage shows up as stunted growth, diarrhea, inflammation, loss of appetite, hair loss, and weakened immunity.
2) Selenium (Se)
Selenium protects your cells by removing the free radicals that drive aging.
3) Chromium (Cr)
Chromium enhances the action of insulin, making it central to blood sugar control.
It's involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fat, and protein, supporting the process of converting nutrients into usable energy. It also eases the sharp spike in blood sugar after meals and helps keep levels stable.
Getting enough chromium is important for healthy blood sugar control. A chromium shortage leads to loss of appetite and weight loss, along with tingling and cramping in your hands and feet.
The table above summarizes other minerals, their functions, and the symptoms that appear when you're deficient.
Use your own symptoms as a guide to figure out which minerals you may be lacking.
4. How to Choose a Mineral Supplement
Minerals come in two types: "organic minerals" and "inorganic minerals."
Organic minerals are attached to organic compounds such as proteins or amino acids, which gives them the advantage of high absorption.
Inorganic minerals, on the other hand, are in ionic form and bound to inorganic compounds.
Common inorganic minerals like zinc oxide and sodium selenite can't pass through the cell membrane, which results in poor absorption.
Even when you take them, your cells can't put them to use, so you get little benefit. And because they're poorly absorbed, they end up causing stomach upset and diarrhea.
The side-effect reviews I mentioned at the beginning are exactly what happens when people take poorly absorbed "inorganic minerals."
To take minerals the right way and avoid side effects, you need to choose "organic minerals."
Because organic minerals are bound to proteins and amino acids, they are well absorbed in the gut and used efficiently by your cells.
Even a small dose goes a long way.
They also cause almost no side effects and are easy on the stomach. (The one drawback is the price.)
Telling organic minerals apart is easy.
On the label, organic minerals are listed as "dried yeast (XXX)."
[e.g. Dry yeast(Selenium), Dry yeast (Zinc), Dry yeast (Chromium)]
This wording means the yeast carries the mineral in an organically bound form, making it stable and well absorbed.
With vitamins, whatever your body doesn't use is simply flushed out. Minerals are a different story: take too much, and the side effects are serious.
Choose a supplement formulated around 100% of the daily value, and no more than 200% for minerals such as zinc and selenium.
5. Why YoungLong Melathione Minerals Stands Out
YoungLong Melathione Minerals is made with organically bound minerals derived from yeast. Two tablets a day provide six essential minerals and 250 mg of liposomal glutathione, making it easy to get the minerals and glutathione you need every day.
Yeast-Derived, Organically Bound Minerals
Melathione Minerals contains yeast-derived, organically bound minerals.
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Six Essential Minerals
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250 mg Liposomal Glutathione
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Small Tablets, Halal Certified
Made with yeast-derived, organically bound minerals. Just two tablets a day provide six essential minerals and 250 mg of liposomal glutathione.
Easily get the minerals you need with just two tablets a day.
References
[1] Pew Research Center - About 8 in 10 Americans take supplements, and many see them as important to their health
[2] Drake, V. J. (2026). Micronutrient Inadequacies in the US Population: an Overview. Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University.
