The presentation began by stating there is great awareness among the general public about the overall importance of vitamins, there is very little knowledge about the crucial role played by minerals and trace elements in helping maintain good health.

To begin, minerals and trace elements can only be obtained externally-either from the foods we eat or through dietary supplements. As to relying solely upon our food for these nutrients, modern chemical farming and environmental pollution have made this method of obtaining minerals and trace elements in any useable form virtually impossible.

But that's not all. Despite this lack of "natural availability", a big part of mineral and trace element deficiency is also due to confusion and misunderstanding. In a recent survey, conducted by The Roper Organization, 65% of those contacted claimed they ate foods rich in minerals and trace elements - yet:

7% said they ate dairy products

27% said they ate fruit

a mere 5% reported eating cereals and grains

As to the other method of obtaining minerals and trace elements, taking a nutritional supplement, 68% said they didn't take any at all.

Without minerals and trace elements, not only won't the immune system function to it's fullest...it can't.

As Dr. Samid pointed out, it is a known and accepted scientific fact that all the basic cellular functions within the body are the result of biochemical reactions. And, since even the simplest of organ functioning depends on these reasons, it is absolutely critical that the right nutrients (chemicals) be present for these reactions to take place.

Minerals and trace elements, Dr. Samid made clear, are the necessary macroand micro nutrients required for these biochemical reactions to take place properly. But mere presence of these nutrients is not enough....they must also be available in the right combination, in the right proportion and in the right solution as well.

Therefore, Dr. Samid emphasized, people who think they will do themselves any good by taking any form of just one or two mineral supplements are only deceiving themselves.

From the clinical perspective, Dr. Thibault presented research concerning the actual impact of mineral and trace element deficiencies on our daily living. Perhaps the most startling revelation here was the clear correlation between the amount of Zinc to the relative strength of the person's immune system - particularly vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS.

Overall, as Dr. Thibault continued to point out in the unmistakable terms, because this relationship is consistently measurable, the relative importance of minerals and trace elements cannot be considered coincidental.

He also made clear through other studies presented, that although HIV/AIDS was used as an extreme example of problems with a weakened or suppressed immune system, even maladies such as the common cold are also affected by immune deficiencies