Chapter 1 - The Missing Minerals of Modern Life: How Depletion Breeds Disease

Framing the Hypothesis: I begin by exploring several hypothesis: what does a deficiency of trace/rare-earth minerals represent?

Beginning Hypothesis

What does a deficiency of trace minerals and rare-earth elements represent?

1. A significant contributor to lack of “resilience,” potentially leading to a diverse range of illnesses affecting the modern human population.

2. The deprivation of little studied, critical co-factor function of thousands of enzymatic, biochemical, metabolic, and epigenetic processes, leading to sub-optimal functioning and repair.

3. A combination of the two.

In contrast to MAHA’s appropriate focus on removing unproven or toxic additives from food and pharmaceuticals—and exposing the toxicity of the therapies for the diseases they create—I argue that the more serious problem is what’s missing from our food, not what’s added. I am talking about the much broader range of minerals, numbering over 80, the names of which most have never even heard of (I hadn’t either when I began this research).

And it ain’t just MAHA that overlooks the importance of depleting trace minerals, I’d include anyone who thinks that simply avoiding food raised with toxic pesticides is enough to preserve their health. The problem begins with the soil: the minerals are no longer present—organic or not—unless the farmer actively regenerates and remineralizes the soil (and even then, the choice of minerals is suspect). Not all organic food is created equal.

Even if you are one of the few with access to food from such a farmer, I can confidently state that whatever they use to mineralize their soil is only a fraction of the diversity your body craves, and almost certainly not in an optimally bioavailable form.

Why This Matters

I believe their scarcity may now be contributing to an increasing number of illnesses, playing a larger role than in the past. As AMD once told me, their most senior mentors remarked that treating chronic illness used to be easier and simpler in the past. Today, patients seem to respond to therapeutic interventions more slowly and with less magnitude.

At the risk of foreshadowing, don’t despair: A discovery from 50 years ago, born of a little-known, but fascinating scientific achievement by a Japanese engineer and chemist holds promise as a solution that’s simple, accessible, and affordable (and, no, I’m not talking about ivermectin). Although it has already proven an efficient and formidable remedy for our increasingly polluted drinking waters, I believe that its impacts in revitalizing our soils, plants, and bodies (animal and human) will prove historic. Bold statement, I know. More on that later.