Nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, enzymes and amino acids, are required for our bodies to function properly. These nutrients are dependent upon minerals. Minerals are predominantly obtained from the food we eat, and the mineral content of that food is dependent upon the mineral content of the soil it grows in. Therefore, depleted soils create mineral deficient food.
All of this results in mineral deficient bodies, from which comes an abundance of health problems and degenerative diseases. A few of the major symptoms and illness linked to mineral deficiencies are osteoporosis, bone and muscle weakness, growth failure, mental apathy, paralysis, glucose intolerance, anemia, poor wound healing, changes in hair, skin and nails, and liver problems. A lack of minerals can also lead to weight gain, as a deficiency leaves your body craving minerals and never feeling satiated. A shortage of even one mineral in your body can trigger all sorts of problems.
In 1936, Rex Beach presented document #264 to the US Senate, which discussed Dr. Charles Northen’s research on the prevalent mineral depletion of America’s soil. At that time, North America’s soils were estimated to be hugely lacking in mineral content and 99% of Americans were considered mineral deficient. Dr. Northen conducted experiments in which he restored the mineral balance to the soil of one area of a crop and left another area alone. The plants grown in mineral-rich soil consistently yielded healthier crops free of pests and fungus.
Around the same time, famed soil scientist Dr. William Albrecht was performing studies on calcium content in soils. Albrecht’s results showed that sufficient calcium levels produced plants with higher quantity and quality of protein. Dr. Northen concluded, “Healthy plants mean healthy people. We can’t raise a strong race on a weak soil.”
Studies showed then, and maintain today, that the vegetables, fruits, grains, milk and even animal products that are eaten today, do not provide the same nutrition as they did 100 years ago. It is impossible for a person today to acquire all his mineral needs from food because our soils have become so deficient. Hundreds of years of farming the soil, combined with the effects of pesticides, herbicides, and air and water pollution, have slowly drained the soil of its vital elements.
In 1936, the importance of minerals in food was a relatively new concept that Dr. Charles Northen and Dr. William Albrecht were only beginning to introduce to the scientific community. Their research and experimentation produced startling truths about the importance of minerals in soil and the effect of mineral depletion on the health of our bodies. Studies today confirm Dr. Northen’s conclusion that the mineral content of soil does in fact affect the mineral content of the food grown in it. Unfortunately, 68 years later, little has been done to better the mineral content of North America’s soil. The 1992 Earth Summit soil mineral depletion report showed soil depletion in North America to be at 85 percent, the highest in the world. This is a sad statistic for a country that is supposed to be healthy and prosperous.
Fortunately, it is possible to ensure sufficient mineral intake. See our Health Tips section for information about mineral supplements and eating right.