Colloidal Mineral Supplements:
Unnecessary and Potentially
Hazardous
James Pontolillo
Colloidal mineral promoters would like
you to believe that mineral deficiency is a widespread cause of disease. To
counter this alleged problem, they are marketing products said to be
water-leached from shale in the Emery Coal Field of central Utah. According to
various sales pitches, an ailing cattle rancher was told about a healing stream
by Chief Soaring Eagle, a Paiute medicine man and elder. The miracle waters
Light Energy Productions has recorded an account of
Clark's many adventures]. Curiously, according to an article in Self
magazine, the present-day Paiutes have never heard of either Chief Soaring Eagle
or the renowned healing powers of their ancestral waters.
The most
notorious colloidal mineral promoter is Joel D. Wallach, DVM, ND, who says that
Americans desperately need his minerals. Wallach has a
long history of
involvement in dubious healthcare schemes, such laetrile treatment for
cancer, as well as chelation and hydrogen peroxide therapies for coronary artery
disease. He has also hosted an AM radio talk show in San Diego titled "Let's
Play Doctor" and briefly plied naturopathy at
Kurt
Donsbach's Hospital Santa Monica. His widely distributed "Dead Doctors Don't
Lie!" audiotape quotes from U.S. Senate Document 264:
[Erosion and unwise farming methods] have led to mineral-depleted
soils resulting in mineral-deficient plants, livestock, and people . . . . .the
alarming fact is that food now being raised on millions of acres of land that no
longer contain enough of certain minerals are starving us -- no matter how much
of them we eat. No man of today can eat enough fruits and vegetables to supply
his system with the minerals he requires for perfect health because his stomach
isn't big enough to hold them. . . . Laboratory tests prove that the fruit,
vegetables, grains, eggs, and even the milk and meats of today are not what they
were a few generations ago. . . . It is bad news to learn from our leading
authorities that 99% of the American people are deficient in these minerals
[74th Congress, 2nd Session, 1936].
The cited quotation is
genuine, but it did not, as colloidal mineral promoters usually imply, arise
from a government research study. In fact, it is merely a reprint of a baseless
opinion piece that originally appeared in the June 1936 issue of
Cosmopolitan magazine and was placed into the Congressional record by a
Florida senator.Most Americans are not slowly starving to death or dying from
mineral deficiency.
Some promoters use fraudulent
"symptomatology
questionnaires" for assessing purported mineral deficiency-related health
problems. The test asks more than 1,000 questions about physical and
psychological symptoms. As far as I can tell, everyone who takes it will be
advised that supplements are needed. The test costs $125 but is free if
colloidal minerals are purchased.
At present, five mines in Emery County,
Utah supply three main manufacturers with bulk quantities of shale leachate that
are repackaged and sold as distinct products by a burgeoning network of
multilevel distributors.
T.J. Clark &
Co.'s Daddy Dearest 1-9/Blackhawk Mine, which started it all in the late
1920s, is the source of "BHI Lifeminerals," "Toddy," "Golden Minerals," and
other product lines. The Clark company controls leases totaling approximately 20
acres and has established major overseas distributorships. In an effort to
distinguish itself from a host of recent competitors, it downplays its product's
shale origins and has coined the term "PolyfloraminTM" (literally "many plant
minerals") to describe it. Its main rival,
Rockland Corporation's Body Toddy Mine,
opened in 1985 and produces products for
American Longevity,
Body Systems Technology,
Source of Health and
LifePlus. Rockland currently owns 1,000
acres of shale leases in Emery County and a new production/bottling facility in
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its reserves are estimated to be 320 million metric tons of
shale, enough for 950 billion gallons of product. Rockland has no qualms about
the source of its products: several color photos of mining operations are
prominently displayed on its home page.
New Vision International and
Nature's Sunshine,
have refused to disclose the source of the leachate used in their
products.
In all of the operations, the shale (often referred to as "a
special ancient rainforest deposit") is mined, crushed, ground to a powder-like
consistency, and placed into large stainless steel vats. The vats are then
submerged in "cool, contaminant free water at low temperatures." Many
distributors stress these conditions to counter claims that acids, solvents, and
high temperatures will ruin the minerals' special properties. Unnamed
competitors are routinely accused of using such faster methods in order to force
mineral extraction. After 3-4 weeks, during which time water-soluble components
of the shale enter into solution, the bitter-tasting leachate is siphoned off,
filtered and ready for tonic, capsule, and oral-spray production. Depending upon
the filtration process used, a variable amount of insoluble particulate matter
suspended in the leachate will pass into the final product. Advertisements state
that colloidal supplements contain 75 "minerals." Actually they are elements
occurring in various mineral forms: Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Br, C, Ca,
Cd, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Er, Eu, F, Fe, Ga, Gd, Ge, H, Hf, Hg, Ho, I, In, Ir,
K, La, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Mo, N, Na, Nb, Nd, Ni, O, Os, P, Pb, Pd, Pr, Pt, Re, Rh,
Ru, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Si, Sm, Sn, Sr, Ta, Tb, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, Tm, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn,
and Zr. Some distributors modify their tonics with flavorings and/or nutritional
additives, but most sell them straight and emphasize their "all-natural"
quality.
Lots of Hype
Wallach's supporters frequently
describe him as a Nobel Prize nominee . Actually, he was "nominated" in 1991 for
his "research" on cystic fibrosis by the Association of Eclectic Physicians, a
naturopathic group with no scientific standing. His research findings were
invalid, because the people he studied were self-selected, and not randomized;
he did not follow an appropriate data-gathering protocol; his diagnoses were
made with a questionnaire; and his report made claims about other data that were
either unsupported or unreferenced. The Nobel Committee gave no credence to
Wallach's "nomination" and, in an unprecedented move, officially denied that he
was ever a legitimate nominee.
Wallach claims that (a) we are living in a
chemical soup and being bombarded by electronic, magnetic, physical, and mental
stress that our forbearers did not have to deal with; (b) "most diseases are
symptoms of mineral deficiencies and are virtually 100% preventible; (c) "the
majority of people who die of natural causes, actually die of a mineral
deficiency; and (d) "In fact, most of us are slowly starving to death."
Presumably, only colloidal mineral supplements can rescue us from these dire
straits.
Wallach has a down-home manner and is a compelling speaker.
During "Dead Doctors Don't Lie!" he asks, "Are these colloidal minerals
important? You bet you're life they're important and every time you don't take
them in every day, you're chopping off a few hours or a few days of your life."
He reportedly collects a 25-cent royalty on each of the millions of tapes sold
to distributors and customers.
John H. Renner, M.D., President of the
National Council Against Health Fraud, has accurately characterized Wallach's
tape as riddled with distortions, bogus science, and outright lies .The many
outlandish statements Wallach has made on his tape and in public lectures
include:
Since physicians have a life expectancy of only 58 years, how can
you trust them with maintaining your health? Actually,
physicians have a greater life expectancy (averaging 75-88 years) than the
general population .
Mercury amalgam used in dental fillings causes
multiple sclerosis. Not supported by clinical
research.
Many Americans suffer from "malabsorption disease." Certain diseases exist in which people have difficulty
absorbing nutrients. However, Wallach is referring to a nonexistent condition
which, like the long discredited idea of autointoxication, is based on concepts
that ignore scientific research on gastrointestinal tract
functioning.
Cystic fibrosis is preventable and 100% curable in its
early stages. This statement is completely
unfounded.
Five cultures around the world have average lifespans of
120-140 years. The key to their longevity is the consumption of colloidal
mineral waters ("glacier milk"). No such long-lived
cultures exist.
Claims to have authored over 70 articles in
peer-reviewed journals as well as several medical texts. Searchs of standard indexes have turned up only a handful of
publications, nearly all of which are of dubious quality .
Claims to
have performed 20,500 animal and human autopsies while working as a veterinarian
in St. Louis. Even if veterinarians and naturopaths
were allowed to conduct human autopsies (which they are not), Wallach would had
to have performed them at a rate of 6 per day, 5 days a week, for 12 years in
addition to his other duties and while authoring his numerous (though
unfindable) articles.
Standard vitamins are not digested but pass out
in the feces still in tablet form. An unsubstantiated
anecdote.
States that 50% of 70-year-old Americans have Alzheimer's
disease. The actual figure for Americans between 65-74
years of age is 3.9% .
Claims to have cured cases of porcine
Alzheimers. Pigs don't get Alzheimer's
disease.
Greying hair and facial wrinkles at any age are due to a
copper deficiency. Not supported by clinical
research.
Cardiomyopathy is solely the result of a selenium
deficiency. Cardiomyopathy is a group of heart-muscle
disorders with several different causes.
All aneurysms (over 40
different kinds) are due to a copper deficiency. Not
supported by clinical research.
Male-pattern baldness is due to a tin
deficiency. Not supported by clinical
research.
Bell's palsy is the result of a calcium deficiency. The usual cause is compression of the facial
nerve.
Diabetes and hypoglycemia are due to vanadium and chromium
deficiencies. Not supported by clinical
research.
Sodium consumption is unrelated to high blood pressure in
humans. As evidence he notes that cows use salt licks,
but don't suffer from high blood pressure. Animals use salt licks as needed.
Sodium intake affects blood pressure in people who are
salt-sensitive.
Periodontal disease is the result of a calcium
deficiency and is not influenced by the quality of oral hygiene. Not supported by clinical research.
All low back
pain is due to osteoporosis. An absurd idea; the most
common causes are muscle and ligament strains from
overexertion.
Metallic minerals (i.e., regular vitamins and minerals)
are only 8-12% absorbable while colloidal minerals are 98% absorbable. No data support such a claim; the figures appear to have been
pulled out of thin air .
The human body transports, stores, and uses
minerals in colloidal form. This is simply not true;
minerals inevitably occur either as mineral salts, compounded with proteins or
lipids, or as enzymal and hormonal components.
Promotional literature
employed by other colloidal mineral distributors is equally erroneous. Many, for
example, confuse the terms element and mineral. Elements are the fundamental
constituents of which all substances are composed. Minerals are naturally
occurring, homogeneous inorganic substances with a specific chemical composition
and characteristic crystalline structure, color, and hardness.Minerals are
composed of elements. For example, the mineral silica is composed of the
elements silicon and oxygen. Colloidal mineral promoters use these terms
interchangibly. They also employ the misnomer "metallic minerals" to distinguish
(supposedly ineffective) standard supplement products from their "plant-based"
colloidal minerals. The distinction is a spurious one, because most colloidal
minerals in leachate come from the sedimentary matrix of the shale itself (i.e.,
the very "metallic minerals" that these promoters condemn). The main point
concealed by all of this hype is that there is absolutely nothing special about
colloidal minerals. A colloid is simply any substance whose particle size is
small enough to keep it suspended in a liquid or gas, yet large enough to
prevent or delay its passage through a semi-permeable membrane.
Various
promoters disagree about the basic "science" behind their supplements.
T.J. Clark & Co. claims that colloidal
minerals "produce the correct electrical frequencies that are compatible with
the electrical frequencies of the brain and nervous system of the human body . .
. and attract toxins and heavy metals from the body and flush them out." Such
statements are pseudoscientific gibberish. Ironically, Clark has accused
competitors of employing "pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo and marketing hype."
Most of Clark's competitors claim that colloidal minerals somehow strengthen and
rejuvenate the body, increase longevity, and boost one's energy level. Most
manufacturers also hint that only they have the proper minerals and the secret,
patented process that results in an effective product, and that everyone else is
a fraud. Clark gives its distributors signed "certificates of authorization" as
assurance that they've purchased the genuine article. Before splitting from T.J.
Clark & Co, Wallach portrayed himself as an "unbiased expert" while
exclusively promoting the mine in which he had a financial interest . Today,
many independent distributors are circulating copies of Wallach's tape minus the
final two minutes in which he had specified that Clark's products were the only
effective ones.
Manufacturers also disagree about the nature of the shale
used for leaching.
T.J. Clark & Co.
asserts that its products contain neither humus nor shale, even though it is
registered with the State of Utah as a humic shale mining operation.Some
promoters claim that the shale deposits were only lightly covered by 20-30 feet
of sandstone, "just enough to protect the deposit, but not enough to cause
excessive heat and pressure that would have altered this pure form of the
minerals." Others state that the ancient forest was covered by thick deposits of
sand, mud, and lava that exerted great pressures on the plant matter but did not
alter it. All these ideas are either false, inaccurate, or just nonsensical.
Despite claims to the contrary, all are deriving their product from a 30-foot
thick layer of carbonaceous shale intertwined with bituminous coal that was laid
down during the Cretaceous period about 90 million years ago .The bituminous
rank of the interlayered coals indicates that these formations were subjected to
significant pressures and temperatures of at least 100-150°C for a prolonged
period of time .At least one distributor claims that the Cretaceous source
material for his company's elixir is a mere 2,000 years old.
Distributors
rightly assume that health-conscious consumers will find phrases such as
"ancient virgin rainforest," "pristine," and "natural" more appealing than
"coal," "shale," and "surface mining."
LifePlus, manufacturers of MICRO-MINS
powdered leachate capsules and BERRY'D TREASURE flavored leachate drink, boast
that their minerals are the same ones that were responsible for the spectacular
size of Cretaceous trees and dinosaurs. As advertisements point out, "This was a
time when much of the earth may still have been very much in a 'Garden of Eden'
or very rich, vibrant, and pristine state." Promoters would like you to believe
that if these minerals could produce fabulous prehistoric flora and fauna, then
they can provide health benefits for you. Some distributors supply a laboratory
analysis of their products .
Many distributors provide testimonials that
people taking colloidal minerals have experienced improvement in such conditions
as high blood pressure, heartburn, sprained ankles, AIDS, hair loss, perforated
ulcers, rheumatism, pimples, leukemia, and impotence. The use of disease-related
testimonials to promote supplement products is illegal. The FDA has proposed to
ban OTC sale of colloidal silver products .
While it is true that optimal
health depends upon an adequate intake of essential nutrients, fewer than 20
mineral-related elements are essential for humans . The exact role of other
trace elements, as well as our intake of these micronutrients from prepared
meals, remains to be clarified . There is absolutely no evidence, however, that
mineral deficiency is a basic cause of disease. In fact, available data refutes
the claim that our food supply is "mineral deficient" and demonstrates that a
standard diet generally contains trace elemental quantities far in excess of
those supplied by colloidal mineral supplements. Finally, my own search of the
medical and nutritional literature databases for the last forty years failed to
produce a single study showing that colloidal mineral supplements are
useful.
Possible Risks
Of course, this is not to imply that
these supplements are safe for human consumption. The ingestion of unnecessary
amounts of all trace elements should be avoided because many are not easily
excreted and all can exhibit toxic effects when consumed in large quantity or
for an extended period of time . More important, however, colloidal mineral
promoters seem oblivious to the fact that their products may contain hazardous
organic compounds. For example, a daily dose of Doc's Mineral Rocks contains 7.2
mg of unidentified total organic carbon .It is well established that groundwater
can leach toxic organic compounds from sedimentary deposits such as coal, shale,
and lignite. In many locations, specific geochemical conditions have led to the
leaching of toxic organic compounds into potable water supplies with resulting
disease. For example:
- Links between endemic goiter and the contamination of iodine-sufficient
drinking waters with sulfurated hydrocarbons leached from coal and shale
deposits in Colombia and the United States .
- Studies of elevated radon levels in Texas drinking waters have implicated
lignites and other hydrocarbon accumulations as the suspected radionuclide
sinks.
- Suspected links between the kerogen-rich White Speckled Shale in
Saskatchewan (Canada) and patterns of Multiple Sclerosis distribution .
- Suspected links between weathered low-rank coals and shales and the
occurrence of an incurable renal disease known as Balkan Endemic Nephropathy.
- Hypothesized complicity of North/South Dakota lignites and
Alaska/Maine/Minnesota peats with those state's high incidences of urothelial
cancer .
- Correlations between digestive cancer mortality rates in Missouri and the
consumption of drinking water from coal and shale-bearing strata .
Colloidal mineral extracts have a distinctive yellow tint,
indicating the presence of dissolved organic matter. At least one manufacturer,
the
Rockland Corporation, prides itself on
its product's dark gold color. Although the concentrations of hazardous organic
compounds may be low, long-term exposure and/or accumulation in body tissues
might eventually lead to disease. Suspected and proven carcinogens such as PAHs,
aromatic amines, and aminophenols result from the partial coalification of
aromatic substances in woody plant tissues .Such compounds can trigger gene
and/or chromosomal mutations and altered gene expression, both of which are
significant factors in the development of cancer. PAHs also exhibit the ability
to modulate signal transduction among cells, which can have serious negative
health consequences . In addition to carcinogenicity, shale extracts possess
low-order estrogenic properties. Many organic compounds can also contribute to
the unwanted activation of the immune system. Since diseases can be caused by
multiple factors, adverse long-term effects of colloidal mineral products may
not be readily identifiable. Ironically, while the tonics themselves are
unregulated, surface water runoff from the mining operations is routinely
remediated because of its threat to plant and animal life.
Ten of
thousands of Americans are currently serving as unwitting subjects in an
undocumented test of their safety. Some scientists are especially concerned
about the widespread administration of these products to children.
Unfortunately, since colloidal minerals are classified as dietary supplements,
no safety or efficacy testing was required before they were marketed. Action to
prohibit their sale can only be taken if it is demonstrated that the products
are adulterated (i.e., toxic), misbranded, or that specific medical treatment
claims have been made for them. The first colloidal mineral supplement sold
commercially, which
Rockland Corporation
introduced in 1984, was banned because of its toxicity. Called "Body Toddy," it
was reformulated, renamed "Mineral Toddy," and currently is marketed as "Body
Booster."
Reliance on dubious supplements and unfounded health-care
opinions delay people from seeking timely medical treatment. They are also a
waste of money. The average recommended dosage of most colloidal minerals costs
approximately $360 per person per year. Finally, the widespread quackery
associated with colloidal minerals undoubtedly deters professionals from
examining the subject simply because of the stigma attached to it. There is
always the potential that such research might have generated useful information.
According to the most recent figures available, mining is Emery County's
largest industry, contributing one third of its earnings.Judging from the
recent large-scale expansion of mining and processing facilities , as well
as the statistics of gross sales in the past few years, it appears that
colloidal mineral supplements are currently a healthy cash cow.
Soaring Eagle Ventures is reportedly
grossing $3 million per month;
New
Vision claims to have monthly sales 2-3 times that amount . The products are
advertised as a sure track to financial success on hundreds of Internet sites.
The sale pitch is always the same: become an independent distributor, work
part-time, and earn lots of extra money. New sites seem to pop up overnight like
mushrooms, while new applications (colloidal minerals for your pets and garden!)
offer more profits. A 16-ounce bottle of leachate purchased directly at the
plant in Emery for $12 can net a $20 return in Salt Lake City and upwards of
$30+ on the Internet . All of this despite an unproven product, potential health
risks, false advertising claims and a plague of recent scandals (lawsuits,
accusations of watered-down tonics, etc.) .
Some colloidal mineral
distributors have broadened the scope of their activities. One industrious
individual has already begun promoting the latest purported "health
breakthrough" of the century.
WaterOz
ionic mineral tonics (produced by a "very technical, revolutionary new process")
will replace colloidal minerals which are as ineffective as "normal" mineral
supplements. And so the Ship of Fools prepares to sail out from port once again.
. . .
Mr. Pontolillo is a research scientist with over ten years of
experience in the fields of geology, organic petrology and organic geochemistry.
An earlier version of this article was published as: Pontolillo J. Better Living
through Shale Leachate.
