6. Questions & Answers

You said that even mineral supplements from organic sources are fragmented and therefore not wholesome. Isn't there sometimes a need for a megadose of a particular nutrient when there is a severe deficiency?

First, remember that a deficiency of an individual mineral rarely exists in isolation. If a person, for instance, has a "calcium deficiency," it may be because there is not enough phosphorous in the diet which is used by the body together with calcium, or a Vitamin D deficiency may be responsible for the exhibited calcium deficiency. By supplying a large amount of a specific mineral, you ignore the other accompanying needs of the body.
Finally, along with this idea is the concept of the "law of minimum." This law states that the body is able to use a certain nutrient only to the extent that other necessary nutrients are available. If, for example, you had only enough copper in the body to aid in assimilation of 10 milligrams of iron, taking 30 extra milligrams of iron would do the body no good. Nature provides the minerals and other nutrients we need in a perfectly balanced combination within foods. When we introduce large amounts of minerals, vitamins, etc. in a fragmented form, we throw the body out of balance.

But I've taken dolomite for years and no longer suffer from the signs of calcium deficiency I had before. Why is that?

When mineral supplements, etc. are added to the diet, it usually is a sign that an individual has become aware of problems within the body. Consequently, along with the taking of supplements, a person often improves his diet, his exercise program or whatever. These changes are what improve a condition, not the supplements.
Supplements and pills of all forms often have a placebo effect upon the individual. That is, you believe you are getting better by taking an external agent—a supplement. Dolomite's chief effect is to cause the formation of stones in the body from the inorganic calcium it contains.

If we get all the calcium we need from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouts, why does the National Dairy Council say we need milk and milk products? Other health organizations say the same thing.

Milk is such an inappropriate food for humans that some reason has to be given for drinking it. Since calcium is its most abundant mineral, the National Dairy Council has based its campaign on this fact. First, the calcium in dairy products, and especially in pasteurized products, is not completely assimilable by the body. The calcium in chocolate-flavored milk quickly forms stones of calcium oxalate within the kidneys. Cows' milk cannot even be digested by over 80% of the world's population because they lack the necessary enzyme. Within the milk itself are so many other harmful items (casein—used in glue making, artificial hormones to induce lactation, etc.) that any value obtained from the calcium is completely negated.

Almost the entire health community advocates the use of food supplements, including minerals, because they realize that most people will not eat the strict diet you advocate. How can people who don V eat the most healthful diet still get the minerals they need?

I believe that even people on a typical "junk food" diet can be convinced to eat one or two pieces of fruit a day or a small raw salad or a handful of raisins. There are more usable minerals in a single apple than in a whole bottle of mineral supplements. You simply cannot get the minerals you need from a bottle or a drugstore. Only the diet can supply needed minerals. If a person is unwilling to adopt a healthy diet, then at least let him eat a small amount of "real" food each day. The body will work hard to make do with any minerals in their natural food form, no matter how small the amount.