MINERAL BIOAVAILABILITY

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

Definition. Mineral bioavailability is a complex science of the way all chemical compounds are absorbed, transported, converted, utilized and eliminated from the body.

Here are more details. All minerals can be in dozens of different chemical forms or compounds. These forms and compounds have the following qualities:

- Ease of absorption. Some compounds are easy for the body to absorb from the digestive tract. Others are difficult to absorb or perhaps completely unusable. That is, they pass right through the digestive tract without being absorbed at all.

- Ability to be transported. Some mineral compounds are easy for the body to move around in the blood or other body fluids. Other compounds are more difficult to transport.

- Ease of convertibility. The body can convert some mineral compounds into other forms that it requires. Other chemical compounds cannot be converted, and must be used just as they are when ingested.

- Ease of metabolic utilization. Some compounds can be used easily in enzyme binding sites, organs and tissues with ease. Others do not “fit” as well into these binding sites.

- Ease of elimination. When the body is done with a mineral compound, it needs to be eliminated from the body fairly easily. Otherwise, it will waste a lot of energy being eliminated or worse, it will accumulate and clog up the body.

- Toxicity. This is related to the paragraph above. Some compounds are quite toxic, while others are non-toxic or of low toxicity. This refers to the body’s ability to use a compound and then eliminate it if it does not want it any longer.

Taken together, these qualities determine mineral availability. For example, some toxic metals are very easily absorbed into the body through the intestines or even through the skin. However, once inside, they do not function well to make us healthy.

Other substances such as many medical drugs are absorbed and even utilized to a degree in the cells, but our bodies cannot eliminate them well after they are used, so they clog up the kidneys or the liver, perhaps, and act as permanent poisons.

Some minerals are very difficult to absorb properly, but once inside they are easily utilized. This is why in development science all of these factors must be considered when evaluating a food or nutrient for bioavailability and safety.

The qualities above depend not only upon the type of mineral compound. Bioavailaiblity also often depends upon:

- the state of health of the body.

- one’s lifestyle, such as how much rest one gets or even one’s thoughts and emotions.

- one’s diet and food combinations

- eating habits such as how well one chews food.

- a person’s age and gender

- a person’s illnesses and stress level. For example, if one has an intestinal infection or improper intestinal flora, this can strongly influence mineral availability.

- one’s stage of Development.

- the use of a digestive aid, which is usually a pill that contains digestive enzymes. It could also be a hydrochloric acid tablet or an herb that promotes digestion.

OTHER DEFINITIONS

Souls. While it is inconvenient and controversial, we must bring souls into the discussion of bioavailability. We believe that souls are the basic units of consciousness in the universe. This is taught in the Bible, but not accepted by most scientists today because souls cannot be seen with current microscopes. We believe this is a deliberate attempt by some to keep the truth from our scientists and the general public.

Passive or less-developed souls make up all chemicals. More active souls manipulate the chemicals inside and outside of our bodies. Without them, the bodies are just dead shells.

When we eat food, we often ingest helpful souls who know how to process the food. Souls also help preserve food and keep it healthful.

If we eat processed food, in almost all cases it contains fewer of these souls. As a result, the food is not used as well. Fresh, natural foods are usually best for this reason. Food that contains manmade chemicals usually interferes with the souls and they leave. This is an important reason to avoid chemical additives in foods. For many more details, read Soul Science, Soul Upgrades and other articles about souls on this website.

Sub-atomic particles. These are protons, neutrons and electrons.

Atoms. These are configurations or arrangements of sub-atomic particles. All of them contain a nucleus made of protons and perhaps neutrons, and a number of electrons that spin around the nucleus.

Chemical elements. These are the 93 (or some people say 96) stable types of atoms that make up all physical matter in the universe.

Minerals. This is a general term used to describe the chemical elements.

Most of them are solid at room temperature and pressure.

One is liquid at room temperature and pressure - mercury.

A number of them are gases at room temperature and pressure. These include hydrogen, helium, oxygen and nitrogen.

A few may be in a plasma state at room temperature and pressure. For details, read The States Of Matter and books such as The Rhythms Of Nature, Volumes I, by Brian David Andersen.

PRINCIPLES OF BIOAVAILABILITY IN DEVELOPMENT SCIENCE

Physics aspects. At a technical level, the bioavailability of a chemical element can depend upon such items as the number of electrons an atom has, the number of protons, and other qualities such as the valence, spin, mass, isotopes, and other physical and chemical properties of a mineral.

A broad concept. Bioavailability applies not only to our food. It also applies to all chemical additives, nutritional supplements, herbs, drugs and other chemicals we eat or contact.

Bioavailability concepts also apply to the water we drink, other beverages, and even to the air we breathe and electrical frequencies we absorb from the sun, from red heat lamps and from elsewhere.

Mixtures. All foods are mixtures of many chemicals. This complicates bioavailability because some chemicals are desirable in a food, while others may be toxic or less bioavailable.

Our bodies are chemical factories. We take in “raw materials” in the form of food, water and air. Our souls break down some of these chemicals and synthesize millions of other chemicals that we need:

- To construct and maintain the body structure

- To perform all body functions such as movement, breathing, speech and even thinking.

This may seem like an unromantic description of our bodies, but it is the truth.

Nutrition, in the broad sense of the word, is the science of obtaining the correct or best raw materials for the factory so we can construct, maintain and operate the body in the optimum manner.

Most doctors and nutritionists understand bioavailability in only a limited way. Most physicians and nutritionists are not too aware of the details of mineral bioavailability. When they do discuss it, however, they generally mean how well-absorbed a mineral, food or nutritional supplement is. While this is one aspect bioavailability, it is a limited level of understanding. This article goes into more depth, and this is needed to understand and appreciate development science.

Bioavailability is very specific. In other words, a specific form of a mineral can be well-suited or bioavailable for one location or enzyme system in the body, but not suitable in another location or enzyme binding site. This really complicates things, at times.

It is the reason that development science always begins with a determination of a person’s metabolic type, yin and yang balance, and more. (For this, we find we need to use a hair mineral analysis, not a blood, urine or other test.)

Otherwise, it is easy to give the wrong foods and the wrong minerals, vitamins, and other nutritional supplements.

Bioavailability can be different for each mineral. This is because each mineral is absorbed, digested, transported, converted, utilized and eliminated somewhat differently in our bodies.

For example, some minerals are absorbed in the stomach such as sodium and potassium. Others are absorbed in the small intestines. Some nutrients can and must be processed in the liver, while others cannot be converted in the liver.

Some substances are carried around the body by what are called active transport mechanisms. Others can float around more freely and move by osmosis rather than active transport.

With this introduction, let us examine in some depth the major factors that make a mineral or other chemical substance more or less bioavailable.

FACTORS THAT CAUSE MINERALS AND OTHER SUBSTANCES TO BE AVAILABLE OR UNAVAILABLE BIOLOGICALLY

Many factors can affect biological availability. To keep this section simple, I will divide the factors into those having to do with:

A. Atomic and sub-atomic factors. These are the structure, size, weight and other properties of an atom or mineral.

B. Molecular factors. These are the structure, shape, size or other properties of combinations of atoms, which are called in physics molecules or chemical compounds.

C. Interactions. These are other factors or forces in our bodies such as its acidity, electrical balance, temperature and many others.

Let us examine each of these categories.

A. Sub-atomic and atomic factors in mineral bioavailability.

1. Optical activity or spin. How a molecule spins light particles is a primary physics property of many molecules. The spin of any substance has a direction, a velocity and other qualities such as wobble. The direction of spin an atom or a molecule is labeled as the D-form or the L-form of the molecule. D stands for dexto-rotary, which means spinning to the right. L stands for laevo-rotary or spinning to the left.

The spin of a substance or chemical often strongly affects its biological properties. Natural molecules always spin either to the right or to the left. For example, natural amino acids all spin light to the left. Natural sugars all spin light to the right.

In contrast, synthetic chemicals contain a mixture of laevo-rotary and dextro-rotary spinning molecules. These are usually less biologically active because they are less biologically available.

Common examples of products sold in the health food stores whose spin is labeled are the naturally-derived amino acids: L-tryptophan and L-cysteine. In contrast, DL-tocopherol is a synthetic vitamin E that is less biologically active than D-tocopherol, or natural vitamin E.

The spin of a molecule is caused by many factors. These include the shape of the molecule or atom, how it is formed, and its interaction with other atoms or other forces such as gravity, the earth’s rotation, and the earth’s electromagnetic fields.

This can be why minerals, plants, and even animals found or raised in certain locations have special properties. It can also be why one place is better for growing cotton and another is best for growing beans or another crop.

2. Valence. A second important factor in the bioavailability of a mineral and some other chemical substances is called its valence. Valence is the number of electrons in the outer shell of the atoms of the substance. For example, copper, iron and manganese usually have a valence of +2 or +3. If the valence is not correct, it will affect the availability of the mineral. For example, iron found in meat has a different valence, at times, than iron found in vegetables.

Biologically active calcium usually has a +2 valence, as does magnesium. On occasion, however, it could change, or calcium could be bound to something that shifts this property and for this reason changes the biological value of the calcium or magnesium.

3. Atomic mass or weight of a mineral. Another physics property of a mineral is its atomic weight, mass or density. This depends mainly upon the number of neutrons and protons in its nucleus, according to atomic theory.

According to the atom theory, atoms are made of basically three types of particles. Protons are in the center or nucleus of the atom and have a positive charge. Electrons spin around the nucleus and have a negative electrical charge. They give the atom form and shape, but have almost no mass. Neutrons are other particles that reside in the nucleus that always have a neutral or no electrical charge. This theory has been challenged recently because other particles have been discovered in atoms, but it is still widely accepted and helpful to explain bioavailability.

For example, hydrogen and helium are the lightest elements because they have only one or two protons and electrons respectively. This is why blimps and balloons filled with helium or hydrogen are lighter than air and float up in the sky. Hydrogen and helium are also smaller atoms than all the others.

In contrast, heavy metals such as cadmium and lead are literally more dense and heavy. Most are very poisonous for all life forms. They are not only heavier, but they are larger than the light elements.

The correct minerals for our health are in the middle between the lightest and heaviest elements. The body must have the right weight of minerals or it will not function properly.

For example, the heavy metals are literally too big and do not “fit” as well into certain enzymes and other structures in our bodies. This is one of the main reasons they poison us. They are like nuts and bolts that are too big to fit where they are supposed to go.

This is why we focus so much attention on removing the heavy metals from the body. Some lighter minerals, however, are also very toxic such as beryllium and aluminum.

4. Isotopes and the bioavailability of minerals. Besides having a general size, and weight or mass, each mineral also comes in slightly different sizes and weights that are called isotopes. These are lighter or heavier versions or forms of the same atom. The heaviness or lightness of an isotope depends upon the number of neutrons in the nucleus of the atom, according to atomic theory.

For example, some health food stores sell certain spring waters that are high in deuterium. The product may look like other water, but the atoms of the water contain a heavier form of hydrogen called deuterium. Some doctors believe this is more healthful, but we disagree.

The isotopes of atoms and minerals definitely may alter their properties and contribute to the bioavailability of minerals in the foods we eat and the water we drink.

B. Molecular factors in bioavailability.

1. The way that atoms are combined with, or bound to other atoms is a critical aspect of bioavailability. At times, the pure atomic form of a mineral is more effective and available. In other cases, an ionized form of a mineral is more usable.

In other cases, we prefer using mineral compounds. These include colloids, which is a suspension of fine particles with an electrical charge. For example, in development science colloidal silver is used to kill germs very effectively and with much less toxicity than most antibiotics.

In other cases, a mineral is bound to a proteinaceous substance such as an amino acid. This is called a mineral chelate or a chelated mineral. This is a far more bioavailable form of a mineral than many others.

In other cases, a mineral is bound to oxygen, and called an oxide, and so forth. These are usually toxic. On this website, we call this form The Amigos or Irritants. Hundreds of combinations are possible, especially in foods and water.

This is tricky, because a mineral in one form may be very bioavailable in the liver, for example, but a different mineral compound may be needed in the brain, for example.

The body needs many types of foods and compounds. This is a problem with limited diets such as vegetarian, raw food, or no-grain diets.

2. The ability to transmute. This is a rather esoteric aspect of bioavailability, but an important one to know about. Biological transmutation of the chemical elements means their transformation into other elements and compounds that occurs at low temperature and pressure in living organisms.

Like the souls, this is a controversial topic in molecular chemistry. It is discussed at length in the book entitled Biological Transmutations by Dr. Louis Kervran, a French scientist. In the book, the author describes very simple experiments that anyone can perform with simple laboratory equipment to prove or disprove his theory that elements can be transformed one into the other within living organisms such as plants and animals.

The book has chapters that discuss the sodium/potassium transmutation, the calcium/magnesium transmutation and others. Dr. Paul Eck used this information to help him understand what one is viewing on a hair tissue mineral test. There are striking correlations to aspects of development science.

The bioavailability of a mineral may depend upon whether it can be transmuted or changed in ways the body can utilize, or whether for some reason the mineral or compound cannot be transmuted. One’s transmutation ability depends on one’s health, digestive capacity and one’s stage of development. For details about this, read The Stages Of Development.

C. Interactions with many factors and forces within the body. A few of the most important ones are:

1. Intestinal absorption. This is an important factor in the bioavailability of most minerals, vitamins, proteins and other nutrients. Today, most people have very weak digestion. As a result, they do not absorb nutrients very well. Many nutrients just pass through the digestive tract and move out of the body in the feces.

Reasons for impaired digestion. These include:

- Improper food that irritates or poisons the small intestines. This includes toxic chemicals in foods. These include chemicals formed by frying, roasting, baking and broiling food. It also includes manmade chemicals added to foods.

Other problematic foods are:

- most raw food that irritates the intestines

- overcooked food

- wrong proportions of food such as too much meat and not enough properly-cooked vegetables

- Bad food combinations such as drinking liquids with meals.

- Foods that are difficult to digest or slightly toxic such as nuts, seeds, and others.

- Improper eating habits. These include overeating, snacking too much, not chewing food enough, eating too fast, and eating when upset or anxious. For example, some people eat while working, while on the run, or in the car while driving.

- Low levels of digestive enzymes. This can be in the saliva, the stomach, pancreatic and liver enzymes and others. Excellent digestion also requires the proper acidity of the saliva, stomach and intestines and the presence of other chemicals such as intrinsic factor, bile salts, bile acids

- Improper intestinal flora such as the presence of candida albicans.

- Toxic chemicals or toxic metals in the food that irritates the intestines

- Diseases of the intestines. These include leaky gut syndrome, an irritated intestine that moves the food along too fast, parasitic infections in the intestines or colon that irritate the tissues, genetic malformations of the intestines or colon, and a few other rarer reasons such as tumors or blockages of several kinds.

As a result of all these factors, restoring digestion in most people requires 10-20 years on a proper development program. If one chooses to eat salads, fruit, nuts or other foods we forbid, it slows or usually stops the healing.

This may sound depressing. However, it is important so one will not fall for the lies perpetrated by health authorities that claim they can restore digestion in a few weeks or months, or even in a year or two. They may improve it, but restoring excellent digestion involves many organs of the body and takes much longer than this.

2. Binding, transport and releasing factors. Minerals and other substances must usually be “unwrapped” and “rewrapped” or “repackaged” many times as they are absorbed and transported through the body. It is like moving merchandise that must be carried in planes, trains, ships and other cargo containers. Some of the cargo (the minerals) is delicate and some is hazardous or toxic. The souls have ways to wrap it up, bind it and transport it safely when the body functions correctly. At the sites where the minerals and compounds are needed, they must be released properly as well, or they will not do their jobs correctly. This is a large and complex topic.

In some cases, binding factors are related to the digestive tract. For example, the minerals in vegetables are bound up in tough fibers that human beings cannot digest, even with the help of a digestive aid.

Foraging animals such as cows grind vegetable fiber very finely all day long. Then they chew the cud, meaning they throw up their food and chew it some more. Also, they have four stomachs and cellulase enzymes that break it down much better than we can.

This is the main reason why we suggest cooking all vegetables until they are soft, but not overcooked. Cooking breaks down the tough fibers in plants. For details, read Cooking and Raw Food.

Juicing vegetables such is another way to release many of the minerals in a vegetable. However, juices are extremely yin in macrobiotic terms, so we must limit them to 10-12 ounce of carrot juice for adults and less for children. For details, read Juices And Smoothies.

Another common example is that to release some calcium and many other compounds requires a very low or acidic pH of the stomach. This causes calcium to be released so it can be made into usable chemicals in our bodies.

Otherwise, calcium in the diet may be wasted. Keeping the stomach very acidic is critical for good digestion. For this reason, we do not like acid-blocking drugs like Prevacid that are used for heartburn or gastric reflux disease. These drugs make the stomach less acidic, which relieves heartburn but impairs calcium utilization and bioavailability. This can create a calcium deficiency.

Important transport or carrier molecules in the body include ferritin for iron, and metallothioneine and ceruloplasmin for copper and some other minerals. If these transporters are deficient for some reason – usually poor nutrition – then the minerals cannot be utilized well and become biounavailable.

Binding and releasing factors include many other biochemical mechanisms throughout the body.

3.Conversion in the liver. All of our food goes to the liver after we eat it. The liver either stores nutrients, eliminates them in the bile, or converts them to more useful chemicals.

Some substances just do not fare well in the liver, and instead build up there or can often damage the liver. These include alcohol, most medical drugs, and hundreds of toxic chemicals such as pesticides.

Even some foods such as too many eggs, vitamins such as high-dose niacin, and some health food products like spirulina, chlorella and other green and blue-green algae are not able to be processed well by the liver.

4. The effects of blood circulation. In order to use most minerals and chemical compounds, the blood circulation must be excellent. In many people, it is not good enough and this causes every illness imaginable.

Development science includes the use of gentle exercise such as walking or rebounding, and daily us of a red heat lamp sauna to drastically increase circulation. Vigorous exercise helps circulation, but in our experience it depletes so many nutrients that it is not a good way to improve circulation. For details, read Exercise.

5. Hydration. This is another critical factor in making some substances biologically available to the body. Without enough of the right kind of water, the kidneys, the cell membranes and other structures do not function correctly. When this happens, even the best foods and food supplements can become toxic and hard to utilize well.

Most people do not drink enough water, or they drink water that does not hydrate the body such as reverse osmosis water. This is also called “drinking water” or “purified water” in the supermarkets and health food stores. Please avoid it. Other people drink alkaline water or other types that upset the body in other ways after a few months, even if it makes one feel better for a while.

Others deplete their body’s water by using caffeine, sugar or alcohol. These three chemicals dehydrate the body even if one drinks enough water. As a result, most people are dehydrated today. This impairs or even stops the proper transformation of thousands of chemical substances in the body. For details, read Water For Drinking and Hydration.

6. Respiration or deep breathing. Deep breathing is needed at all times to introduce enough oxygen into the body to oxidize or burn certain chemicals so they can be utilized. Mixing atoms and compounds with oxygen is one of the most basic ways our bodies transform and utilize foods and nutrients.

This is why stopping what you are doing and just breathing deeply, and getting some fresh air, gentle exercise and relaxation each day is essential for excellent health. Another method we recommend is the use of an ozone/ionizer air purifier in your bedroom at night. This, too, can help to make your food and nutrients much more bioavailable. For details, read Breathing.

7. Cell membrane attributes. All of our nutrients and chemicals must cross the cell membranes to be utilized properly inside the cells. If, for example, one is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D, which is the case with almost everyone today, then nutrients may not pass into the cells very well and the nutrients are not as available to the cells. Toxins also will not be able to pass out of the cells to be eliminated and can build up and kill the cells. This is very common today.

Slow oxidizers or those who are yin tend to have overly stabilized cell membranes that are too impermeable to nutrients, impairing utilization of many nutrients and hormones. In contrast, fast oxidizers tend to have cell membranes that are too permeable. This also impairs proper nutrient availability in some cases because too much passes from the blood into the cells, or the process moves too quickly.

Cell membrane transport of nutrients into and out of the cells is complex, but this is an introduction to the subject and all that most people need to know about it. It is one of the main reasons why balancing the major mineral ratios, oxidation rate and the forces of yin and yang in the body is so critical to restore perfect health.

We have not been able to do this using blood serum or urine tests so far. Only a properly performed tissue mineral biopsy seems able to measure the mineral ratios and other parameters well enough to accurately correct them.

8. The presence or absence of synergists and antagonists. Many nutrients are better absorbed, transported and utilized in the presence of other minerals, vitamins, proteins, starches, sugars, hormones, or other chemicals. Such interactions are called synergists in biology. Very simple examples are that manganese and vitamin B1 seem to be synergists, zinc and vitamin B6 are often synergistic, and calcium and copper are synergistic in some areas of the body.

Supplementing copper and zinc together has a different effect than giving them separately. At times, separate administration is better, while at other times they must be given together, such as when the sodium/potassium ratio is low.

Antagonists. In contrast, some minerals, vitamins and all other molecules oppose or antagonize other minerals, vitamins and other nutrient molecules. These are called antagonists in biology and medicine. Antagonists are a very critical area of mineral availability.

Examples of mineral antagonisms are that some minerals compete for carrier proteins in the intestines and this affects their utilization. Other minerals compete for binding sites in trillions of enzymes.

An interesting phenomenon is that nutrient minerals always compete for binding sites with toxic metals to some degree. This is known as the theory of Preferred Minerals. Hormones compete with some toxic chemicals for hormone receptors, and so forth.

How the body prioritizes which minerals, vitamins and hormones it will utilize and where they will be utilized is another complex subject, but bears directly on the question of bioavailability.

9. Other. The bioavailability of a chemical or mineral is also influenced by other factors. These include illnesses such as infections, the effect of high or low body temperature, the pH of the blood, the cells, the lymph and the interstitial fluid, and possibly other factors.

SORTING THROUGH THE COMPLEXITY OF BIOAVAILABILITY

As you can see, the subject of bioavailability is overwhelming in its complexity. Many people have theories about it, most or all of which we find are incomplete. Some say it is all about enzymes, all about parasites, or all about something else. Some tell us to use only liquid vitamins, or only whole-food vitamins, or special diets.

Older medical and nutrition articles and books contain clues, but many are outdated because pollution of the food and water today is so much worse than it was even 50 years ago. The bodies are also in worse condition than they were a century ago thanks to the proliferation of nuclear power and microwave radiation from cell phones and cell phone towers.

We continue to research with over 2000 clients at the present time (2019). As new research reveals better ways to nourish, hydrate, oxygenate and rebuild bodies, we will share what we learn in this and other articles on this website.

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