Addressing Key Mineral Imbalance Refueling Your Cells and Rebuilding Your Enzyme Army

The Root Cause Protocol is a series of steps (things to stop and things to start) that was developed by Morley Robbins after he went on a crusade to try and figure out the very root cause to inflammation and oxidative stress.

Inflammation and oxidative stress are found throughout all chronic disease and just aging in general, so understanding the root cause of these can help to reverse and prevent various symptoms and diseases.

Instead of focusing only on the various germs and toxins that turn on the immune system and drive inflammation (such as candida yeast, lyme, viruses and parasites or toxins like heavy metals), we are trying to go deeper. Why are these germs and toxins allowed to build up to a level where they can trigger the inflammatory process? The body is designed to deal with these germs and toxins but something is impeding it. It turns out that minerals are the missing piece of the puzzle. The medical literature points to three minerals in particular: too much iron, too little magnesium and too little copper (or copper present, but in a non-usable form). So, the Root Cause Protocol focuses on diet and whole food based supplements that help to reduce iron levels and increase magnesium and copper levels. Once these mineral levels are balanced then the 9,000 enzymes in the body can work properly. Enzymes that convert your cholesterol to vitamin D, enzymes that run your immune system, enzymes that make your stomach acid, enzymes that convert your inactive thyroid to active thyroid, etc. So, before chasing any bug or toxin or treating any symptom with a pharmaceutical or supplement, we recommend normalizing these minerals.

Root Cause of Symptoms and Disease

Oxidative stress damages our cells. When a cell is damaged it can’t produce adequate energy. A low energy cell can’t do it’s job and ultimately causes tissues, organs, and full body systems to be inflamed and not work properly, and this leads to symptoms we call disease and aging.

There are many things that can cause oxidative stress and the body is equipped to handle them via antioxidant enzymes. However, too much oxidative stress can overwhelm our antioxidant enzyme systems. The number one cause of oxidative stress in most Americans is too much IRON in the TISSUE (even if iron is low in the BLOOD it can still be high in the tissue). Too much iron in our tissue causes oxidative stress AND blocks our antioxidant enzymes from doing their job.

Magnesium and copper help to reduce oxidative stress by moving iron out of our tissues and turning on our antioxidant enzymes.

So, our goal is to decrease iron and increase magnesium and copper in the body. Processed American food and grain, in particular, are often fortified with

iron. Consumption of these must be greatly reduced or stopped. Because of modern farming techniques, processed food (and even conventionally grown fruits and vegetables) are notoriously low in Magnesium and Copper, so we have to deal with these 3 main issues:

1. Low magnesium
2. High iron
3. Unavailable copper

So, how do I deal with these issues? Magnesium

(different people tolerate different forms so feel free to experiment):

Topical:

Magnesium chloride oil or lotion – detoxing, metabolism, kidney function – use topically every day

Oral supplements:

Magnesium citrate – not recommended because of bowel irritation Magnesium glycinate –good absorption rate; relaxing; better for leaky gut and nerve pain
Magnesium malate – energizing; better for fibromyalgia and muscle pain Magnesium oxide – poor absorption so must be taken in small doses throughout the day
Magnesium sulfate – small oral doses, laxative effect, best in bath or foot soak Magnesium taurate – particularly good for cardiovascular health
Magnesium orotate— energizing, penetrates into cells well
Magnesium threoante – brain injuries, PTSD, depression, anxiety, neurological condition

Other Magnesium options:

Magnesium water recipe – improves absorption of magnesium; 1 bottle of sparkling water + 1/4tsp of magnesium hydroxide

Instructions: Empty some of the sparkling water, add the magnesium hydroxide, put lid on, shake, let sit for a few seconds, open and let air out; then repeat one more time. You can start by drinking about 2oz per day.

Baths and Foot Soaks:

Baths:

Twice weekly whole-body soaks:
1 cup of Epsom Salt – magnesium 1 cup of baking soda – bicarbonate 2 Tbs Borax – boron (keeps iron from entering cell membrane)
OR
Twice weekly foot soaks: 1/2 cup Epsom Salt – magnesium 1/2 cup baking soda – bicarbonate 2 Tbs Borax – boron

Reduce the Excess Iron

• Donate blood or get a therapeutic phlebotomy
• Taking Apple Cider Vinegar – 1Tbs every day in water
• Taking a supplement called Lactoferrin by Jarrow as directed Drinking Golden Milk – Google for recipe
• Take Rice Bran – 1tsp every day in water (best on an empty stomach) •Quercetin every day
• PolyMVA – 1/2 tsp a day

Good Sources of Copper:

• Whole Food Vitamin C
• Bee Pollen (also great source of B vitamins)
• Beef liver from a grass-fed source (also a great source of B vitamins) Magnesium

Some additional things to consider

If you are excessively tired, experiencing a lot of stress, or been diagnosed with “adrenal fatigue”, consider drinking an Adrenal Cocktail on an empty stomach around 10am and 2pm every day. Or, if you are relatively healthy, just be sure you are consuming adequate real or sea salt and vitamin C every day (in a drink like this or in your diet):

Adrenal Cocktail:

Option 1: 4oz of purified water . tsp of sea salt . tsp of cream of tartar ó tsp of whole food vitamin C powder (or juice from 1/2 lemon or lime)
Option 2: 4 oz of coconut water . tsp sea salt ó tsp of whole food vitamin C (or juice from 1/2 a lemon or lime)

• Cod Liver oil every day is a good source of Vitamins A (retinol), D, E and K. Retinol is important for copper transport.
• Trace Minerals: Fulvic 400X 1 dropper in water every day or ConcenTrace Trace Mineral drops 1/2 tsp in water every day. Contains 74 trace minerals
• Diatomaceous Earth 1tsp in water at the beginning or end of a day (helps pull aluminum out of the body. Aluminum blocks the copper transport protein)
• Taurine 500mg every day (helps magnesium into the cell and helps make the copper transport protein)
• Whole Food Vitamin E from wheat germ oil (powerful antioxidant, protecting cell membranes in particular; contains selenium at its core)
• Iodine (after magnesium and selenium levels are adequate). Meanwhile, eat foods with a good source of iodine: pasture-raised eggs, kelp, seaweed, Cod, cranberries.

Things you need to STOP:

• STOP Vitamin-D ONLY Supplements (Supplemental “vitamin”- D is actually a hormone and causes you to lose potassium through the urine and stops retinol [vitamin A] production in the liver which is needed for many things including the copper transport protein.

• STOP Calcium Supplements (Calcium BLOCKS Magnesium & Iron absorption)
• STOP Iron Supplements (Iron SHUTS DOWN Copper metabolism)
• STOP synthetic vitamin C which is Ascorbic Acid (Ascorbic Acid disrupts the Copper)
• STOP High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) & Synthetic Sugars (HFCS Lowers Liver Copper & Raises Liver Iron)
• STOP LOW Fat Diet (Saturated Fat is needed for proper Copper absorption)
• STOP Using Industrialized “Heart Healthy” Omega-6 Oils! (e.g. Soybean, Corn, Canola Oils)
• STOP Using products with Fluoride (toothpaste, bottled water, etc.)
• STOP Taking “Drugstore” Multivitamins & Pre-natals (They contain the first four items above, plus trace amounts of fluoride)
• STOP Using Citrate in Foods & Supplements (e.g. “Natural Calm”)
• STOP Using Colloidal Silver as an Antibiotic (It lowers Copper status in the body.)