Colloidal Minerals: Unnecessary and Potentially Hazardous

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BLACK HAWK MINES

• Colloidal Mineral Supplements Unnecessary and
  Potentially Hazardous

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• 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 named Thomas
  Jefferson Clark was told about a healing stream
  by Chief Soaring Eagle, a Paiute medicine man and
  elder. The miracle waters were well-known to the
  local natives who supposedly had benefited from
  them for hundreds of years 1. Clark drank from
  them and quickly recovered from his malady.
  Intrigued, he followed the stream back to its
  source in organic-rich shales. By 1931, after
  several years of experiments, he sold his own
  brand of tonic rich in "colloidal minerals." As
  word spread, a minor legend was born. Light
  Energy Productions has recorded an account of
  Clark's many adventures 2. 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 3.

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• 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 4 quotes from U.S. Senate Document
  264

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• 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.

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• 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 5. 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.

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• At present, five mines 6 in Emery County, Utah
  supply three main manufacturers 7 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.

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• 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.