I have been reading through pages upon articles upon research statitistics about how our mineral count in farming land and soil has been dangerously depleted since the start of the 20th century. I have read articles about how in 1930 they were warning of the dangerously low quality of our soil and that we needed to do something soon to bring back the health and vitality of our American population. That was 1930. Now fast forward to the 21rst century and take a quick overview of the sad state of our overall health as a nation. Diseases have been rapidly growing and studies have shown the link between the fall of soil quality and these diseases.
Here is a great site that has many different articles about mineral depletion on the same page. It had a lot of facts that I felt where well researched and backed for further research into this subject, if you want. http://www.scribd.com/doc/7152263/Why-Minerals
It seems that some of the greater losses we have endured are iron, sodium calcium and copper, while we are getting more phosphorous in our diet. High phosphate levels in the blood reduce the formation of the active form of vitamin D (calcitriol) in the kidneys, reduce blood calcium and possibly pose a threat to our bones. I find it interesting that the bodies natural reaction to low calcium is to provide more phosphorous and isn't this what it seems the planet has done as well? It is a danger though that elevated phosporous levels will cause calcium to mismanaged within the body and begin to effect the structure of our bones. Though not all phosphorous is bad and it can have good effecs for the body, any imbalance of the natural order of the body is potentially harmful.
So what has contributed to soil depletion anyways? Well chemical fertilizers are a having propenent, as well as poor crop management, increased nutrient demand by higher yielding crops,the changing of crops and soil erosion. These are all things that we can do something about. We can put a stand up against the chemical, heavy metal fertilizers that are not only polluting our food but also creating many forms of disease in the body. One of those being Alzheimer's as autopsies of elderly who died with this disease have shown a large number of aluminun toxins in their brain. Metals can accumulate in your fat cells, in your liver and kidneys, and in other organs. Heavy metal toxicity can impair many different systems in the body, including kidney, liver, and colon--and can cause skin damage, cardiovascular illness, and endocrine, gastrointestinal, immune, and nervous system damage. It leads you to question what other diseases are being formed due to heavy metals?? Hmm.. Well, I am sure there are plenty to choose from and if you want to find out more go to these sites:
http://www.nutritionsecurity.org/PDF/Minerals%20Go%20Down%20.pdf
http://www.klinghardtacademy.com/Articles/Heavy-Metals-and-Chronic-Diseases.html Another way to stand up against mineral depletion is to replenish our soil and give it back what it is missing. What the best way is to do that is still under heavy research, but it doesn't hurt to start using some permaculture techniques such as swales and organic compostable matter for fertilization. Glacier Rock Dust school lays thought that the last time our soil was truly given a good dose of minerals was when the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age. But these are just a few ideas and in my reasearch of all I found none other really stuck out to me as being efficient or factually based. This site has some good history you can sift through to understand the growth, controversy, and important figures in the timeline of soil. http://soilminerals.com/TIS_Ch1.htm
As I reflect on what I have written here I wonder also how the testing has changed over the years and how accurate the levels of minerals in soil were researched in comparison to the tools and technology we have to measure the soil today. It may seem far fetched but even though we may have definitely lost some mineral content I just wonder how accurate these readings were in the 1930's. Also it may have some effect as to where they were testing the soil and to what time of season and what type of crop they were choosing the crop from. Not that I in any way demean the reality of soil depletion and diseases. I do definitely recognize that heavy metals being induced to our environment have only raised disease rates, lowered overall health, and damaged many a generation. I see an obvious connection to this unethical greedy statement made by uncaring power driven people and organizations. But I still feel that with all the research I found on the mineral count it left me wanting to know more about how these testing techniques have changed over time.
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