THE MEDICINAL USES OF MINERALS, ROCKS, AND FOSSILS

The uses of fossils, minerals, and rocks for healing date back thousands of years. Peoples all over the world have applied these geologic materials in various forms to soothe and cure. While modern day America uses a few common minerals such as clay and calcite for medical purposes, other countries manufacture tons of pharmaceuticals with a multitude of minerals and fossils.

Various traditional and non-traditional medical disciplines take advantage of these earth materials. Research as to what their healing effects might be is rather scarce. Over eighty minerals and mineraloids were documented for medicinal purposes past and present. The clay minerals lead the list, followed by quartz, amber, hematite, pearl, and malachite.

Over eighty illnesses and maladies have been treated with these earth materials. Minerals were, and still are being used for a wide range of ailments such as malachite and clay for infections, clays and pearls for gastrointestinal problems, and amber (succinite) for alcoholism and to strengthen the immune system.

Some minerals are clearly therapeutic while the healing reported from others may be due to the placebo effect. Color, such as red minerals being used to treat bood ailments, the value and beauty of a gem, and the shape have all plaid a big role in placebo related results. The purported anti-microbial properties of malachite were documented in a preliminary study with Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Most commonly, the minerals were directly applied to the body, comsumed as tea produced by soaking them in water, or taken internally in the form of powder. Many other forms of application exist.

The geographic distribution of uses of medicinal fossils and minerals is world wide, with the exception of polar regions.