HOW DO MINERALS IMPACT HUMAN HEALTH? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS

People are in contact with minerals every day of their lives but rarely, if ever, do they consider how important minerals are to their health. Minerals are the ultimate source of most essential elements though they also host potentially toxic trace elements. On a daily basis we use minerals to protect our health. For example, toothpaste commonly contains particles of quartz, rutile and clay. Antacids and other over-the-counter medications routinely used to settle upset stomachs are based on calcite or various clays. Baby powder and face powders contain a variety of minerals including talc. Clays have the broadest impact on human health. The curative properties of clays have been known for at least two million years. Two thousand years ago commercial medication, called terra sigillata, was made from clay-rich soils. Topical applications of clays have long been used to address a range of skin diseases including hard to treat flesh eating bacteria. However there is a darker side of minerals. Exposure to asbestos particles and the zeolite erionite has caused lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis resulting in the deaths of thousands of people around the world. Inhalation of fine-grained quartz can result in silicosis and Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis (Black Lung Disease). Inhaling fine-grained pyrite likely contributes to Black Lung Disease. Fine-grained quartz released during residential coal combustion in Yunnan Province, China may be a contributing factor in the highest incidence of women’s lung cancer. Mineral dust caused the deaths of thousands of people during the Dust Bowl days in the U.S. mid-west by what was termed ‘Dust Pneumonia.’ The ingestion of soil and clay (geophagy) may once have had some health benefits but now is strongly discouraged as it has caused a range of health problems. Even contact with certain clays can result in elephantiasis, a serious, disfiguring health problem. These are just a few examples of the many ways that minerals can impact human and animal health.