The Problem With Mineral Supplements, Why Minerals Don’t Get Absorbed, Why You Probably Have A Mineral Deficiency & What To Do About It.

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mineral deficiency
Body, Diet & Nutrition, Health & Wellness, Podcast, Podcast-new, Recovery, Supplements

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My guest on this podcast is Barton Scott—chemical engineer, nutritionist, and the founder of Upgraded Formulas, a wellness nanotech company for performance and longevity with a focus on correcting mineral deficiencies. Barton pioneered a new category of supplementation to increase healthspan, focus, blood sugar management, reduce the impact of chronic health issues, and improve sleep quality.

As a young chemical engineer who always had sharp cognitive function, Barton began to suffer memory loss and mental fatigue. How could this be, at such an early age? To make matters worse, tragedy struck at the same time when he lost his mother.

After taking many supplements during this time frame, nothing was working. Faced with adversity and looming health issues, this is when Barton decided that he must pursue solutions himself. He grew frustrated with how mineral supplements lacked effectiveness and absorption into the body, rendering most products in the market useless. Barton set out to fix the problem; and using his background in chemical engineering and experience as a nutritionist, he was able to identify the issues with the current offerings and applied a solution based on sound science.

Through research, and many trials and errors, Barton realized if you can get mineral particles small enough to absorb into your cells, that was going to be the winning formula for effectiveness. That's where he applied nano minerals to his formulations and developed a solution that supposedly makes the minerals up to 99.9% bioavailable for measurable absorption. It was then that he set out to create what today is Upgraded Formulas, founded to ensure maximum bioavailability and measurable absorption for proven results.

In addition, Barton created a hair testing kit that identifies mineral deficiencies and verifies that his products work. His test also identifies heavy metal toxicity.

During this discussion, you'll discover:

-How sports and endurance events totally deplete your body of nutrients and minerals…6:20

  • Ben lost twice the amount of sodium during Ironman events
  • 6-7g of salt per day during training
  • Cells don't create as much energy in this state
  • Barton exhausted his body while wrestling in high school
    • Noticed degradation of memory due to decreased energy in his cells
  • Body's requirements of mineral intake go way up during periods of stress

-Why vitamins are of no use without minerals…12:55

  • Aldosterone is a steroid hormone, regulates electrolytes in the body
  • Maintains osmotic balance and blood pressure
  • Decreased electrolytes cause a rise in blood pressure
  • Maintenance of extracellular fluid volume depends on sodium
  • Minerals will maintain electrochemical gradients
  • Book: The Salt Fix by James Di Nicolantonio
  • Book: The Body Electric by Robert Becker
  • Book: Healing is Voltage by Jerry Tennant
  • Minerals, not vitamins, affect longevity and memory the greatest
  • Minerals activate the vitamins
  • Magnesium activates over 800 pathways in the body

-The best way to avoid mineral deficiency…18:15

  • Minerals need to be absorbed into the bloodstream
  • A process is needed to solve the issue
  • Minerals from animals absorb better than from plants
  • Diet alone will never completely reverse a deficiency
  • Thyroid and adrenal glands produce vast majority of energy in the body (do they have what they need to produce what you need?)
  • A functional digestive tract is rare among Americans
  • Stress is a huge factor
  • Create a product that can allow the minerals to be digested without the help of the digestive tract

-Why the electron driving force and size of individual cells are important for the absorption of minerals…29:25

  • Electron driving force is what allows minerals to be absorbed into the mitochondria
  • Interference (defense) mechanisms in plants that affect absorption (but absorbed well once past the gates)
  • Minerals in nature are sometimes too big (molecularly) for the body to absorb naturally
  • Plants have the capacity to ionize minerals themselves
  • The plants' strength is derived from minerals that are ionized within them
  • A steak today has a fraction of iron it did a generation ago
  • There are minerals with the proper size for absorption in soil, plants, animals
  • Poor farming practices have affected the volume of properly sized minerals deleteriously
  • Optimize the size of the particles

-How a hair analysis reveals your mineral levels and lifestyle factors…37:20

  • EPA uses hair analysis to test for heavy metal levels
  • Certain minerals can mitigate excessive heavy metals exposure
  • Bloodwork is a snapshot of the immediate past
  • Blood tests are often based on an unhealthy population
  • Test for 15 different minerals, 8 heavy metals
    • Minerals:
      • Calcium
      • Magnesium
      • Sodium
      • Potassium
      • Copper
      • Zinc
      • Phosphorus
      • Iron
      • Manganese
      • Chromium
      • Selenium
      • Boron
      • Cobalt
      • Molybdenum
      • Sulfur
    • Heavy metals
      • Antimony
      • Uranium
      • Arsenic
      • Beryllium
      • Mercury
      • Cadmium
      • Lead
      • Aluminum
  • Ratios between some minerals are more important than individual levels
  • Hair dyes may register false positives of heavy metals
  • Blood pH levels are vital; small change can be fatal
  • Hair is much more resilient than other testing methods such as blood
  • BGF podcast with Dr. Andrew Weil
  • SpectraCell Mineral Analysis
  • Significant ratios are the most important thing to look for in the hair analysis

-The most common mineral deficiencies, and how to replenish them…48:05

  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Manganese – RDA is too low
  • Start with supplementing magnesium, potassium, zinc, iodine
  • Peak Thyroid
  • Many have an imbalance of zinc and copper
  • Too much zinc results in pushing out copper, which sets up a bacterial infection
  • Lowers immune system, more susceptible to contracting a virus
  • Megadosing Vitamin C may lower copper levels
  • More women have an elevated copper level, more men have an elevated zinc level
  • Copper related to creativity; zinc to philosophy
  • Black Ant Extract is high in zinc

-The best way to ingest Barton's nano mineral products…59:50

-And much more…

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.


Here's the audio of Barton going over Ben's hair mineral and toxin analysis results (along with a PDF of the results below):

 

 


Resources from this episode:

Barton Scott:

  • Click here for a test kit and/or consultation with Barton
  • Click here for any of the Upgraded Formulas

BGF podcast with Dr. Andrew Weil

– Books:

– Supplements:

– Lab Tests:

– Other resources:

Episode sponsors:

Kion Immune: Kion Immune is a blend of two of the most-studied, clinically-proven nutrients for immune health: Vitamin C and Zinc. It may sound simple, but the truth is these two nutrients are essential when it comes to the immune system functioning properly. BGF listeners, receive a 10% discount off your order when you use discount code BEN10.

Organifi Green Juice: Now you can get all your healthy superfoods in one glass…with No Shopping, No Blending, No Juicing, and No Cleanup. Get a 20% discount on your entire order when you use discount code BENG20.

-Beekeeper's Naturals: A wellness company specializing in innovative nutraceuticals made from healing hive compounds and plant-based ingredients. Get 15% off your order when you use discount code BEN.

Water and Wellness: The best solution for clean and safe drinking water. Water and Wellness also offers an amazing line of essential water additives such as Quinton Marine plasma which contain over 78 trace minerals and elements from the ocean to help restore your biological-terrain. Get 15% off your order when you use discount code GREENFIELD.

Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Barton Scott or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!

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36 thoughts on “The Problem With Mineral Supplements, Why Minerals Don’t Get Absorbed, Why You Probably Have A Mineral Deficiency & What To Do About It.

  1. Karen S says:

    Are either of you aware of certain studies showing that people with genius IQs (over 140, say) tend to have a very high zinc level, while people in prison, especially for violent crimes, tend to be much higher in copper than the average person?

    1. Barton Scott says:

      Hi Karen, certainly there are correlations between crime and high copper. There are two ways our nutritionists look to identify this during consultations. Namely, elevated copper and through a checklist of hidden copper toxicity.

      This is another reason why it is so important to test your minerals all at once as we do with hair.

      High IQ and intelligence are certainly DEPENDENT on a number of minerals, including zinc, iodine, and several others.

      Late last year we put out a product that has been in the works for some time called Upgraded Memory to address this. It isn’t a nootropic, but instead like a replishener so that your other brain-boosting supplements work even better.

  2. Karen S says:

    You asked a question to your guest about why minerals aren’t always absorbed well from plants (apart from particle size) and whether this meant “nature is broken.” No, not at all. Your guest apparently doesn’t know that it depends on how you cook or otherwise process the foods. This is what determines the availability of some nutrients. Some vegetables might need to be soaked, fermented or cooked for a long time before the anti-nutrients are eliminated and the nutrients become available.

    1. Barton Scott says:

      Hi Karen,
      I’m aware of that. The soil is still depleted of these precious minerals that your organs need for proper functioning. Your gut is still non-optimal if you are like most people.

  3. Richard Hay says:

    I notice your results shows no measurement for Boron. Are their comments on levels in the report is a consultation required?

    WellnessFX does a great job on their report on values and meanings.

    1. RICHARD G HAY says:

      Does upgradedformuals review replies?

    2. Hi Richard,

      It is not possible to accurately test for Boron using any method today. Why? The reason it is found in too small of a supply in the body to reliably cross-section it, so to speak.

      The bottom line: If a test shows Boron, know that it is by default an inaccurate reading.

  4. Nate Winkler says:

    Can you please clarify the following statement, Barton: “But just in general, you can forget that stat and just know that steak today has about half the iron that it used to because the topsoil is something like three inches when it used to be 18 inches on average. Again, just rough numbers.”

    Can you confirm your topsoil depth numbers you quoted and what source you pulled this information from just so I can read that research/data as well? Thanks so much and great podcast!

  5. Radek says:

    if you will want to make a nano product of magnesium etc. put the powdered magnesium into glass of water, let it dissolve it and you will get nano magnesium. The ppm, will depend on the water and magnesium content.

  6. Stephen Buckley says:

    FYI, a product called Remag and Remote has been around for a while. It provides pico sized minerals.

    1. Radek says:

      the Remag and other nano products contains a preservatives

  7. Louis says:

    Barton, I am interested in your mineral, but I would first like to know how they differ from other ionic mineral solutions on the market today. Could you provide some more information regarding this?

    1. Barton Scott says:

      Louis, plain ionic minerals are not as stable as they need to be.

      1. KEVIN POND says:

        I was under the impression by the marketing of ConcenTrace® that the unstable nature of ionic trace minerals was a benefit resulting in absorbability.

  8. Bromine levels.... says:

    Great podcast and I love when Ben stops his guests to further clarify or question points for his listeners. He does this with intention to keep his audience educated and following the point…so keep it up…it’s brilliant!

    My question is about Bromine. I recently got the heavy metals test from ZRT and it showed my levels of Bromine and Arsenic very high. The test or my functional medicine dr had no real guidance on this and how to proceed so I am doing my own digging.

    My question for Barton is why don’t you test for Bromine levels? Are they important to know? Any guidance at all?

  9. Steve S. says:

    I generally love your podcasts, Ben, but this guy is just hawking supplements and doesn’t know what he’s talking about, especially as concerns the copper-zinc issue. Taking zinc exogenously interferes with copper absorption, and you can’t get copper from a copper supplement because it’s not in the right form. You need to get your body to synthesize cerruloplasmin for copper metabolism to work the way it’s supposed to. You should really get Morley Robbins on the show because he has the deepest understanding of minerals and their interactions of anyone I’ve heard, and he’ll really challenge many orthodoxies, even orthodoxies prevalent within the alternative health and wellness community, and give your listeners something to think about.

  10. michael says:

    discount code for test kit doesn’t work (say “not valid”)…?

    1. Kellee says:

      same here

      1. Hey guys, that’s a separate sales page where the discount is already built-in.

        If purchasing from the website you will the current price. Note: Pricing may fluctuate each week.

  11. Chris Habgood says:

    Dr Wallach has been talking about supplementing while exercising for 20yrs.

  12. Sally says:

    Another good podcast, thank you Ben. But I see there is a company from the Netherlands who are already producing Nano minerals called Health Factory. How do the Upgraded products compare to these? Thanks

  13. Danilo Delgado says:

    beneficial info thank u for you hard work

  14. David Gordon says:

    How do I get hair sample test?

  15. Nik says:

    This was great, thanks for the info Barton! And thanks for asking good questions Ben!

  16. Ayed says:

    Ben, Why don’t you talk less and let your guest have more chance to talk and finishes his thoughts?

    1. Connor, your biggest fan says:

      Ben has earned the right to interject his valued insights and stories that go along with what the guest is saying, the guest is more than welcome to finish their thoughts in due time and Ben is very relevant in his interruptions, anyone who listens to the podcast regularly knows this is part of his beauty and grace and if someone accepts the offer of being a GUEST on HIS podcast then they are willing to play by his rules. And if they have to get interrupted for Ben to throw in something that he KNOWS is valuable to his listeners, then I trust that the guest will either be happy about the participation and be able to finish his though easily or even be challenged enough to answer with solid feedback themselves and no one needs some rando trying to tell this professional how to do his job.. I for one appreciate his interjections and the fluidity/relevance of them and how they are able to get right back on track afterwards. I’m sure I’m not alone in my opinion judging by how many listeners Ben has

      1. Barton Scott says:

        Hi Connor, I didn’t mind it. Glad you enjoyed it.

    2. Barton Scott says:

      Hi Ayed, we had so much to cover. That podcast really could have been divided into 2 parts so we did our best to cover many topics with sufficient depth.

  17. Louis says:

    By no means am I an expert in mineral or hair mineral analysis, but in my quest for wellness, I have listened to many different views regarding these subjects. Specifically, I have found Morley Robbins to be very knowledgable on the subject of minerals and really like his take on copper, magnesium, zinc, and iron. He has a program called the Root Cause Protocol. Ben, it would be great if you could have him on your podcast, to discuss these things at length, and potentially provide some counterpoints to Mr. Scott. (Although, there will certainly be agreements as well.)

    With regards to “nano-minerals”, I would like to ask if these are not just ionic preparations of minerals. After all, an ionic solution would basically be the ions of each element; an ion being a charged ATOM, which would be the smallest particle possible. If so, this is not a novel concept.

    1. Correct me if I’m mistaken says:

      I believe that they explained that this is exactly what that is, you are correct that jobs are nothing new but I’ve never heard of this type of of minerals in supplements. You sound like you know a little of chemistry in which case you realize that the mineral itself is all we need. And by making it smaller it will defuse more readily. Doesn’t seem like rocket science that’s physiology 101 but I don’t think anyone else is making it like this that I’ve heard of at least

      1. Correct me if I’m wrong says:

        Ions-not jobs (stupid auto correct)

      2. Louis says:

        If you do an internet search for ionic minerals, you will find many examples.

        Diffusion is only one way minerals are absorbed; although, it is probably the dominant pathway for most. Minerals like magnesium and calcium re also absorbed through active transport.

        There are some that promote chelated minerals, claiming increased absorption through active transport. I have seen the claim that the glycine chelate of magnesium, magnesium glycintate, has improved absorption of Mg. The claim is the glycine “buffers” the soulution, keeping acidity higher, and thus, promoting absorption.

    2. B says:

      Louis, thank you for mentioning Morley Robbins. I would like to second the motion with regards to having him on the podcast. His understanding of vitamins and minerals is a result of many years of combing through the research literature. He “marches to the beat of a different drummer” regarding disease and wellness and his views would make for an interesting dialogue with Ben.

      Thank you Barton and Ben!

      1. KEVIN POND says:

        Please interview Morley Robbins

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