Nightmare

3. Colloidal
Speaking of overloading, the third type of supplemental minerals is the
one we hear the most about: colloidal. What does colloidal really mean?
Colloidal refers to a solution, a dispersion medium in which mineral
particles are so well suspended that they never settle out: you never
have to shake the bottle. The other part of the dictionary definition
has to do with diffusion through a membrane: "will not diffuse easily
through vegetable or animal membrane." Yet this is supposed to be the
whole rationale for taking colloidal minerals - their absorbability.
Colloidal guru Joel Wallach himself continuously claims that it is
precisely the colloidal form of the minerals that allows for easy
diffusion and absorption across the intestinal membrane, because the
particles are so small. Wallach claims 98% absorption, but cites no
studies, experiments, journal articles or research of any kind to back
up this figure. Why not? Because there aren't any. The research on
colloidal minerals has never been done. It's not out there. Senate
Document 264 doesn't really cover it.
In reality, colloidal minerals are actually larger than ionic minerals,
as discussed by researcher Max Motyka PhD. Because of the molecular size
and suspension in the colloid medium, which Dorland's Medical dictionary
describes as "like glue," absorption is inhibited, not enhanced. No less
an authority than Dr. Royal Lee, the man responsible for pointing out
the distinction between whole food vitamins and synthetic vitamins,
stated
"A colloidal mineral is one that has been so altered that it will no
longer pass through cell walls or other organic membranes."
Does that sound like easy absorption?
For a mineral to be absorbed, it must be either in the ionic state, or
else chelated, as explained above. The percentage of colloidal minerals
which actually does get absorbed has to be ionized somehow, due to the
acidic conditions in the small intestine. Only then is the mineral
capable of being taken up by the carrier proteins in the intestinal
membrane, as mentioned above. By why create the extra step? Ionic
minerals would be superior to colloidal, because they don't have to be
dissociated from a suspension medium, which is by definition
non-diffusable. All this extra work costs the body in energy and
reserves.
Max Motyka further points out the error of Wallach's claims. Wallach
states that colloidals are negatively charged, and this enhances
intestinal absorption. The problem is his science is 180 backward:
Wallach claims the charge of the intestinal mucosa is positive, but all
other sources have known for decades that the mucosal charge is
negative. (Guyton, p13) This is why ionic minerals are presented to the
intestinal surface as cations (positively charged ions). Opposites
attract, like repels - remember? Another big minus for colloidals.
Quality control. Consistency of percentages of each mineral from batch
to batch. Very simply, there isn't any with the mega mineral
supplements, as the manufacturers will themselves admit. The ancient
lakes and glaciers apparently have not been very accommodating when it
comes to percent composition. Such a range of variation might be
acceptable in, say, grenade tossing or blood dilution in seawater
necessary to attract a shark, or IQ threshold of terrorists, or other
areas where high standards of precision are not crucial. But a
nutritional supplement that is supposed to enhance health by drinking it
- this is an area in which the details of composition should be fairly
visible, verifiable, the same every time. In these 80-trace-mineral
toddies, there is no way of testing the presence or absence of many of
the individual minerals. Many established essential trace minerals do
not even have an agreed-upon recommended daily allowance, for two
reasons:
the research has never been done
the amounts are too small to measure