Ancestral Minerals is a blend of Ancient Sea Salt, Atlantic Kelp, and Wildflower Bee Pollen, each a whole food source of essential minerals we need to thrive. Our ancestors have always relied on salt-preserved foods, fresh organ meats, beehive products, and marine life, including seaweed for both food and medicine. It is believed that access to these mineral-rich food sources, including iodine, unlocked the full potential of our cellular metabolism and aided in our rapid brain development [8]. These essential nutrients all work synergistically with each other in harmony with nature, and in harmony with the wisdom of our ancestors.

Ancestral Minerals... rich in whole food sources of essential and trace minerals including sodium chloride, potassium, iodine, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous and zinc to support remineralization.

It’s estimated that more than half of the global population suffers from a micronutrient deficiency. [9] Much of this is due to a lack of essential minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur) and trace minerals (iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium). The ‘key’ to our cells functioning properly is having specific amounts of these minerals available in the correct organ in the body, at precisely the right time. These minerals are essential for a huge range of physiological functions. If you’re deficient in minerals it’s likely your teeth and bones are weak too. In the event of insufficient mineral intake, our bodies will take minerals from our bones which can lead to low bone density and osteoporosis. [10] The good news is, Ancestral Minerals contains all of the essential minerals we need to remineralize our entire bodies, including our bones and teeth. Ancestral Minerals is a rich source of calcium and phosphorus. Our ancestors consumed at least 1-2 grams of calcium/phosphorus per day, from a wide range of sources including animal bones, seaweed, sea salt, bee pollen, and insects… Calcium is essential for vascular contraction and vasodilation, muscle function, nerve transmission, intracellular signaling, and hormone secretion. While the main function of phosphorus is the formation of strong bones and teeth, it is also necessary for the body to synthesize protein to support the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues. It even plays an important role in how the body uses carbohydrates and fats and is needed for the proper absorption of calcium.

Almost everyone these days is deficient in magnesium. Thousands of years of agriculture have taken so much magnesium from the soil that it is difficult to imagine how our ancestors ever got enough through diet alone. The earth was more fertile and their food was simply more nutritious back then. Ancient Sea Salt, Atlantic Kelp, and WIldlfower Bee Pollen are all great sources of magnesium that our ancestors were consuming. Magnesium is critical for bone development, enzyme synthesis, the nervous system, and muscular function. [11] It is required for the production of all proteins, including those that interact with vitamins A and D. Vitamins A, D, and K2 interact synergistically with these essential minerals to support energy metabolism, immune health, provide for adequate growth, support strong bones and teeth, and protect soft tissues from calcification. In addition to Ancestral Minerals, be sure to consume Beef Liver for Vitamin A, get Vitamin D from sensible sunshine, and for K2 consume bone marrow and fermented foods.

Pro tip: Mechanical loads are known to support bone strength too! I suggest getting into some weight training! Lifting heavy things was absolutely something our ancestors did to build robust and healthy bodies!

The key to optimal hydration is not water, it is electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals that conduct electricity when dissolved in water to form electrically charged ions, chiefly sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. Not only do athletes require electrolytes… everyone needs electrolytes to survive, especially the elderly and those in poor health. Many automatic processes in the body rely on a small electric current to function... electrolytes provide this charge.

Electrolytes interact with each other and the cells in our tissues, nerves, and muscles. They regulate nerve and muscle function, help rebuild damaged tissue, hydrate the body, balance blood acidity and blood pressure. The muscles and neurons are sometimes referred to as the “electric tissues” of the body because they rely on the movement of electrolytes through the fluid inside, outside, or between cells in order to carry electrical impulses to other cells. For example, a muscle needs calcium, sodium, and potassium to contract. When these minerals become imbalanced, it can lead to either muscle weakness or excessive contraction.

Our bodies can’t make electrolytes so we must find them in our environment. Our ancestors consumed plenty from the soil, their food, and pristine water sources. In the modern world our soil, food, table salt, and water are all stripped of these essential minerals, and many of us struggle to consume enough electrolytes… add physical exercise or anything that makes you sweat to the mix and you’re in trouble. Our sweat contains a significant amount of electrolytes and losing them leads to a decrease in strength, speed, and focus. Performance can be impaired by as much as 10% when dehydrated by 2%, and by as much as 30% when dehydrated by 5%. [12]

Electrolytes including (sodium chloride/salt) not only support muscle and nerve function, they support optimal brain function too. Increasing salt consumption stimulates the production of glial cells in the brain, which are responsible for creative thinking and long-term planning. Regardless of the consistent push from so-called nutritional experts to decrease the RDA for salt intake, salt consumption is intimately connected with the evolution of our intelligence.

Pro tip: For years, I’ve used salt as a pre-workout. I take about 2-3 grams of salt with a little water before my workout to improve my cardiovascular capacity and endurance, and to prevent any potential symptoms from sodium loss, like cramping or muscle spasms. Most people believe that muscle cramps come from magnesium and potassium deficiencies so they load up on bananas post-workout, when most of the time it's simply a lack of salt.

The adrenal glands are responsible for the release and regulation of over fifty of the body’s hormones that regulate blood pressure, glucose levels, mineral metabolism, healing, and stress response. When levels of adrenal hormones drop, which often happens during periods of stress or fatigue, the body naturally responds by craving salty foods to help stabilize blood pressure.

When we encounter stress our adrenal glands release cortisol to enhance various bodily functions (focus, energy, etc.). Constant stress, however, can cause adrenal glands to burnout and result in extreme fatigue. Too much cortisol can also interfere with thyroid hormone production and slow down metabolism… excess cortisol stimulates the thyroid to work harder to create sufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. Iodine is an essential component of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. These hormones regulate the metabolic activities of most cells, heart rate, and body temperature. Iodine also plays a vital role in our immune system, detoxification pathways and also supports the process of early growth and development of most organs, especially the brain. [13]

Iodine is an essential trace mineral required for human life and the only natural sources are from marine life or plants grown in iodine-rich soil. Most soils are now deficient in iodine and therefore most foods are either directly fortified, or sourced from animals that are fed supplemental iodine. Certified Grass Fed guidelines even allow 100% pasture-raised livestock to be fed seaweed in parts of the world where the soil is mineral deficient. Ancestral Minerals is a source of naturally occurring and bioavailable iodine (from kelp) and adaptogens (from bee pollen) that support thyroid and adrenal health.

Pro tip: As it relates to iodine supplement drops, I’d steer clear. Our ancestors would have never had access to such concentrations of iodine and the long-term effects of concentrated iodine can be toxic. Whole food sources of iodine include Ancestral Minerals, seaweed, wild-caught fish eggs, oysters, and shellfish. For intensive thyroid support consider our Beef Thyroid.

In the modern world, we consume about half the salt our ancestors would have. Before the days of refrigeration, most of our meat and fish were preserved by salting them. Our early ancestors would have consumed magnitudes more than modern humans — to the tune of 10+ grams/day. I personally start my day with 2 grams of sea salt (my pre-workout) and get the rest throughout the day by seasoning my like-supports-like nutrition foods to taste.

Salt, of course, is vital to health. There’s a reason that foods taste better with salt… it plays a key role in digestion. Sodium-dependent enzymes are required for carbohydrate digestion. We also need salt for digesting fats as sodium is involved in the manufacture of bile, which emulsifies fats so that they can be absorbed. Salt is our main dietary source of chloride, the major component of hydrochloric acid, needed for protein digestion.

Hydrochloric acid also plays a role in keeping parasites and pathogens from entering the digestive tract—parasites can easily gain a foothold in those on low-salt diets. Other symptoms of low hydrochloric acid include heartburn, bloating, acne, iron deficiency, belching, indigestion, diarrhea, and multiple food allergies.

Ranging from ancient healers, all the way up to our modern naturopaths, centuries of health experts have relied on bee pollen to help those with gastrointestinal issues including constipation, diarrhea, enteritis, and colitis. Bee pollen is rich in digestive enzymes and acts as an easily absorbable digestive aid to help with various stomach and intestinal disorders by supporting and regulating the intestinal flora. When bees collect pollen they combine it with some of their own digestive enzymes and honey from their hive. The pollen becomes enriched with beneficial bacteria, lactic acid, and carbohydrates to become a potent prebiotic. Bee pollen has been shown to induce the growth of healthy bacteria and reduce the overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria in the gut, including C. difficile, Klebsiella pneumonia types, and the Candida albicans. [14]

Magnesium supports digestion too... it helps relax the muscles of the digestive tract and neutralize stomach acid, supporting stool movement through the colon. It helps to pull water into the intestines which can help to soften up blockages and support smoother bowel movements.

Pro tip: For digestive support, skip the juice cleanse or high fiber smoothies… instead try an extended water fast with spring water (and maybe even added minerals). The benefits of extended fasting reach far beyond digestion (learn more about fasting on our About Us page)... that said, a 5-day water fast is the ultimate cleanse. Wife and I fast for 5 days once per quarter. During this time, we only drink spring water which naturally contains essential minerals. For the first 1-3 days we include extra magnesium to help our colon pass any lingering bits and pieces, so the body can utilize all of its energy for repairing internal tissues, instead of digesting the food from our last few meals.

Ancestral Minerals is a whole food dietary supplement that provides 100% pure Ancient Sea Salt with Atlantic Kelp and Wildflower Bee Pollen. The suggested use of this supplement is to take 6 capsules per day (even though it technically is food) or as directed by a healthcare professional — for added support, the dose can be doubled. If consuming more than six capsules at once, the doses should be separated by at least three hours to improve tolerability.

Most customers tolerate our supplements without incident; however, approximately 5 to 10% of customers (usually with an autoimmune condition) may experience a detoxification reaction. Detoxification reactions go by many different names including healing reactions, healing crises, cleansing reactions (or) Herxheimer reactions with hallmark symptoms of nausea, headache, lethargy, dizziness and other flu-like symptoms. In this instance, detoxification reactions are generally an indication that detoxification pathways in the body are back online... cells suddenly have an opportunity to release an even greater than normal quantity of stored toxins, metabolic wastes, pathogens and unwanted material.

A detoxification reaction is more likely to occur when starting with the full suggested serving size of 6 capsules per day. If you know that you are sensitive to supplements and/or you have an autoimmune condition, you may wish to start slow when adding this product to your current regimen. Tolerability can be greatly improved by starting with just 1 (or) 2 capsules a day and increasing by just 1 capsule every couple of days — this method may take a full two weeks to achieve the desired serving size of 6 capsules per day.

For customers that are highly sensitive to supplements and/or have an autoimmune and/or methylation SNPs, I suggest that you "play it safe" by introducing just one new capsule per week. In other words, just 1 capsule during the 1st week... 2 capsules during the 2nd week... 3 capsules during the 3rd week and so on... yes, this will take some time to reach the suggested dosages but this greatly helps to ensure tolerability of this deep nourishment so that it has a chance to do good.

Okay, you're convinced! You're going to start incorporating like-supports-like nourishment in your routine because, well... you're educated now... you understand, just as our early ancestors did, that they provide superlative health benefits that are missing in our modern diets. The next step is sourcing it. It's important that you source the highest quality because not all organs, glands and cartilage are created equal. Consider the source.

• Should Come From An Unpolluted Geographical Region — Isolated, Healthy, Pristine Lands and Waters
• Should Come From Pasture Raised or Wild Caught Animals
• Should Come From Grass Fed & Grass-Finished Animals
• Should Come From Animals That Are Hormone, Pesticide & GMO Free
• Should Also Be Ultra Pure... Absolutely No Fillers (or) Flow Agents, No Allergens
• Should Be Non-Defatted
• Should Be 100% Freeze Dried... Freeze Drying Preserves Heat Sensitive Biological Activity

Inhabiting mineral-rich environments such as the seashore, swamps, primeval forests, and grasslands, our ancestors consumed large amounts of essential minerals. Many of these environments have since been altered by the modern world, but when our ancestors lived in them, they were pristine. The water they drank and bathed in was pure and mineral rich... the soil was alive, teeming with bacteria, fungi, and minerals. Even the plants and animals they ate had a superior mineral profile compared to the plants and animals we farm today. In addition to the natural consistent exposure to minerals, our ancestors would gather salt from the sea or inland deposits and would seek out mineral rich foods, like bee pollen and kelp. Ancestral Minerals is rich in the essential and trace minerals from whole food sources that our ancestors enjoyed… Ancient Sea Salt, Atlantic Kelp, and Wildflower Bee Pollen.

In ancient cultures, salt was considered the gift of the gods. Homer referred to salt as a “divine substance” and Plato described it as “especially dear to the gods.” The Celtic word for salt meant “holy” or “sacred.” Salt was regarded so highly that Roman soldiers were even paid partly in salt… In fact, the word “salary'' is derived from the Latin word for salt, salarium.

Our ancestors went to great lengths to obtain salt for good reason… Humans are one of few mammals that can cool off by sweating- it’s our super power. Our ability to sweat allowed us to evolve into expert persistence hunters, who can run long distances in the heat after our prey. Today, Kalahari nomads like the !Kung and the Mexican Rarámuri still practice this form of hunting as they chase their prey over many miles in temperatures well above 105°F [1]. The animal will eventually succumb to heat exhaustion, and the sweaty hunter will take his shot. Persistence and the ability to sweat make the difference between feast and famine.

That said, sweating doesn’t come without consequence. When we sweat, we lose large amounts of minerals such as sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. In order to replenish these minerals, we need to consume them. On land, our ancestors sourced salt from lakes, ancient dried seabed deposits, and brine springs, while our shore-dwelling ancestors would have consumed plenty from the ocean.

The body’s interior ocean is salty, and without salt, the chemical reactions that support enzyme function, energy and hormone production, protein transport, and many other biochemical processes simply can not work. On a completely saltless diet, the body steadily loses small amounts of salt via the kidneys and sweat glands—more if the body is engaging in vigorous physical activity. The result is a gradual desiccation of the body and finally death. The organism literally dies of thirst. Western people today consume about half the amount of salt that we consumed traditionally. Before the days of refrigeration, most of our meat and fish were preserved by salting them, and to top it off... populations that have the highest salt intakes, also have the highest life expectancy.

Our ancient sea salt is harvested from a Jurassic Era, ancient seabed deep within the earth. It has been protected from being exposed to the pollutants of the modern world. This is real ancient sea salt… nothing has been extracted, nothing has been added.

An abundantly growing wild food that is foraged from jagged cliffs of the world’s coastlines, kelp has been considered a sacred staple food throughout the ages. The Japanese regarded seaweed so highly that they were permitted to pay their taxes to the Emperor in kelp form. The oldest discovered consumption of seaweed dates back to 12,500 years ago. Five chewed cuds of Gigartina, a red seaweed, mixed with Boldo leaves, a medicinal herb and mild hallucinogen were found on the floor of a medicine hut at Monte Verde, Chile—one of the oldest human habitation sites in the Americas.[2] The master warriors of the sea, the Vikings, fueled their conquests with kelp... It was so highly valued that the right to collect it was written into Viking law. They gathered it during low tide, dried it like hay, and packed it in barrels where it was kept dry and compressed, sometimes for months. They would then bring it on their ocean voyages and eat it with salted fish and butter! [3]

Our North Atlantic Kelp is sustainably harvested from the clean, cold, and pristine waters of the North Atlantic ocean, richly mineralized by glacial melt rivers and geothermal vents in the ocean floor. With the ocean containing more than 47 minerals, kelp concentrates them all into a potent nutritional powerhouse that is easily assimilated by the body. Kelp is especially rich in phosphorus, iron, folate, K1, sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, zinc, and many antioxidants. Consuming kelp has a strengthening effect on the entire body including our bones, joints, skin, immune system, hormone health, metabolism, and our nervous system including the brain, thyroid, and adrenal glands.

Our ancestors battled angry bees to harvest the immune, brain, and endurance-boosting foods within their hives. Gathering hive products from honey bees is an ancient practice that predates recorded history. The earliest record we have may be a cave painting, found in Spain that depicts people foraging for honey at least 8,000 years ago. [6] Ancient Mayans were said to have kept bees at their temples to produce honey and pollen for temple offerings, and the traditional people of ancient Georgia buried clay pots full of honey and pollen with a person for their journey into the afterlife.

A single hive contains honey, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, and wax made up of more than 250 essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals [4]. Most notably, bee pollen, which is considered one of nature's most complete nourishing foods, because it contains nearly all nutrients required by humans. Made up of approximately 40% protein, bee pollen is rich in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal compounds, as well as plenty of vitamins and bioavailable trace minerals. Bee pollen is also an adaptogen... it increases the body's coping abilities with excessive physical burden and supports brain function and the adrenal glands.

Bee pollen is a natural bee-made mixture of flower pollen, nectar, bee secretions, enzymes, honey, and wax... and it is the bee’s only source of protein. They collect it throughout the spring and summer to store for the winter. They actively seek pollen from many different plants to derive a variety of nutrients to feed young bees. Honey bees can even recognize what minerals the hive may lack from the surrounding pollen sources, and will proactively seek out those minerals from the soil and water to mix into their bee pollen [5]. How cool is that?!.. It is no wonder our ancestors were willing to risk life and limb to acquire this precious resource!

Our obsession with honey and bee pollen still remains today, with some of the few remaining hunter-gatherers still risking their lives to access it. The Hadza in Tanzania frequently climb into the upper reaches of baobab trees to raid beehives. When asked what is the most important thing in life, the Hadza repeatedly say “meat and honey”! They also have a symbiotic relationship with the honeyguide bird, who guides them to the hive in return for his share of the goods. The tradition of the Bushmen and many other tribes say that the honeyguide must be thanked with a gift of honey; if not, it may lead its follower to a lion, bull elephant, or venomous snake as punishment! [6]

Although I own a supplement company, I do not believe in supplements. Technically, our products are just... food. Our supplements are a whole-food, natural source of vitamins, nutrients, cofactors, and enzymes that interact in harmony with nature as opposed to concentrated doses (and isolated compounds) that are manufactured. Our ancestors never would have had access to these supplements, nor did they need them. That said, our ancestors had steady access to magnesium and potassium rich soils, streams, plants, and animals that modern humans do not. In the modern world, we need to include a potent source of magnesium and potassium to make up for this disadvantage. Furthermore, our modern world is riddled with EMF’s, high stress work and home environments, processed foods, and chemical laden body and home care products that further deplete our mineral reserves. While ancient sea salt, Atlantic kelp, and wildflower bee pollen all contain concentrated amounts of magnesium and potassium, supplementation is necessary to ensure we consume adequate amounts.

The modern diet has replaced our potassium-rich ancestral diet of wild foraged, heirloom fruits, vegetables, roots, and tubers, with nutrient-deficient, monocropped plant foods including vegetable oils, refined sugars, and grains. The modern world only recommends a minuscule amount of nutrient intake for the human body to function properly… when in fact, our ancestors likely consumed more than 4 times the amount of the recommended intakes and most likely had super physiological nutrient levels that supported them to be the most robust and badass mammalian predators to ever live. [7] The nutrient levels we consider “normal” today are unfortunately based on averages of declining strength, health, and happiness. This is exactly why we have included magnesium glycinate and potassium chloride in Ancestral Minerals.