Minerals and Soil

This great mystery of life is right under our feet every day – it is the soil. A unique system of minerals, organic substances, water, and gases that sustains life on Earth. This unique formation, a couple of dozen centimeters thick, has been formed over many millennia through complex processes. Life begins in the soil, and its composition determines which plants can be found in a particular area, from plants to insects, and from insects to animals. The number of food chains on land is immeasurably large, but it all starts in the soil. It is the factor that determines terrestrial biodiversity, yet there is one species on Earth that has taken to degrading and even destroying vast areas of this unique formation. That species is humans.

Although Latvia's area is not large, the diversity of its soils is remarkable – we have 17 of the 32 basic soil groups recognized in the international classification. Such a diversity of soils would imply a very high biodiversity, influenced also by the fact that Latvia is located between the taiga zone and the broadleaf forest zone, i.e., we have both southern and northern species, and the climate varies from continental to maritime, providing conditions for species with a wide range of requirements. However, why does biodiversity continue to decline? This question should be directed to those whose work involves soil care and cultivation – farmers and loggers (clear-cutting). Their hands hold the key to biodiversity – the soil. Doesn't the fact that almost 200 plant and animal species disappear every day as a result of human activities make one think?

Currently, about 40% of the Earth's land is allocated for agricultural needs. The soil is plowed, fertilized, and harrowed, meaning the biological system that has formed over millennia is disturbed, yet humans have been practicing agriculture for at least 12,000 years. So why is the massive decline in biodiversity only attributed to the last few decades? One reason is the imbalance of chemical elements in the soil caused by intensive fertilization, the critical reduction in organic matter due to long-term, annual monoculture cultivation, and pesticides, which reduce biodiversity in the soil itself, home to a quarter of terrestrial living organism species, which in natural conditions ensure the balance of mineral elements, gases, and organic substances in the soil, thus – the key to biodiversity.

Does soil fertilization and the resulting larger harvests create any problems? Yes, the imbalance of mineral elements in the soil. Under natural conditions, the concentration of mineral elements in the soil depends on the parent material and its decomposition processes. All these elements interact with each other at the plant roots: one microelement can reduce the uptake of another macrocomponent by the plant and vice versa. Nature has developed unique self-regulation mechanisms over thousands of years, which the farmer with intensive agriculture tries to disrupt. But how do they do it?

One way is the intensive use of inorganic mineral fertilizers, which creates an abundance of many chemical elements in the soil but simultaneously a deficiency of many elements because one chemical element promotes the enhanced uptake of another element, for example, nitrogen promotes the uptake of sulfur, calcium, and magnesium. In contrast, an increased amount of phosphorus in the soil inhibits zinc uptake, which the farmer compensates by fertilizing with potassium. Indeed, intensive enrichment of the soil with NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) yields a larger harvest. The farmer seems to have learned to deceive the plants, but what happens to the microelements in the soil? Those whose amount in the soil per kilogram is only a fraction of a milligram, but which still play a huge role in ensuring plant functions. All plants grown in monoculture require the same microelements in large quantities, and unfortunately, their reserves are exhaustible, but the first signs of this imbalance are not a smaller yield but diseases that the farmer tries to combat by increasing the amount of pesticides every year, forgetting that monoculture is an absolutely unnatural formation in nature, which nature tries to destroy with self-regulation mechanisms, freeing space for biological diversity.

The increasing doses of pesticides in agriculture indicate the plants' inability to resist pests, but the reasons for this inability should be sought in the soil itself, its composition, and the diversity of microorganisms living in it. It must be understood that pests in nature are absolutely natural and necessary organisms that promote natural selection of species. Moreover, the plants themselves have many defense mechanisms, which they use to resist attacks. One of them is a hard outer shell, for which silicon is used, but if there is a lack of this microelement in the soil, plants cannot form such a dense outer shell, as a result of which various fungi and other disease-promoting organisms can easily penetrate it, and the plant also becomes mechanically much more susceptible to damage. Ultimately, the lack of silicon in food also affects humans, because without silicon, calcium cannot stabilize and stay in the body. As a result, the quality of tissues weakens. Calcium in the body is the main maintainer of an alkaline environment, as it can bind even two oxygen atoms, compared to other minerals, which can only bind one atom. Therefore, calcium plays a very important role in maintaining the acid-alkaline pH balance. If this balance is disrupted, the body can no longer maintain homeostasis, which in turn promotes many modern popular diseases.

However, not only plants and humans suffer from a lack of microelements, but soil-dwelling microorganisms are equally affected. The mechanism is simple – if there are no bricks, a house cannot be built. However, the biological diversity of soil microorganisms plays a significant role in ensuring the natural defense mechanisms of plants. They release various substances in the soil, which the plant, absorbing through the roots, uses for defense. The more these organisms and the greater their diversity, the more successfully the plant can resist pests, but pesticides kill these organisms.

Microelements and macrocomponents are directly dependent on the organic matter in the soil, which is their source in the soil. Soil-dwelling microorganisms mineralize organic matter, releasing chemical elements in a form available to them. This is a natural cycle of matter that has existed in nature for millions of years, allowing for the creation of millions of species and great biological diversity, but what exactly is organic matter in the soil? It includes all organisms living in the soil and the remains of dead organisms at various stages of decomposition. As these substances decrease, the soil loses its fertility. The functions of organic matter in the soil are very significant; without it, life in the soil is not possible. They absorb a large amount of water, allowing plants to survive even in dry and sandy soil, reduce soil compaction, and the risk of erosion. Thanks to organic matter, there is twice as much carbon in the world's soils as in the atmosphere, but what happens to the organic matter in conventional agriculture?

The reduction of organic matter is one of the most serious soil problems worldwide, yet considering the current management methods of conventional agriculture, this problem is not unexpected. Unlike organic agriculture, the crop is obtained using inorganic, not organic, fertilizer, meaning organic matter is not returned to the soil, its amount decreases, and soil compaction occurs – its degradation. This process adversely affects soil organisms, as their access to water and oxygen decreases, and gradually their number in the soil decreases, further promoted by the ever-increasing doses of pesticides. Without these organisms, the cycle of matter in the soil stops, meaning there is no organic matter in the soil.

However, there is another significant problem. With the reduction of organic matter, the soil can no longer retain minerals, and the fertilizer used in intensive agriculture increasingly ends up in rivers, lakes, the sea, causing eutrophication and thereby oxygen deficiency in the water, creating dead zones where life cannot exist, as is already happening in vast areas of the Baltic Sea, but it must not be forgotten that this fertilizer also ends up in groundwater, meaning – in our glass of water.

It is believed that life on Earth began in the ocean, but the time when terrestrial processes had little effect on what happened in the ocean is millions of years in the past. Today, both the land, the atmosphere, and the waters of the world have created such a unique cycle of life that every organism – from the smallest bacterium to the largest mammal - on the planet has its ecological niche, and the existence of countless organisms in long food chains depends on its species. Our planet is a unique life system. Soil is directly connected to water and the atmosphere.

Unlike us, nature can perfectly survive without humans. We can only guess how, for example, plants survive and reproduce in sandy, infertile soils. How can such plants have an abundance of all rare mineral elements in their leaves, which will never be present in those plants grown in monoculture fields? And not only in those that are already degraded but also in those recently cultivated, with still unexhausted mineral element reserves. There is a unique, invisible formation in the soil that lives in symbiosis with plants and supplies them with nutrients and water, while receiving carbohydrates from the plants. This is called mycorrhiza - a network of fungal hyphae and plant roots. It is a unique system involving approximately 90% of the world's plant, lichen, fern, and moss species. Many studies have been conducted on the significance of mycorrhiza in the uptake of mineral elements. Mycorrhizal fungi hydrolyze organic compounds and promote, for example, the availability of phosphorus and nitrogen to plants, including zinc uptake by mycorrhiza. How does this happen? Simply put - fungal hyphae increase the root absorption surface, making all mineral elements in the soil available to the plant, eliminating the need for additional fertilizer, but why does this not happen in conventional agriculture monocultures? Each time the soil is mechanically processed, the fungal network is disrupted. The effect of certain types of fungicides on the mycorrhiza in the soil must also be considered. Today, several studies are relevant regarding hyphae as a means of plant communication. The hyphal network in the soil connects all plant roots, and through this network, plants can send warning signals to other plants, and those plants that receive this signal start to intensively produce substances to resist the impact of pests. This is a natural mechanism by which nature itself can stop pest attacks.

However, mycorrhiza has another very important function that is very relevant. It can absorb heavy metals, isolating them in fungal structures, thereby reducing metal concentration in plant roots and accordingly throughout the plant, but unfortunately, inorganic fertilizers and pesticides promote the replacement of the mycorrhizal nutrient cycle with bacteria-related cycles, which are less efficient and productive. In conventional agriculture monocultures, mycorrhiza cannot fully perform its functions.

Establishing monocultures, after some time, leads to mineral imbalance, promoting various diseases and pests, and farmers are forced to use pesticides in increasingly larger doses as plants become weaker. Thanks to pesticides, yields do not decrease for a while, but the amount of organic matter continues to decrease, causing soil compaction and the death of its living organisms. Farmers, trying to save the unsalvageable, continue to fertilize fields that have compacted and can no longer retain this fertilizer, and it increasingly ends up in the water, causing eutrophication and rapid species extinction not only in Latvian but in all the world's waters. Soil, formed over thousands of years, is degraded and turned into infertile desert, becoming more and more a mass for anchoring plant roots, but everything the farmer has sprayed and added to the soil does not disappear. All these substances have entered the global circulation of matter, affecting us in the most direct way, for example, through the water we pour from the well into a glass and drink.

Monocultures are an unnatural formation that reacts much more sensitively to all environmental changes because humans have destroyed the biological diversity in them – nature's given protective barrier against its own created pests and diseases. Degraded soil, of course, can recover. Nature is wiser than humans, but this does not happen in one or two generations. The only sustainable farming method is organic agriculture, where only as much is taken from the soil as can be given back. Humans try to change the self-regulation processes of nature that have formed over millions of years, but nature is wiser and will win in the fight against intensive agriculture, but humans will pay the most valuable price – their health. Unfortunately, this process has already begun.

     👉 Iron – 40 mg

     👉 Zinc – 15 mg

     👉 Manganese – 2 mg

     👉 Iodine – 150 mcg

     👉 Chromium – 50 mcg

     👉 Selenium – 70 mcg

     👉 Copper – 1 mg

It is also important to have lithium, silicon, bromine, and several other chemical elements, in fact, in small amounts almost all elements of the periodic table. Almost any mineral deficiency creates a ‘domino’ effect, i.e., problems with other minerals, with the synthesis of vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids.

Each mineral in the body performs its specific function. Descriptions like this could be made for each mineral. Here are some examples.

This list is based on experience, as well as laboratory investigations, so when choosing everyday food products, attention should be paid to the presence of these minerals. When facing a particular health problem, statistically, the deficiency of these minerals in the body is most often to blame.

Deterioration of vision: lack of zinc and selenium;

Hair loss: sulfur, copper, iron, silicon, selenium, and zinc;

Breast tumor promotion: lack of selenium, copper, and magnesium;

Lung diseases are promoted by: selenium, sulfur, zinc, potassium;

Diffuse goiters are promoted by: iodine, copper, and selenium deficiency;

Dental health problems are promoted by: lack of fluoride, zinc, copper, and calcium;

Heart health is affected by: potassium, sulfur, selenium, copper, and magnesium deficiency;

The formation of gallstones is associated with: a deficiency of zinc, magnesium, chromium, vanadium, potassium, phosphorus, and manganese;

Liver and kidneys (related to stone formation in them): sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron;

The development of diabetes is promoted by: a deficiency of zinc, manganese, and selenium;

Adenoma, prostate, impotence: a deficiency of zinc and molybdenum;

The development of colorectal cancer is promoted by: a deficiency of iron, potassium, and silicon in the body;

Anemia: iron and magnesium deficiency in the diet;

Osteoporosis: a lack of fluoride, copper, zinc, and manganese;

The development of arthritis is promoted by: a deficiency of sulfur, copper, and selenium;

Osteomalacia (bone softening): a lack of manganese;

Muscle pain can be affected by: a deficiency of sodium, potassium, calcium, selenium, and magnesium.

Joint pain can be associated with: a reduction in the amount of selenium, copper, and phosphorus in the body;

For good vision: titanium is necessary.

Again and again, it must be reminded that one cannot rely on what is written on the product packaging. Even if the microelements essential for human health are still present in the soil depleted and poisoned by conventional agriculture in dead soil, plants cannot absorb them without the intermediary of soil microflora. Therefore, choose organic food! This factor is just as important, if not more so, than the absence of pesticide residues in the product. That's why this website EKOMEDICINE emphasizes the importance of preserving biodiversity!

The following list provides only a general guideline for addressing specific health issues, rather than a precise solution. The exact course of action should be determined based on appropriate medical examinations and consultations with an experienced nutritionist.

Osteoporosis – Zinc, manganese, fluoride, copper, calcium, vitamins B₉, B₁₂, C, D₃

Osteomalacia – Manganese, vitamins D, E

Hair loss – Selenium, silicon, zinc, vitamins C, D₃, E, F, B₁, B₈, B₁₂

Vision – Zinc, selenium, vitamins A, E, B₂, B₆

Teeth – Fluoride, zinc, copper, calcium, vitamins A, C, D

Goiter (thyroid disease) – Iodine, selenium, copper

Osteochondrosis – Vitamins A, E

Heart diseases – Potassium, sulfur, selenium, magnesium, copper, vitamins D, E, B₁, and essential amino acids

Anemia – Iron, magnesium, vitamins E, B₁, B₃, B₆, B₉, B₁₂

Lung diseases – Zinc, potassium, selenium, sulfur, vitamins B₃, B₈, A, E, C

Liver diseases and kidney stone formation – Magnesium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, vitamins B₁, B₃, B₉, E, C

Type 2 diabetes – Zinc, selenium, manganese, vitamins C, E, B₁, B₆, B₁₂

Prostate adenoma and impotence – Zinc, molybdenum, manganese, vitamins B₃, B₅, C, E

Rectal cancer – Potassium, iron, silicon, vitamins B₁, B₅, D

Joint pain – Selenium, copper, phosphorus, vitamins A, E, C, B₅, B₆

Muscle pain – Calcium, selenium, potassium, sodium, magnesium

Arthritis – Selenium, copper, sulfur, vitamins B₁, B₃, B₆, C, E

This guide serves as an initial reference, but for personalized recommendations, a thorough medical evaluation and expert consultation are necessary.

Soil is the foundation upon which life on land is based. Unfortunately, the results of a United Nations study are not at all encouraging – if humans do not change their current agricultural strategies, soil will disappear from the globe in 60 years, meaning humans will also perish, as the existence of humans as a species is completely dependent on soil. But what is the problem with modern agriculture? Why do people face the threat of starvation when a fifth of the world's produced food is wasted every year? The answer is simple: the desire to get more from the land than it can give. For this purpose, farmers use two weapons: mineral fertilizers and pesticides. However, the consequences of these two weapons are not only the eutrophication of water bodies and harm to human health. Pesticides are not just a story about the death of insects; it is a story about the death of our entire planet, and the explanation for this is very simple. Farmers use pesticides to eliminate pests, but pests can easily harm agricultural crops only because they are weak. And the reason for their weakness is the reduced or even destroyed biological diversity of the soil, because it is the soil-dwelling microorganisms that produce substances with which a plant can naturally protect itself from pests. Using pesticides for a long time destroys soil microorganisms, and without microorganisms, there is no organic matter. The end result of such agricultural strategy is degraded soil – a desert.

In this frame from the movie, we can see what happens to the soil after several decades of using pesticides and mineral fertilizers (on the left) compared to the same soil in the same period, but managed organically and correctly (on the right).

But degraded soil means not only famine for humans; it also means the destruction of the microclimate – a part of the overall climate that sustains the processes occurring on the planet, which is gradually being destroyed. Then, we are left to sadly observe the natural disasters shown in the news and discussed at climate conferences. However, at these conferences, nobody ever shows NASA satellite images that reveal the Earth turning red from CO₂ emissions during spring, which is the plowing season. Gentlemen in suits continue to talk for years about old cars and their "massive" emissions. Nobody suggests that we should give up agriculture, quite the contrary – agriculture is our last chance to save the planet from tragic destruction because the soil has the potential to store a huge amount of CO₂ emissions. The key to this is organic farming, halting deforestation and planting in previously degraded soils, and promoting technologies like No-Till, which allow for the cultivation of crops without plowing, and such technologies have long been invented. The destruction of the soil must be stopped, and the planet needs to regain its greenery. Otherwise, the planet will perish, and this will happen very soon. However, as stated in the film "Kiss the Ground," "save our soil in hopes the soil might just save us."

Would our children and grandchildren be happy about inheriting land like the one shown in this documentary film?

Even if such farmers' fields had all the minerals missing in the human body, if the soil is degraded by pesticides and monocultures and biological diversity is destroyed, plants cannot absorb all minerals in the necessary amounts because the synergy or mutual cooperation between plants and microorganisms does not work. Plants become sick. Are pesticides and drugs the right solution?

Perhaps the culprits of pandemics should also be sought in the Ministry of Agriculture, with whose blessing conventional farmers, who degrade the soil, are generously supported.

                                                                                        Janis Pentjušs