Humifulvate, nature’s key to healing and detoxification
Humifulvate (HF) as a healing supplement is the ultimate gift from nature and provides yet more evidence that the secrets to health and recovery are most often found in nature and not in a chemist’s laboratory.
Having said this, HF has gained the nickname around my office as the “dirt” supplement because it originates from humus, a layer of organic material that covers the ground of all
forests and open fields. However, HF is much more than just humus.
Humus becomes HF through the action of bacteria and other organisms that form the soil’s natural microflora. This is a very slow process whereby microorganisms digest or ferment
the organic material, turning it into peat, which then accumulates in vast underground deposits sometimes thousands of years old. We can think of peat as a type of yogurt, which
also comes from bacterial fermentation, except in this case of milk not humus. Once purified, peat has been shown to be a mineral-rich substance that contains humic and fulvic acids, hence the name humifulvate.
HF has a long history of use as a fertilizing agent, although it has been largely abandoned with the advent of synthetic farming practices. Today it is still used in organic farms, where
it has been documented to help produce sturdier, larger and more disease-resistant crops.
In addition to the minerals it already contains, HF has been shown to bind to other minerals in the ground, thus making them readily available for plants to absorb. These minerals are as critical to plant health as they are to human health.
In the old days HF was also added to animal feeds and historical evidence indicates that it helped improve livestock reproductive cycles, resistance to disease and growth rates.
With this type of history it was only a matter of time before someone wondered if it could help people, too. Today we may only have had testimonials to go by, if there hadn’t been a
systematic effort to research the role of HF in human health carried out in Hungary for the past 30 years. A referenced report on HF research is presented in a document entitled “Some Humifulvate Science” that can be found on various sites including: http://www.enerex.ca/articles/some_humifulvate_science.htm.
HF has been found to help in various aspects of human health. One of these is mineral absorption and metabolism. For example, HF has been shown to correct anemia caused by
iron deficiency. While HF doesn’t contain meaningful amounts of iron, it improves absorption of this mineral from food when it is needed. Interestingly, HF has also been shown to help lower iron levels in people who have too much of it. This may seem contradictory but it is explained by the fact that HF works by normalizing the action of metalloproteins, a complex set of proteins found in the liver, and elsewhere in the body, that regulate mineral absorption, excretion and metabolism.
Because of its beneficial action on minerals, HF was also shown to help conditions associated with mineral deficiencies and imbalances. These include certain types of hair loss as well as eczema in children and adults.
In addition, HF has been shown to have beneficial actions in both hindering the absorption of toxic metals and promoting their excretion from the body. In a head to head comparison, HF was shown to perform as well as a prescription medication in removing lead from the body. In separate studies HF was also shown to effectively eliminate body stores of mercury and other toxic metals.
Finally, HF has been studied intensely for its benefits in cancer. In this context it was found to be a powerful antioxidant and to help reduce the risk of cancer developing or spreading by absorbing and promoting excretion of cancer-causing chemicals. It was also found to help reduce the side effects of cancer treatments, making them easier to tolerate while not interfering with their effectiveness. Finally, HF was shown to limit the anemia and drop in white blood cells associated with many cancer treatments.
It is important to note that all these studies were performed on Hungarian HF that comes from a 3,000 to 10,000-year-old peat deposit located in a remote spring-fed valley. This HF is tested for purity and consistent quality and has been available as a supplement in Europe for the past 10 years. Other types of HF may have contamination problems or may lack the consistent quality of the Hungarian product. I am not saying that there are no other good sources but that they should be screened carefully.