Diet for Minerals FAQ

Is the Diet for Minerals Officially Part of the Root Cause Protocol?

No. The Root Cause Protocol recommends an organic, ancestral, whole foods diet. The Diet for Minerals is my unofficial recommendation about a version of an organic, ancestral, whole foods diet. Though unofficial, the Diet for Minerals fits with RCP principles because it helps increase intake of much-needed copper, magnesium, and retinol-A; while reducing intake of already-overloaded iron.

Is the Diet for Minerals an Official Recommendation of Dr. Lawrence Wilson?

No. The Diet for Minerals includes important modifications to Dr. Wilson's Diet for Rapid Development. The Diet for Rapid Development is a fantastic starting point, but it includes some foods (especially blue corn chips) which don't work anymore for many people in this generation. Also, Dr. Wilson's version of the Diet for Rapid Development misses or underemphasizes certain important Ancestral foods included here such as egg yolks, organ meats, meat broths, and some fermented foods.

Is the Diet for Minerals a Vegetarian or Vegan Diet? A Carnivore Diet?

No. The Diet for Minerals features an omnivorous diet. By volume, we eat mainly plant foods, especially fast-cooked vegetables. By calories, we eat mainly animal foods, including nose-to-tail and healthy animal fats.

Humans have deep-rooted evolved metabolic pathways for substances from both plants and animals. We make things difficult for our metabolism if we take away the fuel for either half of our metabolism.

That's why the Diet for Minerals includes both plant and animal foods, from well-treated plants and animals.

Is the Diet for Minerals a Ketogenic or Zero-Carb Diet?

No. The Diet for Minerals suggests a LOW-carb diet, NOT a no-carb or ketogenic diet. When one raises cellular energy with mineral balancing, more restrictive diets than this one usually aren't needed.

Ketogenic diets have risks, and make some people feel worse, especially long-term. Blood sugar issues may worsen with keto diets.

If you cannot eat the Okinawa purple sweet potato for some reason, please substitute another starch from the Occasional Foods list. For some people, starch may work better later in the day. For others, starch may work better eaten in a separate meal or snack, away from fatty foods. You may digest the starch better if you cook it a little longer than the usual time for other vegetables.

Please don't skip the starch entirely; you may lack enough fuel for your brain. Even without the Okinawa purple sweet potato, the Diet for Minerals contains too much carbohydrate from other vegetables to enter ketosis. You would need to make additional changes to go on a keto diet, which we don't usually recommend.

Is the Diet for Minerals a Highly Restrictive Diet?

No. The Root Cause Protocol likely requires a less restrictive diet (an organic, ancestral, whole foods Diet) than many other methods because the Root Cause Protocol addresses the mineral imbalances which are the root causes that lead many people to restrictive diets.

The Diet for Minerals suggests more specific foods and amounts than the RCP's foundational organic, ancestral, whole foods diet. The Diet for Minerals suggestions may help improve how you feel even beyond the basic organic, ancestral, whole foods diet, especially if you have sensitive food reactions at the beginning.

If you can't follow the Diet for Minerals suggestions exactly, stick with the Frequent Foods and Occasional Foods lists as best you can, and definitely stick with organic, ancestral, whole foods.

We do indeed carefully eliminate from diet any "foodlike substances" which weren't food to our ancestors. These include processed oils, sugars, flours, and chemicals, in any combination. Foodlike substances may seem edible and even delicious; but aren't really edible when we consider the long-term health effects, including effects that accumulate intergenerationally.

Eat slowly, enjoy your food, celebrate your food, don't worry about your food. A relaxed attitude toward food will go farther than restriction.