Health Value Of Humic Substances, Part 1

Blood Properties

It has been found that humic acid in dose levels of 100-300 milligrams per kilogram body weight has no effect on bleeding time, clotting time, thrombin time, plate count, or induced platelet aggregation (49). Red blood cells and hemoglobin stay on normal levels under the influence of humate in comparison with control groups (15). Literature has indicated that the red blood cells have the capability of carrying higher percentages of oxygen when in the presence of humate.

Human subjects taking humate have reported feelings of euphoria, similar to hyperventilating, during the first few days of taking humate. This euphoria is a result of additional oxygen.

Healing of injuries, as a result of additional oxygen, is much quicker. Cutting horses have ankle inflammations frequently from their rigorous training programs. Healing times for these injuries have been reduced by the usage of humates.

Mineral Transfer

Humates contain both humic and fulvic acids. The fulvic acid is the chelator that carries the minerals. The humic acid acts as dilator increasing the cell wall permeability. This increased permeability allows easier transfer of minerals from the blood to the bone and cells. Testing on cows has indicated an increase of 16% more calcium (48). It has been shown that incubation of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells with natural or synthetic humic acid results in an enhanced surface expression of tissue factor activity. There are also changes in intracellular divalent calcium levels (1). Literature reports additional transport of iodine from foods into the thyroid glands (2). Just as fulvic acid carries life-sustaining minerals to the body, it also captures and removes toxic metals from the body. Detoxification takes place within first three to four days of usage. Both human and animal have reported looseness of bowels due to detoxification during this period and return to more solid manure after the third to forth day.

Stress Management

Literature has reported that humates block or reduce the production of stress causing hormones. This has been observed in animal behavior, in particular with show calves first entering the arena. Animals on humate are less affected by the outside stimulus of the crowds or confining areas of the arena. This effect has been noted on sheep, horses, cattle and hogs. In dairy operations, those animals not on humate aggressively eat their feed rations while humate animals leisurely graze. Laboratory testing at Penn State physically restrained rats by binding them to artificially create stress and measured hormones known to cause stress. Those rats fed humate showed significantly less amounts of those hormones.

Cell Mutation

Humates within the body work with DNA and cellular division. It has been noted that the humate tends to prevent cellular mutation during reproduction. Several technical papers were noted during literature research for this paper regarding cancer research with humates. Natural humic acid administered prophylacticly to rats can decrease significantly the amount of gastric mucus damage induced with ethanol. Humic acid also significantly accelerated the healing process of experimentally induced ulcers (52).

Microbial Interaction

Humates are known to stimulate microbial activity. In soil testing for microbial activity, levels increased 400 to 5000 times with the introduction of humate (300 ppm) into the soil. Humates added to feed rations stimulate the microbial growth and the extent can be quite large depending upon the species, the culture medium, and the environment (45). Humic substances have been also known to exhibit anti-microbial properties. Species for which natural humic substances have been shown to be inhibitory include C. albican, Ent. Cloacac, Prot. Vulgaris, Ps. Aeruginosa, S. typhimurium, St. aureus, St. epidermidis, and Str pyogenes (12). It seems that within the body, humates stimulate the "good" microbes while suppressing the "bad" microbes. Testing of milk during field trials indicated a large increase of microbes within the milk. This is usually an indication to the dairyman of impending mastitis (tit infection). The opposite actually happened. Mastitis cases within the milking herd dropped from an average of 3 to 4 cases daily to 4 cases in a month (26). Additional conformation of reduction of mastitis was observed in lactating female goats. Three female
goats with severe mastitis were administered doses of humate over a two-week period. At the end of 7 days, swelling of the mammary glands had subsided and the goats were back to normal activity allowing the kids to nurse without discomfort.

Immune System

Humates bolster the immune system. Dr. Daryl See, MD, formerly an Immunologist of UCI Medical School, suggests that the mechanism is related to the humates ability to complex (assemble) sugars within the body. The abundance of these complexed sugars allows the body to manufacture glycoproteins that attach to the killer and T cell acting as a modulator or communication link between the cells. This regulates the immune system cells and prevents either the T or Killer cells from becoming out of balance. Excessive killer cells can attack bone and joints causing arthritis. Conversely, excessive T cells can cause auto-immune diseases.

Along this same line, burn victims and radiation sickness experience immune system responses that attack the bodies dead cells creating unwanted infections. Humates cause the immune system to recognize its own dead cells thereby reducing infection. Baylor Medical School is currently researching humates both topically applied and internally dosed for burn victims to reduce infections. Russian scientists are using the same principle for the treatment of radiation sickness. Sodium humate has been found to increase the lifespan of mongrel rats exposed to lethal doses of cobalt radiation (8).