The Incredible Health Benefits of Fulvic Acid

“You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.”  ~Dr. Linus Pauling, winner of two Nobel Prizes in Medicine

While nature has provided humans with all the nutrients you need to live a long, healthy life, modern agricultural practices have destroyed the soils world over, leaving them devoid of essential minerals [1].  Even with a seemingly healthy diet, it’s not uncommon for people to suffer vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Fulvic acid has a high concentration of minerals, vitamins and other active compounds your body needs. Fulvic acid provides many important benefits to your health, such as assisting your body to absorb minerals and other vital nutrients, lowering  inflammation and free radical damage, improving gut health, boosting immune function and increasing energy levels.   

Mineral deficiencies impose a heavy burden on your health and well-being. Although the causes of mineral malnutrition are complex, the primary determinant is most often an insufficient dietary intake.

Fortunately, you can get all the minerals your body needs to be healthy from fulvic acid, or “the elixir of life” as it’s referred to in holistic circles.

So, what exactly is fulvic acid and why is it so integral to your physical and mental wellbeing?

What Is Fulvic Acid and What Nutrients Does It Contain?

Fulvic acid is a naturally occurring substance, formed when microbes in soil gradually break down old plant material. It’s found in humus, the most nutritious layer of the earth that feeds plant life.  Hence the name “elixir of life,” because without it, life would not exist! 

Fulvic acid forms the basis of a sticky, tar-like resin called shilajit that exudes from the rocky mountain ranges of the Himalayas [1].  In addition, fulvic acid can be found in streams, lakes and ocean water.

Amazingly, just one single molecule of fulvic acid can carry up to 70 minerals, including all the major minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, iron and zinc.  [1,2]  In addition, fulvic acid contains all the vital trace minerals that are lacking in the diets of most people in the Western world.

Fulvic acid is also rich in Vitamins A, B12, B6, C, and E.  These vitamins occur in ionic form, which makes them more bioavailable within the body. The humic compound also contains a plethora of other active compounds that can help improve health including:

• Electrolytes
• Fatty acids
• Silica
• Prebiotics
• Probiotics

What are the Main Benefits of Fulvic Acid?

Due to the high concentration of minerals, vitamins and other active compounds your body needs, fulvic acid provides many very important benefits to your health, including the following:    

1. Enhances the absorption of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients

As an active chemical compound, fulvic acid makes the nutrients in food more bioavailable. Essentially, your body is better positioned to absorb and utilize all nutrients including probiotics, fatty acids, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.

The molecular weight of fulvic acid is low enough to easily transport minerals directly into your cells which is very important.[3]  You’ll find that while most mineral supplements on the market can be transported in the bloodstream, they’re too large to be accessed by the cells. Iron, for instance, is one of the hardest minerals to metabolize and it places a heavy burden on your liver. Alternatively, a fulvic acid supplement may naturally support healthy iron levels. 

Fulvic acid also acts like a catalyst, aiding many important chemical reactions within the body  from enzyme production to digestion.

2. Lowers free radical damage and inflammation

Fulvic acid is a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce oxidative stress and neutralize free radicals which are harmful reactive compounds that damage tissue cells and encourage cell mutations.

 Free radicals have been linked to accelerated aging, gene alterations, and disrupted chemical and hormonal reactions. An abundance of free radicals within the body can also deteriorate the functioning of glands, leaving you more susceptible to disease.

Fulvic acid’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties endow the compound with neuroprotective effects that can improve cognitive health and ease the progression of Alzheimer’s disease [1,4].  Fulvic acid can also improve outcomes after traumatic brain injury by reducing swelling in the brain.

3. Improves gut health and immune function

The compounds in fulvic acid also help nourish your digestive tract, particularly the gut microbiota, which play a key role in regulating immune homeostasis. In other words, a huge proportion of your immune health is dependent on your gut health. You need a strong digestive system to not only build immunity, but also to control hormone production and regulate your stress response.

Fulvic acid strengthens your gut health and improves the ratio of bacteria living in the gut, thereby improving disease resistance by boosting immune defenses against bacteria, pathogens and toxins. 

Consuming fulvic acid also decreases the likelihood of digestive disorders including inflammatory bowel disorders and small intestine bacterial overgrowth [1,4].

4. Detoxifies your body, neutralizes toxins and even heavy metals

While your liver is great at removing toxins from your body, fulvic acid enhances your body’s detoxification capabilities. 

Fulvic acid may be highly effective at neutralizing harmful toxins and pollutants including heavy metals (which are normally very difficult to remove from your body). Fulvic acid is capable of binding to and breaking down heavy metals like lead and mercury through a process referred to as chelation.

 Further, fulvic acid provides your body with additional protection from environmental stresses [4] which can be very damaging.

5. Boosts energy levels and endurance

Due to the above benefits, including increased detoxification and reduction of free radicals within your cells, fulvic acid improves your energy levels.

It also boosts the function of mitochondria, the energy-producing organelle in cells, while increasing the oxygenation of soft tissues in your body. Increased oxygenation of cells protects the genetic material within them and helps boost energy production resulting in greater vitality, stamina and endurance. [1]

Other significant benefits of fulvic acid include: 

• Protects your cells from the damage caused by physical and emotional stress, an unbalanced diet, and infections
• May decrease LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising HDL (good) cholesterol  levels in your body
• May improve muscle strength
• Can boost testosterone levels
• Useful in treatment of osteoarthritis patients
• Stimulates metabolism
• Improves memory and supports brain function
• Reduces collagen degradation leading to younger looking skin
• Repairs and protects the skin
• Has pharmacological properties that can help defend against and lower risk of certain types of cancer, including colorectal cancer
• Lowers chronic nerve pain and bones and muscle pain associated with aging
• Helps to reduce swelling, decrease inflammation and soothe sore muscles [1,2]

How to Add Fulvic Acid to Your Diet With Shilajit

One of the most popular natural sources of fulvic acid is shilajit. Shilajit has been used for many centuries as an ancient remedy in Ayurvedic medicine due to its high concentration of fulvic acid -- which can be up to 60% [2].  Shilajit was used to treat many conditions, including diabetes, heart ailments and digestive disorders.

Due to its high concentration of fulvic acid, shilajit contains up to 84 minerals including all the major minerals and trace elements you need for a healthy life.  Another major benefit is that shilajit enhances the bioavailability (absorption) of other important nutrients in your diet. Because of these benefits, shilajit can help counteract many symptoms of a nutrient-deficient diet while nourishing your cells and protecting them from toxins and free radical damage which lead to many health issues and a shorter lifespan. 

Fulvic acid is nature’s answer to the nutrient-depleted food in our modern world and is what endows shilajit with its remarkable healing properties. Taking shilajit will help heal and renew your body from the inside out and restore your health and well-being. 

In ancient times shilajit was combined with milk for easy consumption. Now, it’s available in liquid, capsule, and powder forms, making it easy to incorporate into your diet.

Shilajit is a powerful adaptogen* and is one of the primary ingredients in Lean Factor’s Peak Male for men, EmpowHER for women, and the Nootropic Brain Booster, Limitless Mind.

* Adaptogens are a small category of unique herbs that help you adapt to stress, create balance in your body, and protect your health from the serious dangers of every type of stress.

References

1. Swat, Monika, Iga Rybicka, and Anna Gliszczynska-Swiglo. "Characterization of fulvic acid beverages by mineral profile and antioxidant capacity." Foods 8, no. 12 (2019): 605.
2. Carrasco-Gallardo, C., Guzmán, L., & Maccioni, R. B. (2012). Shilajit: a natural phytocomplex with potential procognitive activity. International Journal of Alzheimer’s disease, 2012.
3. Winkler, John, and Sanjoy Ghosh. "Therapeutic potential of fulvic acid in chronic inflammatory diseases and diabetes." Journal of diabetes research 2018 (2018).
4. Schepetkin, Igor A., Gang Xie, Mark A. Jutila, and Mark T. Quinn. "Complement-fixing activity of fulvic acid from Shilajit and other natural sources." Phytotherapy Research 23, no. 3 (2009): 373-384.
5. Agarwal, Suraj Prakash, Mohammad Khalid Anwer, and Mohammad Aqil. "Complexation of furosemide with fulvic acid extracted from shilajit: a novel approach." Drug development and industrial pharmacy 34, no. 5 (2008): 506-511.