Health Benefits of Geologic Materials and Geologic Processes

Robert B Finkelman

doi:10.3390/ijerph2006030042

Abstract

The reemerging field of Medical Geology is concerned with the impacts of geologic materials and geologic processes on animal and human health. Most medical geology research has been focused on health problems caused by excess or deficiency of trace elements, exposure to ambient dust, and on other geologically related health problems or health problems for which geoscience tools, techniques, or databases could be applied. Little, if any, attention has been focused on the beneficial health effects of rocks, minerals, and geologic processes. These beneficial effects may have been recognized as long as two million years ago and include emotional, mental, and physical health benefits. Some of the earliest known medicines were derived from rocks and minerals. For thousands of years various clays have been used as an antidote for poisons. "Terra sigillata," still in use today, may have been the first patented medicine. Many trace elements, rocks, and minerals are used today in a wide variety of pharmaceuticals and health care products. There is also a segment of society that believes in the curative and preventative properties of crystals (talismans and amulets). Metals and trace elements are being used in some of today's most sophisticated medical applications. Other recent examples of beneficial effects of geologic materials and processes include epidemiological studies in Japan that have identified a wide range of health problems (such as muscle and joint pain, hemorrhoids, burns, gout, etc.) that may be treated by one or more of nine chemically distinct types of hot springs, and a study in China indicating that residential coal combustion may be mobilizing sufficient iodine to prevent iodine deficiency disease.

Highlights

Medical geology – the impacts of geologic materials and geologic processes on animal and human health – has been enjoying resurgence in recent years. Several books on this subject have been published within the past few years [1,2,3], numerous articles on medical geology have appeared in various journals [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12] and a number of symposia [13] have been devoted to this topic
Most of these books, articles and symposia have focused on the health problems caused by geologic materials such as exposure to elements such as arsenic, mercury, lead, fluorine, selenium, and uranium; minerals such as asbestos, quartz, pyrite; and geologic processes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
The purpose of this paper is to provide the readers with an awareness of this oft neglected aspect of medical geology

Summary

Introduction

Medical geology – the impacts of geologic materials and geologic processes on animal and human health – has been enjoying resurgence in recent years. The health benefits of geologic materials and processes can be organized into several broad categories: Source of essential nutrients Pharmaceuticals and health care products Hot springs and geysers Talismans and amulets. The term mineral as used in nutrition is a misnomer resulting from the fact that the essential elements were derived from minerals; but minerals in their own right have many beneficial health properties They are used in a wide range of everyday healthcare products. Commonly naturally occurring crystals, are believed by some to have positive health effects but, unlike the rock-derived pharmaceuticals, do not have scientifically proven health benefits. It is an undisputed fact that a certain group of minerals exert wonderfully positive effects when presented to another person – these minerals are commonly called gems

Conclusions

Findings

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