Bread From Stones -by Dr. Julius Hensel. (Agricultural Chemist)

[maryd]

I came across this book by *chance*. The title intrigued me. It was written in 1893 by a chemist. His mineral fertiliser was so effective that the chemical fertiliser monopoly shut him & his books down- as they always do. This book is free to read as a PDF & I spent all yesterday reading it. Phenomenal!!


Here is a brief summary:
Manure is a poor replacement for *stone fertilising*. Yes crops will grow on depleted soil with added manure, but yields are lower, weaker & prone to disease & bugs.

Point made that mountainous land remains fertile year after year as rain from the mountains replenishes the soil with minerals regularly.
Removing rocks from farmland is criminal.
Evergreens grow well on soil-poor mountains!!
Experiments in Europe proved great yields even growing the SAME crops for 4 years in a row, unheard of for manure or chemicals- they yield poorer crops over time.

To make your own, heat rocks on a fire or whatever for half an hour then throw them in water. They are easily broken up with a hammer. Need to be ground fine.
Granite, porphyry & gneiss are best but all will do.

#### **** Add lime as well.**** (needed for bones, egg shells...)
-- lime AKA calcium, also similar-- called carbonate, sulphate of lime, limestone, gypsum.... Research needed.

Gypsum: Chemically known as “calcium sulfate dihydrate,” gypsum contains calcium, sulfur bound to oxygen, and water. Gypsum is an abundant mineral and takes forms including alabaster—a material used in decoration and construction as far back as ancient Egypt. The White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.
This non-toxic mineral can be helpful to humans, animals, plant life, and the environment. While the majority of gypsum produced in North America is used to manufacture gypsum board or building plasters, gypsum is used in many other ways.
* Important: plants, trees, etc get their Nitrogen from the air- as much as they need!!!! Air is 80% Nitrogen!! (this needs more research)

Trees are disease-free & immune to frost & drought!!
Gardens smell LOVELY, not like manure does!!

Farmer after farmer showed fields full of barley, cabbage, wheat, corn, potato, etc. that had thrived in the drought,
despite NOT being watered!!!!!!!! Minerals kept the soil moist. Local farmers toured the neighbouring farms & understood the results they were seeing.

Worth a read.

http://soilandhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/01aglibrary/010173.hensel.pdf

 

[Persej]

A couple of days ago, I witnessed a power of minerals. I was helping in collecting the hay and in the one plot of land there was a double number of bales of hay than usual. When we asked the owner what he did to have such a good yield of grass, he said nothing, and that that plot of land was flooded in the previous year, so the river brought sand with it which always improves yields. That was all that was needed for such amazing yield, no manure was required.

I also witnessed a lodging of grain crops, and when I asked farmers why is that happening, they said that they used too much manure. Which is exactly what Julius Hensel said in his book, Physiological Bread. He said that if you have too much manure, and not enough of minerals in the land, the grain stalks will not develop properly, just like animals and human beings will not develop properly if they have a lack of minerals in their diet.

In this little book he also proposes that we can consume minerals directly, by making bread with the mixture of flour and mineral powder. He claims that he and his family felt a lot of health benefits from eating such bread. He claims that it wasn't a simple mixture, but a combination of minerals and gluten in wheat flour that produced such benefits. But maybe he was wrong, and it isn't a gluten that brings benefits but something else, perhaps fermentation of yeast?

 

[Persej]

Actually, it seems that both, yeast fermentation and proteins, can improve the bioavailability of minerals.

Complexation of multiple mineral elements by fermentation and its application in laying hens

To overcome the problems with current mineral supplements for laying hens including low absorption, mineral antagonism, and high cost, we developed mineral element fermentation complexes (MEFC) by synergistically fermenting bean dregs and soybean meal with strains and proteases and complexing with mineral elements. The fermentation complexation process was optimized based on the small peptide and organic acid contents and the complexation rate of mineral elements after fermentation. The optimal conditions were as follows: the total inoculum size was 5% (v/w), 15% (w/w) wheat flour middling was added to the medium, and mineral elements (with 4% CaCO3) were added after the completion of aerobic fermentation, fermentation at 34°C and 11 days of fermentation. Under these conditions, the complexation rates of Ca, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn were 90.62, 97.24, 73.33, 94.64, and 95.93%, respectively. The small peptide, free amino acid, and organic acid contents were 41.62%, 48.09 and 183.53 mg/g, respectively. After 60 days of fermentation, 82.11% of the Fe in the MEFC was ferrous ions, indicating that fermentation had a good antioxidant effect on ferrous ion, and the antioxidant protection period was at least 60 days. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the mineral ions were complexed with amino and carboxyl groups. The added mineral elements promoted microbial growth, protein degradation, and organic acid secretion and significantly improved fermentation efficiency. Animal experiments showed that MEFC had positive effects on several parameters, including production performance (average daily feed intake, P < 0.05; egg production rate, P < 0.05; and average egg weight, P < 0.05), mineral absorption, intestinal morphology (villus height to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum and ileum, P < 0.05), and blood routine and biochemical indexes (red blood cells, P < 0.05; hemoglobin, P < 0.05). This study provides theoretical support for the development of mineral complexes for laying hens via fermentation.

(...)

The mineral supplements commonly administered to laying hens, such as inorganic mineral salts, organic acid mineral salts, amino acid chelates, and small peptide complexes, have several disadvantages. Inorganic mineral salts, which are widely used because of their low cost, have a low absorption rate, poor stability, and absorption antagonism with other minerals (3, 5). Organic acid mineral salts are absorbed at a higher rate than inorganic mineral salts but are hampered by precipitation and absorption competition (6). Although amino acid chelates have a high absorption rate, strong stability, and safety, they are expensive (7). Small peptide complexes are better than the others, but few commercial products exist. Hence, developing appropriate mineral supplements for the poultry industry is vital. The absorption pathways of each type of mineral element will be saturated, and supplementing a single type of mineral element may not be the best choice. By supplementing multiple types of mineral elements simultaneously, the various ways of absorbing mineral elements can be fully utilized to achieve the best absorption. Therefore, developing mineral element complexes containing multiple types of mineral elements has great potential for applications and research.

Bean dregs (BD) and soybean meal (SBM) are rich in proteins and sugars (8), which are ideal sources of mineral complexing ligands. Fermentation is an efficient, low-cost method for degrading proteins, starch, and other macromolecular substances to produce amino acids, small peptides, organic acids, and other complexing ligands (9). Heng et al. (10) reported that cooperative fermentation by Bacillus, yeast, and lactic acid bacteria with proteases greatly improved fermentation efficiency. By combining BD and SBM fermentation with mineral complexation, fermented mineral complexes can be obtained via a simple, highly efficient production process. The obtained mineral element fermentation complexes (MEFC) contain various types of mineral elements, such as small peptide complexes, amino acid complexes, and organic acid complexes.

(...)

As shown in Table 8, the number of RBC, hemoglobin levels, and the hematocrit of laying hens fed MEFC (3.43 × 1012/L, 176 g/L, and 43.3%, respectively) were significantly higher than those of the control group (2.22 × 1012/L, 135 g/L, and 30%, respectively), indicating that supplementation of Fe, Cu, and other minerals via MEFC increased RBC and hemoglobin significantly better than inorganic mineral salts.

Frontiers | Complexation of multiple mineral elements by fermentation and its application in laying hens

To overcome the problems with current mineral supplements for laying hens including low absorption, mineral antagonism, and high cost, we developed mineral e...

www.frontiersin.org

So it seems that Julius Hensel really did develop something useful for human health. I was always wondering why do people in Africa ferment the grain flour before cooking porridge. And the creation of these mineral element fermentation complexes could be one of the answers.

 

[Persej]

I examined teeth of several people in the seventies and eighties, and except for gingival infections with some loosening of the teeth, nearly all of the teeth were present and there was very little evidence that dental caries had ever existed. The elderly people were bemoaning the fact that the generation that was growing up had not the health of former generations. I asked what their explanation was and they pointed to two stone grinding mills which they said had ground the oats for oatcake and porridge for their families and preceding families for hundreds of years. Though they prized them highly, the plea that they would be helpful in educational work in America induced them to sell the mills to me. They told us with great concern of the recent rapid decline in health of the young people of this district.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price

Now, why would Weston Price be interested in buying those stone mills? If the secret of health, as he claimed, was in freshly ground grains, it wouldn't matter with what they were ground. But what if the secret was in stones? What if the stone grinding was producing a little bit of stone powder in each grain flour, and what if that stone powder was what was giving the health benefits to those old generations?

 

[Persej]

I tried to find if there is something about fermentation of stones, and I found a patent that talks about fermentation of turtle shell, which is a form of stone. There is a short version in English, and a long version in machine translation from Chinese. In short, they say that people who took raw turtle shell powder felt no benefit, but when they took the fermented version they felt many health benefits. The preparation sounds similar to Hensel's physiological bread.

US20150237904A1 - Method of Making Fermented Turtle Shell Powder Mixture - Google Patents

This invention provides a quick and sanitary way to change inedible and almost useless shells of freshwater hard shell turtles into an edible and extremely valuable fermented turtle shell powder mixture with a salutary taste and attractive smell. The novelties taught herein maximize the...

patents.google.com

CN104473968B - The tortoise shell powder mixture of the fermentation that method, its instructions of taking and the manufacture of the tortoise shell powder mixture of manufacture fermentation obtains - Google Patents

The invention provides a kind of fast and the method for health by shell terrapin, unedible, change over and possess tortoise shell powder mixture useful taste and attractive smell, edible and extremely valuable fermentation. The present invention has retained turtle shell nutrition to greatest...

patents.google.com

 

[meadow_wind]

I went to pick food for my cat today and saw an interesting product related to this topic. What a timeful coincidence that I was reading this thread this morning... Has anyone ever heard of Dog Rocks?

Dog Rocks Lawn Protection - Podium Pet Products

They claim that by placing their rocks in your dog's water bowl, it prevents the dog's pee from burning the lawn.
The rule of thumb is 100g Dog Rocks to 1 litre of water, and to change them every 2 months. They are supposedly mined in Australia.
At my pet store in Qc, the bag is 200g and is sold for 22.49$...

Their claim: "Dog Rocks are a coherent Rock with a mechanically stable framework meaning no significant mineral particles are released into the pet’s drinking water. In other words, Dog Rocks do not break down or leak anything into the pet’s drinking water."

But then, how is it supposed to work if it's not about the mineral leach in the water?

"Dog Rocks provide a stable matrix and a micro-porous medium in which active components are able to act as a water purifying agent through ion exchange. So when placed in water, Dog Rocks will help purify the water by removing some nitrates, ammonia and harmful trace elements thereby giving your dog a cleaner source of water and lowering the amount of nitrates found in their diet. This in turn lowers the amount that is expelled in their urine. An overload of nitrates in urine will cause lawns to burn. Dogs do produce nitrates as a by-product from the protein in their diet, but the difference between too much nitrate that will kill the grass and the amount of nitrate that will be good for the grass is very small."

I found a blog that was more than happy to destroy their claim with scientific reasoning:

Dog Rocks Lawn Protection - Podium Pet Products

The next suspect is nitrogen. We all know that if we spread too much fertilizer on lawn grass, it burns. The culprit in this fertilizer is nitrogen. Too much nitrate or ammonium will kill plants. Urine contains fairly high levels of urea, which is quickly converted to ammonium when exposed to water and then to nitrate through the action of bacteria.
Dogs burn lawns because of high levels of urea.

His conclusion:
Do Dog Rocks Remove Nitrate From Drinking Water?
There is no science to support this idea, and the company promoting the product has no data to support there claim. The scientific mumbo jumbo they use to explain their product makes no sense.


But then, when reading the comments, there are many critics from happy Dog Rocks customers claiming they do work!
One of them:

"As someone who worked in a garden center for many years and had to suggest dog rocks to many customers at that time. Not once did a customer come back for a “refund” on dog rocks because they didn’t work, and believe me that happened with almost every other item- including plants that they failed to water in hot weather….
It actually isn’t anything to do with the “water composition” as you put it, but the ingestion of water with added substance that helps to de-acidify the urine. Same reason that cats with issues related to dietary intake have to be given supplements to break down structure crystals and prevent bladder/ uti problems.
But someone who is not actually basing their views on science and repetition in real life testing or who is simply out to judge a product they just don’t understand at all would love to write a review like this.
I suggest that as a reviewer who claims to know things would actually put their money where their mouth is and actually trial the product without starting to strip back a dog’s diet for no good reason and without the veterinarian qualifications to make such suggestions which can be significantly more harmful to a dog’s health than some “rocks” in their water bowls…."

I'm almost tempted to conclude that if it's good for the dog's water, it's good for us too!

 

[Persej]

I'm almost tempted to conclude that if it's good for the dog's water, it's good for us too!

Even if it is, it's probably just mildly beneficial.

My mother likes to make bread cookies with whole grain flour, and I just checked and the company that makes this flour claims that they grind it on stone mills. Sometimes when I was eating these cookies it felt like there was a speckle of stone in them, and I thought that I am just imagining that, but maybe there really is a little bit of stone powder in them. I never paid any attention to how I felt after eating them, but maybe I should.

 

[meadow_wind]

I just found something very interesting regarding organic stone-milled flour conservation. Anyone else knew about that?

Farines artisanales et biologiques de la Seigneurie des Aulnaies

How to store organic flour?
As our flour does not contain preservatives and is unbleached, it can be stored in 2 ways:

In the cupboard, it will keep for 4 to 6 months in its original bag.
Attention! Do not lock it in an airtight container, it must breathe!

In the freezer, it will keep for about 1 year (and more). You can put it in an airtight container without problem, because the flour is dormant. Take out the desired quantity for your recipes about 1 or 2 hours in advance so that it wakes up!

In any case, always store your flour in a dry place and avoid the refrigerator.

4 to 6 months only? It must breathe? Waking up the frozen flour?
Oups! I've kept flour for up to 2 years in a hermetic container... And why not in the fridge? Because of the humidity? It would be ok if it was in a hermetic container, but... it must breathe.
I'm going to investigate this subject a little more.

Regarding fermenting the grains, I wonder if it's similar to sourdough bread.
So I guess from now on I'll buy stone ground flour in small quantities, keep it fresh, and do sourdough!