Manganese, Bone Pain and Other Health Issues
- Gary Moller
- Apr 2
- 4 min read
Listening to Mineral Patterns to Heal Naturally
A Puzzle of Symptoms
This young woman lives in a part of the world, the Indian subcontinent, where industry meets global diets, and pollution. This dynamic may have quietly affected her health. Here's her HTMA chart, clearly showing patterns consistent with chronic fatigue, copper dysregulation, and toxic levels of manganese:
Her symptoms are many: persistent hunger despite frequent meals; unstable blood sugar levels (sometimes triggered by even "healthy" foods), low blood pressure, menstrual irregularities, bone pain, fatigue, and episodes of feverishness. Even with a generous food intake, she loses weight, leaning on processed foods to avoid unpredictable reactions.
These disjointed symptoms become more coherent when understood through the lens of mineral imbalances. A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) suggests two major disruptions — toxic manganese overload and hidden copper toxicity. Together, these may underlie her metabolic chaos and hormonal disharmony.
Here's another example of manganese toxicity, in this case, a very tired builder in New Zealand (note the strikingly similar patterns of mineral imbalances):
Manganese: When a Trace Mineral Turns Toxic
Environmental Synergy
In trace amounts, manganese supports enzyme function and bone health. But like all minerals, its benefits exist within a narrow Goldilocks zone. Her HTMA reveals manganese levels significantly outside this optimal range.
While manganese toxicity is often linked with occupational exposure or contaminated groundwater, urban India introduces subtler culprits: airborne manganese from unleaded petrol additives like methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT), industrial emissions, and dietary sources like rice and lentils grown in contaminated soil. Poultry, if fed grains treated with manganese-based antifungals, adds to the load.
This accumulation doesn't trigger alarm bells individually—but in aggregate, and in a sensitive individual with poor detox capacity, it can cause serious biochemical disruptions.
Manganese and the Metabolic Mayhem
Excess manganese is neurotoxic, endocrine-disrupting, and pro-inflammatory. It interferes with iron absorption, suppresses dopamine, and can impair pancreatic function, explaining her:
Extreme hunger and glycaemic volatility despite adequate intake
Bone pain (linked to interference with calcium and vitamin'D metabolism)
Hormonal imbalance, including anovulation or irregular cycles
Fatigue and low blood pressure, as manganese excess weakens adrenal and thyroid axes
In high doses, manganese also competes with zinc and magnesium — essential calming minerals — contributing to anxiety, cognitive fog, and muscular weakness.
Hidden Copper Toxicity: The Silent Twin Disruptor
Her HTMA doesn’t just implicate manganese. The pattern also suggests hidden copper toxicity, a common and misunderstood health issue. Despite showing low copper on HTMA, four other markers meet the threshold for "hidden" copper imbalance:
Elevated calcium and magnesium
Low potassium
Zinc out of range
Na/K and Ca/K ratios distorted
This harmful form of copper is often stored in tissues, which aren't seen by blood tests. However, it can cause problems, such as causing dopamine to be disrupted, causing progesterone to be affected, and causing tissue inflammation. In women, copper can be a good thing and a bad thing. It helps make oestrogen, but too much of it can cause estrogen dominance, menstrual chaos, anxiety, and autoimmune problems.
Add to this a legacy of copper-rich contraceptives, dietary grain overconsumption, and urban oestrogen-mimicking pollutants, and the body becomes a perfect storm for hormonal disarray.
Mineral Interplay and Imbalance
HTMA is less about total numbers and more about ratios — how minerals relate to each other. In her case, the following imbalances emerge:
Low potassium relative to calcium and magnesium suggests adrenal underfunction and poor blood sugar regulation.
Sodium/potassium ratio under 2.5 is a red flag for weakened cell membrane charge — affecting nutrient transport and detoxification.
Phosphorus suppression signals protein maldigestion, linked to enzyme deficiency or dysbiosis.
Zinc's displacement by copper and manganese leaves her immune-compromised and hormonally unstable.
In short: she's not just toxic, she's depleted and dysregulated.
The Road to Recovery: Rebuilding from Within
While the symptoms feel overwhelming, the solution may lie in ancient, food-based healing rather than synthetic drugs.
1. Citrus Peel Detox Drink
This homemade infusion can be a game-changer.
Citrus peels are rich in pectin and flavonoids that:
Bind and escort toxic metals like manganese and copper
Normalise blood sugar response
Offer bioavailable vitamin C without sugar spikes
Calm inflammation in gut and joints
2. Gary's Super Smoothie
This food-as-medicine formulation can restore cellular energy.
Coconut, full-fat dairy, and collagen-rich proteins rebuild cellular membranes, while the natural fats provide satiety and hormonal precursors.
3. Targeted Mineral Support
With professional guidance, the following should be explored:
Potassium and phosphorus-rich foods to restore adrenal and thyroid tone (e.g., bananas, cooked beets, slow-cooked meats)
Zinc (carefully balanced with copper) to support immune and hormonal health
Molybdenum and selenium to support copper clearance and liver detox
Proteolytic enzymes (e.g., serrapeptase) for inflammation and tissue healing
The combination of these added to the Super Smoothie, or taken alongside them, will ensure these needs are covered and affordably so:
4. Lifestyle Shifts
Filtered water and indoor air filters to reduce ongoing manganese exposure
Avoidance of copper cookware and estrogenic foods (soy, flax, plastics)
Restorative movement, like walking or yoga, to support lymphatic drainage
Healing Takes Time — But It's Possible
Her HTMA isn't a life sentence — it's a roadmap. Every symptom, every ratio, is a message. Together, they reveal a body struggling to adapt, yet still capable of healing.
By following a path rooted in ancestral nutrition, environmental awareness, and mineral balance, she can begin to reverse the trends of toxicity and regain control of her health.
We believe in the body's ability to thrive — when we learn to listen.
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