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The 8% Newsletter

Happy Monday 8%ers!

Let’s talk minerals. Specifically, let’s talk about where they come from, because if you’re taking them to support your health, you might want to make sure they’re not marinated in heavy metals. You might assume all mineral supplements are created equal, but that’s like saying all water is the same, whether it comes from a pristine glacier or the runoff of an abandoned parking lot. Yeah, didn’t think so.

So, in this edition, we’ll break down why source is so important and how OmniBlue sets its self apart in this regard. We’ll also take a hard look at the Great Salt Lake (GSL), a source used by some major brands. Spoiler: It’s not great.

The Great Salt Lake: A Toxic Legacy

It’s no surprise The Great Salt Lake is a major source of trace minerals, salt and other macro minerals like magnesium. However it also has a history of industrial pollution dating back to the 60s— the 1860s that is, because apparently, humans never met a natural wonder they didn’t want to exploit. What most people don’t know is that to this day, one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world, Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine is just 30 miles from the shores of the GSL. For our hiker/camper friends in the crowd, that’s like putting cattle upriver from where you drink your water. No thanks, I’ll take the glacier-fed spring, hold the heavy metals.

Studies have shown that heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, and lead, all known neurotoxins, accumulate in the lake’s waters and sediments. Still not concerned? Let’s add in the fact that the lake is a static body of water, meaning once heavy metals enter, they don’t leave. Ever. They bioaccumulate. That’s why Utah has issued consumption advisories on three species of waterfowl from the lake. Mercury poisoning isn’t a minor inconvenience, it affects the nervous system, damages cognitive function, and can have lifelong consequences, especially in children. If the birds living in and around the lake can’t safely eat the food there, do you really want to be consuming minerals sourced from the same place?

Adjacent to the lake as we all know is the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, with 1.2 million people living in it. That’s a lot of cars, factories, and waste. The lake acts like a catch basin, collecting pollutants from urban runoff, airborne emissions, and waste that finds its way into the ecosystem. And again, because the Great Salt Lake has no natural outlet, these contaminants don’t just wash away, they stay put, building up over time.

One new major public health concern for the residents near the GSL is the dust that is being lifted. There are over 800 square miles of exposed lakebed. Here, the mud is rich in heavy metals and when it gets dried up and lifted into the air due to the wind, it gets introduced into communities that are down-wind. Not good. 

According to Utah State University, “Dust samples contain relatively high concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, and mercury”. The university clearly cites the danger that the dust can present in the communities and ecosystems adjacent to the lake.

So why do some mineral brands still source from the Great Salt Lake? Because it’s cheap. The lake naturally concentrates minerals through evaporation, making them easy to collect. Unfortunately, it concentrates on the bad stuff, too. The thing with heavy metals in the body is, they are very hard to flush out, and tend to accumulate. We can’t stress this bit enough.

 

OmniBlue’s Source: As Pure As It Gets

Not all minerals come with a side of toxic sludge. Here’s why OmniBlue is different:

  1. No Contamination: Did you know that roughly 90% of the world's population lives in the northern hemisphere? Here industrialization has left its mark on virtually every natural resource. That’s why we source our minerals from the remote Southern Ocean, off the coast of Australia and neighbors to Antarctica! This is an area far removed from major industrial pollution and human contamination, ensuring the quality and purity of the minerals that we harvest. 

  2. Constantly Renewed: The world's oceans are constantly moving and shifting, integrating more and more minerals from the earth's crust into its complex and ever expanding mineral composition. This is fundamentally what makes our minerals complete and diverse.

  3. Sustainable: We only have one planet, and since it happens to be taking care of us, we should return the favor. Mining has already wrecked enough ecosystems. We refuse to add to the problem. Instead of destructive extraction methods, we use a completely natural, sun-powered process to concentrate our minerals. No drilling, no chemical processing. Just clean ocean water, sustainably harvested and naturally condensed into a highly bioavailable form.

 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to your health, don’t settle for less. The source of your minerals matters, as we’ve come to discover in this week’s edition. While some brands cut corners, OmniBlue provides you with the cleanest, most sustainable option. By choosing OmniBlue, you’re investing in your health and standing behind a product that supports a sustainable and eco-friendly future. We’ve got the ocean on our side, and we’re not just talking about the view. Choose purity. Choose quality. Choose OmniBlue.

If you want to learn more about who we are and what we do, check out this page dedicated to us, the OmniBlue team, and what we stand for. 

See you next week!