You can eat organic. Load your plate with vegetables. Take your vitamins. Drink plenty of water.
And still be overlooking some of the smallest nutrients your body simply cannot function without.
I’m talking about minerals.
We hear endlessly about protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and the latest longevity breakthrough. Minerals rarely get the same attention.
But after more than four decades in nutrition, I’ve come to think of minerals as something far more important than another item on your supplement checklist.
They are the spark plugs of the body.
Your muscles need them. Your nerves need them. Your bones need them. Your cells depend on them to maintain fluid balance and carry out countless chemical reactions every minute of every day.
And here’s the part that concerns me: the food on our plates may not always provide the same concentrations of certain minerals it once did.
That’s one reason I created Mineral-Key. And now, one year after introducing it, I want to tell you why I believe mineral support deserves a much bigger place in the conversation about health.
Are There Really Fewer Minerals in Our Food?
You’ve probably heard someone say, “Our soil is depleted, so our food has no nutrients anymore.”
That’s an oversimplification.
But there is an important story behind it.
Researchers have been asking this question for years. In one widely cited study, scientists compared USDA nutrient data for 43 garden crops from 1950 to 1999. They found significant declines in six nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus and iron, with median losses ranging from 6% to 38%. Researchers suggested that breeding crops for greater yield may be one reason nutrient concentrations have changed.
Why Your Body Can’t Simply Make More Minerals
Here’s something we tend to forget.
Your body can manufacture some things it needs. It cannot manufacture a mineral.
Iron is iron. Zinc is zinc. Magnesium is magnesium. Your body can move minerals around, store them, conserve them and put them to work, but it cannot create these elements from nothing.
They have to come from outside of you.
And once they arrive, they get put to work everywhere—supporting nerve impulses, muscle contraction, fluid balance, metabolism, bones and teeth, oxygen transport, antioxidant defenses and normal cellular function.
That’s why I don’t think of minerals as “extras.”
They are infrastructure.
The Ancient Compounds Hiding in Healthy Soil
Plants don’t manufacture minerals either. They take up mineral nutrients from their growing environment. We eat the plants—or foods from animals that consumed them—and those same elemental building blocks eventually become part of us.
Soil. Plant. Food. You.
And tucked into that relationship are two natural substances that fascinated me when I began digging more deeply into mineral nutrition: humic acid and fulvic acid.
These aren’t laboratory inventions. They’re components of humic substances that form naturally as plant and other organic matter breaks down over time. Fulvic acid is the smaller, water-soluble fraction, and researchers are studying how these complex natural substances interact with minerals and biological systems.
A comprehensive 2025 review described antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and metal-binding properties among the biological activities being investigated. Researchers also emphasized that humic substances can vary considerably depending on their source and processing, and that more rigorous research is needed.
In one small Phase 1 study involving 30 men, researchers evaluated a specific carbohydrate-derived fulvic acid preparation for acute and short-term safety. The study was preliminary, but it illustrates the growing scientific interest in these unusual natural compounds.
For me, the takeaway isn’t that fulvic acid is some new miracle discovery.
It’s almost the opposite.
We’re taking a closer scientific look at something nature has been making all along.
Why I Created Mineral-Key
When I decided I wanted a mineral formula for UNI KEY Health, I didn’t want another handful of isolated minerals packed into another pill.
I wanted to go back to the source.
That eventually became Mineral-Key, a concentrated liquid formula built around humic and fulvic acids and providing a naturally occurring spectrum of 72 macro, micro and trace minerals, along with amino acids and phytonutrients.
The humic and fulvic material is sourced in the United States from the richest humate deposit on earth, extracted using an aqueous process, and the finished product is third-party tested for purity and concentration.
And I specifically wanted a liquid.
No complicated handful of capsules. No elaborate routine.
Just mineral drops you can add to water.
For me, that’s important because the best nutritional program in the world won’t do much good sitting unopened in your cabinet.
72 Minerals? Do I Really Need All of Them?
This is a question worth addressing because it can be confusing.
We have well-established dietary requirements for familiar minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, selenium and iodine.
That does not mean science has established a human requirement for each of the 72 naturally occurring mineral elements found in Mineral-Key.
The point of the formula is different.
Rather than isolating only a few familiar minerals, Mineral-Key provides the broad mineral spectrum naturally present in its humic and fulvic source.
I like to think of it as returning to a much older nutritional principle:
Nature rarely delivers nutrients one at a time.
What About Hydration?
Here’s another reason minerals have become so important to me.
We’ve been told for years to drink more water, and hydration certainly begins with getting enough fluid.
But water is only part of the equation.
Electrolyte minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium help regulate fluid balance and support normal nerve and muscle function.
That’s why I think beyond simply asking, “How much water did I drink today?”
I also think about the mineral environment that allows the body to use water normally.
And that makes mineral support especially appealing on hot days, during periods of increased activity, or whenever you’re paying closer attention to hydration.
How I Use Mineral-Key
This may be my favorite thing about Mineral-Key: it couldn’t be much easier.
I add it to pure, non-chlorinated water and make it part of my daily routine.
You can also add it to a smoothie if you prefer.
The recommended amount is 1 to 2 mL daily in 4 to 8 ounces of pure, non-chlorinated water. If using two droppers, UNI KEY recommends one in the morning and one in the mid-afternoon, preferably about 30 minutes away from medications.
And don’t assume more is better.
With any concentrated product, I prefer to begin slowly and see how my body responds.
One Year Later…
It’s hard for me to believe that Mineral-Key is already celebrating its first birthday.
But what has pleased me most isn’t simply seeing another UNI KEY product on the shelf.
It’s seeing how easily people have made it part of their lives.
One customer told us she puts the drops in her morning water. Another loves adding them to a smoothie because there are no pills to swallow. Others have told us they appreciate how simple and straightforward the formula is.
That’s exactly what I wanted.
After all these years studying nutrition, I’ve learned that health doesn’t always come down to finding the newest, most exotic ingredient.
Sometimes it means going back to the beginning.
Back before processed food.
Back before supplements came in bottles.
Back before anyone knew words like electrolyte, micronutrient or cellular metabolism.
Back to the minerals that were here from the very beginning.
One year after creating Mineral-Key, I believe that more strongly than ever.
Because when it comes to nutrition, sometimes the smallest things really do make the biggest difference.
>> Learn more about Mineral-Key
Frequently Asked Questions
What are trace minerals?
Your body uses minerals in different amounts. Some it needs in larger quantities, while others are needed only in tiny amounts. Those are known as trace minerals, and there are quite a few of them. Zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, and iodine are some of the better-known examples. We may not need much, but even these small amounts can play an important role in keeping the body running as it should.
Can I get all the minerals I need from food?
Food should always be your foundation, and a varied diet of whole foods can provide many important minerals. But mineral content can vary depending on the food, where and how it was grown, processing, and your overall diet. That’s one reason I like having a broad-spectrum mineral supplement as nutritional backup rather than assuming my diet is perfect every single day.
What are humic and fulvic acids?
Humic and fulvic acids are natural substances formed as organic matter breaks down over time. They’re valued in Mineral-Key because they provide a naturally occurring source of a wide spectrum of minerals.
Why does Mineral-Key contain 72 minerals?
Mineral-Key provides a naturally occurring spectrum of 72 macro, micro, and trace minerals. I chose this broad-spectrum approach because it provides a diverse array of mineral elements found together in nature.
Are trace minerals the same as electrolytes?
Not quite, although it’s easy to see why they get confused. Electrolytes include familiar minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium that help with hydration, muscle function, and nerve signaling. Trace minerals are simply minerals we need in much smaller amounts. Your body needs both, just in different amounts and for different reasons.
Can I take Mineral-Key every day?
Yes. Mineral-Key was designed for daily use and can be added to pure, non-chlorinated water. Follow the recommended serving on the label unless your healthcare practitioner advises otherwise.