The Root Cause Protocol

Yes, this protocol can help/work for all health conditions because it works right down at the cellular level on basic needs that every one of us require for our bodies to function correctly. Some may have a longer road to recovery than others, but this protocol combines the essential components to support and repair a body with any form of impaired-function. When the peer-reviewed scientific literature is synthesized together it becomes clear that there is no ‘disease’ – only cellular dysfunction. And as for genetic conditions – the field of epigenetics is proving that genes can be turned on and off – our mineral metabolism is key.

Minerals run our body, but while we may have heard of copper, magnesium and iron back in high school chemistry or along our way in life, we rarely get told these are just a few of the critical components that make our bodies work.

Food is life. It supplies us with micro-nutrients including vitamins and minerals, many of which are essential to life. They each serve vital functions in the cell and body tissues, and as they cannot be synthesized by the body (except for Vitamin (hormone) D) they must be obtained through our diet. They are so essential that they are what drives our DNA metabolic pathways, DNA synthesis and repair, and gene expression.

Minerals interact with each other and usually have an effect on at least two other minerals, which in turn will react with two others and so forth. Therefore, any nutrient deficiency, or dysregulation in the mineral inter-relationships has the power to disrupt any number of metabolic functions, and disrupting genomic integrity leading to DNA damage and an ultimate compromise in homeostasis causing chronic disease. This is the link between nutrition and disease, and ensuring you get the right nutrition and the right balance of minerals is therefore essential for good health.

There are a multitude of ways that this can occur. We know that modern intensive agricultural methods have caused the soils we grow our food in to become depleted, and with each successive generation of ‘fast-growing, pest-resistant’ fruits and vegetables we get less nutrition than the one before. Add to this the rise in fortified foods, fad diets that eliminate essential food groups, taking supplements with insufficient knowledge about their impact on the body, multivitamin use, drugs, medications, alcohol, and stress – all of which deplete minerals, and we have a recipe for disaster.

The current healthcare climate has a strong emphasis on pharmaceutical medications as being the only claim to scientific “truth” when it comes to treatment of disease. It neglects the biochemical origins of the malfunctioning of body processes that lead to disease, so these drugs do not address the root cause but rather serve to create a ‘band-aid’ for the condition. In doing so, our minerals become even further depleted and we become dis-empowered from taking more personal responsibility and control over our health and lives in general. By addressing nutrient imbalances, we are able to activate our body’s innate ability to heal itself, leading to improved health and ultimately achieving a better quality of life.

Firstly, the RCP diet removes inflammatory foods from your diet including gluten, grains, lectins, trans fats and sugar. Root Cause Protocol recommends an ancestral diet, which we suggest should focus on nutrient-dense real foods which are high in antioxidants and low in toxins. This includes plenty of fresh vegetables, wild caught fish and grass-fed or wild meats.

Vitamin A food sources:

• Grass fed butter
• Grass fed beef liver
• Eggs (ideally from chickens with access to grass!)

Vitamin B food sources (source here):

• Quality dairy (less processed = better, and ideally organic, biodynamic and/or unhomogenised) – B2, B3, B6, B12 (cheese, milk)
• Eggs (ideally from chickens with access to grass!) – B1, B2, B3, B6, B12
• Seeds and nuts
• Legumes
• Veggies – Peas (B1m B9), Tomatoes (B5), potatoes (B5, B6), broccoli (B5, – other dark green veggies such as spinach, asparagus, brussel sprouts – B6, B9
• Fruit – organic/spray free ideally – B1
• Grass fed beef liver – added bonus of other nutrients too – B1, B5, B9
• Other meats – pork (B3, B5, B6), poultry (B3, B5, B6), kidney (B5), fish (B3, B6), meats and fish in general – B3, B12
• Bee pollen
• Stabilised rice bran (empty stomach helpful!) – B2

Vitamin C food sources:

• Colourful fruit and veggies plus many green veggies too

Vitamin D food sources:

• Cod liver oil
• Grass fed beef liver
• Eggs (ideally from chickens with access to grass!)

Vitamin E food sources:

• Wheat germ oil
• Red Palm oil

Vitamin K food sources (summarized from here):

• Grass fed butter
• Cheese
• Grass fed meat
• Egg yolks (ideally from chickens with access to grass!)
• Fermented Foods (more variable how much K2, but good for you in many ways!)

Yes and No. One of the most important elements of the RCP is Retinol – this is animal based vitamin A. It is crucial to get this preformed Vitamin A to activate copper into it’s bioavailable active form. The RCP involves nutrient-rich natural whole foods of both plant and animal origin. There are plenty of parts of the RCP that vegans and vegetarians can follow with benefit, however without the inclusion of critical nutrients only found in animal products, activation of ceruloplasmin is biologically impaired, resulting in mineral dysfunction which will unfortunately most likely worsen with time. We do have many vegan clients who make the exception for liver capsules and cod liver oil which may be classed as ‘medicine’.

No. It is very important to stay on any current medication. The RCP can be done alongside any medication, and once the body is supported and more balanced you may be able to slowly wean off your medication under the supervision of your doctor. It is encouraged that you remain monitored by a doctor/health professional and share the Root Cause Protocol and accompanying evidence with them. Always seek medical attention in emergency situations.

No, as a RCP Consultant I am able to identify mineral imbalance that leads to cellular dysfunction and oxidative stress, but the purpose is never to diagnose any particular condition nor to treat it. I am able to educate you on what causes mineral dysfunction and practical ways to repair it. I am here to provide you tools to understand your mineral status and what the range of stressors that may be impacting on this are. I am here to empower you with tools, resources, scientific literature (which you can share with your Dr/practitioner if you wish) and support to find your own way on this health journey.

Supporting you to overcome health challenges is what I do – I am here to support you in learning how to manage the overwhelming quantity of information so it is relevant to you and to actually help you learn how to APPLY this knowledge in a practical way.

A great place to start, is here – there are some things to stop immediately, and you can edge into the ‘starts’ with support and guidance.