faq | Mineral Transporters - Dr. Hans Nieper

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need to take minerals in the first place?

Our bodies maintain a constant homeostasis, including optimal internal environments for cells and minerals. Homeostasis means to maintain internal balance despites external changing conditions. On a daily basis our bodies are affected differently by the environment around us and the bacteria and foreign bodies interacting with our cells. While the body does it’s best to maintain balances, it relies heavily on our diets to get the nutrients it needs to replenish what gets depleted. If a certain mineral gets too depleted then normal cell functions start to slow or shut down. Basically, everyone depletes minerals differently and nowadays, because of the current diets of most cultures and societies, our bodies will lack a balance of minerals. This is due to a general public’s lack of knowledge about what is in our food, what is needed, and an introduction of synthetic food in today’s global market. Taking minerals will target what a person needs to optimize or replenish.

Analogy:

It’s like we have building blocks and we need them to build a skyscraper. The building blocks come from our diets. If we don’t have enough, and in their proper amounts, then part of the skyscraper doesn’t get built. We take minerals to get the remaining building blocks we need to finish the skyscaper.

Why is relying solely on pharmaceutical drugs a bad idea?

Drug companies have cured many diseases. They have advanced health in ways that are unprecedented. However, nutrition has been largely ignored in the past and is not emphasized enough today. Many drugs usually address symptoms and not root causes of a health issue. Sometimes a problem is there because of a mineral imbalance causing cell interactions to negatively change. Dietary supplements become important at this point. Using more natural substances to balance a body cellular environment tends to have less unintended side effects which are why a prescription is not needed for them.

Who is Dr. Hans Nieper and why is he relevant today?

Dr. Nieper was physician, from Hanover, Germany, who viewed the universe with the perspective of a physicist. He developed an orthomolecular approach to health. Orthomolecular is the theory that health can be maximized by creating an optimal environment for our bodies’ cells through introducing natural substances. He was a world renowned physician who developed the mineral transporters. He wrote hundreds of papers on a variety of the sciences from physics to biochemistry. He is relevant today, because even after 50 years his mineral transporters are more effective oral supplements than what other minerals are out on the market.

Analogy:

He’s like the Einstein of Medicine.

What makes Dr. Nieper’s mineral transporters more effective over other forms of the same mineral?

The transporters can target different parts of the cell. Dr. Nieper insisted that transporters be manufactured in specific ways: first to make the products acid resistant to pass intact through the stomach, and second to maintain their electrochemical properties. They reach the small intestine without getting broken apart too much in the stomach like other mineral forms do. They also have electrical properties that allow them to cross the cell membrane layer that protects against most things entering the cell. More of the elemental form of the mineral will make it to where it is needed then other forms.

Dr. Nieper used to make this analogy:

This is like putting an address with a zip code on a letter and giving it to the postman. The postman makes sure it goes directly where it is supposed to go.

What are the differences between choosing mineral transporters of the same mineral?

This is answered by knowing where each transporter goes and what it’s interaction with the cell is.

2-AEP only penetrates the outer layer of the cell membrane. It deposits the mineral in the outer layer and the 2-AEP binds and seals the outer surface which can help strengthen and repair the membrane.

It’s as if you used spackle to seal the holes in a wall.

2-AEP also has a unique aspect in that it can assist the cell membrane in returning to normal function if there are cellular membrane abnormalities which can arise from a number of conditions. Why do we use minerals that specifically target the outer membrane if the 2-AEP does that on its own? One example is calcium, an effect it has in the membrane is to increase the ability of membrane to conduct electrical charges and hold an electrical charge.

Next is Aspartate. This one can get past the outer layer and get into the inner layer of the cell membrane. The Aspartates have anti-oxidant properties and are able to scavenge oxygen free radicals. One example of an Aspartate benefit is with Potassium-Magnesium Aspartate, it can improve liver metabolism and detoxification.

The next transporter is Arginate. Arginate reaches the inner layer of the membrane and also the cell plasma. One effect of arginates is the improved entry of glucose in inner ear cells. This could result in improvement of some inner ear complications.

Orotate, is a molecule derived from whey. It penetrates the whole cell membrane and releases its ion into the cell organelles such as the mitochondria. Some examples of what Orotates can do are they can increase the availability of nucleic acids which increase RNA synthesis in the brain which in turn is thought to result in long term memory improvement. Orotates also support the metabolic functions of nerve cells.

To sum up

Orotate penetrates entire cell membrane and delivers mineral to intracellular structures (mitochondria)
Arginate penetrates and delivers mineral to both cell plasma and inner layer of the outer cell membrane
Aspartate penetrates and delivers mineral to inner layer of the outer cell membrane
2-AEP delivers mineral to outer layer of the cell membrane creating a sealing effect

Am I able to take multiple forms of the same mineral at the same time?

Simply put, yes. Dosage still needs to be in recommended amounts but, there aren’t any conflicts of interactions. There have been many positive interactions as well. One of the positive interactions of combining transporters is that of Calcium Orotate combining well with Calcium 2-AEP to support calcifying bones. This is because Calcium 2-AEP is involved in improving bone matrix (the soft component of bone) and Calcium Orotate is involved in making the calcium crystals (the hard part of bone) AEP helps restore normal cell membrane potential which is necessary for bone formation. Magnesium Aspartate and Magnesium Orotate both target different parts of heart cells and can work well together.

Calcium Analogy:

Imagine the bones are like rigid cardboard that turned into paper and recalcifying means they are hardening back into cardboard.

How much absorption of a mineral do people get as opposed to what they they’re getting?

Analogy:

Take a handful of sand and throw it at a hole in the wall. Only part of the sand will go in. Add water to the sand instead and make it a dirt clod and then throw it at the hole. Almost all of it will go in.

This has to do with Intake vs. Uptake. Intake is what a person is ingesting when they swallow a pill. Uptake is how much of it is absorbed into the small intestine and then received into the cell. Most forms of minerals on the market today that are not mineral transporters uptake between 1 – 10% of what was ingested. They’ll give you a lot of milligrams of a mineral in the hopes some makes it to where it needs to go. They do this because the forms of these minerals are cheap and easy to produce. Mineral transporters on the other hand reach the cell with 70 – 90% of its elemental form being utilized. Thus are more effective with a smaller amount.

What is the elemental form?

Mineral transporters are a compound. A mineral ion (the elemental form) is attached to a transporter molecule. The elemental form is the most important part of these molecules as that is what is being transported.

As an Example to understand this simpler:

If the mineral transporter is 300 mg, the elemental form might be 10% of that molecule. It is a fraction of the whole. Imagine a circle with a dot inside it. The circle is the transporter and the dot is the mineral. While this is a little bit of mineral, it is all that is needed. You get 10% of the form, but 100% of what is needed directly where it needs to go!

What research is there on the transporters?

Keith Brewer Science Library
Numerous scientific international articles can be found with translated versions online.
There are many decades worth of research that can be found on any search engine.
pubmed.com has many publications on them.

Why is there such negative information against Dr. Nieper?

There was a lot of controversy when it came to Dr. Nieper. It revolved around his cancer and multiple sclerosis treating techniques. The obstacles he faced bringing his discoveries to the United States were substantial. While his cancer techniques generated controversy, what did not have as much controversy surrounding them were his mineral transporters.

How are the transporters developed?

The transporters have a coating that protects them from breaking up in the acidic environment of the stomach. This allows them to reach the small intestine partly allowing for greater absorption. The coating is a patented micro vortex enteric coating. The process is proprietary information. All transporters are developed from natural compounds that have been discovered as products of reactions in our bodies.

What should I take to support which organs?

AEP is known as membrane integrity factor, because it helps with cell membrane repair. You would choose an AEP mineral transporter when there is damage with the cell membranes. Once the mineral has been detached the AEP binds to the cell membrane, such as filling in the holes in a brick wall with bricks. Degenerative diseases tend to damage cell membranes.
Choose AEP when needing to target the membranes in myelin (myelin is what surrounds nerve fibers), bone matrix, kidney tissue, membranes of the lung, lining of the blood vessels, and retinal arteries. Nervous system diseases frequently damage cell membranes affecting the membrane functions which in turn can affect the whole extracellular environment. AEP can address that damage of the membrane.
Autoimmune and degenerative states can also require larger amounts of nutrients for membrane repair. Because of 2-AEP being a nutrient for myelin membranes it can support those membranes in turn supporting the repairing of damage to nerve tissues and the brain. AEP can also work in conjunction with and enhance the lipid molecule Squalene. Squalene improves oxygen utilization by the cell and gas exchange in the tissues of our lungs, thus it can benefit the lungs as well.
When should we choose aspartates? We should choose aspartates when we want to support specifically the heart cells, liver cells, glands, and breast tissue. For example magnesium and potassium are dumped by the liver, heart, and breast cells when those cells are sick. Potassium magnesium aspartate was designed to replace directly that which the liver, heart, and breast cells dumped. This in turn has been found to support cellular energy production.
Orotates attract to muscles, bone, cartilage, liver, heart and the blood brain barrier. Lysine, along with vitamin C, is a necessary component for collagen development and can be taken in the form of Lysine Orotate.
Magnesium Orotate can assist the heart by increasing energy by assisting in obtaining fatty acids that are used as an energy source. Magnesium orotate delivers magnesium to the mitochondrial enzymes to produce energy as opposed to Magnesium aspartate which will direct the mineral into the cytoplasm. When the orotate delivers magnesium to the bones the enzyme alkaline phosphatase is activated, which deposits calcium into the bones. This can support bone that has decalcified from long-term acidic conditions.
One of the positive interactions of combining transporters is that of Calcium Orotate combining well with Calcium 2-AEP to support calcifying bones. This is because Calcium 2-AEP is involved in improving bone matrix (the soft component of bone) and Calcium Orotate is involved in making the calcium crystals (the hard part of bone) AEP helps restore normal cell membrane potential which is necessary for bone formation.
Arginates, which target the cytoplasm in a cell, have an ability to transport glucose across the cell membranes which help them support those with forms of glucose intolerance. It also supports protein synthesis.

What mineral transporters should I be worried about taking too much of?

Always take the recommended dosage or consult with your primary clinician for higher amounts. Numerous people have taken the same product for decades without complications. The amount that is needed to be in the body’s system for negative effects for any given mineral is extremely high compared to what is received with taking the transporters.

One prime example: There has been poorly compared information when it comes to Lithium Citrate usage in the past. Lithium transporters should not be compared to the inferior practices that were in place with lithium citrate in the past where very large amounts were introduced into the body. Lithium transporters don’t require lithium blood tests while taking them since the amount the body takes in is significantly smaller and more directed to areas needed.