Since starting this blog, we\u2019ve noticed a lot more people talking about rock dust\u2014its origins, how it interacts with beneficial microbes, and how it can improve soil health\u00a0and the health of our own bodies.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a little like the Yellow Volkswagen Bug Theory. When someone you know gets a yellow VW bug, suddenly you begin to see them everywhere you go. Of course, they were there all along. You\u2019ve just become more aware of them.<\/p>\n

The same goes with books. \u00a0Here are three books that touch either directly or indirectly on soil, soil health, rock dust and remineralization.<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

Destruction and Renewal: A New Look at Mount St. Helens<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much has been written about the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, so another book about the volcano and the destruction that it left behind seems unnecessary. Yet \u201cEruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens\u201d (W. W. Norton & Company, 2016) by author Steve Olson is different. He writes about the event in the context of the times (high unemployment, a gloomy economy, and general malaise) and how these thing affected local and federal decision-making before, during and after the single most powerful natural disaster in American history.<\/p>\n

The author ends by applauding the decision to preserve 110,000 acres around the volcano, giving scientists a chance to observe how the land has bounced back. Today, the area enjoys more biological diversity than it did before the blast<\/strong><\/em>, thanks largely to\u00a0the mineral-rich volcanic ash and rock that was deposited on the soil.<\/p>\n

On our blog<\/em>: Read articles on Mount St. Helens and other volcanoes around the world, including \u201cRich, Healthy Soil with Volcanic Soil Amendments<\/a>\u201d and \u201cSecrets from the Deep: Volcanic Basalt\u2019s Mineral Benefits Are Far-Reaching<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

Microbes and Rocks: A Symbiotic Relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

A geology professor at the University of Washington, David Montgomery is the author of \u201cDirt,\u201d an influential book which takes a fascinating (and often dim) look at the history of soil and civilization. His newest book is \u201cThe Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health\u201d (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015) which he wrote with his wife, biologist Anne Bikl\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Montgomery and Bikl\u00e9 tell the story of buying a home in Seattle and finding a\u00a0yard filled with hard, compacted soil.\u00a0 As they bring it back to life, they learn about the role of microbes and the promise they hold for restoring depleted soils. When Bikl\u00e9 gets cancer, she learns that microbes work to benefit our digestive systems in much the same way they work to benefit the soil. Soil health and human health go hand in hand.<\/p>\n

In the following passages, the authors describe how microbes and rocks work together for soil health and human health:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t eat rocks, yet our bodies are made of nutrients that come from rocks. Microbes play key roles in breaking down and extracting elements from rocks and getting them into biological circulation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn something akin to a refining process, microbes help remove essential elements from rocks and keep them in play thereafter in the game of life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the help of microbes transforming nutrients into forms plants can use, important elements remain uselessly parked just outside a plant\u2019s roots, like a cargo ship stuck outside port.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

On our blog<\/em>: Learn more about how rock dust fragments help feed hungry microbes in \u201cKeep Soil Microbes Happy: Feed Them a Healthy Diet of All-Natural Volcanic Rock Dust<\/a>\u201d and \u201cSoil Minerals and Microbes: A Partnership That Benefits Plants, People and Planet<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

Healthy Soil, Health Food, Healthy Kids<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are only as good as the dirt our food is grown in and our kids play in.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

The quote is from Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein, a pediatric neurologist and the author of \u201cThe Dirt Cure: Growing Healthy Kids with Food Straight from Soil\u201d (Atria Books, 2016). Beginning with her own son, Dr. Klein discovers that much of our conventionally grown and highly processed food is harming our children\u2019s immune systems and interfering with their gut microbiomes.<\/p>\n

The result is lifelong, chronic illness. What is the solution? According to the author, it is good old-fashioned dirt. The \u201cdirt cure,\u201d as the author calls it, includes the following:<\/p>\n

\n
• Eating fresh, nutrient-dense food from healthy soil<\/li>\n
• Exposing kids to a diversity of microbes<\/li>\n
• Spending more time outdoors in nature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  On our blog<\/em>: Learn more about taking control of our children\u2019s health by reading \u201cGoing from \u2018Fed Up\u2019 to \u2018Fired Up:\u2019 Teaching Kids About Soil Health & Nutrition<\/a>\u201d and \u201cWhat do Rock Dust and Recess Have to do With Getting Kids to Eat Better?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

  ***<\/p>\n

  Have you read any of these books? What did\u00a0you think? Please share your thoughts, ideas and suggestions….and happy reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Since starting this blog, we\u2019ve noticed a lot more people talking about rock dust\u2014its origins, how it interacts with beneficial microbes, and how it can improve soil health\u00a0and the health of our own bodies. It\u2019s a little like the Yellow Volkswagen Bug Theory. When someone you know gets a yellow VW bug, suddenly you begin… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-2286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","category-soil-amendment","tag-books"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Book-Suggestions.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6YalT-AS","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2288,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2286\/revisions\/2288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cascademinerals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}