Though there’s not enough evidence to know exactly how well humic acid supplementation works in humans, it’s been used for centuries in China for diseases related to immune suppression. Humic acid is taken to stimulate the immune system and treat strains of the flu and other viral infections. Humic acid applied topically to your skin can be beneficial also. Humic acid’s natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties can be especially helpful in the treatment of skin conditions like contact dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. In this article, we will share with you some amazing benefits of humic acid on the immune system.

First, we’ll cover humic acid’s benefits and how they differ from fulvic acids. Then, we’ll go over leonardite facts and follow with detoxification. Finally, we’ll close with increased water retention. Once you have finished reading, you can start taking control of your immune health with humic acid.

1Aids With Nutrient Uptake

Humic acid increases nutrient uptake, drought tolerance, and seed germination. It increases the microbial activity in the soil, making it an excellent root stimulator. Humic acid increases the availability of nutrients in fertilizers and those already existing in the soil.

Environmental chemicals, such as the pesticide glyphosate, can be removed by humic acid. The humic acid complexes adsorb glyphosate from the soil. Adsorption is the chemical reaction between two charged molecules binding together. One of the glyphosates’ negative impacts on the body is its ability to harm the beneficial bacteria in our intestines.

2How Humic And Fulvic Acids Differ

While humic acids are those that form small solid pieces when a strong base extract is acidified, fulvic acids are those that stay dissolved under the same conditions; it is light yellow or brown but is soluble at all pH levels (both acidic and alkaline). It has a lower molecular weight, too, since it has more oxygen. Humic acids are present in soils and are the most active part of that organic matter. They are a mixture of complex organic molecules that are formed by the decomposition and oxidation of organic matter. Therefore, humification is a progressive process that leads to the formation of humic acid.

When we talk about humic acids, we also include fulvic acids in this concept. The difference between them is their different behavior in basic and acid mediums; both humic and fulvic acids are soluble in basic medium, and therefore, an alkaline extracting agent, usually potassium hydroxide, is used to extract them in liquid form. When placed in an acid medium, humic acids (being insoluble in this medium) precipitate, while fulvic acids (being soluble in the acid medium) remain in the liquid phase; this different behavior in an acid medium is based on the official method of analysis to separate and quantify the humic and fulvic acids of a product. Besides this difference, humic and fulvic acids have other chemical and behavioral differences; humic acids have a higher molecular weight than fulvic, higher cation exchange capacity, and higher water retention capacity. Humic acids have a slower and lasting action on the soil structure and on the plants, while fulvic acids have faster action on the plants but are less persistent.

3Facts About Leonardite

Leonardite is a humified plant substance, which is very rich in organic matter, in an intermediate state of transformation between peat and lignite. It has its origin in the burial of plant materials millions of years ago and is usually found in the upper layers of open-cast lignite (coal) mines.

Humic acids are present in the soil and are the most active part of that organic matter. Humic acids are obtained by extraction using a potassium hydroxide alkaline solution. They can also be extracted with sodium hydroxide, but while the contribution of sodium salinizes the soil, potassium is, next to nitrogen and phosphorus, one of three primary nutrients essential for plant development.

4Helps With Detoxification

We live in a toxic world. Over 493 toxins have been found in people ranging in ages from newborns to adults, according to research by the Environmental Working Group. These toxins range from pesticides to petrochemicals to toxins, such as DDT, that have been banned decades ago but still exist in a newborn’s cord blood. Many of these toxins have been shown to cause cancer, damage to the brain, and abnormal development. Because we live in a toxic world, we need tools to strengthen our bodies to rid ourselves safely of toxins.

The ability to bind toxins has led to the commercial use of humic acid for both animals and humans. Humic acid was shown to be effective in removing mercury from pigs. Humic acid increased the excretion of mercury from all organs tested in these animals with a reduction in brain mercury levels of 87% compared to the controlled group. These findings were unexpected since humic acid does not leave the intestines. It appears that glutathione frees mercury so humic acid can bind it, giving glutathione the ability to bind more mercury and pull it from organs, such as the brain.

Human use has also shown positive reductions in heavy metals. After lead exposure, humic acid complexes after 12 weeks reduced lead levels on average by 0.26 mol/100 CC4; after a toxic cadmium exposure, workers were given six weeks of the humic acid complex; blood cadmium levels dropped by 17%. In addition to the decrease in cadmium, humic acid provided positive benefits, including improvement in markers of liver and kidney function and the correction of low iron levels. Humic acid inhibits this antimicrobial loss from glyphosate on several species of bacteria in the intestine.

5Increases Water Retention

Humic acids have the unique ability to increase water retention in soils. In the world’s changing climate, this is becoming more important as ecosystems become strained. It’s also vital for sandy, arid, and low clay soils.

How does it happen? The negative charge of humic acids attracts positive ions, or cations, which stick to the humic molecule. These cations, in the presence of water molecules, move slightly away from the humic molecule and attach loosely to the oxygen end of water molecules. The hydrogen ends of those water molecules then attach to the hydrogen ends of other water molecules. This effect reduces water evaporation by up to 30%.

Humic acid supplementation has been used for centuries in China for diseases related to immune suppression. Humic acid stimulates the immune system and is taken to treat strains of the flu and other viral infections. Especially helpful in the treatment of skin conditions like contact dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea is humic acid’s natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In this article, we shared with you some amazing benefits of humic acid on the immune system.

First, we covered humic acid’s benefits and how they differ from fulvic acids. Then, we went over leonardite facts and followed with detoxification. Finally, we closed with increased water retention. Now that you have finished reading, you can start taking control of your immune health with humic acid.