When Conventional Medicine Failed: My Journey With Functional Nutrition, Advanced Mineral Supplements, and True Resilience

Rod Stanley
Aug 9
5 min read

When the System Fails: My Crash

When my health collapsed and every expert I saw fell short, I realized I had to take matters into my own hands. My recovery wasn’t mapped out by a functional medicine doctor or nutritionist—there was no protocol handed to me. Instead, I spent months obsessively researching, testing, and refining my own approach, driven by a desperate need to find answers where conventional medicine had failed.

After years on a strict vegan diet, I started experiencing unexplained weight loss, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, and malabsorption so severe I was down nearly 40 lbs and couldn’t even get out of bed without help from my wife. Every movement felt like my spine was breaking, and even basic tasks became impossible. I saw everyone—gastroenterologists, general practitioners, physical therapists, pelvic floor experts, chiropractors, nutritionists. None could explain my rapid decline or persistent GI distress. All the while, conventional medicine kept looking at symptoms instead of a root cause.

It was at this point—when I genuinely thought I was dying—that I decided to take a different approach. This journey led me to functional nutrition, advanced mineral supplementation, and rituals that rebuilt my body from the ground up.

Modern Medicine: Acute Wins, Chronic Shortcomings

Medical training and mainstream care excel at handling trauma and acute illness. But when it comes to chronic problems—autoimmunity, persistent fatigue, metabolic breakdowns—conventional approaches mostly suppress symptoms. The focus is on diagnostics, not dynamics. Pills treat lab numbers or quell surface inflammation, but rarely is there an effort to correct the metabolism and cellular function causing the symptoms in the first place.

As Dr. Robert Lufkin and many in functional medicine argue, metabolic dysfunction sits at the root of most chronic disease. Issues like hormonal imbalances, malabsorption, impaired detoxification, and chronic inflammation are under-explored in clinical environments.

Functional Nutrition: Reframing Recovery Around the Root Cause

Functional medicine changed my personal perspective and gave me the hope I needed. The functional nutrition field considers each person as a unique system, looking at:

Genetics and family history
Gut microbiome and digestion
Hormonal patterns and stress response
Environmental loads (toxins, pollutants)
Detailed nutrient and mineral status

Instead of a one-size-fits-all prescription, functional nutrition builds a personalized protocol, often using advanced diagnostics—stool analysis, micronutrient assays, hormonal panels—to map out what’s broken at the system level.

For me, the first insight was clear:

I was dangerously demineralized.

The Dangers of Demineralization

A diet rich in greens had left my body almost “too clean.” Over-cleansing can strip trace minerals, especially when not offset by robust intake or absorption.

Minerals are the backbone of metabolism. Everything from bone strength and nerve conduction to muscle repair, energy output, and hormone production depends on elements like magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium, and a vast spectrum of trace elements. Without their regular replenishment—especially during times of stress or restriction—bodily systems begin to fail.

That’s exactly what had happened to me.

Constructing a Mineralized Morning Ritual: What Actually Worked

1. Bioavailable Bone Broth & Organ Meats

Despite initial reservations (organ meats are not for the faint of palate), these foods acted as “like-for-like” therapy. Eating what my body was missing—liver for liver, heart for heart—supported my recovery at the tissue level. Bone broth brought in collagen and crucial minerals for gut healing. These ancestral foods are technically dense, loaded with co-factors not easily replaced by plant sources or synthetic vitamins.

2. Shilajit: The Mineral Super-Resin

I had a lot of folks ask, “Where’s the real science behind Shilajit?” so let’s get into it! My next breakthrough came from integrating Shilajit—a mineral-dense resin that’s packed with fulvic acid, humic compounds, and dozens of trace minerals, all in a form your body can actually use. It’s been a staple of Ayurvedic practice for centuries, but modern science is catching up too. Studies have shown its benefits for fighting fatigue, ramping up mitochondrial energy, supporting healthy inflammation, and restoring mineral reserves when your system is running low. For a deeper dive, check the National Institutes of Health’s overview of Shilajit and see why so many holistic practitioners swear by it.

Learn more or order Shilajit from my trusted source: Secret Energy Shilajit

3. Alkalizer: Restoring pH and Absorption

Gut pH and systemic acidity must be tightly managed for nutrients and enzymes to work correctly. By including an Alkalizer (a formula designed for gentle morning stomach priming and systemic acid-base support), I noticed improved digestion, reduced morning nausea, and overall increased comfort. Secret Energy Alkalizer

4. Biochemical Cell Salts: Cellular Intelligence

Finally, Biochemical Cell Salts—a homeopathic therapy—became a daily ritual. These microdoses of minerals (like calcium fluoride, ferrum phosphate, kali sulphate) are theorized to address imbalances at the cellular level, helping restore tissues, support nerve signaling, and regulate fluid dynamics. Cell salts have a legacy in complementary medicine, and anecdotal evidence supports their use in mineral-deficient states.

Order them here: Secret Energy Cell Salts

Results: Returning to Strength and Function

Weeks into my new protocol, the fog began to lift. The first major turning point was in the gym—a clean 200-lb barbell row, pain free, without the sense my spine might fail. My strength and weight stabilized, sleep improved, and my mental clarity returned.

Most notably, normal digestion resumed for the first time in months—a benchmark no medication or previous specialist had managed to achieve. These improvements weren’t the result of a single “miracle” intervention, but the cumulative effect of targeting cellular requirements every day.

Why Mineralization Gets Overlooked (and Why It Matters)

So much of today’s health culture centers on macros—protein, carbs, fats. Macronutrients are critical, but without minerals, these can’t be properly metabolized or absorbed. Minerals are co-factors for every biological process, mediating everything from neurotransmitter synthesis to muscle contractions. Chronic deficiencies can cascade into seemingly unrelated symptoms: fatigue, depression, arrhythmia, muscle cramps, immune dysregulation.

Most blood tests only capture snapshots and often miss subclinical deficiencies—yet these “silent shortages” are at the core of persistent health breakdowns.

Why Individualization is Essential for True Resilience

Everybody has their own biochemical individuality. What saved my life and rebuilt my strength won’t be the precise protocol for everyone else. But the principle holds true: optimal health demands customized, root-cause solutions. Consider:

Your genetics dictate how you handle certain nutrients
Your environment influences toxic load and stress
Your health history shapes your gut terrain and immune status

Functional nutrition and advanced supplementation respect these factors, shifting away from the failed “one-size-fits-all” mindset. Progress comes through deep inquiry, advanced testing, and, most importantly, a willingness to experiment.

When the Standard Model Isn’t Enough: What’s Next?

If you’re stuck, exhausted, or dealing with mysterious symptoms that regular medicine can’t resolve, consider a shift in strategy. Start with the basics—mineralize, nourish, and restore. But go further: invest in advanced testing, track your progress, and work with practitioners who are equipped to see you as more than a collection of symptoms.

My mission now: help others build bespoke rituals and systems for true resilience. Each client at Ritual Health and Fitness receives an individualized assessment—a new paradigm that puts the pieces together, instead of just chasing lab values.

Ready to reclaim your vitality? Connect and learn more about bespoke health protocols at rodstanley.com.

[^1]: For an accessible review, see: “Shilajit: A Review of Its Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacological Activities,” Phytotherapy Research, 2012.