Is It Your Hormones or Your Minerals?

When women approach perimenopause or menopause, they’re often told the issue is their hormones. But what if the issue isn’t hormonal at all? What if the true imbalance lies deeper — in the body’s mineral system?

This is the perspective offered by Morley Robbins and the Root Cause Protocol (RCP), a healing approach rooted in mineral balance and cellular energy restoration. The central message? Your symptoms are not a sign you are broken — they are signs your body is struggling to produce energy due to mineral imbalance, and it can be corrected.

Start Here: Minerals Run the Show

Every symptom you experience, whether it’s fatigue, hot flashes, anxiety, or joint pain, ultimately comes down to one root issue: low energy production at the cellular level. That low energy sets off oxidative stress, the beginning of most modern chronic conditions.

Minerals — especially magnesium, copper, and sodium — are the spark plugs of your metabolism. Without them, your cells can’t make energy, can’t manage oxygen, and can’t communicate efficiently. Mineral deficiency leads to metabolic confusion and hormonal compensation.

Why Your Supplements Might Be Making Things Worse

The RCP encourages people to stop taking many of the mainstream supplements they’ve been told are healthy:

• Iron supplements: most women don’t need more iron; they need better iron regulation.

• Calcium supplements: especially the synthetic kind, which can deposit in tissues rather than strengthen bones.

• Vitamin D supplements: taken alone, synthetic D disrupts the balance with Vitamin A and reduces copper bioavailability.

• Ascorbic acid often mistaken for whole-food vitamin C, this synthetic version can actually damage ceruloplasmin, a key copper-carrying protein.

• One-a-day multivitamins: often packed with synthetic, poorly absorbed forms of nutrients.

The RCP advises asking a different question: not "What’s new?" but "What’s enduring?"

The Role of Ceruloplasmin: The Master Antioxidant

Ceruloplasmin is a large protein that carries copper and regulates iron. It has over 1,000 amino acids and contains 6-8 copper atoms. When ceruloplasmin is strong, it keeps inflammation and oxidation at bay. But supplements like ascorbic acid (synthetic Vitamin C) can blow it up.

Without enough ceruloplasmin, the body turns to estrogen as a backup antioxidant. That’s why estrogen can rise in menopause — not because there’s too much of it, but because your master antioxidant system is under-functioning. Similarly, iron builds up as women stop menstruating, which accelerates aging and oxidative stress.

The Real Role of Hormones

Hormones like estrogen and cortisol don’t cause disease. They respond to the state of oxygen and energy in the body. They mobilize minerals to meet stress. But if the mineral system is off, hormones can become imbalanced as a compensatory response.

For example:

• High estrogen? It may be standing in for low ceruloplasmin.

• Hormonal symptoms? They may actually be signs of mineral deficiency, especially copper and magnesium.

The Freeze Response and Chronic Fatigue

Chronic stress without enough mineral support leads to more than fight or flight — it leads to freeze. In this state, people are so drained they can’t respond to stress. They procrastinate, feel immobilized, and lack the energy to even take supportive actions like cooking or supplementing. This isn’t a character flaw. It’s a lack of cellular energy.

So What’s the Solution? The RCP Approach

The Root Cause Protocol is built around two parts:

1. The Stops

These are substances to eliminate because they deplete minerals or create confusion in the body:

• Synthetic Vitamin D

• Ascorbic acid (what’s normally sold as Vitamin C—but it’s synthetic and only the “shell” of the whole food Vitamin C found in nature)

• Iron and calcium supplements

• One-a-day multivitamins

2. The Starts

These are the core mineral-rich steps to restore balance:

• Cod liver oil (for natural D and A)

• Whole food Vitamin C (with copper and tyrosinase)

• Adrenal cocktails (with sodium, potassium, and whole food C)

• Magnesium (malate, glycinate, topical oil, or baths)

• Regular blood donation (especially post-menopause to reduce iron)

The RCP is phased and personalized to keep it manageable. It also incorporates emotional support because the process requires belief in your body’s ability to heal.

If you're ready to explore the RCP for yourself, I highly recommend starting with the RCP 101 Educational Series (This is an affiliate link. I only share tools and systems that have genuinely changed my life, and I’m honored to pass them on to you.)

The Quantum Leap: From Newtonian to Energetic Healing

While the RCP begins with physical minerals, it doesn’t end there. True healing happens when you align your energy, release fear (Fe-AR = iron + stress), and raise your vibration.

"I love being in balance" said three times a day, with emotion and gratitude, becomes a daily practice of energetic alignment. Baths, connection to water, somatic release, belief, and emotional safety are just as essential as minerals. This is the whole-self approach. You cannot heal one part without touching all others: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Final Message: Your Body Knows What to Do

You don’t need to over-engineer your healing. You don’t need a different key for every symptom. Minerals are like the master key. Start removing the interference. Give your body what it needs, and trust it to do what it was divinely designed to do: heal.

Let it be simple. Let it be whole. Let it begin with minerals — and end in self-trust.