Summary
Ben Greenfield's first comprehensive interview with Robert Slovak covers every aspect of water quality, from filtration methods and alkaline water myths to Quinton marine plasma and deuterium-depleted water. Slovak shares his origin story of discovering Quinton while deathly ill in the Brazilian rainforest, explains how it spent most of the 20th century as a pharmaceutical medicine in Europe, and describes why he considers it the most important supplement he has ever encountered. The episode also covers Slovak's pioneering work in reverse osmosis, the hydrogen water tablet he invented in 2010, and the emerging science of deuterium depletion.
Key Points
- Slovak discovered Quinton marine plasma while critically ill in Brazil and recovered dramatically after taking six ampoules
- Quinton was a pharmaceutical medicine in European physician desk references for over a century starting in 1897
- The mineral composition of seawater matches the proportions found in human blood plasma
- Quinton is more than just minerals; it is a living organocomplexed solution from the ocean that cannot be replicated by reconstituting sea salt
- Slovak created the first commercially available hydrogen tablet in December 2010
- Deuterium-depleted water is an emerging area of research with potential metabolic benefits
- Reverse osmosis plus activated carbon is one of only two methods that remove all categories of water contaminants
- Grass-fed animal products tend to be lower in deuterium than grain-raised alternatives
Key Moments
Slovak's discovery of Quinton while critically ill in Brazil
Slovak recounts how he was saved from a life-threatening illness in the Brazilian rainforest by taking six 10mL ampoules of Quinton marine plasma, one per hour, after someone brought the product from an Argentine biologist who had introduced it to Brazil.
"It was something called Canton Marine Plasma. It was a harvested extract of plankton blooms in the ocean, and they somehow got it there and used it for almost everything he said take these six little 10 milliliter ampoules take one per hour and i think you're going to be better."
Quinton as a pharmaceutical medicine since 1897
Slovak explains that Quinton is an exclusively made product that spent most of the 20th century as a pharmaceutical injectable medicine listed in European physician desk references, now classified as a dietary supplement in the United States.
"No, this is an exclusively made product. It's actually an injectable product. It's a true medicine, but now it's deemed in the United States a dietary supplement."
Why Quinton cannot be replicated with sea salt
Slovak explains why Quinton is superior to products derived from evaporated sea salt sources like the Great Salt Lake, noting that denaturing seawater by allowing it to precipitate into salt changes the mineral balances irreversibly, while Quinton preserves the living organocomplexed state.
"I believe in Quinton because it's more of a living, it's derived from a living region that's much more than just the electrolyte, ionic electrolytes. It's really organocomplexed. When you start taking things from places like the Great Salt Lake, or you take ocean water and you kind of denature it by allowing it to become a salt and precipitate, you change a lot of balances."
The importance of the full periodic table for cellular health
The episode opens with Slovak's assertion that the most revered nutrient in the world, pure water, paradoxically contains dangerous contaminants, and his personal testimony of discovering Quinton as his "spiritual destiny" after recovering from illness.
"It's amazing, Ben, that the most revered, unassailable nutrient in the world called pure water also contains the seed of destruction that's unmatched in the world of contaminants. And I went, Marcelo, what is this? I want more tomorrow. Can you get me more?"
