If you have spent any time listening to Dr. Joel Wallach, you have heard the phrase "90 essential nutrients" — usually delivered with his trademark conviction: "Every man, woman and child needs 90 essential nutrients just to survive." This guide explains what those 90 nutrients actually are, why Dr. Wallach considers them essential, and how people typically approach getting them.
What counts as "essential"?
In nutrition, a nutrient is called essential when the body cannot manufacture it on its own — it must come from what you eat and drink. Dr. Wallach's list groups them into four families:
- 60 minerals — from familiar ones like calcium, magnesium, zinc and selenium to trace and rare-earth minerals most people have never heard of.
- 16 vitamins — the classic A, B-complex, C, D, E and K family.
- 12 amino acids — the protein building blocks the body cannot synthesize itself.
- 2-3 essential fatty acids — the omega oils.
Why minerals get top billing
Vitamins tend to get the headlines, but Dr. Wallach's work — from his early veterinary pathology research to decades of lecturing — centers on minerals. His core argument, developed across books like Dead Doctors Don't Lie, is that modern farm soils have been continuously cropped for generations without remineralization. In his view, if a mineral is not in the soil, it is not in the plant, and if it is not in the plant, it is not in your food. That is his opinion and teaching philosophy — and it is the reason mineral supplementation, not just vitamins, sits at the heart of everything he formulates.
How people approach the 90
Tracking 90 individual nutrients meal-by-meal is not realistic for most people. That is exactly the problem Youngevity's Healthy Body Start Pak was designed to address: it bundles Dr. Wallach's foundational formulas — a plant-derived mineral complex, a vitamin/mineral base, and essential fatty acids — into one 30-day system.
Where to start
The Healthy Body Start Pak line is built around the full 90-nutrient philosophy — one box, one month, everything in one routine.
Common questions
Can't I just eat better? A nutrient-dense diet is always the foundation. Dr. Wallach's position is that even excellent diets are limited by what today's soils deliver — which is why he treats supplementation as insurance, not replacement.
Do I need all 90 every single day? Dr. Wallach teaches consistency over perfection: a daily foundation, adjusted to body weight, maintained over time.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products offered on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Content on this page reflects the research and views of Dr. Joel D. Wallach and is provided for educational purposes only — it is not medical advice. Always consult your physician before beginning any supplement program.
Healing With Minerals is an independent authorized Youngevity distributor.