What is the Root Cause Protocol (RCP)?

It is a research based lifestyle designed to support our bodies back to balance via predominantly food-based minerals, vitamins and stress reduction.

Most of us don’t have much awareness about what minerals do in our body, and why they may be important. The interplay between minerals, vitamins and other nutrients as a whole, is often overlooked in importance when we aren’t feeling 100%.

We also typically don’t get taught what impact stress has on how we function, on how those minerals/nutrients are impacted.

The beauty of the RCP is that the focus is on building a connection between nutrients/nutrient balance in our bodies and understanding what stress has to do with it.

We start by stopping some items which are typically synthetic or manufactured nutrients which increase our oxidative stress, damage to our cells, and mess with overall metabolic systems within the body. This is known as “Phase 0”. 

Slowly we then introduce core nutrients one by one through Phases 1 to 3, plus an extra “Phase X” where it’s activities or nutrients which can be introduced at the time that feels right for the individual. 

What sort of nutrients are we talking?

Whole food sources of vitamin c (not synthetic ascorbic acid!), vitamin a (pre-formed retinol) via sources like free range eggs, grassfed butter, cod liver oil and grassfed beef liver), an ancestral diet consisting of seasonal ideally organic foods to get magnesium, copper, electrolytes and other trace elements that we need for proper our metabolic recycling systems to work effectively. 

That’s too simple!?

It can seem really simple, too simple, but it’s worth taking some time to learn more before dismissing it. 

Years ago Kristan coined the phrase “simplicity and enormity of the RCP“.

There is extensive research behind every inclusion of the phases, and it goes into biochemistry at the mitochondrial level… but the simplicity is that you can help to reduce symptoms, increasing energy and feeling more “like you” with some core nutrients.

The RCP is supporting the building blocks in your body, so your body can bring things back online within your body that may not have been able to operate effectively due to underlying imbalances.

Even if you have been told repeatedly that “you’re fine” from your practitioners, you may have imbalances. Many practitioners are not trained extensively in minerals and vitamins, and often spend only hours training in this area. It’s not often covered in ongoing professional development too, so their scope is minimal in this area compared to the emergency medicine and symptom management they are often extremely well trained in.

Morley Robbins is the researcher behind the RCP, and he has spent over 10 years bringing together research from around the world on iron, copper, magnesium, retinol (vitamin A), electrolytes. It’s a really deep look at physiology and metabolics, but presented in a way that the majority of people can understand. You can read more on the RCP website here. The archive of Morley’s iron toxicity posts is here.

In 2014 Kristan first worked with Morley (after reading his research for about 6 months). It was a complete game changer for her health and that of her family.

Teresa also worked with Morley around this time as well, and saw huge changes.

You can read more about their journeys here.

Both Kristan and Teresa helped friends and family to learn more “unofficially” over the years because of how much it helped them… and they had encouragement by those they helped to train more formally in it. In 2017 both joined the first round of consultant training with Morley so they could help others.

Since that time have both been heavily involved in sharing the knowledge and supporting others to learn. Kristan has been involved in running many webinars and events with Morley since 2017 and now delivers the consultant training with Morley too. Teresa provides massive support behind the scenes of the RCP including being the Content Manager who helps keep resources ticking along within the website, membership and training areas.

If you would like to see the suggestions, the team have compiled these resources which are there to help with implementation of the phases, please head to the RCP product suggestion page.

This Supporting Balance website has a range of resources to help you learn more about how you slot into this whole picture and what you can do to feel stronger, more energy or reduce your symptoms.

A great place to start is the ‘Start Here’ menu, or if you would like to work directly with us to get personalised support, you can find options under the ‘Work with Us‘ heading.