Minerals latu sensu and Human Health

Chapter1. Introduction, Targets and Concepts.- Chapter2. Minerals, Natural Environment and Medical Geology.- Chapter3. Historical Evolution of the Use of Minerals in the Human Health.- Chapter4. Health Benefits and Risks of Minerals, Bioavailability, Bio-essentiality, Toxicity, and Pathologies.- Chapter5.    Metals, Life and Health.- Chapter6. General Data on Clay Science, Crystallochemistry and Systematics of Clay Minerals, and Clay Typologies, Properties and Applications.- Chapter7. Interactions of Clay and Clay Minerals in the Human Health.- Chapter8. Minerals and the Origins of Life.- Chapter9. Minerals Utilized in Pharmacy and Cosmetics.- Chapter10. Nanominerals and Nanomaterials Utilized in Pharmacy and Therapeutics.- Chapter11. Biominerals and Biomaterials.- Chapter12. Psammotherapy or Arenotherapy.- Chatper13. Mineral Water: Essential to Life, Health and Wellness.- Chapter14. Natural Mineral Water Used in Health Resort Medicine.- Chapter15. Healing Sulfurous Thermal Waters Used in Health Resort Medicine: Therapies, Indications and Contraindications.- Chatper16. Natural Salt Mineral Water and Thalassotherapy.

Dr. Celso de Sousa Figueiredo Gomes (retired) is a former Professor Cathedratico at University d'Aveiro, Portugal. He was Assistant Professor (1961 - 1967) at the Mineralogical and Geological Museum of the University of Coimbra, teaching Crystallography, Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geology, and he was Chief-Geologist of the Geological Survey of Angola and Assistant Professor at the University of Luanda, Angola (1968 - 1974). In 1964 he began his study of Soil and Clay Sciences at the Instituto de Edafologia e Agrobiologia Vegetal of the Consejo Superior de Investigacion Científica (Madrid), and continued in Aberdeen, Scotland, at the Macaulay Institute for Soil Research. In 1979 he received a PhD in Materials Science from the Leeds University, United Kingdom. He is the author and co-author of over 500 scientific papers, and the author and co-author of 21 books and 5 chapters of scientific books. He has organized various National and International Conferences.

Since his retirement (2003) Dr. Gomes is a researcher of the Research Centre "GeoBioTec" financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. Dr. Gomes presently is member of the following scientific societies: AIPEA (Association Internationale Pour L'Étude des Argiles), Mineralogical Society (United Kingdom), Clays and Clay Minerals Society (United States of America), Sociedad Española de Arcillas (Spain), Clay Science Society (Japan), Sociedade Portuguesa de Cerâmica e Vidro, Sociedade Portuguesa de Hidrologia Médica, and Global Scientific and Advisory Council of the World Health and Wellness Tourism Association (WHWTA). In 1995 he founded APA (Associação Portuguesa de Argilas), an affiliate of ECGA (European Clay Groups Association) and AIPEA, being the President of ECGA (2007 - 2011).

Dr. Michel Rautureau (retired) began working in 1958 at the French National Centre for Scientific Research's "laboratoire