by Connie Limon
The shortage of vitamins and minerals is a real health crisis that is growing at an alarming rate. People on low carb diets especially and other weight loss diets are at a particularly high risk.
As a result of this vitamin and mineral shortage nutritionally driven chronic diseases have reached epidemic proportions. It is estimated that about 95% of people over 40 will suffer from one or more chronic diseases by retirement age. A few of these diseases are cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and dementia and vision loss.
It has been for many, many years the medical community did not believe there is a real vitamin and mineral shortage. They called those who did believe “nutrition fanatics.” These so-called “nutrition fanatics” believe the importance of vitamins and minerals are the basics for vital health.
Much to the surprise of many, in the June 19, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association it was announced: “suboptimal intake of vitamins should be seen as a risk factor for chronic disease.” This was said to be especially true for the elderly.
This statement reveals to us that today our food contains much less nutrition while our needs for vitamins and minerals are much greater than ever before in human history.
%95 Plants are the sole source of all vitamins and minerals for every living creature.
%95 Plants create body-ready vitamins and minerals from nutrients in the soil. Rich soil is the foundation for packing plants with vitamins and minerals. Vegetables grown in poor soil will have far lower levels of vitamins and minerals.
%95 Soil is becoming sand – depleting at a very rapid rate. Commercial farming started to expand as the ability to transport the produce to new markets increased with the use of trains and trucks. This was great progress for the consumer. Now consumers did not have to grow their own vegetables. They could enjoy fresh produce out of season or fresh produce they could not grow in their own area. However, as commercial growers keep using the same fields year after year, the soils keep losing their rich nutrients. As soils deplete, vitamins and mineral content of the vegetables grown also deplete. Chemical companies now provide chemicals that will force the plants to grow in poor soil.
%95 The chemicals cause a couple of problems. The vegetables look great but contain far less vitamins and minerals than when grown in the poor soil. They also absorb some of these chemicals. Now our bodies need more vitamins to deactivate these toxins.
Genetic engineers have created vegetables that are more disease resistant, that grow faster, are more visually attractive, and are easier to harvest. A new tomato was developed for growers primarily to take a 5-mile-per-hour impact from the faster picking machines. Nothing is being done to increase the nutrient levels of the plants or to enrich the soil.
Some vegetables and most fruits you buy in the store are picked before they are ripe. They are often chemically treated so they ripen on the way to the grocery shelf. This gives the produce a lot longer shelf life and less waste. Produce picked at its ripe peak contains maximum nutrients, but spoil quickly. Vine ripened, fresh produce can be quite unprofitable for the grower and grocer.
In addition, consider the higher levels of air and water pollution, lower oxygen levels in the air we breath, and our fast paced, fast food societies of today. You can easily see our bodies need more protection than ever before.
What can we do about this?
1. Make fresh, whole fruits, vegetables, and grains a larger part of your daily diet. These are the best qualityvitamins and minerals you can buy. Eat them raw, uncooked as much as possible. If you do cook them, cook slowly at low heat to keep the nutrients at the highest possible levels. The less processing the better. Most people do not eat the minimum recommended amounts, yet we all need much more than ever before. 2. Look for organically grown produce at your grocery or health food store. Generally organic produce will contain much higher levels of nutrients without the chemicals. 3. Grow some of your own produce in a yard garden, patio pots or inside your home in window pots. It is very easy, can be decorative and puts oxygen in the air. The taste and nutrition is tons better than what you can buy in the store. 4. No matter how perfect we try to eat, we still need to invest in a good vitamin supplement daily. Even nutrition experts who know exactly how to eat an “ideal” diet, take vitamin supplements. 5. You can find good quality vitamin supplements at most reputable vitamin or health food stores. Buy online for the best price and selection of high quality vitamin supplements.
By following these few simple tips we may be able to retain good health right on into retirement age. If we don”t have good health at retirement, nothing else matters a whole lot. At the very least, everyone should invest in a high quality daily supplement. In spite of the “real” vitamin and mineral shortage those who choose to do something about it personally can survive.
Author: Connie Limon. Visit us at www.selfimprovementbook1.com Self Improvement Book is a guide to information about self improvement, personal growth and self help. It is an organized directory referencing information in other websites on the World Wide Web. Sign up for our FREE bi-weekly newsletter.
