http://www.care2.com/greenliving/simplifying-supplements.html
Simplifying Supplements
By Carmel Wroth, Ode Magazine
Studies have repeatedly shown that the typical Western diet corresponds to higher risks of heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Bruce Ames, a nutrition researcher at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, has a theory about how the diet-disease connection may work. “There are about 40 micronutrients you need to run your metabolism,” says Ames. “If you don’t get any one of them, you die. What we’re learning is the consequence of not getting enough is that your body cuts back on certain functions that affect long-term health. When you’re short of micronutrients, there’s a lot of hidden damage going on.”
The World Health Organization has stated that diet is second only to smoking as a preventable cause of cancer. Indeed, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), American Heart Association and American Cancer Society have made dietary recommendations a central part of their disease-prevention messages, suggesting we eat more fruit and vegetables, replace refined carbs with whole grains and cut down on junk food. Yet according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveys, only 11 percent of Americans meet the USDA’s guidelines for eating five to nine servings of fresh fruit and vegetables daily. The nutrient shortfalls are dramatic. According to data gathered from 1999 to 2002 and compiled by the CDC, 93 percent of Americans don’t get enough vitamin E, 56 percent don’t get enough magnesium, 31 percent don’t get enough vitamin C and 12 percent don’t get enough zinc. Another CDC survey indicated many people are low on vitamin K, calcium and potassium, and many seniors lack B vitamins.
The first step to fixing nutrient shortfalls is to improve diet, says Yale University nutrition researcher David Katz. The 40 or so isolated micronutrients that scientists study - and supplement companies pack into capsules - are only a fraction of the array of organic compounds found in food. Indeed, many vitamins are not a single “vitamin” but a family of compounds. And our bodies need these complementary nutrients to make use of these vitamins. When you get your vitamin C in a piece of fruit, for example, it comes with a lot of other ingredients - fiber, antioxidants and trace minerals - that might help you more consumed together than if you down vitamin C alone in a supplement. “It may be that the active ingredient in broccoli is broccoli,” says Katz. “People who don’t want to eat broccoli and take a vitamin instead will probably be disappointed. If you want the benefits of nutrients in foods, you need to eat foods rich in nutrients.”
Next: The decline of nutrition in food: are you getting enough vitamins?
More from Megan, selected from Ode magazine (18 articles available)
related stories
-
ode5
(5 comments)
-
(1 comment)
-
(35 comments)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
12 comments
add your comment »"To get a better omega balance, choose grass-fed sources for animal products and eat fewer packaged snacks, fried foods and cheap vegetable oils, such as salad dressings made with corn or SOY oil. And eat more fish, beans, TOFU, flax seeds and walnuts."
um, tofu is soy.... otherwise good article.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
It is really good information, however I think one reason people don't eat enough fruit is cost, with things like apples that cost 50 to 75 cents each it could cost 25$ a day to feed 9 servings of fruit to a family of 4....
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
This all sounds anything but simple!
I've been avoiding supplements so far, but now being anemic I need to take high dose iron (far exceeding normal daily recommendation).
I think eating good quality animal products and large amounts of vegetables (even if they're not as nutritious as they once were) should provide most nutrition you need. That's of course if you don't have to exclude some type of food (for whatever reason), then you should look at what you're missing out on and supplement your diet.
The section on Omega3 FA is especially well written here, and again historic records show that people eating diverse and unprocessed foods used to consume well balanced FA composition long before NIH guidelines or any other official documentation
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
If you feel the need to add supplements, make sure it's a whole food supplement. It makes all the difference in the world!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Very good information, Megan, thanks so much. Also thanks to Alex for mentioning "other Ingredients", we really must be careful. It appears to me that so many foods have been altered due to human manipulation for profit, mainly in the dairy and large scale meat industry. How can industry produced meat be healthy when the animals lived confined under extreme stress eating only a certain type of food such as corn?
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
A few things to note: If you take supplements, do so after you eat something with that same thing in it. Yes, you may be getting it in the food first, but why are you taking the supplement? This is because you can't always get enough from the food, especially, and unfortunately, today. But eat the food first!!! Otherwise, your body will become lazy and only take it from the pill, since it's easier to obtain. Therefore, it's not only not as healthy, but your body won't get the exercise it needs in order to break up the food properly/digest, and then you'll always be dependent on supplements and also have other problems.
Second, be sure your supplements break up properly. There are tons of elderly people whose insides are laden with capsules which never broke down, causing them all kinds of problems. To check yours, put it in a glass of water and wait a while. It's not wasted, you can still drink it. Some take longer to break down, yes, and even a day later, it's still broken down. But if it doesn't break down, QUIT taking it!!!
Also, organics are GREAT! But people have still gotten E-coli (at least the last thing traced to) things like spinach. Makes NO sense. But it was cross contaminated somehow, so still wash unless you really know your source. Otherwise, with great soil & care etc., a strawberry can be a complete food to survive solely on, if NOT washed. In that case, it's actually healthier NOT to wash it, because we wash off nutrients.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Thanks for this good information!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I love that line - "The active ingredient in broccoli is broccoli." I've been so happy with the Isotonix supplements in addition to healthful foods, because your body doesn't have to break them down like a pill (or even a typical vitamin liquid). This is great if (like me) you hate taking pills, get stomach upset from digesting pills, or just want to get your money's worth of nutrients actually absorbed. You can take the "nutri-physical" for recommendations and order a "custom cocktail" for simplicity in drinking all your supplements. Check them out here:
http://www.marketamerica.com/thelivingyou/brands-214/isotonix.htm&omcmp=m2118
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Way to go, Megan! Many fine points are addressed in your article--thanks for getting such quality info out to the masses.
I do have a note or two to add:
If you cannot possibly (it's worth the effort) to grow, or obtain and eat organic produce, RAW, than supplements may be necessary ~
1. Choose supplements (if you're deficient) that are whole-food supplements, not synthetically engineered petroleum compounds.
2. Read the "other ingredients" and DO NOT take supplements that contain MAGNESIUM STEARATE or TITANIUM DIOXIDE as these compounds are regarded by your body as toxins (!) and will therefore over time cause a Biofilm to be created in your GI tract that will prevent absorption of the very nutrients contained in the same pill!
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Great information. I'm all about supplementation but there's a lot of confusion around what our bodies actually need and how we are metabolizing what we are taking. I am now taking a customized supplement which is formulated based on what is going on in my body...determined through an in-home test.. great technology..I am feeling different (better) and it eliminated all the confusion. I am putting in the link for those that want to check this out!
http://idealhealth.com/Custom-Multivitamin/PrivaTest.aspx?sponsor=6007355&bety02
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: