Our modern food supply is severely deficient in nutrients, mainly minerals. In fact, a head of broccoli grown today has 20% of the mineral content that it contained in the 1920’s.
But why is that? That is the subject of today’s article!
Because in order to solve the problem, we need to first understand understand the toxic burden of our modern world and exactly why we are all so nutrient deficient in the first place. Read on to learn the top 10 reasons why you are nutrient deficient – and what you can do about.
The reasons you need to supplement are due to many factors:
1) You are born nutrient depleted and toxic. No matter how healthy our lifestyle, we are born with the nutritional deficiencies and heavy metal and chemical toxicity of our mothers. These toxins are easily passed from mother to child in the womb.
2) Soil is depleted. Many soils are low in zinc, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, calcium and magnesium. No matter what diet you eat, you cannot obtain all the nutrients you need from food.
3) High-yield crops are deficient in certain nutrients. Soils, even at organic farms, become depleted of vitamins and minerals after years of cultivation. For example, ten times the amount of wheat is grown on the same land as was grown 100 years ago. Today’s wheat contains about 6% protein whereas 100 years ago it contained 12-14%. Trace mineral levels are similarly much lower due to high-yield farming methods.
4) Modern fertilizers do not supply enough trace minerals. One hundred years ago, manure was used for fertilizer. Today, chemicals fertilizers are used but contain mainly nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but are deficient in the trace elements found in manure. This has contributed greatly to depletion of the soil and crop minerals. Organically grown food is generally more nutrient-rich because it is grown on better quality soil with proper farming methods and fertilization, but this is not always the case. Almost invariably, all the produce grown at every farmer’s market in Los Angeles is grown using chemical fertilizers. I know — I’ve asked every vendor.
5) Pesticides deplete soils. Pesticides kill soil microorganisms that are needed to make minerals and other nutrients available to plants. The result is lower nutrient content. Many pesticides are deadly chemicals that severely tax the human system. Many contain lead, arsenic and other toxic metals that slowly accumulate in the body unless one detoxifies from them. Our laws currently allow sewage and factory sludge to be sold as fertilizer that contain significant amounts of toxic metals. These add greatly to our toxic metal burden and require extra nutrients to help remove them from the body. Additionally, many pesticides work by chelating minerals out of weeds to kill them. They die of malnutrition. The same effect is at work inside your body when you eat pesticide residues.
6) Long-distance transportation. Due to the time it takes fresh foods to get from the farm to your table, 57% or more of the nutritional value can be lost. Many foods are grown thousands of miles from where they are purchased. Some are grown on the other side of the planet! On average, they spend a week in transit to reach you. Because of this, produce is picked before it is fully ripe, preventing maximum nutrient potential. The minute food is picked nutrient levels begin to diminish. Grow your own garden and eat veggies while they’re still alive!
7) Food processing reduces nutrient content. Refining of wheat to make white flour removes 80% of its magnesium, 70-80% of its zinc, 87% of its chromium, 88% of its manganese and 50% of its cobalt. Refining sugar cane to make white sugar removes 99% of its magnesium and 93% of its chromium. Polishing rice removes 75% of its zinc and chromium. Even foods that are in whole grain form still suffer from nutrient deficiency if they are ground into flour, processed, boxed, shipped, and stored for any significant period of time. Frozen foods are nutritionally better but not as good as fresh vegetables. It’s always best to eat foods as close to their original, minimally processed form as possible. For instance, eat a fresh strawberry, not a dried one.
8) Food additives can further deplete nutrients. Thousands of artificial flavors, colors, flavor enhancers, dough conditioners, and preservatives are added to foods. While some are harmless, many are toxic and deplete the body of nutrients. For example, EDTA added to some frozen vegetables to preserve the color of the vegetable does so by removing minerals from the vegetable so it does not “tarnish.”
9) Weakened digestion. One result of eating refined, low-quality food with hundreds of food additives is that most people’s digestion is impaired. This further impairs nutrient absorption and increases nutritional needs. It’s a vicious cycle that continues as long as one eats a poor quality diet. Additionally, eating a lot of sugar and wheat flour depletes your body of vitamin and minerals. It takes 56 molecules of magnesium to process one molecule of sugar.
10) Stressful lifestyles deplete many nutrients including calcium, magnesium and zinc. Zinc begins to be eliminated from the body within minutes of a stressful situation. Stress causes excessive sympathetic nervous system activity, which reduces digestive strength. This, in turn, reduces nutrient absorption even further. Thus, anyone under stress will need even more nutrients than someone that lives a very peaceful existence.
What To Do About Nutrient Deficiency
Thanks to industrial dumping, manufacturing, air pollution, water contamination, soil contamination, and nutrient depletion in our soil, most people are nutrient deficient in their diets (not to mention the fact, we are exposed to dangerous levels of harmful metals on a DAILY basis…).
But the answer to this and our mineral deficiency seems simple enough – take some supplements. Easy, right?
Unfortunately, no. Because while I cannot stress enough that you need to take vitamin and mineral supplements to keep you healthy, not all supplements are created equal.
Did you know…
Of the 54,000 dietary supplement products sold today, only a third have some level of safety and effectiveness that is supported by scientific evidence. Many supplements, even organic ones, are contaminated with toxic metals like lead, cadmium and arsenic. You could be taking supplements that are actually doing more harm than good!
What many don’t realize is that our supplements are no less victim to toxic metal contamination than we are. Toxic metals cause disease – but how can you avoid them in something that seems like it should be good for you like supplements?
How Taking the WRONG Nutritional Supplements Hurt You
I often get asked, “what supplements should I take?” Some other common questions are: How do you know what to take? What is safe? What should you avoid? What is a waste of $$$?
Well, these are big questions. But ones I am here to help you answer!
In the world of supplements, there is A LOT of information out there and it can be a lot to sort through on your own. You need to know know what supplements are right for you and your body chemistry, which supplements your body will actually absorb (and which your body won’t), how to take them, which supplements have harmful ingredients, which tests will help you customize supplements to your individual needs and health issues….the list goes on and on. It can be overwhelming.
On top of that, there are some pretty grave consequences to choosing the WRONG nutritional supplements, including:
- Creating imbalances or even toxicity in your body, because they’re NOT what you need
- Wasting precious money (could be hundreds per month, or thousands each year)
- Stealing your time (not including the time you spent Google researching!)
- Getting tricked you’re getting better when nothing is actually happening
Taking the WRONG supplements not only cost you up to hundreds each month and thousands per year… they could steal a decade in positive results from you.
It’s heartbreaking.
And it’s why I created The Deficiency Fix—to help you finally choose the right supplements.
Confused about supplements?
Learn how to customize supplements to your body and health concerns! The Deficiency Fix answers:
- What supplements are right for you and your health issues
- How to take supplements the correct way
- Avoid cheap supplements that don’t absorb
- Avoid supplements with harmful ingredients
- The best tests to customize supplements to your body’s individual needs
- The best forms of each supplement to take
- The best brands suggested by the world’s top health experts
- What supplements should I take?
It’s hard to know what’s good… what you need… and how to maximize the benefits of any supplement product and protocol.
That’s where the team of experts I gathered for The Deficiency Fix comes in.
They’re THE smartest people I could find in this industry; the leaders and pioneers who can help you steer clear of the bad products (or the WRONG products for YOU).
So you can avoid risking your health on the wrong supplements, wasting money, and finally get the results you deserve.
Whether you take supplements for detox, energy, anxiety, sleep, pain, immunity, beauty, or anything else…you must learn what supplements you should take for YOUR body and YOUR health concerns.
