Why do I need to take supplements?
Supplements: Why Everyone Needs Them
Ideally, we would get all the nutrients we need from our food. After all, the nutrients in foods are more complex and we have to eat in order to get them because our body can’t make them. And, according to many physicians, whole foods contain sufficient nutrients for our body.
However, there are a multitude of reasons why even whole foods don’t necessarily contain those nutrients anymore. In addition, how many people eat whole foods?
The Standard American Diet is full of sugars, refined flour, preservatives, and additives. None of these substances supply nutrition.
Reasons Foods No Longer Supply Necessary Nutrients
Soil Depletion
Research results presented at the 1992 Earth Summit revealed a 70-85% loss of vital minerals in the earth’s farmlands. And this was 28 years ago! In addition, industrial farming, hybridization of crops, and lack of potency in the fertilizers used today have either further reduced essential vitamin and mineral content of crops or failed to replenish them.
Pesticides and Herbicides
The development of large-scale industrial farms led to the use of pesticides and herbicides on a grand scale, the use of which becomes an added burden on our body. our body requires more nutrients to digest, detoxify, and eliminate these chemicals.
Storage and Transportation
Most of our food comes from a great distance away from our home and/or grocery store. Early harvesting to stop spoiling decreases the amount of phytonutrients in our food. Sitting in storage or in transit for long periods of time further depletes nutrient content.
Genetic Alterations
In order to increase productivity, allow for spraying pesticides and accommodating poor farming practices, food has been genetically altered. This can create digestive issues and an abundance of toxin exposure.
Over-processing
Processing of food keeps it ‘sellable’ for longer periods of time. However, it also significantly decreases the nutrient value. Just one example, refining wheat to make common white flour takes away up to 80% of its magnesium, 88% of manganese, 50% of cobalt, 70-80% of zinc, and well over 80% of chromium. All of these are essential micronutrients. Likewise, refining rice takes away about 75% of zinc and chromium.
Weak Digestion and Poor Eating Habits
Often because of all of the above factors, people’s digestion no longer works properly. This robs the body of vital nutrients. Digestion issues make up one of the most reported health problems today. Inability to properly absorb the nutrients that remain in foods leads to lack of good nutrition. This is one reason improving the health of our gut and supporting good digestion remains the primary focus of improving nutrition.
Stress and Environmental Toxins
The result of chronic stress on the body is a sympathetic nervous system that feels out of control and doesn’t work well with the gut. Digestion no longer works well with stomach acid and enzymes being underproduced. This leads to our food becoming only partially digested and thus the nutrients are not absorbed adequately. Add to this the plethora of toxins present in the environment and we get a situation of poor nutrient value in foods, lack of proper digestion of nutrients, and ingestion of chemicals that impair our ability to absorb nutrients.
Is it any wonder that we need supplements to fill in all these gaps?
Current and ongoing research shows the clear need for supplements to get the essential micronutrients we need to remain healthy.
Things to remember and be cautious of regarding supplements
While most supplements have few or no side effects, we may experience some with some supplements. Likewise, not all supplements contain the vitamins or minerals they claim. We only offer nutritional supplements that can back up their claims based on outside testing of included nutrients. What they say is in the capsule or tincture is what’s there! Please consult with our physician here if we have any questions. If we take more than the recommended amounts, some supplements may even be harmful to our health.
Supplements are not permitted to claim to cure any illness.
It is important for we to consult our physicians who have expertise in nutrition prior to starting any supplement regimen.
REFERENCES
6 Essential Nutrients and Why our Body Needs Them https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/six-essential-nutrients
Can we get all the nutrients we need from food? https://www.phenomhpm.com/can-we-get-all-the-nutrients-we-need-from-food/
10 Excellent Reasons To Take Nutritional Supplements https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/blog/10-excellent-reasons-take-nutritional-supplements
Nourishment and Nutrient Depletion https://lynnemurfinmd.com/blog-posts/nourishment-and-nutrient-depletion/#:~:text=Crops%20are%20larger%2C%20which%20decreases%20the%20richness%20of,fully%20ripe%2C%20therefore%2C%20they%20are%20lower%20in%20phytonutrients.
