You ask yourself: “I eat a fairly decent diet. Why do I need to take supplements too?”
The answer is simple: our food supply is not what it once was. Despite the vibrant colors you may see in the produce section in the grocery store, today’s “fresh” produce is far less nutritious than what it was just decades ago:
-
Supplements can address a wide range of health issues – from immune support, to brain support with Omega 3s, digestive support with enzymes, and much, much more.
To get the iron that was available in one cup of spinach in 1945, you would have to consume 65 cups today.
- An orange that contained 50 mg of natural vitamin C complex in 1950 now contains 5 mg. (1)
“We are producing less nutritious food at the highest cost in history while United States farmers are going bankrupt.” (2)
Large scale farming methods, deforestation, water depletion, the overuse of fungicides and pesticides, and all of the toxins and chemicals we absorb daily are all contributing to the unfortunate reality that is a declining nutrient content in our foods.
Incorrect Farming Methods
“When plants are repeatedly grown on the same land, the soil loses nutrients faster than they can be replaced. Over time, the plants have fewer nutrients to grow. Fertilizer contains just enough nutrition for the plant to survive until harvesting, but not enough to support human health. This results in plants that have 75% fewer micronutrients. (“Not On The Label“, p213.) In addition, most plants are not harvested fresh. They sit on trucks, shelves, and counters for weeks before being eaten. Over time, the nutrient content of these plants decreases.
Most modern fruits and vegetables are grown to increase their sugar content, not their nutrient value. As a result, most of the common fruits and vegetables are artificially high in fructose and sugar and lower in key nutrients.” (3)
Deforestation
While deforestation is not the exact cause of our nutritionally dense food, it has contributed to the decline in soil quality over the centuries. Many scientists agree that it takes centuries, sometimes even thousands of years for one inch of topsoil to form. Nonetheless, the USDA has come up with a default position that soil forms at a rate of 1 inch per 30 years. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Information Office, “In the USA, soil has recently been eroded at 17 times the rate at which it forms: about 90% of U.S. cropland is currently losing soil above the sustainable rate.” (4)
The Europeans who settled the United States in the 1700s found 18 to 25 inches of rich topsoil. Today, topsoils in Iowa that were once a foot deep are now less than 6 inches deep. The causes of topsoil loss include ploughing too deeply, failing to rotate crops and grazing too many animals on the land. (1)
Water Depletion
“Water is also depleted of minerals due to modern production methods. There is a huge variation in the mineral content of bottled and tap water, with tap water generally having more. Water filters remove important minerals such as magnesium, which was a main source of magnesium for early humans. If you don’t use a filter and you don’t have a well, it’s likely you’re consuming dangerous amounts of fluoride and/or are deficient in magnesium. This could explain why people who drink water higher in calcium than magnesium develop more myocardial infarcts and ischemic heart disease.” (3)
Fluoride is another hot topic in the water quality debate. The U.S. Public Health Service endorsed water fluoridation in 1950 with little evidence of its safety. Dr. Paul Connett details extensively the political, ethical, toxicological and epidemiological scientific data behind drinking fluoridated water. Little do most people know but fluoride in water is linked to lower IQ in children, increased incidence of bone cancer in teenage boys, increased incidence of bone faractures and thyroid gland dysfunction. (5)
Overuse of Fungicides and Pesticides
With farming having become a high-tech industry, the introduction of fungicides and pesticides has grown substantially in the last century. Get in the back of any John Deere tractor, check out the label on the fungicide or pesticide bottle and you’ll probably read something like this:
“Use extreme caution – do not inhale – use in well-ventilated areas – do not allow any contact with skin and hair – do not dispose of near water – keep away from livestock and feed – may cause blindness or death if taken internally – read all instructions carefully – federal law requires application in accordance with label data.” (6)
According to Professor David Pimental, Department of Entomology at Cornell University, pesticide production from 1945 to 1990 increased a dramatic 3,300%. In the same time period crop loss due to insect damage increased 20%. This is because insects are mutating so as to be able to live on these poisons. Pesticide residues can be found in plants grown in soil previously sprayed years before. (1)
You would think that increasing the amounts of pesticides stops crop damage, but it actually increases it!
Toxins and Chemicals
Pesticides on the produce you buy at the store, formaldehyde and acetates on the nail polish you use, pharmaceuticals you ingest, fluoride and chlorine in the tap water you shower with and drink, mercury in the fish you eat, Bisphenol A (known as a xenoestrogen that interferes with your endocrine system) in every plastic you use, cigarette smoke (even second-hand smoke), phthalates in your cosmetics, and the list goes on and on.
There are approximately 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that hundreds of these chemicals are present in our bodies. Research has shown that many of these chemicals can disrupt our immune, endocrine, nervous, and reproductive systems. (7)
But guess what?!
By scheduling a health evaluation at The Spring Center for Natural Medicine, we can use Nutrition Response Testing to determining exactly what kind of supplements your body needs to address whatever health issues you are experiencing. Call us at 512-445-7373 or email us at TheSpringATX@gmail.com to make an appointment.
NOTES
1. Back to the Basics of Human Health: Avoiding the fads, trends and bold-faced lies by Mary Frost
2. Jensen, Bernard, D.C., Ph.D., and Mark Anderson, Empty Harvest: Understanding the Link Between Our Food, Our Immunity, and Our Planet (Garden City Park: Avery Publishing Group, 1990), 14.
3. Why You Need Supplements, Bulleproof: The State of High Performance. https://www.bulletproofexec.com/why-you-need-supplements/
4. www.weru.ksu.edu [Wind Erosion Research Unit]
5. The Case Against Fluoride How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There, Paul Connett, James Beck, Spedding Micklem
6. Empty Harvest, Jensen and Anderson, pg. 57
7. 1 Degree of Change, The Standard Process 21-Day Purification Program Cookbook, Georgia Nab, DC, ACN