Okay, so you think you are doing pretty well with your diet. You prepare most of your meals at home, don't eat much junk food and aren't a fast food eater only rarely. You think vitamins are pretty much nonsense-particularly since you are eating so well-and besides, you feel pretty healthy.
Well let me rain on that parade a little.
Consider this. In order for nutritional researchers to determine the required levels of nutrients, diets must be designed of known nutrient content with a specific deficiency in the nutrient being studied. Then varying doses of the nutrient can be added to the diet to determine at what level symptoms of deficiency disappear.
In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a vitamin C-depleted real meal menu is described. The diet consists of the following choices:
Breakfast: Apple Juice, Applesauce, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, Unprocessed bran, Hominy grits, Cream of Wheat, Eggs (scrambled or hard poached), Cheddar cheese, French toast, Syrup, Yogurt (plain or strawberry), Bran muffin, Glazed doughnut, Mini bagel, Cream cheese, White toast or bread, Wheat toast, Margarine, butter, Honey, Peanut butter, Sugar substitutes, Low-fat cream cheese, Coffee (regular or decaffeinated), Tea (regular or decaffeinated), Cream, White milk (whole, 2%, or skim), Chocolate milk, Buttermilk.
Lunch: Chicken noodle soup, Cream of chicken soup, Croutons, Escalloped chicken, Pork chops, Brown gravy, Garlic herb pizza, Grilled cheese sandwich, Tuna chunks, Yogurt (plain, vanilla or blueberry), Rice royale, Black beans, Rice, Pretzels, Applesauce, Diet Jell-O?, Cookies (chocolate chip or sugar), Ice cream (vanilla or chocolate), Bread (white or wheat), Saltines, Margarine, Butter, Sour cream, Peanut butter, Mustard, Mayonnaise, Sugar substitute, Relish, Coffee (regular or decaffeinated), Tea (regular, decaffeinated or iced), Cream
Dinner: Chicken and rice soup, Cottage cheese, Croutons, Fried shrimp, Roast beef, Brown gravy, Macaroni and cheese, Cheeseburger, Chicken salad, Yogurt (plain or peach), Pinto beans, Rice, Diet Jell-O?, Vanilla ice cream, Angel food cake, Bread (white or wheat), Margarine, Butter, Peanut butter, Coffee (regular or decaffeinated), Cream, Tea (regular, decaffeinated or iced)
Evening Snacks: Peanut butter crackers, Graham crackers, Chocolate chip cookie, Popcorn, Ginger ale, Diet cola
If you review these choices you should note something familiar. They are the very foods that the majority of people now consume! By eating these foods a person will restrict vitamin C intake to less than 5 mg per day. The bare minimum RDA (Recommended Daily Alolowance) so far established for vitamin C is 90 mg per day for men and 75 mg per day for women -- and this is highly contested as being far too low. There is a huge body of research now demonstrating that humans need several hundred milligrams (some believe more than a thousand) per day to achieve optimal health.
Vitamin C is a critically important nutrient for humans since our bodies are unable to synthesize it. In the wild, fruits and vegetables would be the main source. Vitamin C bolsters the immune system and is critical to connective tissue integrity and health. In its absence, the nutritional disease scurvy occurs resulting in a sort of meltdown of the basic structure of the body. Teeth fall out, internal bleeding occurs and it can cause a miserable death. In days gone by, ancient mariners feared the disease more than capsizing. But left out to sea long enough with only bread and salted meat they were almost sure to suffer it to one degree or another
Heart disease is a leading killer in modern society. Dental disease is epidemic. Both of these conditions can be initiated or fostered by vitamin C deficiency. There presence may in fact be the very marker that vitamin C deficiency is widespread. Coronary and cerebral vessels lose their integrity leading to heart attacks and strokes, and periodontitis (gum recession, bleeding and oral infection) leads to loss of teeth, foul breath and seeding of the body's organs with pathogens.
Vitamin C is not a silly nutrient to be ignored or played with. Don't assume that because you seem healthy at the moment that chronic degenerative disease is not incubating within. In fact, if you are eating exclusively processed modern fare, you can count on it.
Convert the diet to more fresh and raw foods (See authors The Thinking Person's Master Key to Health (CD), http://wysong.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WOTTPWS&
Product_Code=EDCD21&Cate
gory_Code=EDUAIDS&Product_Count=0. Note that there were no fresh foods in the test diet. And certainly taking daily vitamin C supplements (500-1000 mg per day) is prudent insurance given that normal dietary fare is clearly vitamin C deficient.
. (Am J Clin Nutr, 1997; 65(5):1434-40.)
Dr. Wysong is a former veterinary clinician and surgeon, college instructor in human anatomy, physiology and the origin of life, inventor of numerous medical, surgical, nutritional, athletic and fitness products and devices, research director for the present company by his name and founder of the philanthropic Wysong Institute. He is author of The Creation-Evolution Controversy now in its eleventh printing, a new two volume set on philosophy for living, several books on nutrition, prevention and health for people and animals and over 15 years of monthly health newsletters. He may be contacted at wysong@wysong.net and a free subscription to his e-Health Letter is available at wysong@wysong.net
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..Eating healthy and taking care of yourself is essential to... Read More
I would like to raise a question: Is Rejuvenation possible... Read More
All of my life I believed the best way to... Read More
Increasing the fiber in your diet has been shown to:... Read More
At any grocery store in North America right now, there... Read More
They're not only good for you, but they taste good,... Read More
Is the thrill gone? Has the thrill gone out of... Read More
With new research, new products and new skin protection advice... Read More
Many people avoid avocados thinking them to be fattening, but... Read More
Nuts are readily available and provide a highly nutritious food.... Read More
Several years ago, Marilyn M. couldn't even spell fibromyalgia.Now she... Read More
I'd like to explain an important concept that most online... Read More
Evidence suggesting that alcohol is "cardio-protective" first appeared in the... Read More
Herbal teas have long been known to have medicinal benefits... Read More
DeathDeath. Why it happens? Why do we die? Why do... Read More
The most incredible thing you can do for yourself is... Read More
Detoxifying the body has become an apparent key preventative measure... Read More
Wow! Is it just me or? Wait! Let me start... Read More
Every person on earth has experienced pain at one time... Read More
It is always amazing to me when I find a... Read More
I confess: I'm completely addicted to Pringles. My determination weakens... Read More
There seems to be fairly poor tracking by any formal... Read More
Cherries?A Supercharged FruitThe little red fruit that has been enjoyed... Read More
Nutrition usually only comes up when people are finally deciding... Read More
Salt was used long before recorded history began. One of... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..Eating healthy is fast becoming a way of life. American's... Read More
Information on potassiumWhen you read about potassium and senate document... Read More
Magnesium is an important mineral that serves numerous essential functions... Read More
Coq10 is also known as Coenzyme Q10.This co q10 is... Read More
The Food Pyramid, first introduced to the US in 1992,... Read More
The story of creation begins with water. Water is an... Read More
Instead of Butter: Use top quality, cold pressed, extra virgin... Read More
Diet nutrition physiqueToday, learning about diet nutrition physique isn't all... Read More
I start from the premise that eating instinctively means eating... Read More
With so much 'diet advice' around today it is little... Read More
Finally, dieters and healthy eaters everywhere have reason to rejoice,... Read More
What is health? Everyone wants this thing called health, and... Read More
With the array of different diets and diet foods available... Read More
Fibromyalgia is a chronic and potentially life-altering disorder with symptoms... Read More
The question most people think they need an answer to... Read More
The debate regarding Fluoride continues to rage, is it good... Read More
Initially discovered as a new element in 1811 by Barnard... Read More
New studies bring to our attention that high levels of... Read More
Omega-3 appear to reduce the risk of heart attack. A... Read More
It is not a myth. Eating breakfast is an important... Read More
"It's not what you eat, it's what's eating you that... Read More
Recently I found the book : "Eating and health according... Read More
Are Your Cells Talking To Each Other?Communication! It permeates our... Read More
I am sure you have heard you have to build... Read More
You must add some fresh cherries, which are now in... Read More
Nutrition |