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 a> and a free subscription to his e-Health Letter is available at wysong@wysong.net
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..Everyone can benefit from understanding how food affects our... Read More
You must add some fresh cherries, which are now in... Read More
For those of us that understand nutrition and it's importance... Read More
Flaxseeds may be the smallest seeds you will find in... Read More
Coke, more commonly known as cocaine is a highly addictive... Read More
Lactose is the primary carbohydrate in milk. Cow's milk contains... Read More
When it comes to planning a healthy diet, fat is... Read More
I'd like to explain an important concept that most online... Read More
If you're suffering from constipation, you are no doubt looking... Read More
Enzymes are the workers in our body that make everything... Read More
Every person on earth has experienced pain at one time... Read More
Fad diets have been around for more than 50 years... Read More
The American Heart Association recommends that you eat a variety... Read More
You may have noticed an ever-expanding choice of oils at... Read More
Understanding What a Low Cholesterol Diet isBasically, in order to... Read More
Vitamin EThere has been a lot of controversy about vitamin... Read More
Dr. Christine Wood, M.D, a practicing pediatrician in Encinitas, California,... Read More
Mango is my favorite fruit next to pineapples. They're sweet,... Read More
It seems as if the health of America is failing.... Read More
Most digestive disorders develop because of the bodys inability to... Read More
In the last twenty years, a huge and growing body... Read More
The Benefits of SnackingYou may feel regretful about snacking, but... Read More
"You are what you eat."Does it sound familiar? You probably... Read More
Millions of people around the UK consume dairy products on... Read More
Acid reflux disease, or GERD, is a common compliant of... Read More
on demand house cleaning Arlington Heights ..Unfortunately, it has been proved beyond doubt that a large... Read More
Much controversy and argument surrounds the idea that food may... Read More
Are there any benefits to be obtained from drinking water... Read More
Evidence for the importance of fruit and vegetable intake to... Read More
You may have heard of the "Portfolio Diet" wherein it... Read More
How Can... Read More
Milk is highly underrated. Experts say, America finds itself in... Read More
DeathDeath. Why it happens? Why do we die? Why do... Read More
The key to better health is learning the difference between... Read More
Biological clockObviously you need biological clock to time and alarm... Read More
With all the news about Splenda of late and the... Read More
Oats (botanical name Avena sativa)An oat is a grass that... Read More
The problem with sugar is that it doesn't contain any... Read More
(ARA) - By now you probably think you've heard all... Read More
According to the National Institute of Health, Magnesium is needed... Read More
The Immune System is probably the most important system in... Read More
Do you notice your child putting off going to the... Read More
Eating right to suit your blood type" is a subject... Read More
Sprouts not only taste good, but they are also a... Read More
The old clich? that you are what you eat is... Read More
So what's all the shake up about anyway?. To put... Read More
So, what is new about this that you already don't... Read More
Some experts consider carbohydrate craving and addiction as something more... Read More
The latest tallies show that over three million people in... Read More
For decades science has been looking for the answers to... Read More
Nutrition |