The Importance of Supplements: Why Diet Isn't Enough

I used to believe that we should be able to get all of our body’s nutrients from a well balanced and varied diet. Well, I got schooled on that cute sentiment while learning about nutrition.

I wish, we could get all our necessary vitamins and minerals from the food we eat, but that ship sailed along time ago.

We lose 1% of our top soil and its nutrients annually.

This is a resource that is not renewable, once it’s gone its gone. Soil erosion is just one factor in the depletion of nutrients in our food and we can thank monoculture, pesticide/fungicide and pollution for that.

Unfortunately, our food today is significantly less nutritious.

2 Billion people worldwide suffer from nutrient depletion despite consuming enough calories.

Iron deficiency is the top nutritional deficiency and 1 in 3 people are zinc deficient, both deficiencies are directly related to soil depletion.

To obtain the nutrients of an orange in the 1950s would be the equivalent of 21 of todays oranges.

There is a quarter of calcium in broccoli today versus in the 1950s and there used to be Vitamin A in potatoes but not any more.

Modern life has most people under more stress, with less down time and more processed foods in our diets.

A healthy well balanced, varied, plant based diet is fundamental, supplements are just good insurance.

People under chronic stress use up more: Vitamin A, E, C, All of the B Vitamins, Zinc, Selenium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium and Sulfur.

Those who have mental health issues need more Vitamin C, all of the B Vitamins, Iodine, and Zinc.

Drinking alcohol can use up Vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, folic acid and B12, Zinc, and Magnesium.

It is a good idea to include a high quality multi vitamin/mineral supplement every day just to make sure you are providing all the nutrients your body needs.

Every person is very different and will require different supplementation but a multi vitamin/mineral is a good place to start.

If you want more information on what other supplements may be helpful to you please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, I am happy to help.

Sarah

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