We can no longer get all our nutrients from food

As much as I don’t want to believe it, I just don’t think it is possible anymore. The vast majority of us can no longer get all of our nutrients from food alone. 

The exception may be those who are following a strictly raw, vegan diet that is mostly home-grown. But there are challenges even with that. 

The world we live in today has made it extremely difficult to be healthy by simply eating food. Many of the foods available in grocery stores are not actually foods. They are some weird combination of random chemicals, gums, emulsifiers, preservatives, and dyes. They are foods your great-grandma wouldn’t recognize - or know what to do with. Go-gurt anyone?

I like to call them Franken-Foods.

That has a fun, yet very unsettling sound to it doesn’t it? Eek.

The shift in our food system started with the Industrial Revolution but was fast-tracked during this recent pandemic. 

One of the things we have learned from taking a closer look at people who contracted the C19 virus and those who had severe reactions to it is that the current state of health in each of those individuals played a major role in the outcome.

Now that we are three years out from the heart of it all, we seem to be learning new information every day. Especially, it seems, we keep learning of different nutrient deficiencies in those with severe cases or that have passed away. 

First, it was glutathione, which is the master antioxidant of the body and one that is coincidentally, also being used in alternative cancer protocols.

Then, it was vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin”. 

Yesterday, I read an article that those who were hospitalized from the virus had low vitamin C levels.

The obvious question here is why is no one talking about this. It would appear that correcting these deficiencies would help to prevent serious outcomes. Supplements have lower risks than most drugs (when they come from whole food and are not synthetically created in a lab), cost less, and are easily accessible. Why are we not talking about this?

The other question I have is are we all just nutrient deficient?

My guess is yes, we are all deficient in at least one nutrient. It turns out, these seemingly minor nutrient deficiencies can have a major impact on some very serious conditions, besides C19.

Check out the following information from Optimal Health Systems founder and lead nutritionist, Douglas Grant, on the topic:

A 2022 report produced by the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) has detailed how tens of thousands of lives—and hundreds of billions of dollars—could be saved by simply expanding the use of the most-needed nutritional supplements.

According to the report, millions of medical incidents would be avoided, and millions of hours of lost labor would be saved, by targeting the common chronic conditions that plague the United States.

The savings would be realized over an eight-year period ending in 2030.

The chronic conditions identified by CRN include: Coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, age-related macular degeneration, cognitive decline, irritable bowel syndrome, and childhood developmental disorders.

It should be noted that the Council for Responsible Nutrition is a trade association for the nutritional supplement industry. Because of this, the report is unlikely to be widely acknowledged by mainstream media; however, the report was created using government statistics on disease prevalence and established data on the nutrients that affect different health conditions.

For example, world health organizations have known since the 1970s that Vitamin A supplementation was hugely beneficial to saving the lives of children. In 2011 researchers estimated that 600,000 lives would be saved with the additional distribution of this single nutrient.

Another pivotal nutrient is Zinc. According to UNICEF, Zinc deficiency affects 1.2 billion people worldwide. The United Nations has labeled Zinc a “life-saving commodity” and says that increased access to the vital nutrient could prevent more than 200,000 deaths annually.

An ounce of prevention

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 75% of America’s healthcare spending is for people with chronic conditions.

The U.S. invests less than 3% of total healthcare expenditures on preventive care services, so the report offered evidence that the use of certain nutritional supplements by specific populations could reduce the medical costs associated with these prevalent diseases. This would include both direct and indirect costs associated with the diseases.

Put another way, since supplementing is inexpensive compared to medical treatment, a little more expenditure upfront can prevent substantial expenditures later—in direct medical costs, lost lives, and millions of lost hours of work.

The full title of the report is, “Supplements to Savings: U.S. Health Care Cost Savings from the Targeted Use of Dietary Supplements, 2022–2030.” The report was investigated and written by the research firm Frost & Sullivan.

Here is a partial list of the chronic conditions the researchers examined, along with the relevant nutrients needed to treat the diseases nutritionally:

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

The clinical literature indicates that the relative risk reduction of CAD events with the use of Vitamin K2 was 15.7 percent. This means an estimated 274,933 CAD events could be avoided, resulting in $8.86 billion in savings. In addition, the CAD reduction for use of magnesium supplements is 5.34 percent. This means that magnesium supplementation could prevent 93,349 CAD events resulting in $3 billion in healthcare savings.

According to the authors of the study, the inclusion of other critical nutrients such as Omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fiber would result in additional savings. If an entire supplement regimen was undertaken by every at-risk CAD candidate, the total savings could be as high as $85 billion through the year 2030.

Osteoporosis

For osteoporosis, the researchers projected that if high-risk populations took calcium and Vitamin D at preventive intake levels, 361,507 avoidable medical events would be prevented. After adjusting for the number of high-risk Americans already taking these supplements, the U.S. could realize a whopping $155.41 billion in new savings.

Cognitive Decline

If the population at high risk of cognitive decline were to supplement with vitamins B6, B9, and B12 at preventive intake levels, 270,642 avoidable medical events would be prevented. 

This would result in a net savings of $97.64 billion in savings during the next seven years, after adjusting for the number already supplementing.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

If high-risk populations for IBS were to take probiotics at preventive intake levels, over 397 million hours of missed work would be prevented, the authors said, or $110.22 billion in net savings. Adjusted for current supplement usage, the additional savings would equate to $94.83 billion.

According to the report, other conditions that would benefit greatly from supplementation included childhood cognitive development and macular degeneration.

Full details on the report, along with a downloadable PDF, can be found on the CRN Foundation website here.

If you’re looking for a way to identify any deficiencies you may have, blood testing is the best option. I can help you with that! Click here to schedule your FREE 30-minute Discovery Call to learn more!