It is well-known that the incidence of chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease is on the increase. All of these are linked to something called metabolic syndrome. Something else that shows this increasing trend is auto-immune diseases, where the body attacks itself.
Obesity seems to play an important role in the increase in chronic diseases. There are various theories to explain this increase. In my opinion it has to do with what we eat, as Dr Zoe Harcombe says “I don’t think obesity is a disease. I think it’s a natural response to an unnatural diet.” This unnatural diet is one lacking in the crucial nutrients our bodies need.
People often say that they follow a healthy diet and don’t need to supplement as their diet is sufficient for their nutritional needs. BUT, research has shown that whilst there has been great advances in crop yields over the past 100 years, the nutritional content of crops has actually declined. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157516302113
It is ironic that nowadays (in the Western world, at least) we have more food than ever, but that the available food is worth a lot less in terms of nutritional content: 10-25% less iron, zinc, protein, calcium, vitamin C and other nutrients.
This paper ( https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/44/1/article-p15.xml ) confirms this decrease in nutrient value: “Contemporaneous analyses of modern versus old crop varieties grown side-by-side, and archived samples, show lower mineral concentrations in varieties bred for higher yields where increased carbohydrate is not accompanied by proportional increases in minerals.” What this means in practice is that one has to eat much more in order to maintain the amount of minerals ingested. And that clearly doesn’t help with the obesity epidemic.
Furthermore, the paper states that “The benefits of increased yield to supply food for expanding populations outweigh small nutrient dilution effects addressed by eating the recommended daily servings of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.”
I am unconvinced by this argument. The increase in crop yields may produce more food, but people will need to eat more to be able to obtain sufficient nutrition from the food they eat. The published recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals are sufficient to support a notional 50% of the population who are healthy, but the other 50% of the population will need a higher intake. Given the high incidence of chronic diseases it is likely that even more than 50% of the population will need to supplement their diets to ensure an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals for a healthy life.
In addition to the decrease in nutritional content, the use of GMOs and pesticides are also compromising the quality of the food we eat (http://www.ewg.org/key-issues/food/gmo-foods). Indeed, this may also be contributing to the rise in chronic and autoimmune diseases.
Using the building blocks provided by the protein we eat in combination with vitamins and minerals, the body has the ability to repair itself. Unfortunately, various substances in the environment may interfere with the body’s ability to heal itself, often due to free radical damage of the DNA structure inside the cell. Antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables neutralise the effect of these free radicals and help the body to protect itself against the effects of free radicals.
For all of this to happen, the body needs a combination of both macro- and micronutrients from the diet. These macro- and micronutrients must come from real food. In the case of poor health, supplementation may increase the availability of micronutrients to support nutrition at the cellular level.
Whole food nutritional supplements tend to be significantly more expensive than synthetic versions, especially if they are made from organic, pharmaceutical grade, whole food sources:
- organic, as that means it is uncontaminated by pesticides
- pharmaceutical grade, as often food supplements don’t contain the amount of nutrient stated on the label
- whole food, as the bio-availability of synthetic nutritional supplements is significantly lower than whole food supplements
I take Neolife whole food supplements for the three reasons listed above – at least I know my body will recognise the contents as “food” and won’t just eliminate it without minimal absorption.