Who Cares about Vegetables?
The National Academy of
Sciences (NAS), the FDA and the USDA consider vegetables one of the primary
dietary sources of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (non-vitamin,
non-mineral nutrients derived from plants). Why? Because optimal levels of
vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients are necessary to prevent cancer, heart
disease, neurological disease, and diabetes to name only a few. In other
words, those in science and medicine agree that humans need the nutrients
contained in vegetables and some fruits for proper nutrition and good
health. In fact, nutrient deficiencies are considered by many physicians and
scientists to be one of the primary causes of disease today. Because of
this, the current USDA recommendation is to eat 3-5 servings of vegetables
and 2-4 servings of fruit per day.
The Sad News about Vegetables and
Vitamins
YOU DO NOT EAT enough
vegetables and high-nutrient fruits. How do I know this even if I don’t know
you? Consider these facts:
I.) Most
Americans do not achieve even the minimum 5 per day servings of produce.
The current recommendations for veggie/fruit intake are 5-9 per day. A
pickle, lettuce leaf, onion ring and ketchup on your burger DO NOT count as
4 servings of vegetables! Commercial fruit juice counts toward little but
sugar intake because enzymes, fiber and vitamins are destroyed during
processing. A side of french fries or onion rings with your burger don't
constitute a serving of nutrient-dense vegetable due to their high trans fat
content and the fact that nutrients are destroyed during high-heat cooking.
Further, for reason stated in #2 (below), even if you DO get 5-9 legitimate
servings of vegetables per day, this current recommendation is almost surely
NOT enough.
II.)
Commercially grown vegetables and fruits today do not contain as many
nutrients as before. According to Institute of Nutrition, recent studies
of more than a dozen fruits and vegetables demonstrate a decrease in the
nutrient value of most, and in some cases the drop is drastic. For instance,
the Vitamin A content in apples has dropped from 90 mg to 53mg. Vitamin C in
sweet peppers has decreased from 128mg to 89mg. This is why many at the NAS
think the 5-9 servings recommendation should be doubled. (Math help: this
updated recommendation would equal 10-18 servings per day of vegetables and
fruits).
III.) Storing
and/or cooking destroy many nutrients, rendering them "less" than a
serving of the recommended daily dose.
Vitamins, minerals and
phytonutrients ("plant nutrients" including bioflavonoids, carotenoids,
proanthocyanidins, etc.) are crucial to good health, yet even a "good"
Standard American Diet (SAD) does not contain enough of these nutrients to
meet the proven standards that prevent disease. Further, surveys show that
most Americans do not obtain the lower recommendation of 5 servings per day,
let alone the upper recommendation of 9 servings per day. Nutritional
Supplementation appears both valuable and necessary in achieving the proven
health-protective doses of nutrients.
Dr. Myatt's Comment:
While the USDA, FDA and commercial agri-business assure us that vegetables
and fruits are as healthy as ever, the USDA's own records show a plummeting
level of nutrients since the 1960's. All the while, medical science keeps
stacking up new studies that demonstrate the disease-preventing effects of
optimal doses of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Still, you'll read
propaganda that assures you that you don’t need supplements because you can
obtain everything you need from "a good diet." (And you probably could
get everything you need from diet IF you ate 5-9 servings of produce that
was home-grown and eaten fresh, meat that was grass-fed without antibiotics
and hormones, and dairy from same). But that's not the reality of the
American diet. Perhaps that is why, in spite spending more money on
healthcare than any country in the world, the US ranks only 24th in life
expectancy.
All unsupported claims to
the contrary, nutritional supplementation with vitamins, minerals and
phytonutrients appears to be the safest, surest and least expensive way to
stay healthy and reverse disease.
Here is what I
personally take and recommend to others to help achieve optimal daily
nutrition:
Maxi Multi multi vitamin,
mineral and trace mineral supplement with optimal does of nutrients
(the levels shown in studies to prevent disease), not minimal doses.
AND
Maxi Greens high potency
multiple green food supplement in capsules
AND/OR
GreensFirst , a powdered, great-tasting green food supplement
that has the equivalent of 10 servings of veggies in one refreshing drink.
(The taste is so good you can even get kids to take it)!
And here's a handy tip from Wellness Club member JoAnne, who dries out her
empty water bottles, adds a serving of GreensFirst and takes the bottles to
work. For a quick pick-me-up, she just adds water and shakes!
______________________
References
5 a day guide
http://www.5aday.gov/what/index.html
USDA
http://www.usda.gov
Veggies w/out
Vitamins
http://www.soilandhealth.org/06clipfile/0601.LEMag/LE%20Magazine,%20March%202001%20-%20Report%20Vegetables%20Without%20Vitamins.htm
Drop in minerals
concerns organic community
http://www.newstarget.com/016626.html
Organic consumer
association
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ofgu/vegies121205.cfm
New Study Shows Decreasing Nutrient Value of Certain Fruits and
Vegetables – An Increasing Need for Multivitamin and Mineral Complex
Supplements
http://www.prwebdirect.com/releases/2006/2/prweb340975.htm
Population Life Expectancy
http://www.geohive.com/charts/pop_lifespan.php
