
Do I really need supplements?
Before we start looking at the potential need for supplements, let’s look at nutritional deficiencies in general Factor 1This results from either eating foods that do not contain adequate nutrition or food that leaches certain nutrients from the body. An example of a food that leaches nutrients would be refined foods such as sugar. For your body to convert sugar into energy, it needs magnesium as a co-factor. Since refined foods have been stripped of this nutrient, your own body’s reserves of magnesium are used to facilitate the chemical process. In the long run, you become magnesium deficient. Factor 2Our soil is over-used, and modern farming techniques reduce the quality of the soil itself. As a result, the fruit and vegetables we eat today have far fewer vitamins and minerals than they did only 50 years ago. Here is a chart showing how some of the nutrients have become deficient. The table shows the differences in the calcium and magnesium content of various fruit andVegetables in 1999 compared to the same foods back in 1963: What does this mean? What this essentially means is that if your granny ate an orange to get the benefit of the Vitamin C to increase the immune system, then we now need to eat about 6 oranges to get that same quality and quantity of the Vitamin C. This is one of the reasons why supplementation has become so important. Factor 3Fruit and vegetables are picked green to extend their shelf life. Since fruits and vegetables are often grown far from your dinner table, they are picked green, so they don’t rot on the way to your table. Why does that matter? Look at the difference in the amount of vitamin C contained in three common fruits when they are harvested early, compared to when they are allowed to ripen on the tree. Comparison of Vitamin C levels of Green and Vine ripened fruit: What accounts for these differences?When fruits and vegetables are picked early, they haven’t fully developed some of the nutrients, and they lose their supply of nutrients prematurely. This means these foods contain fewer vitamins and