Keeping in the vein of balanced nutrition from my previous blogs, what happens when you don’t have balance in the nutrients your body requires daily? The most common symptoms are fatigue, muscle cramps, overall weakness, brain fog, constipation, rashes, numbness and others.
The most common nutrient deficiencies are calcium, vitamin D3, potassium, iron, B12, folate, magnesium, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acid. Most Americans are deficient in multiple nutrients. Eighty percent are deficient in magnesium. Fifty to eighty percent are deficient in vitamin D3 (depends on the latitude you live more than anything else). A vitamin B12 deficiency mimics Alzheimer’s disease.
You might think that you take a multivitamin and you are safe. Many times, the ‘vitamin’ you are taking is next to worthless. Calcium, for example, is typically calcium carbonate. It is extremely difficult to absorb in this form. Yet, it is the most common form of calcium in supplements. Vitamin E is eight different compounds. Typically, a multivitamin contains one compound and it is usually synthetic. Again, this is worthless for your nutritional need.
After selecting the right foods to eat, the next most important thing is to chew your food thoroughly. Your saliva mixes with the crushed food and prepares it to be better absorbed in your stomach. Yet, most of us don’t chew our food properly. The absorptive ability of our digestive tract is challenged by vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
We hear that we need calcium for strong bones. However, calcium requires magnesium for absorption in the stomach. You need vitamin D3 to get calcium into your bloodstream. Then you need vitamin K2 to get the calcium into your bones. If you are deficient in any of these nutrients the calcium ends up in the toilet on attached to your heart valves and arteries.
Food is the best place to get the nutrients you need. Select organic when it available. Nutrient deficiency over time can lead to other serious diseases.