Do We Really Need Vitamin And Mineral Supplementation?

I believe the answer is a resounding, YES! A study from the American Medical Association shows that vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the American population could be a factor in many chronic diseases. Even our government has stated, that due to soil depletion, our fruits and vegetables are lacking in sufficient levels of vitamins and minerals. Therefore, all adults should take a vitamin and mineral supplement. Many doctors and nutritional health experts have made the statement that all vitamins are not created equal. There are many inexpensive vitamins on the market that are taken in one small tablet, just once a day. If you study these, you will see that the nutrient count is very small, and they are generally created using synthetic material, binders and fillers. Our bodies were not designed to break down these materials. It's pretty typical to find that you get what you pay for. Millions of dollars are spent almost daily on nutritional supplements here in the U.S. Therefore, if you're going to take the time and spend good money, it's best to try and purchase high quality products. We have taken the time to educate ourselves about the quality and health enhancing effects of supplementation and know how life changing it can be. Please, don't misunderstand. It is still very important to eat an array of colorful fruits and vegetables every day. Whole foods should be our main source of nourishment and supplements are meant to compliment them and take up the slack. This is important, because natural foods contain many different nutrients and enzymes that haven't even been discovered or recognized yet, and may very well assist in the synergistic effect and absorption rate. Our bodies produce thousands of free radicals every day. In addition to this onslaught, we live in a toxic environment, endure high stress, and make bad food choices. All of these take a toll on our bodies ability to thrive. Supplementation simply gives us additional nutrients to remain healthy and assists our immune system in reversing the damaging affects of modern life. Processed and fast food products: Processed food products are beautifully boxed, canned, and packaged to entice the consumer. They are at our fingertips in grocery stores, quickie marts, gas stations and just about everywhere else. These fake foods are widely promoted to appeal to our senses. And the large add campaigns make them appear to look good, smell good, taste good. We're led to believe they are safe for human consumption and we all eat them almost every day (well, almost all of us). Ever heard of the term overfed and unde ourished? Research has proven that through the manufacturing process many vital nutrients are lost. With the addition of added ingredients to make them more palatable and have longer shelf life (Hydrogenated oils, trans-fats, monosodium glutamate/msg, sodium nitrate, aspartame, etc.), processed food can become problematic to our health. Fast foods Fast food restaurants are everywhere. Most of us eat these foods and this is okay on occasion, but many people eat the majority of their meals from fast food restaurants. If you do this long enough you're headed for ill health. Some fast food chains are adding healthier items to their menus and this will continue as we the consumers keep demanding more healthy foods, but of course that really isn't the solution to good health. As we stated above, eating processed and fast food can be okay on occasion. But do to the lack of quality nutrients it doesn't take long before signs of nutritional deficiencies begin to show via declining health. Eating as close to what God has provided for us is imperative. Eating good clean select meats (without hormones and antibiotics), plenty of colorful fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds will put you on the right tract for good health. Adding good quality nutritional supplements to take up the slack will certainly be additionally beneficial. There are a lot of great products on the market to supplement your nutritional needs! We really don't have to spend our lives overfed & unde ourished!