By David G. Arenson, Naturopath
Supplements generally have less effect compared to lifestyle choices. Always consider the big picture. For instance, if you are miserable at work, how does this affect your health? Is taking a probiotic going to make you happy in your relationship? They haven’t invented a pill to replace the simple things in life.
The most common deficiencies presenting in clinic are Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, Vitamin D, Vitamin C and E, Omega 3 Fatty Acids (ALA, EPA, DHA) and Iodine. Most people also require additional Folate and other B Vitamins, Chromium, Phosphorus, Selenium, Vitamin A, and Copper. The multivitamins you can buy off the shelf, provide very low quantities of these fundamental nutrients, or worse, exclude them entirely.
The greatest factor in the appearance of these deficiencies is dietary-related, combined with the fact that the foods we eat provide much lower nutrition than they once did, due to soil degradation and processing. Nature created whole food to be eaten as a fusion of macronutrients and micronutrients including all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants needed to absorb and digest them.
It is essential that you take enough of the nutrients to make a difference, and also essential you take them with food, away from alcohol or caffeine, or anything else that may disrupt their absorption.
In addition, what about the quality? Synthetic isolates are cheap and nasty! These chemically synthesized compounds are only absorbed in small quantities, and often come with side effects. Be wary of discount store vitamins!
A few stats that you might find helpful, particularly on mineral deficiencies, can come from results from Australia’s largest nutrition survey in 1995, the National Nutrition Survey (NNS), which found many Australians were not meeting the recommended daily intake (RDI) for several minerals. In the survey, 13,858 people from all states and territories completed a 24-hour food recall survey. Nutritional analysis of the survey found that:
- Over 25% of males and over 50% of females did not meet the RDI for calcium.
- The mean magnesium intake for men was 381 mg/day and 283 mg/day for women, which is below the RDI (420 mg/day and 320 mg/day, respectively).
- The mean zinc intake for females was 8.7 mg/day, which is below the RDI of 12mg/day, with over 75% of women aged 18-44 not receiving the RDI of zinc.
- The median iron intake for females of childbearing age (19-44 years) was 12 mg, which is below the RDI of 18 mg for menstruating women.
So why are people nutrient deficient?
1. Diet: Believe it or not, our ancestors did not bake bread, pasta and croissants, or buy fruit from supermarket shelves! Processing removes nutrition. (e.g. whole-wheat is nutritious, white flour has virtually zero nutrition, requiring vitamins and minerals as co-factors and enzymes to process and absorb). So by eating a croissant, we actually lose vital minerals and vitamins. Sugar is the worst-case scenario for the human body.
2. Lifestyle: Alcohol does not mix well with nutrition! (Alcoholics have nutritional profiles similar to starving Somalians). Stress, caffeine, poor sleep and too much work can also contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle.
3. Commercial soil is depleted: fertilizers are mainly nitrogen-based, leaving out many of the fundamental minerals like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, etc. This is why organic is best, preferably Biodynamic (where the soil is cared for).
Perhaps I need to also mention that stress literally shuts down the digestive system, hardly promoting the absorption of nutrients. Years of health abuse lead to an array of digestive complaints such as liver congestion, which also severely limit the absorption of nutrients.
In Part Two of All About Supplements, David shares with 8 factors we should consider before taking nutrient supplements and tells us what some of his favourite supplements are and how they can help us stay healthy.
