Did you know that the U.S. government has been issuing official warnings about the vitamin & mineral content of our food supply since 1936? The U.S. Senate Document #264, published by the 2nd session of the 74th Congress in 1936 stated the following:
“Most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come are brought [back] into proper mineral balance. Foods, fruits, vegetables and grains that are now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain needed minerals, are starving us – no matter how much of these foods we eat. Leading authorities state that 99% of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in disease. Any upset of the balance or any considerable lack of one or another element, however microscopic, causes problems and we sicken, suffer, and shorten our lives. Lacking vitamins, the system can make some use of minerals; but lacking minerals, vitamins are useless.”
In an effort to make up for the lack of nutrient content found in foods grown as monocrops on large plots of mineral-depleted soil, fortification (the addition of synthetic vitamins and minerals into processed foods like flour, bread, cereal, and milk) has become commonplace. Synthetic iodine was added to sodium chloride (refined table salt) to prevent goiter, synthetic folic acid was added to bread and cereal to prevent cleft palate, synthetic vitamin D was added to milk and non-dairy milk substitutes like almond milk and soy milk to prevent rickets, and calcium was added to some brands of orange juice and breakfast items such as frozen waffles for the prevention of osteoporosis.
Now scientists and many nutrition experts know that these synthetic vitamins and minerals that have been added to our foods may actually be doing more harm than good. Our bodies simply do not recognize synthetic nutrients to be able to utilize them properly; synthetic nutrients are instead viewed as foreign invaders that must be attacked. If these foreign invaders are not appropriately digested and eliminated from the body we may be at an increased risk for developing viral and bacterial infections, Lyme’s disease, or even cancer.
Most (if not all) of the vitamin and mineral supplements sold at drug stores, discount superstores, grocery stores, and even natural foods stores are made from synthetic vitamins. Those “organic” breakfast cereals, gluten-free breads, boxes of almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, etc. that are sold at premium prices in health food stores all contain synthetic vitamins as well. So how can you be sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs for optimal health AND avoid the side effects caused by taking in synthetic nutrients?
Fortunately there ARE vitamin and mineral supplements available that are made solely from 100% organic raw foods. You can click here to read more about how one company that does this actually produces their supplements from real food. To purchase vitamin and mineral supplements made from real food (and not synthetically produced in a lab), simply visit the Holistic Chinese Herbs Store or PaleoCleanse. I make it a point to only recommend top-of-the-line products that are helpful — not harmful — to your health. That means no synthetic ingredients, no gluten, no dyes, and other “usual suspects” found on the labels of most store-bought supplement brands.
Do you use a multivitamin, herbal product, or other type of nutritional supplement? Is it made from food-based nutrients or is it synthetically produced? Do you purchase fortified foods? What are your thoughts after reading this article? Please post your comments below!
