The Importance of Nutritional Supplements

The human body is made up of nutrients, not drugs or man-made chemicals. Without minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and other important nutritional building blocks, life as we know it would be impossible.

Scientists have concluded that every disease can be linked to a mineral or nutritional deficiency. Cultures with people who enjoy youthful, disease-free lives and live to be over 100 years of age are getting a diet rich in vitamins and minerals. When our bodies become nutrient-deficient, disease is the inevitable result.

It was once believed that all we had to do to maintain adequate levels of nutrients was to eat a variety of foods – including fruits and vegetables. However, times have changed and food is not what it used to be.

Our farmlands are seriously over-farmed and their soils are nutrient depleted. At best, farmers will replace a narrow spectrum of minerals back into the soil. These minerals do little to enhance the nutritional quality of the crop and merely affect appearance (marketability). Many farmers make an effort to replace nutrients by growing a crop that is not harvested but tilled back into the soil. However, if the minerals are not in the soil to begin with, they won’t be in the crop that is being worked back into the soil.

Furthermore, plants rely on soil organisms to pre-digest minerals for them. These helpful microbes are often absent, due to the condition of the soil and the destructive chemicals used in farming.

Beside the harsh chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides that our foods are contaminated with, there is a wide range of processing techniques that further alter their value as safe, healthy foods. They are subjected to high heat which destroys essential vitamins and enzymes, additives are used to help change their otherwise suspect appearance, and preservatives are added to embalm them for their long transport and potentially lengthy stay on store shelves.

A tomato grown in organic, nutrient-rich soil has a deep red to burgundy appearance on the inside, and it has a delightfully strong and pleasing flavor. A farmed, store-bought tomato often has a pink to clear appearance when cut open and lacks the rich flavor of the homegrown tomato. Even farmers understand this, and avoid foods from their fields and opt for those grown in their own personal, organic garden.

Medical doctors are now catching up with science and understanding the need to supplement with dietary supplements, due to nutritional deficiencies. A recent article in the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) announced that a vitamin supplement should be taken to help prevent chronic disease.

If nutritional deficiencies did not exist, neither would the problems associated with them. Nutritional supplements are an excellent way to ensure that you are getting the nutrients that are necessary for your health and longevity. [ Copyright © 2005 World Image Naturals, Inc. www.worldimagenaturals.com ]

Source: World Image Naturals