Refining food (ie turning brown into white) also strips away valuable nutrients. In wheat, for example, 25 nutrients are removed in the refining process that turns it into white flour, yet only five (iron, B1, B2, B3 and folic acid) are replaced. On average, 87% of the essential minerals zinc, chromium and manganese are also lost. Of course you can, and should, eat unrefined foods.
And we just don’t eat what our ancestors ate. A gorilla, for example, often eats more than 1,000mg of vitamin C a day, the equivalent of 22 supermarket oranges – we often eat less than a tenth of this.The result of a sub-optimum intake of nutrients is a sub-optimum state of health. Most people put up with feeling ‘all right’ – accepting the odd cold, headache or mouth ulcer and having low energy, poor digestion, depression etc as normal.
Yet there are many scientific studies published in respected medical journals which prove that increasing intake of vitamins and minerals above RDA levels can boost immunity, enhance IQ, reduce birth defects, reduce colds, improve bone density, balance moods, reduce aggression, increase energy, reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic 21st century diseases, and basically promote a long and healthy life.
Anti-ageing expert, Dr Bruce Ames, who helped put antioxidants on the map, has no doubt that common micronutrient deficiencies accelerate the ageing process, and that supplementation reverses this process. Having recognized that supplements, particularly for those over 40 will help achieve a healthier life it is important to know and understand what you are putting into your body. Some combinations of supplement can have the opposite effect to that required and the excess of some can be dangerous. Also, if you are taking medication, some supplements can alter the effectiveness of that medication.
If you already take supplements and want to know if they are right for you or if you want to supplement to avoid or help particular effects of ageing, e.g. arthritis then contact us.