The Looming Vitamin Crisis

You and I are facing a critical vitamin and mineral shortage.
This health crisis has been growing at an alarming rate since
the early 1900′s. Of particular concern are folks on weight loss
diets – especially low carb diets.

As a partial result, nutritionally driven chronic diseases have
reached epidemic proportions. About 95% of people over 40 will
suffer from one or more of these chronic diseases by the time
they reach retirement. Diseases such as cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, dementia, vision loss – to name a few. That’s 95
people out of every 100.

For decades the medical community poo-poo’d the nutrition
“fanatics” when they mentioned the importance of vitamins and
minerals as a basis of our vital health.

Then, a real shocker.

In the June 19, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American
Medical Association they announced: “Suboptimal intake of
vitamins should be seen as a risk factor for chronic disease,
especially in the elderly.”

This tells us that today our food contains MUCH LESS nutrition
and yet our needs for vitamins and minerals are MUCH GREATER
than ever before in human history.

You’ll discover, in this article, how this can be possible. And
some simple steps you must take to protect yourself and your
loved ones.

PLANTS ARE THE SOLE SOURCE OF ALL VITAMINS AND MINERALS FOR
EVERY LIVING CREATURE. Even animals that eat nothing but meat -
the vitamins came from somewhere down the food-chain – from an
animal or fish that eats plants.

PLANTS CREATE BODY-READY VITAMINS AND MINERALS FROM NUTRIENTS IN
THE SOIL. The richer the soil, the more vitamins and minerals
are packed into the plants. On the other hand, vegetables grown
in poor soil will have far lower levels of vitamins and minerals.

AND THE SOILS ARE BECOMING SAND – DEPLETING AT A VERY RAPID
RATE. Commercial farming really started to expand as the ability
to transport the produce to new markets increased – trains, then
trucks. This was a boon for consumers. Now they didn’t have to
grow their own vegetables. And they could enjoy produce that was
either out-of-season or wasn’t able to grow in their area.

As commercial growers keep using the same fields year after
year, the soils keep losing their rich nutrients. And, as soils
deplete, so does the vitamin and mineral content of the
vegetables grown in that soil.

Chemical companies have come to their aid by providing chemicals
that will force the plants to grow in poor soil.

A couple problems with this.

The vegetables look great but contain far less vitamins and
minerals they once did. They also absorb some of these
chemicals. Now our body needs even more vitamins to deactivate
these toxins.

The vegetables we consume today give us far less nutrients than
100 years ago – yet create the need for more. A double whammy.

Genetic engineers have created vegetables that are more disease
resistant, that grow faster, are more visually attractive, and
are easier to harvest. For example: a new tomato was developed
for growers primarily to take a 5-mile-per-hour impact from the
faster picking machines. Tough skin tomatoes – you’ve probably
had some. Nothing is being done to increase the nutrient levels
of the plants – or to enrich the soil.

Some vegetables and most fruits you buy in the store are picked
before they’re ripe, and often chemically treated so they ripen
on the way to the grocer’s shelf. This gives the produce a lot
longer shelf life – less waste. As you probably know, produce
picked at it’s ripe peak contain maximum nutrients – but spoil
quickly. Vine ripened, fresh produce can be quite unprofitable
for the grower and grocer.

On top of all this, consider the higher levels of air and water
pollution, lower oxygen levels in the air we breath, and our
fast paced, fast food societies of today. You can easily see
that our wonderfully created bodies are being taxed to the max -
and need more protection than ever before.

WHAT DO WE DO TODAY?

1. Make fresh, whole fruits, vegetables, and grains a larger
part of your daily diet. These are the absolute best quality
vitamins and minerals you can buy. Eat them raw, uncooked as
much as possible. If necessary, cook slowly at low heat to keep
the nutrients at the highest possible levels. Simply put – the
less processing the better. Most people do not eat even the
minimum recommended amounts, yet we all need much more than that
today.

2. Look for organically grown produce at your grocery store or
health food store. Generally this produce will contain the much
higher levels of nutrients – as they did a century ago – without
the chemicals. They cost more but you get a LOT MORE nutrients
and much more succulent flavor than commercially grown produce.

3. Grow some of your own produce – in a yard garden, patio pots,
or inside the home in window pots. It’s fun, very easy,
decorative, puts oxygen in the air and the taste and nutrition
is just tons better than store-bought.

4. No matter how perfect our diet, we ALL need to invest in a
GOOD vitamin supplement today. Even nutrition experts, who eat
an “ideal” diet, take vitamin supplements. A good vitamin will
require you to take 3 large tablets or six medium size tablets
or capsules per day minimum. Anything less is a waste of money.

You’ll find good quality vitamin supplements at most reputable
vitamin or health food stores. Best bet – buy online for the
best price and selection of high quality vitamin supplements.

Financially speaking, this is a critical part of our retirement
program. If we don’t have good health at retirement, nothing
else will matter. Vitamin supplements are, by far, the cheapest
health insurance and wisest retirement plan we can invest in.

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