Supplements—Why We Truly Need Them

What an inspiration it is to watch Olympic athletes prepare for competition and then go on to compete! I can’t help but think about their training habits and dietary programs. These are individuals who are trying to do everything correctly relative to diet and fitness regimes. They have spent much of their lives working for one or two moments of exhilarating satisfaction and have achieved amazing physical and emotional condition. Many of them spend numerous hours a day training both mentally and physically. They have perfected their diets for optimal nutrition and strength. Through open mindedness and, no doubt, a large dose of humility, they have learned exactly what it takes to make it to the top and reach their potential. All precautions are taken to avoid injury, and every base is covered to maximize grace and efficiency. I believe these champion athletes are serious enough about their health that they too see the absolute need for supplementing a healthy diet. All of us should be taking this need so seriously. If circumstances permitted an ideal food supply and an environment free of pollution and toxins, we could potentially receive all we need from the foods we eat. However, we do not live in a perfect world where all of our produce is grown in nutrient-rich soil and where we have no worry of ingesting toxic substances. We truly need the assistance extra vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids can provide.

In her book, “Stop Aging, Start Living: The Revolutionary pH Diet that Erases Wrinkles, Beautifies skin, and Makes You Feel Fantastic,” Jeannette Graf, M.D. shares the following:

Acid-Producing farming practices (especially the use of commercial fertilizers) and acid rain have demineralized our soils. As a result, today’s produce does not contain as many minerals as produce that grew just half a century ago. According to one study, today’s carrots have 75 percent less magnesium, 48 percent less calcium, 46 percent less iron, and 75 percent less copper than carrots grown fifty years ago. Conventionally grown carrots have even fewer minerals then organically grown varieties. (1)

And this information is only in regard to carrots! What else is lacking in the food we feed our bodies? This is not to discount the importance of eating produce like carrots, as they still contain extremely important nutrients like fiber, trace minerals, and many vitamins. This information is intended to help us come to a realization that supplementing our diets is more important today than ever before. In the United States, calculations for minimum daily vitamin requirements are based solely on the amount of each particular nutrient needed to avoid the associated disease of deficiency. For example, the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C is just enough to prevent scurvy, a disease of vitamin C deficiency. How much more must we ingest, then, if what we are actually seeking is to feel our very best and achieve optimal health? A 2007 USDA study revealed that 37 percent of Americans do not get enough vitamin C, 70 percent not enough vitamin E, almost 75 percent not enough zinc and 40 percent not enough iron. (2) It goes without saying that if this many Americans are not getting the minimum requirements of vitamins and minerals, then many, many more, perhaps near 100 percent, are not getting what they need to enjoy the benefits of true vitality.

Supplement needs vary among all of us because our bodies are each unique and our requirements defined by many individual factors such as age and genetics. But we have much reason to remain optimistic! Our exact needs can be determined through the use of blood tests and the examination of physical and emotional symptoms. There exists a great deal of research to suggest that supplementing a sound diet with healthy doses (usually much higher than the Recommended Daily Allowances) of high quality vitamins, macro minerals, trace minerals, essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids is a wonderful way to ensure we are supplying our bodies with what they need for health and healing. We simply need to acknowledge their importance and take the necessary action to encourage wholeness and wellness within our bodies once again.

(1) Graf, J, & Bowman, A. (2007). Stop aging, start living: the revolutionary 2-week ph diet that erases wrinkles, beautifies skin, and makes you feel fanastic. New York: Random House.

(2) Hyman, M. (2009). The Ultramind solution. New York: Scribner.