• Does The Typical America Diet Provide Sufficient Nutrients To Maintain Health?

    Posted July 25, 2013: by Bill Sardi

    The false argument is that a good diet will provide all the nutrients a healthy body needs.  But by that definition, unhealthy folks might need more, particularly senior Americans who produce less stomach acid and have difficulty absorbing vitamins and minerals from foods, anybody who take prescription drugs that deplete essential nutrients, or those who have increased need for nutrients such as smokers, pregnant mothers, athletes diabetics and individuals with unusual levels of stress.

    Don’t forget the National Institutes of Health 5-A-Day fruits and vegetables recommendation fell flat on its face and the government didn’t have the guts to admit that in the open and later opted for a still-to-be-proven 9-13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which is largely unachievable (that is 3-4 servings of plant foods per meal!).

    Another false argument asserts multivitamins that provide the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamins and minerals are sufficient to maintain health and avert deficiencies.  But the RDA is only theoretically sufficient for totally healthy individuals who again have little stress, take no nutrient-depleting drugs, have no bad health habits, etc.

    For the record, even the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)concedes many Americans do not consume adequate amounts of essential vitamins and minerals.  Millions of Americans do not have adequate intake of essential nutrients by estimation of the USDA itself.  You can check on this fact for yourself by clicking onto the USDA Agriculture Research Service, Human Nutrition fact page, or visualize the USDA chart below.

    The claim that the American overly-processed (fast-food) diet is sufficient to meet the nutrient needs of most Americans is false, based upon government agency-provided data.  ©2013 Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc.

    US Department of Agriculture Adequate Nutrient Intake Data

    Source: US Dept. Agriculture

    NUTRIENT


    (* see notes below)

    % US population with ADEQUATE intake

    % US population with INADEQUATE intake
    (number of Americans based on population of 314 million)

    Vitamin A

    46.0%

    54.0% (169 million)

    Vitamin C*

    58.0%

    42.0% (131 million)

    Vitamin E

    13.6%

    86.4% (271 million)

    Vitamin B1* (thiamin)

    81.6%

    18.4%  (57 million)

    Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

    89.1%

    10.9%  (34 million)

    Vitamin B3 (niacin)

    87.2%

    12.8%  (40 million)

    Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

    73.9%

    26.1%  (82 million)

    Vitamin B9 (folic acid)

    59.7%

    40.3% (126 million)

    Vitamin B12* (cobalamin)

    79.7%

    20.3%  (63 million)

    Magnesium

    43.0%

    57.0% (179 million)

    Iron*

    89.5%

    10.5%  (33 million)

    Selenium

    91.5%

      8.5%  (26 million)

    Zinc*

    70.8%

    29.2%  (91 million)

    Copper*

    84.2%

    15.8%  (50 million)

    Calcium*

    30.9%

    69.1% (217 million)

    Potassium

    7.6%

    92.4% (290 million)

    Based upon the “Average Requirement.”  Nutrient intakes are for individuals 2 year old and over, who completed Day-1 intakes for the 1999-2000, the 2001-2002, and the 2003-2004 WWEIA/NHANES.

    NOTES-
    Vitamin C
    : Virtually no one except supplement users maintain adequate vitamin C levels due to rapid excretion of this water soluble vitamin; requires repeated doses throughout the day for optimal blood concentration (500 mg 5X/day)

    Vitamin B1 (thiamin): indicates intake only; refined sugars, alcohol, coffee, tea, drugs block absorption.  Massively larger numbers are deficient.

    Vitamin B12 (cobalamin): supplementation often resolves symptoms of fatigue and neuritis (tingling, numbness) even when blood levels are adequate, indicating commonly-occurring blood concentration (reference range) is not adequate and therapeutic doses (above RDA) are required.

    Iron: anemic individuals are largely comprised of young menstruating females.  Some individuals with chronic inflammation, infection or malignancy.

    Zinc: Various medications (diuretics, estrogen, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors) deplete zinc.  This mineral is often poorly absorbed due to lack of stomach acid (52% of Americans have H pylori infection that inhibits secretion of stomach acid).  Larger numbers are deficient than estimated above.

     

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.