The Standard American Diet Is S.A.D.
You probably already know that what you put into your mouth makes a difference in your health. But what are the right choices? There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Many advertisers and well meaning authors would have us “live to eat,” encouraging poor food choices. The Standard American Diet is truly SAD. Too many times we reach for packaged, convenience or fast foods with little to no nutritional value.
Studies clearly prove that people are not getting even the minimum daily requirements from the foods they eat. This is the result of commercial agriculture, livestock raising practices, food storage, processing, preserving methods, plus the fact that our food choices are being controlled more and more by “Madison Avenue” advertising executives and that old demon “Temptation.”
When whole wheat is processed into white flour, for example, 65 to 85% of the natural B vitamins are removed, most of the minerals are destroyed – including 59% of the magnesium and 72% of the zinc, plus a significant amount of other natural vitamins, minerals, fiber and essential fatty acids are lost. All in all, an appalling 26 essential nutrients are taken out. (“Essential” means you can’t live without them and you can only get them through your diet.) And, after they take out most of the essential nutrients, the commercial food industry puts back a couple of cents worth of synthetic vitamin B1, B2, niacin, iron and calcium and calls the bread “enriched.” What nonsense!
The consumption of whole grains, vegetables and other complex carbohydrates has declined dramatically during the 20th century, while the use of foods and beverages that are high in calories, but nutritionally devoid, has greatly increased. Today, two-thirds of the American diet is made up of non-nutritive fats and refined sugars. Statistics show the following changes in the percentages of foods we eat:
As you can see we’ve let our craving for sweets and non-nutritive foods get out of hand. Our combined consumption of sugar and fats has doubled in the past century and our complex carbohydrate choices are now less than half of what they once were. Unfortunately, there’s a painful correlation between these statistics and the increase of degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
And, if this isn’t bad enough, many of our choices actually have a negative side effect on our overall nutrient levels. Consider these few examples:
- Milk with synthetic vitamin D robs your body of magnesium.
- A high consumption of refined sugars depletes the body of the B vitamins necessary for alleviating stress and for decreasing PMS.
- Caffeine (coffee, colas, tea, etc.) robs the body of B vitamins.
- One cigarette will destroy 25 mg. of vitamin C.
- Alcoholic beverages cause a depletion of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 and folic acid, plus vitamin C, vitamin K, zinc, magnesium and potassium.
- Prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines can impair absorption, increase excretion or decrease nutrient utilization. Aspirin, for example, impairs utilization of vitamin C and folic acid.
- Laxatives and mineral oils deplete fat-soluble vitamins A, E and D from the body.
- Birth control pills interfere with the availability of vitamins B6, B12, folic acid and vitamin C.
EATING TO LIVE
As you can see, we have a few things to overcome in order to live a buoyant, vibrant, healthy life. Start by focusing, on the overall picture. Here are my recommended eating guidelines:
Choose, whenever possible, organic whole grains, fruits, vegetables, “clean” (organically raised and free ranging) poultry, meats and fresh fish. When you use nutritional supplements make sure they’re mostly whole food in origin and, preferably, from the human food chain.
Eating to live can be fun and rewarding. Take a step in the right direction and soon it can turn into a healthy habit. As you start to feel better, look better and have more energy, it becomes easier and easier to make the right choices. And, it pays off in healthy dividends. After all, your life is worth it, isn’t it?
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Note: The information contained on this website is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.
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