Almost 80% of Americans do not receive the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables that would provide critical vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy diet. A study done by the National Cancer Institute and the department of Agriculture reported that 40% of Americans do not eat a single fruit, and 20% have no vegetables each day. Nearly 45% of Americans ate no vegetable other than potatoes, beans, or salad. You can also use top multivitamin for bodybuilding.
Ongoing scientific research confirms that consuming inadequate levels of some vitamins may increase the risk of developing chronic diseases. For example, low levels of folate and vitamins B6 and B12 are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, colon and breast cancers. Inadequate levels of vitamin D may lead to osteoporosis and fractures, and insufficient levels of vitamins A, C, and E may increase the risk for several chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Most Americans do not receive enough of all vitamins from their diet alone. "Fruits and vegetables are the primary dietary source of many vitamins, and health experts have long recommended at least five daily servings.
A recent survey showed that only 20% to 30% of the population meets this goal," (Fletcher & Fairfield, 3128). Approximately one out of three Americans consumes multivitamins, and hopefully this number will increase as a result of the AMA's recommendation.
Can you get all the essential nutrients your body needs in your diet? Quite simply, the answer is no. Even if we consume the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day, there are factors, which prevent us from getting the necessary nutritional values of essential nutrients.
It is a well-recognized fact that the "standard American diet" is a nutritional train wreck. To make matters worse, our food loses nutrient value for many reasons from the time it is harvested to the time it reaches the table. For instance, in order for agri-business to get foods to the marketplace quickly, there are many cases of early harvesting that can deplete nutrient values up to 25%.
The transporting of foods can remove a similar amount, and long-term storage can remove up to 50% of the foods nutrient value. The freezing of foods can remove nutritional value, and excessive cooking can deplete up to 50% of the remaining nutrients. The nutrient losses for processed or over-refined foods can be as high as 95%.
Making matters worse, your diet can put your body under additional physiological stress because of the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.
Unless you are buying organic, the foods in your market are loaded with pesticide and herbicide residue, artificial flavors, colors, and a whole bunch of chemicals that you don't want to put into your body. These toxins create a stress on the body that requires more nutrients. However, our food supply is nearly depleted of nutrients because of processing and the soil conditions.
