Why do we need supplements? Can't we just get everything we need from food?

It would be wonderful if it were true that we could get all the nutrients we need from our

food. In fact, this would be ideal. However, this is not the world we live in. Soils depleted

of nutrients by commercial farming and extended pesticide use has led to an alarming

loss of food nutrient content. For example, one study shows that the magnesium

content of U.S. and British vegetables and wheat has declined by 25% between 1900

and 2006. Other studies show that between 1950 and 1999 the nutrient content of many

foods declined significantly. For example, the calcium content of broccoli was reduced

by 63%, its iron content by 32%, and its phosphorus content by 13% during this same

period. Similar declines were found for other vegetables like kale and carrots and

potatoes and onions.

Partner this with our increased need for nutrients due to increased environmental toxins,

extraordinary stress levels, and the nutrient-depleting impact of many common drugs

and medications. At least 80,000 chemicals have been introduced into our environment,

and we are literally swimming in a sea of toxins. Even the umbilical cords of pre-birth

infants were found to have 287 known toxins. All these toxins must be dealt with, and

hopefully detoxified, by key nutrients and antioxidants.

These and many more factors contribute to nutrient depletion. Your body is the world’s

most amazing manufacturing plant producing tens of thousands of compounds each

second from only a handful of basic nutrients. But it needs all of these nutrients and

requires them in adequate amounts.

For optimum health, each of our 30 trillion cells needs a full deck of nutrients and if you

rely solely on the food you eat you will most likely slip into nutrient deficit for at least

several key nutrients. According to recent government statistics, 99% of the population

do not meet the requirement for potassium; 95% are too low in vitamin D; more than

80% are low in vitamin E; 70% are low in vitamin K; a full 60% are deficient in

magnesium; 50% are low in calcium and vitamin C; and 25% are low in vitamin A. As a

whole, we are overfed and undernourished, and have a shorter life expectancy than 41

other nations.