Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency:

Setting Up A Health Maintenance Plan

There is nothing more important in a health maintenance program than preventing a vitamin and mineral deficiency. The human body is dependent on vitamins and minerals to alleviate, or prevent, many common diseases from our past.

Remember the outbreaks of scurvy (lack of Vitamin C), rickets (lack of Vitamin D), or beriberi (lack of thiamine-B1).

All of these and many, many more preventable conditions caused physical maiming or death to thousands of people. Each and every one of those suffering could have been spared the agony with just a few simple changes to their everyday diet.

Remember, vitamins and minerals are organic compounds which our body utilizes to function properly every single moment of our entire life. With a well-laid out plan and by following through on its basic steps daily, your chances of reaching a ripe old age in good condition and better health has just been multiplied by leaps and bounds. Aging and longevity need not be a precursor to a long list of physical and mental ailments which most people assume will be their intended fate.

Although we get no energy, no calories or no sense of fullness or satiety from their ingestion, we do get the practical advantage of a regulated metabolism plus the continuous smooth operation of every single on-going bio-chemical reaction operating smoothly and efficiently every single second of every single day.

Factors Which Lead To Reduced Nutrients

Although each of the conditions above seem to be handled now in many parts of the world, without realizing it, many people are still having the problem of vitamin and mineral deficiency. Some common problem areas are:

By introducing oxygen into a product- especially during juicing- a fresh orange will lose up to 20% of its available vitamin C. If you drink orange juice from a carton, you now lose another 30%. In total, after processing and packaging, a total of 69% of the vitamin C has been lost when compared to just eating the single orange after it is peeled.
The addition of water and heat during processing destroys many of the fragile nutrients in many canned vegetables and fruits
Pollutants which are used in farming (pesticides and heavy metals), hydrocarbons which are used in industry (benzene and chloroform), and environmental pollutants (ozone and carbon monoxide) are being used at ever-increasing rates in the food industry.
Food additives which are used in the manufacture and processing of foods today have led to condition that our immune system can no longer withstand the load. This leads to increases of allergic reactions and intolerances in many people because of the inability of their digestive system to process the foods they eat.
If you routinely use alcohol in your diet, it has the capability of preventing your digestive system from capturing and releasing the nutrients into your system before they are destroyed.
If you are a cigarette smoker- every puff you take is depleting your body's stores of Vitamin C. Your body does not have the capability of manufacturing this vitamin. It is totally dependent on the amount it receives from the foods you eat.
Pharmaceutical drugs can be another nutrient robber from our on-going health. The combination of some prescription medications and supplements can actually counteract each other when used simultaneously. This is the reason it is so vitally important your doctor and pharmacist knows every one of the vitamins and minerals that you take, whether it is on a regular basis or just occasionally.
While discontinuing an exercise program is not a recommendation, you must realize continuous heavy exercise accelerates your body's need for riboflavin. After starting a supplement program, you will notice your workouts actually seem to be getting easier. This is because riboflavin will give you more strength and endurance.
Newborn infants and young children are showing an alarming lack of Vitamin D. Breastfed babies are not getting enough of this if their mother happens to be vitamin D deficient. Young children are having the same problem since currently the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending you keep a youngster out of the sunshine. (Our body manufactures our daily quota with 10-15 minutes of sunshine.)

Therefore some of the common vitamin and mineral deficiency problems which can be thwarted with just a few simple changes to your daily life are itemized below:

Vitamin A: always on guard for true health and nutrition
Vitamin B12: it fights more than just the symptoms of anemia
Vitamin C: all around miracle vitamin in a daily dose
Vitamin D: the sunshine vitamin
Vitamin E: a systemic "wonder drug"
Calcium Deficiency: more than just strong bones
Low Iron: be careful to shop around for the right kind- Ferrous Iron occurs naturally in food.
Low Potassium: it regulates the delicate chemical balance in the human body
Zinc Deficiency: a natural wonder- it is an excellent immune system booster

As we are constantly reminded, a varied diet of many fruits and vegetables, lean meats and whole grains plus beans (legumes) is our best defense against ever being diagnosed with a vitamin and mineral deficiency.

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Realizing the importance of adding a continuous supply of fresh fruits and vegetables is the first step towards better health. But be sure you follow through by implementing this program - how? - you have to eat them also!

This new ebook, Good and Easy Eats will be one great big step towards showing you the how's and why's to adding some quality recipes to your daily life - all which surprisingly do taste good.

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But remember, eating your vitamins and minerals or using supplements can also assist in eliminating the early symptoms of diabetes or many other health conditions if your intake of foods can not match your body's daily requirements.

***Check here for a true life story from a diagnosed cancer victim - now a survivor - who managed to beat the odds by utilizing a vitamin and mineral program as part of her treatment protocol. Cancer and treating vitamin deficiency together have helped her to realize her dream of a cancer-free life.

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*Disclaimer*
This site is not intended to replace the advice and supervision of your professional medical treatment plan. Although all of the information is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge, we still recommend you carefully check all food labels before consuming any food product. We can not assume any legal responsibility for any illness obtained while following the advice contained on this site.

SBI!