How Our Diet Is Letting Us Down

The Formula One racing circus recently reached Monte Carlo for the principality’s annual race. Australian Mark Webber won the subsequent incident-packed race after a perfect drive, but how would his car have fared if it had been filled with the wrong fuel?

The human body is just the same: it works best when filled with the correct fuel. Fill it with rubbish and it will not perform. Yet this is what most people do every day.

Figures showed in 1960 that the chances of a woman developing breast cancer were 1 in 20 and today statistics have brought this down to 1 in 8. In Great Britain alone new cases increased by twenty five percent between 1975 and 2004. The chance of contracting any form of cancer has recently been reduced to 1 in 2 from 1 in 3. In 1940 the sperm count of the average male was recorded as 100 million per millilitre, this was revised down to 50 million in 1990 and now some experts believe this figure is nearer 5 million. If the trend continues many men will be infertile within 50 years.

Diabetes is a problem too. The World Health Organization predicts the number of cases of the condition to more than double from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. Similarly, obesity cases are likely to increase from 400 million in 2005 to 700 million in 2015.

Such worrying figures have started many to wonder what it is we are doing wrong. The answer may well lie in what we eat. In 1940 a serving (180 grams or a cupful) of spinach contained 150 milligrams of iron whereas now it is nearer two milligrams.

What Are We Eating?

The reduction in nutrients is largely caused by mass production. Food is now produced in huge quantities very quickly and at the lowest cost: this means the goodness usually found in food does not accumulate. The soil also loses the nutrients we need. To improve production, fertilizers are introduced but unfortunately these simply help remove the vitamins and minerals from the ground.

Animals used in meat production fare no better. On most farms they consume less grass, relying instead on silage, hay or artificial feeds. Many are routinely dosed with steroids, antibiotics and other drugs to improve their yield and health. The charity Compassion In World Farming believes that two out of every three farm animals are now reared on factory farms.

Perhaps the saddest examples are broiler chickens grown on factory farms. Reared in cramped conditions ten percent have cancer and twenty percent are disabled. They too are given antibiotics and other drugs. The priority of economics before health means consumers have little idea what they are digesting.

Expert marketing tells us that biscuits, sweets and cakes are ‘treats’ and ready meals convenient. Consumers buy into this and so consume far too much sugar, salt and fat. This fat tends to be artificial, which is stored by the body as it is unable to process it. This, along with our less active lifestyle, explains the increases in heart disease we also experience.

The Time Is Right To Eat Healthily

The accepted recommendation for a healthy diet is five portions of fruit and vegetables a day however the World Health organization has recently suggested this should be increased to eight to fourteen portions. Some nutrition experts believe this should actually be twenty.

This higher figure would be difficult to achieve. Probably the best solution is to remove unnecessary processed food from our diet and eat more organic produce grown at home, in an allotment or from a local farm shop or farmers market. To bring the diet up to the correct level, natural dietary supplements could be used.

There is a wide choice of natural dietary supplements available but one of the best is Green Magic from Proto-col. This product is in the form of a powder, making it easier to absorb, and contains all the vitamins and minerals we require.

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How Spirulina Can Make You Healthy

The Aztec and other native American peoples were found by a soldier serving with Hernan Cortes to be eating condiment cakes made from spirulina harvested from algae on the shores of Lake Texcoco. Even earlier than that however the residents of Chad in Africa were reported using spirulina in the ninth century, the source this time was Lake Chad.

In more recent years the properties of this alga and its benefits to health and nutrition have been exciting scientists. In 1974 the United Nations World Food Conference decided that spirulina was ‘the best food for the future.’

Spirulina is amongst the most advantageous of the natural dietary supplements available. It is an extremely rich source of iron and non-animal protein and contains all the amino acids we need plus chlorophyll and beta-carotene. Spirulina also aids the digestive process by encouraging the friendly bacteria in the gut. Many strains are also concentrates of antioxidants, phytonutrients and enzymes to help the body’s processes.

Also to be found is the GLA essential fatty acid, which may stimulate growth and help improve the strength and health of skin and hair. GLA also has anti-inflammatory properties so helping to minimise the symptoms of arthritis.

Anti-Viral Properties

Further research into this most interesting of the natural dietary supplements has revealed even more benefits. An ongoing study commenced in April 1996 and conducted jointly by the Laboratory of Vital Pathogenesis, Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Institute discovered that extracts of spirulina inhibited the replication of HIV-1 (the AIDS virus) in human cells. High concentrations of the extract were needed but even these did not damage the cells. Another study in Japan announced that the Calcium-Spirulan extract they had used inhibited the operation of not only the HIV-1 virus but also the Measles virus, the Mumps virus, Human Cytomegalovirus (a cause of birth defects), Herpes Simplex and the Influenza A virus.

For a virus to do its destructive job it has to attach itself to the human cell and puncture the cell membrane. Spirulina prevents the puncturing so leaving the virus useless and exposed to the body’s natural defences.

Spirulina can also help AIDS sufferers further by increasing their body weight and combating anaemia.

Further Benefits

This amazing food has been found to inhibit some cancers and repair cells after radiotherapy. It also encourages the immune system by helping the creation of bone marrow, blood cells and stem cells among others. Children affected by anaemia and damaged bone marrow after eating radioactive fruit and vegetables in the region of Chernobyl are now given spirulina by Russian medical teams.

If this was not enough spirulina has been shown to give protection against hay fever and help in the treatment of victims of arsenic poisoning. A Mexican study carried out in 2007 also found the alga can reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.

There seems to be no doubt that spirulina is one of the most remarkable natural dietary supplements and it could even have more qualities to reveal.


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Are Dietary Supplements Worth Using?

Many supposedly objective studies on vitamin supplements tend to complicate discussions on the subject as they are too often guided by sponsorship from a vested interest. One health professional told me he had received the results of one study, which concluded vitamin C had no influence in preventing the common cold. This contradicted other research and seemed strange until the doctor noticed a manufacturer of cold remedies had sponsored the study.

Arguments against the use of supplements include the belief that all the vitamins and minerals the body needs are to be found in a healthy diet. This is absolutely true, of course, but how many people really eat a healthy balanced diet? There are even differences of opinion as to what constitutes a healthy diet. Until recently the consumption of five portions of fruit and vegetables was considered the correct diet but recently it has been suggested that eight portions might be the better number.

The situation is further complicated by environmental challenges, which change nutritional requirements. These include smoking, heavy pollution, stress and other lifestyle factors. Medical conditions can also alter the level of vitamins and minerals needed.

Most people now buy fruit and vegetables from the supermarket. Research is now starting to question the level of nutrition in many mass produced lines. Having worked for a large supermarket chain I have heard anecdotal evidence that growing, transportation and storage can adversely affect the benefits of certain lines. Much produce is grown in a controlled environment where the length of the growing day is reduced to increase the yield. As a result the vitamins and minerals expected do not have time to accumulate.

Concern has also been expressed over the possibility of vitamin poisoning or vitamin overdoses (Hypervitaminosis). Vitamin A seems to be the main culprit and is found in the livers of animals. Curiously the livers of seals, polar bears, walruses and huskies have dangerously high levels, which is now well known to the Inuit! Vitamin C should also be treated with care as excesses can lead to a laxative effect and some strains of vitamin B may have adverse affects in large quantities. Despite this, statistics show that the USA has had seventeen out of the last twenty-five years clear of any hypervitaminosis related deaths. Indeed more people die of eating laundry products! Nonetheless vitamins should be taken in moderation.

The brands of supplements available vary greatly. The coating of any tablets is one feature worthwhile understanding. Some cheap lines have a sugar coating to keep the shape of the tablet but this can cause the tablet not to dissolve at all but pass straight through the gut. There is a simple way to test for this: simply place a tablet in a glass of water and see if it dissolves.

As is so often the case the cheaper brands of supplements may not perform as well as the more expensive natural dietary supplements available. Some of these lines using natural ingredients even come in powder form so helping the absorption process.

Natural dietary supplements can be an essential aid to health but it is worthwhile researching your requirements and the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for each vitamin or even consulting a health or nutrition professional before deciding on a particular product.

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