Your Lawrenceville Chiropractor - Dr. Raymond Alexander

Fifty years ago a serving of broccoli was full of calcium and iron. Broccoli is still touted as being a good source of calcium. But is that still really true? Multiple studies show that the amount of nutrients in today’s fruits and vegetables, with the exception of pumpkins and carrots, has decreased significantly over the past 50 years. The amount of calcium and vitamin A in broccoli has dropped between 50-63% and iron has decreased about 34%. In fact, the nutrients found in vegetables in today’s supermarket are anywhere from 5% to 40% lower in vitamins and minerals (including magnesium, iron, calcium and zinc). There are many nutritionists who believe that the recommended intake of vegetables should increase from 5 servings to at least 10 servings a day to make up for the reduced nutritional value.

So why this steep drop in nutrients? There are several factors, primarily related to “modern” farming methods.

1.  Many of the nutrients in vegetables come from the soil. Large agricultural growers do not rotate crops or give their fields a rest period so the soil can regenerate. That leads to nutrient poor soil.
2. Foods are genetically engineered to produce larger products that grow faster but most of the larger size comes from bulk that does not contain nutrients. Also, because they grow faster they have less time to take up nutrients from the soil.
3. Use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides further rob our fruits and vegetables of nutrients.

Today, more than ever, unless you are willing to double the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat (and that’s given you are eating the types and amounts of fruits and vegetables recommended) it is vital to take nutritional supplements. But make sure you are getting your money’s and nutrients worth when you choose your supplements. There are 2 basic types: Whole food supplements and Isolate-based supplements. The best way to describe the difference is through an example. A whole food form of vitamin E will contain the entire vitamin E complex made up of hundreds of nutrients. The isolate-based form may only contain one element of the complex, for example, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate. When you look at the label of a supplement you should be able to recognize and pronounce the ingredients.

 Here’s a partial list from a whole food vs an isolate package:

Whole Food: Whey (milk) & rice protein powder, flax meal & buckwheat juice powder, calcium citrate, grape seed extract,

Isolate: Calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, potassium chloride, dl-apha tocopherol acetate, croscarmellose sodium.

So when you buy supplements let the label, not the price, be your guide. If you pay 25% less but get 75% less nutrients are you really getting a good deal? If you can’t find the quality you want and need, stop by our office anytime. We offer only the highest quality, nutrient rich whole food supplements. Don’t know exactly what you should be taking? Schedule time with Dr. Alexander for a FREE, no obligation Nutritional Consultation. Based on your discussion with him, he will be able to determine which nutritional supplements will meet your unique, individual needs. If you are interested in a full body purification, ask Dr. Alexander about our detoxification program–

Remember, our goal is 

 “Health for Your Whole Life” 

Call Laura @ 678-407-8230 at The Whole Life Health & Chiropractic Center for a copy of “Choosing the Best Supplement for Your Body and Your Health” 

Tags: broccoli, chiropractic, detoxification, nutrients, nutrition, nutritional counseling, nutritional supplements

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 7:54 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.