The American diet doesn't benefit us - half of us will have chronic disease, and one-third of adults are obese. The problem is not that there aren't sufficient vitamin and mineral food available. Rather, it appears that a large proportion of our diet consists of poor nutrients.
In a day, we can only eat so many calories. We're eating a lot more than we need. Sugar and other nutrient-efficient diets represent a high percentage of calories. Simply put, we consume a ton of junk food.
For example, 75% of us do not eat the daily requirement of fruits, while 80% do not eat the recommended consumption of vegetables, which are two vitamin and mineral-rich categories of foods.
Yes, many basic nutrients and vitamins are missing from our diet. However, this doesn't mean we lack so much that serious effects happen. We don't get many, but most of us don't get zero either.
An example is this: scurvy is a disease that sailors used to experience on long journeys. That's because they don't consume any citrus at all. Yeah, it was quite rough being a sailor.
Scurvy is something you get for a long time when vitamin C is completely deprived. Today in America, 38 percent of us do not receive the minimum vitamin C allowance, but that doesn't mean we don't have any. You've never even heard of someone being scurvy, right?. We don't get loads of it, but we do get a bit of vitamin C.
The thing though is, these deficiencies could add up in the long-term and cause health problems. So which of these are we not getting enough on? And where can we get them?
Minerals
Magnesium and calcium are two of the things that we lack. Pumpkin seeds and spinach have high magnesium content. You will get calcium from the calcium-fortified crops, broccoli, and meats.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D takes the top spot of what we need more. An astounding 94% of us don't get the daily Vitamin D requirement. Fatty fish like mackerel, cheese, and Vitamin D fortified foods can help you get some more. Limited sunlight exposure and supplements can be good sources, too.
Vitamin E
88% of us are not having enough vitamin E. Vitamin E can be found in sunflower seeds, almonds and green leafy vegetables.
Do not forget to start from the beginning if you want to take your wellness game seriously. Our supply of minerals and vitamins may influence our health enormously.
