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The average
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Not getting the minimum amounts of vitamins, minerals and proteins - building blocks and/or catalysts - that their bodies require, is a major problem with the diet of most U.S. citizens
The first book of the Bible, Geneisis, which is common to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, speaks of the Garden of Eden, where God made "every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food."
This reference to a wide variety of food has more than just aesthetic significance.
Although most adults think of their bodies as fully grown, the individual cells that comprise their organs actually replace themselves on a daily to monthly schedule.
Our bodies manufacture 200 billion red blood cells each day, replacing all the blood in our body every 120 days. Skin is completely replaced every 1 to 3 months. It takes 90 days for old bone to be broken down and replaced by new bone.
The cells that comprise these replacement organs contain over 100,000 different proteins made up of 20 different amino acids. Food supplies us with plant and animal proteins containing the amino acids that our bodies require as the building blocks of this living tissue.
Without a daily supply of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, no matter how much energy we get in the form of calories, our bodies and minds deteriorate because we are not able to fully replace the dying cells in our internal and external organs.
Food also supplies us with certain minerals we require as building blocks to repair and regenerate our living matter. There are 14 essential minerals, some of which are required as catalysts rather than as building blocks.
Seven of these are major minerals.
Major minerals are defined as those minerals of which we need more than 100 milligrams per day-
calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. The remaining seven are called trace minerals, such as iron and zinc.
In addition to supplying proteins and minerals as building locks, food contains the 13 essential vitamins our bodies require as catalysts to convert food into energy and to convert amino acids into bodily tissue. A catalyst is a substance that must be present, tipically in a very small quantity, for a specific chemical reaction to occur. For example, without vitamin B3, which is contained in green leafy vegetables and unprocessed grains, our bodies cannot break down plant and animal proteins into basic amino acids.
It doesn't matter how much protein you eat if your body can't convert it into the building blocks of your living tissue!
When we don't get enough protein, vitamins, and minerals, our initial symptoms include mood swings, fatigue, nervousness, headaches, confusion, and muscle weakness. Over the longer term, such poor nutrition can cause cancer, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, and many other diseases that we used to just accept as part of our aging process.
The above are excerpts from Paul Pizer's book:
THE WELLNESS REVOLUTION
next:
Did economics cause the
food supply problem?
Empty Calories at the core of the food supply problem.
Economics vs. Avarice
and our
food supply problem.