You know the oft-quoted saying ' As long as you eat a well-balanced diet you get all the vitamins you need'. This is actually the greatest lie in nutrition today. Why? Because every single survey conducted in Britain over the last decade shows that the British population (even those who say that they eat a well balanced diet) fail to eat anything like the Recommended Daily Amounts (RDAs) of vitamins and minerals.
The shortfall is not minor. For example, the average daily intake of zinc in the UK population is 7.6mg - half the RDA of 15mg. With the possible exception of niacin (vitamin B3) and calcium, the average intakes of all remaining nutrients fail to meet the RDA levels, designed to protect against vitamin deficiency disease. If most people fail to take in these basic levels of the majority of nutrients, what are the chances that your diet is giving you at least the RDA of every single nutrient? Probably less than one in a hundred.
RDA levels are set by government-appointed groups of scientists, based on how much of a nutrient is needed to prevent serious vitamin deficiency diseases such as scurvy (vitamin C), beriberi (B1) or pellagra (B3). Surprisingly, health authorities cannot agree on how much this amount should be, as shown by the fact that RDAs vary by as much as ten times from one country to another.
Many nutrition experts now consider RDAs to be considerably below the level of intake consistent with optimal health. Over the past 20 years RDA levels have gradually drifted upwards as the importance of optimum nutrition has increasingly been recognised. The National Food Council, which sets the RDAs for the USA, says that RDA levels are 'not necessarily optimal'. The EC's Scientific Committee for Food recognises that 'some nutrients have extra health benefits at intakes very much higher than those needed to prevent recognised deficiency signs. The Committee considers the evidence insufficient at present to justify making quantitative recommendations in this regard, but the results are awaited with interest.'
Described by Dr. Stephen Davies, Founder of the British Society for Nutritional Medicine, as 'Ridiculous Dietary Arbitraries', RDAs are at best the minimal intake for a 'normal' person who doesn't smoke or drink, isn't sufferring an illness or infection, pre-menstrual or menopausal or exposed to excessive strains or pollution. In short, they are relatively meaningless if you are seeking better health through nutrition rather than simply trying to avoid getting scurvy.
Consider vitamins C and E, which have been extensively researched due to their role in prevention of cancers and cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies have indicated that an intake of vitamin E above 400iu offers maximum protection against these types of illness.
In a Cambridge University study in which 2000 heart disease patients were given 400iu of vitamin E there was a massive 75% reduction in the incidence of heart attack when compared to the placebo group. The RDA for vitamin E is only 10iu…
In a large survey in the US, analysed by Dr. Enstrom and Dr. Pauling, significant reductions in overall mortality and mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease were reported in those who supplemented vitamins E and C. Using the Cornell Medical Index, which is a general health questionnaire, Dr. Cheraskin found the highest health rating among doctors whose vitamin C intake was above 400mg a day. Yet the RDA for vitamin C is only 60 mg…
In my opinion the weight of current scientific research already shows that an intake of vitamins above RDA levels enhances resistance to infection, improves intellectual performance and reduces the risks of birth defects as well as certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. This view is shared by Dr. Godfrey Oakley from the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, who states in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled 'Eat Right and Take a Multivitamin', that 'the current evidence suggests that people who take supplements and their children are healthier.'
So how do we achieve these levels? From food? Consider the following: the SONA (Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowance) for vitamin C is 400mg a day. An orange may provide between 0mg and 180mg, the average being around 60mg. Yes, its true. Some supermarket oranges have spent so long in transit that they contain no vitamin C! The SONA for vitamin E is 400iu. A 100g serving of wheatgerm provides anywhere between 3.2iu and 21iu. The SONA for vitamin A is 3300iu. A large carrot can provide from 70 to 18500iu. Even if you ate 10 oranges, 300g of wheatgerm and 10 carrots a day you couldn't guarantee achieving these intakes. Why?
Firstly food isn't what it used to be. Fruit and vegetables are only as good as the soil they are grown in. Comparative analyses of foods show a marked decrease in mineral levels in food grown in 1991 compared to food grown in 1939. Modern farming robs the soil of nutrients and doesn't replace them. Food manufacturers are the greatest vitamin robbers. Refining flour, rice and sugar removes more than 77% of its zinc, chromium and manganese…
This article comprises excerpts from Patrick Holford's book Supplements for Superhealth.
To order this book ring 020 8871 2949
You can visit Patrick Holford's website at www.patrickholford.com
