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Tuesday, 30 November 2010

'Five Per Day' is probably NOT enough!

There is a big public awareness health campaign within the UK centred around getting '5 per day', ie, 5 servings of fruit or vegetable per day.  However, recent research has suggetsed that may not be enough!  Some estimates put the receommendation as high as 12 or 13 servings per day!

This is because modern methods of farming (depleted soil, picking the fruit or vegetable too early, etc) reduce the overall amounts of vitamins and minerals within fruits and vegetables.  Add to this cold storage transportation and the amount of time produce sits on the shelves and it's no wonder that the amount of nutrients in these fruits and vegetables is reduced.

This phenominon is not limited to the U.K. either! 

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS, recently wrote,

"Goals were created back in 2000 by the Health Department and other agencies for fruit and vegetable consumption and now nearing the end of 2010 they look certain to be missed.  The National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance (NFVA) found that very few Americans meet the daily recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption.

Some progress has been made, but some has also been lost.  This is a chronic public health issue. 



Only 6% of individuals achieve their recommended target for vegetables and only 8% achieved the target for fruit per day.  See both charts below.

It is not surprising that 8 states who have the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption are also in the top 10 for states with the highest obesity rates"



Ironically, I think some of this has to do with those fearing that fruit makes them fat and that it contains sugars and we can't eat any type of sugar.

Obviously what has been attempted in regards to promotion and marketing has been at least falling short at worst not been working at all. 

Getting enough vitamins and minerals is paramount, especially since including fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet is likely to reduce the risk of chronic diseases including stroke, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.  They may also help control weight since they are low in calories and high in fiber.

In 2008 obesity related health care costs totaled an estimated $147 billion which was 10% of all medical spending in the United States.

Even if you are one of the 8% that is actually meeting the daily suggested intake of fruits and vegetables I am willing to bet that you are not eating a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to consume all the different vitamins and minerals.

This is why even doctors and other medical organizations are recommending a quality daily multivitamin supplement.  This is a major public health issue and it seems to not be getting any better so the least you can do is take a quality whole food based multivitamin every day so that you consume quality vitamins and minerals that you are not receiving from your current food intake.

Then of course start working on increasing your daily fruit and vegetable consumption.
Natures Sunshine Super Supplemental can help fill the void. One tablet contains: -

  • Vitamin A.........1,000µg......125
  • Vitamin C...........125mg......208
  • Vitamin D............2.7µg.......54
  • Vitamin E..............8mg......182
  • Vitamin B1............6mg......429
  • Vitamin B2...........4.7mg......294
  • Niacin..................15mg........83
  • Vitamin B6.............7mg.......360
  • Folic acid............. .85µg........42
  • Vitamin B12...........25µg....2500
  • Biotin................... 79µg........53
  • Pantothenic acid... 34mg......569
  • Calcium..............105mg........13
  • Iron.....................7.5mg.......54
  • Phosphorus.......... 66mg.........8
  • Iodine...................50µg........34
  • Magnesium.........100mg........34
  • Zinc.....................7.5mg........50
  • Selenium.............. 25µg
  • Copper................0.5mg
  • Manganese.........0.75mg
  • Chromium..............25µg
Other ingredients include choline, inositol and PABA. All of this is contained in a base of alfalfa herb, asparagus powder, barley grass juice, broccoli powder, cabbage powder, hesperidin, lemon bioflavonoids, rutin, rose hips, wheat germ and kelp.

This is a perfect start for you to increase the nutrients you need so desperately from fruits and veggies. Get started today by clicking either link below.
Super Supplemental Vitamins & Minerals

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