The answer to the question, "What is missing from your food?", is fairly simple; just about everything you need to maintain optimal health and normal homeostasis. Homeo what? Homeostasis. This a term I tried to drill into my health student's heads this past year and one you should be very familiar with since what you eat is essential for maintaining it. Broadly defined, homeostasis is the state of maintaining a fluctuating balance of health within the body. If the equilibrium of normal physiological processes is not maintained, disease is the result.

There is a direct correlation with the disruption of homeostasis in the body along with the increase in many autoimmune-type diseases, and the decrease of food quality in the United States. First, the fact that we're simply eating too much junk food is obvious. This fast-paced life we lead has lead to the rise of more and more fast-food establishments and the decrease of good solid nutrition. But besides the convenience of a quick meal, our present foods simply do not contain adequate nutrition....

A preliminary report by a distinguished group of nutrition scientists, released last summer, found that most Americans weren't even close to the old requirements for some vital nutrients, such as vitamins A, C, and E; fiber; and the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Moreover, these deficiencies have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and a host of other diseases.

Where do you stand nutritionally? Here's what the general nutrition recommendations are: You should be eating at least 2 1/2 cups of vegetables of every color, two servings of fruit (two whole fruits or 4 half-cup portions of sliced fruits), 3 cups of dairy (in the form of low-fat or fat-free yogurt and/or low-fat cheese), and six 1-oz servings of whole grain products every day.

Now the bad news: even if you are doing your very best to eat well, it's simply not enough. Why? It is a fact that our fruits and vegetables contain far less amounts of nutrients and minerals than they did 50 or even 20 years ago. Due to poor farming practices, our soils are depleted of critical organic complexes, polysaccharides, vitamins and minerals as well as other naturally occurring microbes and soil-based organisms necessary to grow nutrient-rich foods.

There are arguments that farmers enrich the soil, but in fact, for many farmers the only thing they put back is NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium). This does help plants to grow, but the vital micro and macronutrients will be missing. Also, the increasing addition of toxic chemicals in the form of herbicides and pesticides all play their part in our food problem. Depleted soils are much more prone to the invasion of insects, viruses and fungi. So what do farmers do to keep them away? You guessed it! Spray your food with more chemicals! The result is, not only food that is loaded with toxins, but is also far less nutritious and healthy than it ought to be. So it appears that current farming and soil depletion play considerable roles in the state of our foods!

Well, until farming practices change and our soils are replenished with the minerals that our foods should naturally contain, we MUST supplement and supplement properly. If we do not, we absolutely will NOT be getting the nutrition needed for disease prevention and optimal health. Oh, we may survive for a time, but that quality of life will be greatly diminished and most likely will be laden with numerous health problems.

How we supplement our nutritionally lacking food is extremely important. The supplement we choose must contain nutrients that are organic, of the highest quality and are hypoallergenic. They should not contain anything synthetic nor should they contain colloidal (large) molecules, fat, cholesterol, wheat (gluten), corn, yeast, soy, dairy, eggs, nuts, caffeine, shellfish, animal products, artificial colors, flavors or additives, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, antibiotics, chemicals, binders, fillers, coatings, flow agents, starches, salicylates or stalagmites (put that last one in just to see if you're paying attention) :-) Your supplements should also not be heat-processed, which many OTC and MLM business supplements are.

Make sure you compare labels carefully and ask the experts. Get the best your body needs and deserves otherwise you are simply throwing your money away. As Dr. Drucker states, "It is better to take no supplement at all, than a poor one. There is no more important investment you can make than your health!"

Thank you once again for your time.

I look forward to our continued relationship and serving your health needs.

Until next time..

Yours in good health,

Dr. Mike