Proper nutritional, vitamin, and mineral balance in the body
is critical for optimum health and the prevention of disease, something the
scientific community has just recently acknowledged. Over the years I have
read many texts, books, manuals, articles, and research papers with wonderful
information concerning the benefits of nutrition and the health risks of
improper nutritional balance. The unfortunate thing is that while most
people think that this information is new due to the recent endorsement of
nutrition by the mainstream scientific community, most of this information has
been around for decades., The following are excerpts from some of the
sources I have read throughout my educational career. I hope that you find
something of value in what I have found and continue to search for in the
pursuit of knowledge.
The human body is composed of between 80
and 100 trillion cells.
Approximately1 billion cells per hour
must be replaced...24 billion cells per day which require all the known
elements of nutrition.
A section of skin the size of a quarter
(1/20 of an inch thick contains:
a. 36 inches of blood vessels
b. 144 inches (4 yards) of nerves
c. 1300 nerve cells
d. 100 sweat glands
e. over 3 million cells
Each of the 100 trillion cells of the
human body contains, in each cell, 300 to 800 power plants called
mitochondria. Each mitochondrion in liver cells contains approximately
5 thousand respiratory units.
Circulating through 70,000 miles of blood
vessels are 30 trillion red blood cells. A normal, healthy human
produces 15 million red blood cells per second to replace the same number
that expire each second; a turnover of 900 million red blood cells per hour.
Truly amazing.
The human body is composed of over 1,600
types of protein and these 1,600 types of protein are made up of different
numbers of combinations on approximately 22 amino acids which are the
building blocks of protein.
Biomedical Critique, Vol. 1, No., 5, December 1980 Top
What Is A
Vitamin? A group of organic substances that are indispensable for the maintenance of
health, normal metabolism, growth, and development of the body. Vitamins
are not sources of energy, do not contribute significantly to the substance of
the body, and are effective in minute quantities. They act principally as
regulators of metabolic processes and play a role in energy transformations,
usually acting as coenzymes in enzymatic systems. Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, p.2139 Top
Not All Supplements are Created Equal - Check the Quality of Your Vitamins As far back as 1941, Dr. Agnes Fay Morgan, Ph.D., food research scientist at
the University of California, reported in Science, 93, 261-262, that
animals on a synthetic vitamin enriched diet: "Dropped dead long before the
animals on an un-enriched diet became disabled." She remarked at that
time that such phony enrichment might: "Precipitate conditions worse than the
original deficiency."
In his writings, Dr. Royal Lee ways
that...synthetic vitamins seem to be dangerous. Irradiated Ergo sterol
(D2), the first synthetic vitamin to be widely marketed, is now known to be
extremely dangerous. It has fatally poisoned children in doses smaller
than those recommended for treatment of rickets. (JAMA, p. 1209,
4/26)
Another authority, Howard H. Hilleman, M.A.,
Ph.D., School of Science, Oregon State College, author of Maternal
Malnutrition and Congenital Deformity presented March 17, 1958, gave
support to Dr. Lee in stating: "Excess vitamin D in the newborn and young can
cause death with metastatic calcification and the synthetic forms are
more dangerous than the natural forms of D." Biomedical Critique, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1982 Top
Why Your Diet Isn't Enough
Nutritionally (In a report to the Senate in 1936, it was found that the soils of America
were depleted of the necessary nutrients to sustain life due to mass agriculture
and poor crop rotation. It is unlikely that over the years the situation
has improved. This is a portion of the Senate Report.)
During a food-science convention in Dallas,
Texas, about 1958, the late William Albrecht, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of
Agronomy, Department of Soils, University of Missouri, reported then:
"Over 40 years ago, worldwide samples of soils were studied and established an
average viable protein output of 12%; the minimum necessary for animal and human
health being 25% viable protein. In the United States the samples averaged
not 25%, not 12%, but 6%." During the late 1960's or early-to-mid 1970's,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture released figures which indicated the average
U.S. soil had a viable protein factor of 1 1/2% to 3%.
Printed in the Congressional Record, 74th
Congress, 2nd Session, Senate, June 5, 1936, Senator Fletcher presented the
following excerpts:
"Many backward children are 'stupid'
merely because they are deficient in magnesium. We punish them for our
failure to feed them properly."
"Dr. Sherman of Columbia asserts that 50%
of the American people are starving for calcium. A recent article in
the JAMA stated that out of 4,000 cases in a New York hospital, only
2 were not suffering from a lack of calcium (1936)". Biomedical
Critique, Vol. 5, No. 6, September 1984 Top
Nutritional Deficiencies
Increasing Over Time In 1981, a report from the University of Florida revealed some startling
facts. It stated that in the year 1929, the average, young American male
adult produced approximately 100 million sperm cells per milliliter of semen.
In 1973, 44 years later, the average sperm count had dropped to 60 million/ml.
Then seven years later in the 1980, the average count was down to 20 million/ml.
Incredible! Biomedical Critique, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1982 Top
RDA - Recommended Daily Allowance RDA refers to "the level of intake of essential nutrients that, on the basis
of scientific knowledge, are judged by the Food and Nutrition Board to be
adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy persons"
(481-p, 1). (This is an extremely vague and unclear definition.)
Consider...the following data on nutrient
intake for women. It has been found that
78% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for calcium;
95% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for iron;
96% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for zinc;
55% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for vitamin A;
76% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for vitamin E;
44% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for vitamin C;
94% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for vitamin B6; and
96% consume
less than 100% of the RDA for folic acid (302a), David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain,
Inflammation, and Tissue Healing
(p. 122-123) Top
Fatty Acids Alpha-linolenic acid is commonly found in chloroplasts of green leaves and
in some plant oils including flaxseed oil and canola oil. It is unlikely
that we efficiently convert alpha-linolenic acid into EPA/DHA. Humans have
probably always depended on foods that contain preformed EPA/DHA. Our
hunter-gatherer ancestors easily obtained sufficient amounts of EPA/DHA from fat
in wild game (these animals consume green plants and grasses), which contained
9% EPA. Unfortunately, the domestic livestock that we consume today
contains almost undetectable amounts of EPA. Because domestic livestock is
a main dietary staple, our current fatty acid intake pattern has been
dramatically altered from that to which humans have adapted over thousands of
years. To approach the fatty acid intake pattern of our ancestors, we must
obtain our EPA/DHA from fish and/or from supplements.
David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain, Inflammation,
and Tissue Healing
(p. 122-123) Top
Nutritional
Physiology of Muscle Twitches and Spasms
"The irritability of the nervous system largely depends upon
a proper ratio of Na (sodium), K (potassium), and Ca (?calcium) ions; a lack of
Ca or increase in K increases the irritability.
"Deprived of Mg (magnesium) for a few days...animals
become highly irritable and thrown into convulsions of the slightest
disturbance...Mg has an anesthetic effect on many animals. (Balanced with
ionizable Ca...Mg has a sedative or relaxant effect on humans.)
"When plasma calcium is decreased 50%, the irritability of
the neuromuscular system increases so that twitching and tetany of skeletal
muscles set in. Passage of nerve impulses across the synapse or myoneural
junction depends upon proper Ca." Textbook of Physiology, Zoethout and Tuttle, pg.
433-435 Top
Calcium --
Too much? "The fact that we need daily calcium, and the fact that many people are low
in calcium, are givens, but there are many misconceptions about how to add
calcium to our diets. Supplements can be helpful in supplying extra
calcium, with the operative word being 'extra'. It is highly important to
derive the majority of our calcium from our diet, and it is wise to boost that
intake with quality, highly absorbable calcium when intake is falling short of
needs. Thinking that supplements can take the place of the calcium we need
from our diet can cause a problem. For instance, 'Absorption of calcium is
a little bit tricky. If a body overdoes calcium intake, perhaps by
overdosing on calcium supplements, the body will absorb less calcium from the
food it eats' (The Calcium Information Center, 1997 from 'Non-Dairy: Something
to Moo About, Inc.'). There appears to be good evidence that 'Too much of
a good thing...' is not ideal."
"For instance: Too much calcium,
especially from a non-soluble/non-0absorbable source, can be responsible for
kidney stones, bone spurs, urinary calculi, suppressed bone remodeling and
mineral imbalances., In a study conducted in a group of men and women
(aged 21-69 years), researchers measured the acute effect of a 600 mg calcium
supplement on zinc absorption from a single test meal supplying 7.3 mg zinc.
Zinc absorption was reduced significantly by 50% when the calcium supplement was
given with the meal (Wood RJ, Zheng JJ)."
"High dietary calcium intakes reduce zinc
absorption and balance in humans. (Am J Clin Nutr 1997 Jun;65 (6):
1803-1809.) High intakes of calcium can inhibit iron absorption if both
are present in the same meal. (Whiting SJ. The inhibitory effect of
dietary calcium on iron bioavailability: a cause for concern? Nutr Rev 1995 Mar;
53 (3): 77-80)"
"Good advice for calcium intake: Derive
the majority of calcium requirements from the diet. There are many dietary
sources of calcium, especially dark green vegetables. Collards (one cup)
contain contain 289 mg calcium, broccoli (one cup) contains 138 mg calcium, and
mackerel (e ounces canned/bones) contains 263 mg calcium. Almonds and
sesame seeds also contain calcium."
"Reduce the intake of substances that deplete
or offset calcium ratios, i.e. salt, soda pop, caffeine, chronic oxalate
ingestion, etc."
"The average intake of calcium is around
800-900 mg. a day, and a supplement would supply up to another 400 mg or so,
depending on individuality, gender, age, pregnancy, etc. Researchers have
correlated results of the nutritional surveys with results of the bone density
readings and concluded that "a difference in teenage calcium intake of 400
mg/day (from 800-1200 mg) can increase adult bone density by six percent"
(Nieves, J Ph.D. et.al., Helen Hayes Hospital Regional Bone Center, Havenstraw,
New York - 1995)."
"Choose a high quality source of absorbable
calcium, guaranteed to be free of metals, toxins, residues, etc. that has been
formulated with synergistic ingredients to facilitate utilization. Some of
these ingredients include: vitamin D, vitamin C, magnesium, and HCl."
"Upper limits: Calcium intake should not
exceed 2500 mg a day, even when the calcium is derived from diet alone." Dr. Lynn Toohey, Nutri West Newsletter Top
Inflammation
"Inflammation is the term given to describe the biological response to what
occurs as a result of tissue injury. Microbial infections, physical agents
such as trauma, chemicals (i.e. toxins and caustic substances), necrotic tissue
and all types of immunologic reactions can initiate the inflammatory process
(92-p. 40)."
"Without inflammation, tissue healing could
not take place. In fact, based upon the abo e description, perhaps it
would be best to describe the body's response to injury as the healing process
rather than the inflammatory process. In this manner, instead of trying to
treat inflammation [which implies that it is a bad process], our treatment
approach would be to assist in the healing process, which mandates that we help
the body to resolve the acute inflammatory reaction before it passes into a
state of chronic inflammation."
"It is chronic inflammation that is always
destructive to tissues and is equated with disease (92). Based upon this
information, it seems appropriate that we should view acute inflammation as part
of the healing process, and that chronic inflammation should be viewed as a
disease." David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain,
Inflammation, and Tissue Healing"
(p. 36) Top
Diet and
Inflammation "Without the initial release of the chemical mediators
of inflammation, the inflammatory process would not occur and healing would not
take place. At the other end of the spectrum, if the release of the
chemical mediators does not resolve, then inflammation will rage on and become
chronic...the end result will be persistent nociceptor depolarization,
pathological tissue fibrosis and chronic pain."
"In 1992, I suggested that the term
"pro-inflammatory state" should be used to describe the general biochemical
state, resulting from dietary habits that predispose the body to produce
excessive chemical irritants (402). Such a state could initiate and/or
perpetuate inflammation and chronic pain. Several factors appear to be
involved. Primarily, the problem appears to begin with a diet that
contains excessive amounts of meat and desserts, and deficient qusantities of
vegetables and fruits. Over an unspecified time period, this imbalance may
lead to increased tissue acidity, inadequate potassium intake, inadequate
magnesium intake, free radical production, and fatty acid imbalances, all of
which can promote inflammation and create a pro-inflammatory state."
David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain, Inflammation,
and Tissue Healing"
(p. 65) Top
Cardiovascular Disease
"Over 5 years ago, Ross made it clear that atherosclerosis
was driven by inflammation. He focused on how pro-inflammatory cytokines,
growth factors, free radicals and eicosanoids would be able to initiate and
perpetuate atherogenesis (780). Ross describes atherosclerosis as a
disease process that is preceded and accompanied by inflammation, and in its
advanced stages represents an excessive inflammatory-fibroproliferative response
to many different insults (780). For additional evidence to demonstrate
that atherosclerosis is an inflammatory condition, one only needs to consider
that aspirin, an anti-inflammatory drug, is used in the treatment and prevention
of heart disease (773). In fact, atherosclerotic heart disease is commonly
viewed as an undesirable inflammatory response of the arteries (788)."
David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain, Inflammation,
and Tissue Healing"
(p. 36) Top
Cancer "Many papers have been published in recent years which explain that a fruit
and vegetable-rich diet can offer protection against, and help treat, chronic
diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension and other medical
conditions (538, 560, 590, 652, 600, 772, 816, 838). All of these chronic
diseases are typically viewed as being inflammatory in nature. In other
words, local inflammatory processes play a significant role in promoting these
diseases. Leslie views most of these diseases as 'undesirable inflammatory
responses' (700). Heart disease and cancer are the best examples of
pro-inflammatory diseases."
"It has become so common place to view heart
disease and cancer as pro-inflammatory, even standard pathology books take this
position. For example, regarding the pathogenesis of stomach cancer:
"Acute gastritis
is an acute mucosal inflammatory process, usually transient in
nature...Chronic gastritis is defined as the presence of chronic mucosal
inflammatory changes leading to mucosal atrophy and epithelial
metaplasia, usually in the absence of eosins. The epithelial
changes may become dysplastic and constitute a background for the
development of carcinoma." (93-p. 770-771)"
David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain, Inflammation,
and Tissue Healing"
(p. 66) Top
Arthritis
"In 1991, the results of a clinical trial demonstrated that a
dietary focus on vegetables and fruits could dramatically reduce inflammation
and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (237). In part, the
researchers originally set out to test the utility of a vegetarian diet and then
realized that many of their subjects needed to switch to a lactovegetarian diet
to insure nutritional adequacy. The study revealed that a vegetarian-based
diet markedly improved all arthritis indices tested including the number of
tender and swollen joints, Ritchie's articular index, pain score, duration of
morning stiffness, grip strength, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive
protein, WBC count, and a health assessment questionnaire. These benefits
were present after one year (237)."
David R. Seaman, D.C., M.S., DABCN "Clinical Nutrition for Pain, Inflammation,
and Tissue Healing"
(p. 65-66) Top
