Wellness.MA
Wellness.Massachusetts

Why Supplement?

Because You Care About Quality of Life…

Supplementation Helps to Correct Nutrient Deficiencies

• Modern diets are devoid of adequate daily nutritional requirements.
• Nutrient deficiencies make us prone to infections, obesity and disease.
• Supplementation helps to overcome the negative effects of poor eating habits.
  

Supplementation Helps to Replenish What’s Missing in Food

• Depleted soils, pesticides and refining processes lower nutrient content in food.
• Processing, transporting and storing foods reduces nutrient content even further.
• Supplementing with high quality plant enzymes, whole food vitamins and chelated minerals can help to replace the vital nutrients your body needs.

Supplementation Helps to Combat Environmental Stress

• Inadequate chemical disposal and environmental waste increase health stress.
• Chemically treated food can lead to disease and premature aging.
• Increased electromagnetic fields (e.g. microwaves, cellular phones, computers, etc.) can weaken the immune system.
• Supplementation with antioxidants gives you the ammunition to fight back.

Supplementation Helps to Fulfill 21st Century Lifestyle Nutritional Needs

• The rigors of stress compromise bodily function and can deplete vital nutrients.
• The use of oral contraceptives, heavy exercise, alcohol consumption, certain drugs, pregnancy and lactation, and other activities in today’s busy lifestyles increase the level of stress.
• Supplementation can help to overcome nutrient depletion from lifestyle stress.

Supplementation Helps to Decrease Risk of Disease and Reduce Health Costs

• Degenerative diseases comprise the top four causes of death in America.
• Americans averaged more than $3,000 per person on health care in 1993.
• Supplementation can help to overcome nutrient depletion from lifestyle stress, decrease the risk of chronic disease, and significantly reduce health costs.

The most commonly asked nutrition question is “Do I really need to use a supplement?” The answer is conclusively “Yes.” Nutritional supplementation can improve your health as well as your nutritional status. The health risk of supplements is absolutely minimal when compared to the risks of prescription drugs. In the last 50 years there has been just one recorded death (a massive overdose) due to nutritional supplements. In contrast, approximately 125,000 people die every year from prescription drugs . Prescription drugs are, of course, often necessary to battle disease once it attacks, but proper nutrition, including supplementation, is necessary to help prevent those same diseases from attacking.

The five primary reasons to supplement are:

1. To correct nutrient deficiencies and/or make up for poor dietary choices.
2. To replenish what is missing in your foods (vitamins, minerals, enzymes, flora, and antioxidants).
3. To provide your body with the nutrition necessary to combat today’s environmental stresses.
4. To meet the higher nutritional needs of today’s lifestyle.
5. To decrease your risk of chronic disease and reduce health care costs.

1. Supplementation can correct nutrient deficiencies and help make up for poor dietary choices.
Many people think that nutritional deficiencies are only found in third world countries where children are starving. The reality is that over 90% of Americans are deficient in some vitamin or mineral, yet more than 33% of the population is obese. We are an overfed and undernourished society. The nutrient deficiencies created by our “modern” diet cause the body to be more prone to viruses, disease, infections, obesity, allergies, headaches, stress, strokes, fatigue, ulcers, bowel and colon problems, tumors, cancer, kidney failure, heartburn, a weak immune system, arthritis, blood pressure problems, heart attacks, and growth and circulation problems to name a few.
Today’s “modern” diet does not provide enough of the nutrients we need. Only 9% of the population consumes the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. The 1997 World Health Report stated that our “modern” diet is too high in fat, sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, and doesn’t provide enough vitamins, minerals or fiber to meet our nutritional needs. “World-wide, the adoption of this diet has been accompanied by a major increase in coronary heart disease, stroke, various cancers, diabetes and other chronic diseases.”

Our “modern” diet is leaving our bodies devoid of vital nutrients, making us more susceptible to all types of diseases. Nutritional supplementation is essential to correct nutrient deficiencies and to overcome the effect of poor dietary choices.

2. Supplementation can help replenish what’s missing in your foods.
Today’s food supply no longer supplies your body with enough of the key nutrients required for optimum health. Depleted soils, modern growing techniques, preservatives, as well as the cooking and refining processes, all result in lower nutrient content in the foods.

Soil depletion and modern growing techniques have depleted the mineral content of our foods. For example, USDA tests showed spinach in 1948 with 158 milligrams of iron per 100 grams. The iron content of raw spinach today is 2.7 milligrams per 100 grams. The nutrient content of food is reduced even further during processing, transport and storage. The refining process removes 70 to 75% of the minerals from our grains. Cooking food reduces its nutritional value by destroying 20 to 50% of vitamins, all of the enzymes, some amino acids, and “leaches” the minerals.

By supplementing with high quality plant enzymes, whole food vitamins and chelated minerals, you can start to replace what is missing in your food.

3. Supplementation can help provide your body with the nutrition necessary to combat environmental stresses.

With today’s polluted environment and high-stress lifestyles, there are more reasons than ever for taking nutritional supplements. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 60,000 chemicals have been buried or dumped throughout the U.S. over the last hundred years, and there are over 3000 different carcinogenic chemicals found in our foods. These chemicals enter your body and begin to attack your tissues and cells, which can lead to disease and premature aging. In addition to the effects of these carcinogenic chemicals, smog, pollution and depletion of the ozone layer create free radicals, which constantly bombard us and attack our cells. Even common items such as cell phones, televisions, and computers create free radicals.

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that “attack” healthy cells, weakening the cell membranes and leading to disease and degeneration. Over 85 diseases, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, cataracts and emphysema, have been linked to free radical damage. Free radicals and other environmental stresses are greater today than they ever have been. Our bodies do not make enough antioxidants to combat the damaging effects of today’s world, so it is essential to supply the body with the extra support it needs. Supplementing with antioxidants gives your body the ammunition it needs to fight back against free radicals, repair damaged cells and tissues, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, increase immune function and decrease infection.

4. Supplementation can help meet the higher nutritional needs of today’s lifestyle.
External stress and the demands of life can seem unending. They affect virtually everyone in today’s fast-paced society, and as a result, the body’s vital functions are often compromised. Stress depletes crucial nutrients and creates a higher demand for specific vitamins and minerals. Unless these nutrients are replenished, a host of stress-related symptoms and diseases can arise.

Besides stress, all of the following increase your nutrient requirements: oral contraceptive use, heavy exercise, use of cell phones and computers, alcohol consumption, exposure to radiation, some degenerative diseases, certain drugs, cardiac failure, pregnancy and lactation. These increased needs are not easily met by food, especially considering the low nutrient content of today’s food supply. The increased nutritional needs of today’s lifestyle can only be met through proper supplementation.

5. Supplementation can help decrease your risk of chronic disease and reduce health care costs.
The top four killers in America are not drunk drivers, violent killings, AIDS, or illegal drugs. Number one is the non-contagious degeneration of the heart called cardiovascular disease. Other non-contagious diseases are numbers 2, 3, and 4. The war on these diseases has cost billions of dollars and years of research, and yet the death rates continue to increase, instead of decrease.

The chronic disease statistics reported in The World Health Report are incredible.

• Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the USA.
• Sudden blood clots in arteries (strokes) occur in about 500,000 people a year in the U.S. and for about 150,000 of those people, the stroke is fatal. About 2 million American’s daily lives are affected by stroke-related disabilities.
• 58 million people in the US have hypertension – a major risk factor for coronary heart disease.
• Nearly a million cancer cases are found each year in people in the U.S.
• Approximately 16 million Americans have diabetes, the severest forms of which cause kidney damage, limb damage, and other cardiovascular damage.
• 1.5 million broken bones a year have been identified as partially caused by weak and brittle bones due to osteoporosis. It is estimated that 20 million Americans over the age of 45 are affected by osteoporosis.
• 34 million Americans are obese. Obesity is associated with a higher mortality rate, and is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Even more astounding than the chronic disease statistics is the amount of money spent on health care for preventable diseases. Americans spent over $3,000 per person in 1993 for health care. Japan and Sweden spent less than half that amount and yet their life expectancy and infant mortality rates are respectively first, second or third; America’s is 16th and 17th. Reviewing this data reveals a distinct trend – the countries with greater use and history of natural medicine rank much higher than the U.S.

Economists estimate that by increasing our intake of vitamins and minerals, we would reduce health care costs by 25% for cardiovascular disease, 16-30% for a variety of cancers, and 50% for cataracts. The simplest and most effective way to increase nutrient intake and reduce health care costs is through supplementation. This fact is strongly supported by scientific research studies.

Why Supplement?
Once you examine the facts, the question is no longer “why supplement?” but rather “why wouldn’t you supplement?”. Whether you need to correct a deficiency, want to improve your health and nutritional status, want to make up for poor diet and a stressful lifestyle, or you want to reduce your risk of disease, supplementation is crucial. Nutritional supplementation can provide nutrient enrichment, improve digestion and help with detoxification. People feel healthier and more energetic when they take supplements. Supplements can help increase overall fitness and well-being, improve the quality of your life, protect against premature aging and support the immune system. If you care about your health, the choice is clear – supplementation is essential!

Reference: Infinity2, inc.

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