Nutrition is a word so worn out it has become grossly misunderstood and under appreciated. Everyone talks about it, many promote it, yet very few understand it!
Nutrition begins with the selection of foods and supplements from high quality sources. Why? Because most nutrients are lost or altered by economically-based methods of farming, processing, and preparation. Nutrition must be in the appropriate package when it enters the body at the cellular level. Unless nutrients are in the proper form they cannot be assimilated and the body must treat them as toxins which are either eliminated or stored in fat.
To support our health, we need a strong and powerful immune system built from these sources of high quality nutrition. Problem is, we seldom get the raw, basic materials needed and the body resorts to emergency systems to keep going. These finally give out and the defenses of the body go down leaving us with hundreds of little things that have gone wrong.
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
To maintain a health body through good nutrition we must assume the role of a metabolic engineer. What does that mean? Metabolism is the sum of the processes by which a particular substance is handled in the living body. A metabolic engineer carefully plans and develops a daily schedule of healthy, nutritional habits to ensure all the functions of the body are living in harmony with one another.
This factor is overlooked in today's medicine. Instead the focus is fixed upon the treatment of disease. We are letting our bodies break down assuming that we are well until we become sick. This is nonsense. We are totally responsible for our health and can prevent most problems long before they become ailments we feel or notice.
If any of the following conditions occur:
MIRACULOUS CURES
People are curing themselves of many conditions by getting nutrients from health food stores and other sources outside of the medical profession. The miracles you hear are hard to believe and yet they're true. Many illnesses that are straight forward and simple become hugely complicated if there are nutritional deficiencies. Personalities change to joy and calm when these deficiencies no longer exist.
Consider that all of the B vitamins can help alleviate depression. Zinc supplementation solves the nagging problem of weight loss by increasing the appetite. The antioxidants protect against bed sores and infections. Alzheimer's disease is preventable through supplementation with folic acid and vitamin B12.
It's vital to understand the importance of nutritional medicine. Until people are educated and motivated enough to eat high quality foods and supplements the body can recognize and use, we will continue to see an increase of illness and disease in America.
Symptoms of Nutrient Deficiencies*
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency:
Depression, chronic fatigue and apathy, irritability, memory loss, confusion, personality changes, emotional instability, insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, night terrors, sensitivity to noise, appetite loss, indigestion, abdominal pains, nausea and vomiting, weak sore muscles, atrophy of leg muscles, numbness and tingling or burning in hands and feet, headaches, heart palpitations and irregularities, circulation problems, shortness of breath, increased sensitivity to pain. Severe deficiency diseases are beriberi, polyneuritis, Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) deficiency:
Depression, insomnia, mental sluggishness, dizziness, dermatitis, oily skin, scaling around nose, forehead, and ears, cracks and sores at corners of mouth, dry chapped-looking lips, increased aging lines around the mouth, red sore tongue, narrowing upper lip, itching burning eyes, blood shot eyes, crusting burning eyelids, sensitivity to light, cataracts, trembling, vaginal itching, digestive disturbances, hair and eyebrow loss, tiny visible blood vessels on skin.
Vitamin B3 (niacin) deficiency:
Depression, mental fatigue, poor concentration, memory loss, nervous disorders, irritability, insomnia, amoral behavior, indigestion, gas, abdominal pains, appetite loss, nausea, diarrhea, sore mouth, painful swollen gums, halitosis, coated tongue but red tipped, canker sores, muscle weakness, skin eruptions and dermatitis, burning sensations anywhere on body. Severe deficiency leads to disease of pellagra.
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) deficiency:
Depression, sullenness, quarrelsomeness, fatigue, restlessness, weakness, muscle cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, duodenal ulcers, eczema, allergies, hypoglycemia, poor wound healing, digestive disorders, constipation, arthritis, hair loss, kidney disorders, premature aging, cramping in arms and legs, sore or burning feet, infection susceptibility with frequent respiratory illness, adrenal insufficiency, low blood pressure.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) deficiency:
Depression, irritability, nervousness, insomnia, slow learning, poor dream recall, dizziness, premenstrual tension, increased sensitivity to sound, muscular weakness, temporary limb paralysis, numbness and tingling in limbs, carpal-tunnel syndrome, neuritis, water retention, decreased resistance to infection, poor appetite and morning nausea, hair loss, cracks around mouth and eyes, dermatitis and acne, dental cavities, low blood sugar and low glucose tolerance, arthritis, anemia, convulsions, stillbirths if deficiency during pregnancy.
Vitamin B12 deficiency:
Depression, mental apathy, nervousness, general weakness, fatigue, poor memory and concentration, mood swings, intolerance to noise or light, confusion, sore tongue, loss of menstruation, disturbed digestion, numbness and tingling, hair loss, hallucinations, paranoia, psychosis, rapid heartbeat, anemia, chest pain, degeneration of long nerve tracts in spinal cord, walking and speaking difficulties. Severe deficiency can lead to pernicious anemia and death.
Folic acid deficiency:
Depression, mental lethargy, withdrawal, irritability, poor memory, sore tongue, lesions at corners of the mouth, graying hair, increased sensitivity to pain, lowered resistance to infection, digestive disturbances, diarrhea, low blood cell count, anemia, toxemia of pregnancy, premature births.
Biotin deficiency:
Depression, extreme lassitude and sleepiness, anxiety, hallucinations, grayish skin color, appetite loss, muscular pain, scaly dermatitis, dry skin, chest pain, slight anemia, hair loss.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) deficiency:
Depression, weakness, fatigue, listlessness, confusion, rough skin, aching joints, easy bruising, dental cavities, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, allergies, poor digestion, edema, poor wound healing, low resistance to infection. Severe deficiency leads to illness of scurvy with brittle bones and weak blood vessels, hemorrhage into the muscles and skin, tender aching joints, lethargy, anemia, loss of teeth, severe bruising, kidney trouble, and death.
Magnesium deficiency:
Depression, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, nervousness, confusion, hyperactivity, disorientation, learning disability, easily-aroused anger, increased sense of hearing and startle response, tremors, muscle twitching, numbness and tingling, appetite loss, rapid pulse, heart irregularities, kidney stones, high blood pressure. Severe deficiency can induce visual hallucinations, delirium, and seizures.
Zinc deficiency:
Depression, apathy, fatigue, loss of sense of taste and smell, poor dream recall, appetite loss, oily skin, prolonged wound healing, stretch marks on the skin, failure of growth, brittle nails, white spots on nails, poor hair growth, acne, menstrual irregularities, prostate disorders, painful knees and hips especially in teenagers and children, cold extremities with poor circulation.
Iron deficiency:
Depression, fatigue, listlessness, impaired learning, poor memory and attention span, headache, irritability, hair loss, dizziness, weakness, sore or burning tongue, brittle, flattened or spoon-shaped nails, longitudinal ridges in nails, constipation, heart palpitation on exertion, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, cold extremities, decreased resistance to infection, anemia, numbness and tingling.
Manganese deficiency:
Depression, dizziness, impaired glucose tolerance, disc degeneration, birth defects, reduced fertility.
*Slagle, Priscilla,
M.D. The Way Up From Down, Random House, Inc., 1987
