Why Supplement?

You've heard it. "Why do I need to supplement my diet with vitamins?" "It's just expensive urine."  "If I eat an apple a day I should be good right?"  "I all ready eat healthy, I don't need vitamins" "We're all gonna' die anyway..." blah, blah, blah, etc. so on and so forth. 


A friend once sent me a joke through email that said, "Asians eat more vegetables and fish than Americans, drink less alcohol and suffer fewer heart attacks." Then it when on to say "The French eat more fat, drink much more alcohol and smoke ten times more than Americans and suffer fewer heart attacks. So the point of the story is, eat and do what you like, it's speaking English that is killing you."


I laughed at the time but realized it's no joke. Just why is it that we, the people of the United States, seem to have such poor health when we are supposed to be the richest nation on earth?  As holistic Dr.Mark Hyman says, "unless you are eating chemical and pesticide free food in fertile soil from an organic farm, drinking pure chemical free water, getting the basic daily nutrient and fiber requirements, eat meat and dairy that is free of antibiotics and hormones and getting 8 hours of sleep a night, then you don't need vitamins."  Do any of you fit this category? 


Dr. Shaklee lived that way, and he still supplemented.  When he was not that much younger than I am now, the doctors told him with his illness, he would not live to be 30.  He died at the healthy age of 91 in 1985. 


It's really not an option anymore.  People today HAVE to supplement. Why? We need to because of the circumstances we live with. Let's go back in history for a little bit around the time of the Great Depression. After the horrible droughts, the "Dust Bowl" and then the economy crash when farmers couldn't sell their land and ended up leaving the property, the art of Agriculture was then abandoned for "Agribusiness."  Practices of harvesting to produce the highest quality food was then abandoned to produce the highest quantity. Land is reused over and over again with out giving it time to replenish by crop rotation. Before food has a chance to ripen and get the most amount of nutrients from the soil, it is picked too early so that it can be shipped off far away because no one has their own garden anymore...and not to mention the number of toxic chemicals and pesticides we use to save crops from insects. Unfortunately they're not so great for human beings either. This has been a perpetual problem since then. 

And for those who say "I eat organic, so I'm ok." Well, unfortunately what is considered "organic" maybe not completely true. For some organic farms, they will use pesticides and chemicals in the water they use for the crops but as long as it is not sprayed directly onto the produce, it is considered "organic."  Some organic farms are now using genetically modified (Franken-food) seeds as well but it is ok as long as they adhere to the practices of "organic farming." So if you are on a completely organic diet and are still experiencing deficiencies and problems then your diet is incomplete and you need to supplement. 


The problem with our American diets is that our land is exhausted of nutrients.  That is not to say that other counties have never suffered famine.  The Great Potato Famine starved Ireland, and several who survived ended up coming to the U.S. To say it simply, we just are not getting the amount of nutrients to our bodies that we are supposed to get. Notice that I said "supposed to" because it's not a matter of opinion.  We all need the same basic nutrients and we need alot of it!  Now in the last post I told you how I was making all the right decisions as far as diet but was still deficient.  It's because it was incomplete.  I needed to supplement. 


This however is not our only problem.  In the U.S. we consume more sugar, the wrong kind of fats, empty calorie foods than any other nation. We have extremely addicting preservatives such as high fructose corn syrup, refined, processed sugar, extra added caffeine and hydrogenated oils that produce free radicals that damage the cells in our bodies.  We put more and more demands on our bodies for work, our families, etc, which requires more nutrition, yet we get less and less.  It takes one deficiency to throw your body out of whack.  Most Americans have at least two or more. 


I don't say this to scare anybody, but you are probably already aware of the problem and would like to know what to do about it.  If you are like me, you are probably trying to do what I did back in 2005. Eat the best you know how.  So what are we all supposed to do?


1. Eat the best you know how-you know what I'm talking about. Eat your fruits and vegetables, whole grains, raw nuts, fresh meat and fish.  Don't eat junk food. Dr. Hyman says, "there's no such thing as junk food. There is food and then there is junk." Remember this-when you go into the grocery store, shop the perimeter of store. That's where the produce, deli and bakery are. If you are worried about pesticides on your produce, wash them in the sink with water and Shaklee Basic H. 


2. Don't smoke or drink excessive alcohol. 


3. Try to restrict medications. I know that sometimes we have medical emergencies that require immediate attention but if you are having a problem, research ways on how to treat it naturally. 


4. Exercise-human beings are meant to move. We'll talk more about this later. 


5. Supplement your diet. With what?  Shaklee is the brand that I use. Why? Because ever since Dr. Shaklee created one of the first multivitamin in 1915, they have continued to pioneer products and have been extremely strict with themselves making sure that they adhere to true science (not fads) and that what you see on the label is what's in the bottle, making every single product naturally safe AND proven effective. And not to mention that they are 100% Guarantee. So if for some reason you don't like them after 30 days, you get your money back. That's reason enough just to try them!

Please don't go buy the cheapest brand you can find at the grocery store or Wal-Mart.  If you want the highest quality from a company that has been researching and making people healthier for the past 54 years, then why not Shaklee? Find out more about Shaklee at http://recover.myshaklee.com. 


At the beginning of this post I mentioned some of the excuses people give and probably the number one excuse I hear is that "I can't afford it."  Now that is a very understandable excuse and I have been in that situation myself. But maybe there are ways of redirecting your spending that you could try so that you can afford the nutritional support you need. Look at what you're spending now. Do you go get chips, candy, snacks or a $1.25 Coke everyday at the vending machine at work?  Are you one of those people that must have Starbucks every morning? 


Most Americans will spend, on average, about $200 a month on things they really don't need.  Now the Shaklee Wellness Pack, that contains all the essential daily nutrients, plus Energizing Soy Protein, and the finest product in immune health, Nutriferon, runs for about $150 a month for members.  That's about $5 a day.  You'd be lucky to walk out of Starbucks for less.  


If you really want to feel better then make your health a priority and see what changes you can make that will in the end be for the best.  You deserve it and you'll be happy about the decision you made.    


True health and happiness to you,
Emily