Are Most of Us Nutrient Deficient? Do We Really Need to Take Supplements?

The conversation and research around our need for additional vitamins and nutrients has been mixed for years. The questions regarding food and whether or not we can get what we need from our diet without supplementation remain at the top of the list for those that are trying to eat optimally. Are we getting the necessary vitamins and minerals through our diet? Should we be taking a multivitamin and mineral complex? Not knowing these answers can make the recommendations surrounding diet and supplementation confusing, especially if you’re trying to implement changes on your own. Over 70% of Americans are taking some form of a supplement on a daily basis and statistics have shown that we are in fact, undernourished, despite being overfed. If, however, 70% of us are taking a supplement daily, yet the majority of us are undernourished, where is the breakdown? Are we just not taking the right supplements? Are we relying too much on supplements while eating meals that are not nutrient-dense? Can we in fact get what we need from our food?

The shift from local, organic food systems to an industrial food system has unfortunately led to soils that are depleted in their vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, as well as their organic matter. Because of this, the food grown within these depleted soils becomes depleted itself. Several studies have shown differences in the quality of foods grown in soils and farms using conventional farming practices (synthetically fertilized, treated with herbicides) versus farms using regenerative farms (esp. those using conservative agricultural practices), concluding that regenerative farms have been found to have higher levels of nutrients. In addition to the changing farming practices affecting the quality of the foods grown, there is also the issue of our food systems becoming more globalized. We can now eat some of the produce we love nearly year-round as opposed to seasonally because we’re shipping produce in from all over the world. Currently, more than 200 countries or other territories supply approximately 32% of the fresh vegetables and 55% of the fresh fruit consumed by Americans annually. A study done by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa compiled data from the US Dept. of Agriculture and found that some produce that traveled to a Chicago “terminal market”, where the produce is then sold to restaurants and grocery stores, had traveled hundreds of miles. For example, grapes had come from 2,143 miles, apples from 1,555 miles away, lettuce as far as 2,055 miles, and peaches from 1,674 miles. On average, it’s been estimated that the average carrot travels 1,800 miles before reaching the grocery store. The importance of this is how early the produce must be picked or harvested in order for it to still be fresh by the time it reaches its destination. Often, these foods are 40-50% depleted in its nutrients.

In addition to the global expedition of produce, is the issue of a growing toxic burden surrounding our food supply. There has been major concern for the safety of our food due to the presence of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which are persistent, bioaccumulative, and have long-range transport potential. For example, pesticides and PCBs are POPs, and metals like lead, mercury, and arsenic have been found in our food supply. Clearly, these can all be toxic, but they can also bind to the nutrients found on our food, which can prevent us from absorbing them.

So, in looking at our food supply thus far, it seems if nothing else, more difficult than it used to be to get what we need from our food. There is another factor however, and that is the growing presence of chronic diseases and disorders. The CDC states that 6 out of 10 Americans lives with at least one chronic disease, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. People with these chronic diseases usually have an increased need for nutrients. For example, smokers, who are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease, have been found to need an intake of 200mg daily of vitamin c in order to prevent low serum ascorbic acid levels even though the current Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for ascorbic acid is 75mg for adults. Another example is obesity as a risk factor for heart disease. People that are obese are less likely to absorb vitamin D from their food and are less efficient producing vitamin D from sun exposure and therefore have an increased need for vitamin D. Again, we can try to get what we need from foods, and I believe we should always start there. However, you can start to see how this has become more difficult given our food supply methods and issues with toxins in our foods.

Not to add fuel to the fire, but there are a couple of factors that can also increase our need for nutrients and those are stress and medications. Chronic stress has unfortunately become a part of our culture in America. The American Institute of Stress states that chronic stress is commonplace at work with 94% of workers reporting feeling stress at work. That may seem to be somewhat synonymous, work=stress. Yet, when 63% of those workers are ready to quit their job to avoid such work-related stress, that paints a different picture…at least when thinking about health. Stress can affect our body’s intake of nutrients in numerous ways, however two of these ways are: 1) it raises the body’s metabolic needs and increases the use and excretion of many nutrients, 2) we tend to undereat the foods we need and overeat those that aren’t as nutritious when in stress-mode. Without the proper intake of these vitamins, minerals, etc…, chronic depletion of some of these nutrients can lead to other serious disorders and mental health issues. Last-but-not-least, are the effects medications can have on nutrient metabolism. Many medications can cause nutrient deficiencies. For example, taking a statin regularly, blocks the body’s natural production of CoQ10, an antioxidant that your cells use for growth and maintenance. Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are known to deplete calcium, chromium, folic acid, iron, B12, vitamin D, and zinc. Oral contraceptives can deplete many of the B vitamins like folic acid, B2, B3, B6, and B12 as well as magnesium, calcium and zinc.

One can see that despite our best efforts to eat a whole-foods, nutrient dense diet, that there are many other factors at play when trying to decide if we can get what we need from our food alone without supplementation. If you’re trying to acquire everything your body needs to function optimally from your diet, it will take more work than you might have originally thought. The truth is, most of our data and recommendations are there to prevent disease, not necessarily for optimal health. We don’t really know what those levels should be. Therefore, your practitioner should look at all of the above factors and your dietary intake in order to investigate what you might need more or less of. If supplementation ends up being necessary, it’s important to know that supplements are not regulated by the FDA and are often found to not have what they claim to have. Look for supplements that have been tested independently by third-party certified companies like Consumer Lab, NSF International, and USP. Also know that some synthetic forms of vitamins/nutrients are not very bioavailable, meaning your body has trouble absorbing them. They are usually cheaper for the supplement companies to make and consumers don’t typically know the difference. For example, the B12 supplement that contains cyanocobalamine that is cheaper to make, can be converted by some people into it’s more active form, methylcobalamine, but some people cannot convert cyanocobalamine well.

There are some supplements that are fairly safe to take and others you should be cautious of. As always, remember that your health and wellness are personal and the recommendations for your health should be as well.

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