Other Health Deficiencies

This week the topics have centered around nutrition. Some of the easy remedies explored have been to ensure you get enough water and fiber in your diet, and to avoid sugar because it weakens the immune system. Today, we will look at other factors that can throw your body's balance out of sync.

First, let's look at anti-nutrients. Anti-nutrients are substances to which we are all exposed through food and water that antagonize nutrients needed for health. Some anti-nutrients bind to other nutrients, making them useless. Others tie up enzymes needed in digestion and other body functions. Some cause problems by creating a greater need for certain nutrients. Others cause nutrients to be excreted more rapidly from the body. In our world of high technology, the level of anti-nutrients to which we are exposed is surprisingly high. Many of the anti-nutrients have either a direct or indirect effect on immune function. Anything you can do to reduce exposure to anti-nutrients will be helpful in preventing recurrent illness.

Table sugar, food coloring, processed fats, additives like BHT, and most of the 3,000 or so food additives allowed in the United States often act as anti-nutrients. For example, in 1985 it was reported that American agriculture uses 1 billion pounds of pesticides each year. That is 4.5 pounds for every man, woman and child in the country. These chemicals have many adverse effects, and are more of a problem than most would imagine. Caffeine is another serious problem that most people don't fully understand. Caffeine, combined with the large amounts of sugar added to soda, will weaken the immune system dramatically. Consistent use of soda can lead to all kinds of health problems.

Pharmaceutical drugs constitute another important category of anti-nutrients. If drug therapy is short, the effects are minimal, but if one takes a drug for a long time (months or years), the nutritional effects of the drugs must be taken into account. Below is a sample of the nutrients adversely affected by drugs. Taking drugs long term has more adverse effects than simply nutritional ones, but we are focused on nutrition here.

Drug	Clinical Condition	Nutrient Affected
Antibiotics	bacterial infection	Vit. K, A, B12, Mg, folic acid, C, K+
Aspirin	pain, fever	B1, Vit. C, K+
Cortisone	inflammation, allergy	Zn, K+, folate, B6, Vit. C, D, Ca
Ritalin	hyperactivity, ADD	suppresses appetite
Phenobarbital	seizure disorders	Vit. C, D, Ca, Mg, folic acid
Tetracycline	infection	Zn, Ca, Fe, Mg, Vit. K, B2, B3, C, folate

The affects of anti-nutrients can also lead to vitamin deficiency. Vitamin deficiencies are classified as either primary or secondary. A primary deficiency occurs when an organism does not get enough of the vitamin in its food. A secondary deficiency may be due to an underlying disorder that prevents or limits the absorption or use of the vitamin, due to a “lifestyle factor”, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or the use of medications that interfere with the absorption or use of the vitamin. People who eat a varied diet or get the required nutrients through supplementation are unlikely to develop a severe primary vitamin deficiency. In contrast, restrictive diets have the potential to cause prolonged vitamin deficits, which may result in often painful and potentially deadly diseases.

Because human bodies do not store most vitamins, humans must consume them regularly to avoid deficiency. Human bodily stores for different vitamins vary widely; vitamins A, D, and B₁₂ are stored in significant amounts in the human body, mainly in the liver, and an adult human's diet may be deficient in vitamins A and B₁₂ for many months before developing a deficiency condition. Vitamin B₃ is not stored in the human body in significant amounts, so stores may only last a couple of weeks. Consistent balanced supplementation is key to avoiding vitamin deficiencies.

Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Using the genetic blueprint inherited from its parents, a fetus begins to develop, at the moment of conception, from the nutrients it absorbs. It requires certain vitamins and minerals to be present at certain times. These nutrients facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among other things, skin, bone, and muscle. If there is serious deficiency in one or more of these nutrients, a child may develop a deficiency disease. Even minor deficiencies may cause permanent damage.

Once growth and development are completed, vitamins remain essential nutrients for the healthy maintenance of the cells, tissues, and organs that make up a multicellular organism. They also enable a multicellular life form to efficiently use chemical energy provided by food it eats, and to help process the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats required for respiration. Most vitamins cannot be synthesized by the body, but are found naturally in foods obtained from plants and animals. Vitamins are either water-soluble or fat-soluble. Most water-soluble vitamins, such as the vitamin B complex, act as catalysts and co-enzymes in metabolic processes and energy transfer and are excreted fairly rapidly. Fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, and E are necessary for the function or structural integrity of specific body tissues and membranes and are retained in the body.

So ultimately, a well body properly fed will treat you well. What have you done to treat your body well today?

This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:8 (NIV)

If you have comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at the address below.
Email: DeltaInspire@panama-vo.com