8 Reasons Why We Need To Take Supplements Even Though We Eat "Natural Food"

Sunday 23 October 2011

In the days of past, if we consciously adopt a healthy diet, we could get away without taking any supplements as the natural food would be able to give us all the nutrients our body needs to perform its myriad of functions. Unfortunately, things have changed.

Here are 8 reasons why we need to take supplements even though we eat "natural food" and consider ourself healthy:

1. Soil Depletion
In agriculture, there is a responsible way to utilize the soil and plant the crops so it will not deplete the soil off all its nutrients over long-term. Unfortunately, we consumers usually do not know where our vegetables (organic or otherwise) come from and whether the farmers plan and practice a responsible planting system.

2. Use of Pesticides
Pesticides are chemical or biological substances intended for preventing, destroying or controlling any pests. Pests include insects, weeds or microbes that destroy property or spread disease. Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides, some have drawbacks, when used carelessly or excessively. They cause harm to the health of humans and other animals. According to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 9 of the 12 most dangerous and persistent organic chemicals are pesticides.
   
3. Genetically Modified Food
GMO is genetically modified organism (plant or animal), which have specific changes introduced to their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. The most widely grown GMO crops include corn, soybeans and cotton seed oil. Their DNA are manipulated to make them insect resistant and herbicide tolerant. As such, they are not natural anymore. The safety of GMOs in the foodchain is still being controversially debated. Hence, we have to consider carefully whether to consume GMO foods.

4. Food Irradiation
The shelf life of meat, chicken, fruits and vegetables need to be extended to allow for export of these food to far-off countries and to last all the way until they reach our doorstep. Gamma radiation is often used to kill living organisms, in a process called irradiation. In this case, gamma rays are used to kill the decay-causing bacteria from many foods or prevent the bacteria from growing on our fruit and vegetables to maintain freshness and flavor.

5. Commercial Processing of Food
In our fast paced lifestyle nowadays, many working families purchase and eat processed food regularly, ranging from fast foods to canned foods. Such meals are easy to prepare and do not take much time. Obviously, a lot of nutrients are lost in the processing, not to mention the introduction of harmful ingredients in the form of preservatives, flavorings and colorings.

6. Storage and Transportation
The longer the time required to store and transport the natural food, the more preservatives will be used to maintain their freshness. For example, the layer of wax applied to apples is very difficult to completely remove despite careful washing. Another example - to cater to the consumers' fondness of eating live fishes, during the process of transporting them, chemical substances are used to slow down their movement so they do not hurt themselves or die. These very chemicals are still in the fish when we eat them.

7. Home Storage of Food
Many working families can only do their marketing of "fresh foods" in the weekends. Needless to say, vegetables cooked on Mondays are of higher quality than those which have been stored in the fridge and are only cooked on Fridays. The important nutrients have been gradually depleted during the storage.

8. Cooking of Food
Heat kills a lot of nutrients. We have a tendency to overcook our food. For example, a fish that is deep fried has less nutrients than a fish that is steamed. Unfinished food are kept in the fridge and then re-heated or re-cooked for the next meal. Much nutrients are lost in the process of cooking. Hence, it is important to include raw foods in our daily diet.

Conclusion

We know how important it is to get sufficient nutrients, and preferably nutrients from natural food. But do we actually do it? Even if we want to, it is sometimes very difficult, for the reasons above.

Fortunately, there is an easy way out - boost up with a good supplement source. The most natural supplement I know is bee pollen, as it is "manufactured" by the bees and flowers. Check out this article which discusses 10 important reasons why you should choose Yung Kien bee pollen.

Or email me at askfuiping@gmail.com to buy Yung Kien Pollen. Click here to refer to Shuang Hor company website for Product Description and Price.