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Sludge

For most people, the word malnutrition conjures up images of starving African children with swollen bellies and the skeletal appearance of skin stretched over bones. This severe form of malnutrition, known as protein-calorie malnutrition, or kwashiorkor is rarely if ever seen in the United States. And yet over 80% of Americans are malnourished, even by the government's own assessment.

In the U.S., there is a high rate of malnutrition, but it is what we call:

OVERCONSUMPTIVE UNDERNUTRITION.

Americans are getting too many calories, and yet too few nutrients. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 80 percent of Americans are not getting even the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of one or more of the essential vitamins, minerals or nutrients on a daily basis.

What's more, is that 91 percent of Americans are not eating the government's recommendation of five servings of fruits and vegetables a day! We recommend 8 to 10 servings, not five! And yet 91 percent of Americans aren't even getting the five. This needs improvement.

The main areas of malnutrition among Americans include:

  • Essential fatty acids
  • Essential minerals:
    • Magnesium
    • Zinc
    • Calcium
    • Selenium
  • Folic acid and the B complex vitamins, which help to lower homocysteine
  • Antioxidants

To complicate matters even further, it isn't always enough to just eat the right kinds of food and perhaps take the right vitamin. In order for our bodies to be able to use the nutrients in our food, we must also have normally functioning digestion and absorption of the food we eat.


 

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"Hyman and Liponis provide a provocative, practical, accessible, and highly readable guide to this important subject and challenge aspects of the traditional medical model."
Peter Libby M.D.