Nutrient Deficient Agriculture & Processed Foods are robbing you of your Health - Here’s How to Restore it
Ever wish someone could just walk through the grocery store with you and help you pick the right things for you and your family? Though I can’t be everywhere at all times, (what a drag), this writing of mine will provide you a little insight that’s almost as good as me being there to assist in making healthy choices.
Let’s start by stating, “HEALTH shouldn’t be elusive!!!”
There are lots of reasons that contribute to the countless studies and research that have revealed, Americans are currently the most unhealthy populace in the entire developed world, as we rank dead last in health and healthcare outcomes compared to all first world countries. Sadly, no other country even comes close.
Because of mono crop farming/agriculture and the ways food is grow, especially GMOs, today food sold in grocery stores across the country is very nutrient deficient. Add to the mix processed foods (or what I call “food-like” products) - basically anything in a bag or a box, being nothing short of slow acting poison to the human body. Health in the United States, is quite literally, a priceless commodity to those taking the time to educate themself, invest in their health, and figuring out how to achieve it. The impoverished, underprivileged, and those woefully lacking education in how to build a healthy human body will always struggle to be healthy as the unwittingly participants in a food “product” (not actually food) system that has anything but human health as a priority. Profit is the only priority.
While healthy foods are generally sold with a much higher price tag than commercialized, highly refined, sugar loaded, highly addictive, nutrient deficient or devoid, hermetically sealed, irradiated, processed “food-like” products that are sold at a fraction of the price, we pay a very dear price and hidden cost for this convenience . . . our health.
Sickness has been doled out to the public as a profound mystery with people believing diseases “just happen.” They don’t. Not by a long shot. They’re largely manufactured by corporation and immense food conglomerates.
Human health is crashing by design. We’ve known the cause of disease for almost a century now. Sadly, the public wasn’t in on the sordid corporate joke and are unfortunately, the punchline with a rather distressing ending.
We’re only as sick, as alluded to already, because we’re being poisoned daily, by processed foods the body cannot utilize. Yes, you read that correctly. Poisoned. But through clever marketing we’ve been led to believe that the poisons we ingest are ‘generally recognized as safe.’ This is a legal loophole designed by food industry lobbyists in the 1980s, to circumvent the need for safety studies on food additives and chemicals used in the making of processed foods. How big is this loophole? Consider, the average grocery store contains processed foods with the over 2,000 synthetic chemicals in the processed foods they sell, none of which have ever been tested for safety by the FDA.
As I have written about in a previous article, it's almost seen as snobbish to avoid foods that are quite literally poison to the human body. Eating well is not only not en vogue, it's no longer even seen as the path to health.
The reality is we’re not nearly as feeble and fragile as we have been led to believe we are, it’s just our health has been eroded by processed foods and foods devoid of nutrients. The result? Humans with bodies built by consuming excessive calories with virtually no nutritional content, leaving consumers always hungry and riddled with a whole host of chronic diseases.
How bad is this problem? Consider that eight of the Top 10 Chronic Diseases and 8 sub-cellular diseases leading to chronic disease are all created through the consumption of processed food-like products (not food) loaded with chemicals the human body was never designed to metabolize or digest. And guess what? It doesn’t. In an effort to insulate the vital organs of the body from these harmful chemicals, the liver encapsulates them in lipids and stores them as fat where they accumulate for years or decades becoming toxic. Thus, the epidemic of excess weight and obesity in America.
Today Americans are building their bodies out of chemicals that the physiology of the body can’t process.
Not having the education in, nor perhaps the interest in learning about nutrition and fortifying our bodies against diseases, a naive public is preyed upon by corporate interests, that have anything but our health and best interests at heart. We see chronic disease like weight gain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, dementia, water retention, hormone imbalance, lack of sleep, brain fog, lack of concentration, memory loss and on and on as simply a consequence of aging. We’re told there are thousands of diseases, and presented with thousands of pharmaceutical interventions that never address the root cause of disease, just the symptoms. This by the way, is arguably the best business model ever created. But the truth is, when we supplement human beings with nutrition, giving their bodies the raw natural materials that it needs to do its job, miracles happen. The body heals.
Healing the Body:
Everyone in a state of less-than-optimal wellness, whether it be the transient state of an acute illness like a cold or the flu, or fighting chronic disease like diabetes, vascular disease, or perhaps cancer, should begin their healing process with a full spectrum blood panel to understand what those deficiencies are.
It is well-documented that all chronic diseases and virtually all acute symptoms respond positively to nutrition and can be completely cured through a change in diet, provided the individual isn’t too far gone. As someone who has not had a pharmaceutical drug or OTC drug in his body in 30+ years with the exception of Advil to mitigate inflammation after falling down a flight of 20 stairs recently, I can speak to this being true. By contrast, none of them, not one, respond positively to pharmaceutical or westernized medical intervention. Though a patient’s ‘symptoms’ are being managed, their health continues to decline. It’s the difference between fighting disease with drugs, that only mask symptoms, and actually treating disease with what the body is lacking . . . nutrition.
So, many learning of this, decide to give up processed foods, limit their intake of meat, avoiding all processed meats (lunch meats filled with nitrates and crazy amounts of preservatives, artificial colors, etc.) and choose to eat fruits and vegetables from the grocery store. Though this is a step in the right direction, it’s only half the battle. Let me explain . . .
The Nutrient Deficient Grocery Store:
The nutrient deficiency in food today, that I alluded to in the beginning of this article, can be attributed to several factors:
Soil Depletion: Modern agricultural practices often prioritize high yields and quick growth over soil health. This leads to soil depletion, as nutrients are not replenished adequately. Consequently, crops grown in nutrient-poor soil lack essential vitamins and minerals.
Monoculture Farming: Large-scale monoculture farming focuses on cultivating a single crop over vast areas. This can deplete specific nutrients from the soil, as the same crop continually extracts the same nutrients without rotation or diversification.
Genetic Modification (GMOs): This is a subject I could write an entire book on. Virtually all genetically modified crops (GMOs) are designed through genetic modification for resistance to pests and diseases, by making them resistant to the degrading effects of Glyphosate, otherwise known as RoundUpâ which most people recognize as a weed killer. What they don’t know is this product is actually the most powerful anti-biotic created, and while staving off insects and pests, it removes the soil of the soil microbiome that facilitates the production of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in the soil that are subsequently taken up by the roots of the crops. As a result, this conversion doesn’t take place, and while you believe you’re eating well by eating fruits and vegetables, you’re eating largely empty calories. GMO modified crops consistently have lower nutrient levels than organically grown crops.
Harvesting Practices: Food is often harvested before it reaches its peak ripeness to ensure longer shelf life and easier transportation, accounting for logistics. Food travels long distances before reaching consumers, and a good portion of it is stored in warehouses for extended periods of time to account for and in preparation for unexpected shortages created by years with low harvest yields, natural disasters, inclement weather creating supply-chain issues, economic factors, etc. During transportation and storage, nutrient loss occurs due to exposure to light, temperature variations, and oxidation. This premature harvesting results in lower nutrient content as the plants haven't fully absorbed nutrients from the soil and the very limited nutrients available in monoculture crops.
Food Processing: Many processed foods undergo extensive refining and cooking processes, which can destroy or remove vital nutrients. Additionally, additives and preservatives in processed foods may further reduce their nutritional value.
Dietary Preferences: People's food choices and dietary preferences, including the consumption of processed and fast foods, often prioritize convenience and taste over nutrition. This can contribute to nutrient-poor diets.
Environmental Factors: Climate change and pollution can impact the nutritional quality of crops. For example, rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere can lead to lower nutrient content in some staple foods.
Lack of Crop Diversity: A limited variety of crops in our diets can result in a lack of diverse nutrients. People who primarily consume a narrow range of foods may not get a broad spectrum of essential vitamins and minerals.
Overall, a combination of agricultural practices, food processing, and dietary choices contribute to the nutrient deficiency observed in many foods today and subsequently, in society. To address this issue, sustainable, regenerative farming practices, improved soil health management, mitigating the use of pesticides, and increased awareness of the importance of a balanced diet are essential steps if we want to become a healthy society.
How to Create a Healthy Human:
Compensating for nutrient deficiencies in foods through your diet and dietary choices involves making informed decisions to ensure you're getting the necessary nutrients. So, not to leave you hanging, here are some ways to address nutrient deficiencies:
Garden & Grow Your Own Food: Believe me when I tell you, I would've never imagined I would love growing my own food. Growing up my family always grew our own food in our backyard, but that never inspired me to begin gardening and growing my own food.
We are a society of convenience, and I, like so many, was not immune to those conveniences. But after learning years ago about how nutrient deficient grocery store bought food is, I decided to begin growing my own food. And guess what? I became obsessed. It’s a labor of LOVE!!! And it’s actually very little labor. Every day brings a new gift. Another tomato has ripened, another zucchini started growing, another bell pepper started growing, bean vines grew another 6 inches overnight.
I live in suburbia on the edge of a forest. I have no backyard as the forest butts right up against the back of my patio. But, determined to grow my own food, I seamlessly integrated my garden into my flowerbeds and also dedicated a portion of my front yard to raised beds, in addition to elevated beds I have in my driveway. It is very ornate, and I have actually inspired my neighbors to follow my lead.
Here's the caveat to growing your own food. You know where it comes from. You have nurtured the very plants you are eating. All of my gardening is 100% organic, and when my vegetables ripen, I am picking a nutrient dense, fully ripened food, as opposed to store-bought vegetables that, as mentioned earlier, are nutrient deficient for countless reasons. And . . . I will share one last thought. After I started growing my own food I began frequenting the local Farmer’s Markets. All the growers would tell me the same thing. “You’ve never tasted a vegetable until you grow it yourself.” I would roll my eyes, thinking to myself, “Um, yeah, whatever,” until my girlfriend and I tasted my first yield of veggies. They were absolutely right! We both agreed we had never tasted vegetables with so much flavor. That because they’re fully ripened, packed with nutrients, and loaded with flavor.
Learn to Cook: Please, learn to cook healthy meals on a regular basis. The benefits are extraordinary. As someone who used to have a career where I did over 200 overnights a year, an occupational hazard of mine was eating out. Even though I ate in four and five star restaurants every night, they still cook everything in vegetable and seed oils. I had to become very adept at my understanding of how things were cooked in order to instruct the kitchen to make my meals to my specifications.
I know eating process foods is convenient, takes considerably less time and planning, and makes our lives easier from a time standpoint. But the time you are saving consuming these foods will cannibalize the time contributing to your longevity. There are countless cookbooks published loaded with recipes for meals that can be made in under 30. If you need help, contact me.
Have a Diverse Diet: Consume a wide variety of foods from different food groups to increase the likelihood of obtaining various nutrients. Here locally, I routinely help people learn to shop, read labels, and reeducate them with respect to nutrition and good dietary choices. If you are not following SHIFT ETHOS on Instagram and Facebook, I highly encourage it because I am soon going to be making videos covering a lot of this content hopefully making it easier on people who don’t like to read.
Avoid Dairy: this is truly a subject I could really expound upon and write a book about, but I will only give a brief synopsis here.
I too grew up on milk. I’ve since course corrected and haven’t drank milk in 25+ years. Why?
Let’s just start with the fact that humans are the only species on the planet that routinely consume milk from another species. Suffice it to say no other species on the planet consumes breastmilk for an entire lifetime, much less another species breastmilk. There is a reason mothers only breast-feed for 6 to 12 months. It is to download their immune system to their newborn and facilitate the transfer of growth hormones and nutrients to accelerate the newborn’s development. Milk contains growth hormone. A lifetime of consuming growth hormone, can lead to the development of hyperplasia (accelerated cell division), otherwise known as cancer.
We are told that milk contains calcium and calcium is good for fortifying your bones, that most have come to believe are made of calcium. Fun fact, bones are a type of modified collagen made out of 12 minerals, calcium being one of the least.
The fact is that in order for calcium to be assimilated into bone it needs to pair with magnesium. Sorry, but there is no magnesium in milk. Virtually all of that calcium is passing right through your body without being absorbed, but hey, it makes for great propaganda. Aren’t milk lobbyist great? And creative!
Milk contains steroids that have the exact same effect as growth hormones because steroids are derived from hormones that accelerates cellular growth . . . hyperplasia (aka cancer).
Milk contains antibiotics. 75 to 80% of the human immune system arises from our gut Microbiome, the bacteria in your large intestine. When you drink an antibiotic on a daily basis, what effect do you think that has on your gut micro biome? You guessed it. It depletes your immune system making you considerably more likely to get sick.
Go with plant-based milk alternatives, steering clear of Soy, Almond, and Oat Milk. The best choice is Coconut Milk.
Supplements: Consult with a Functional Medicine or Holistic healthcare professional before taking supplements, but they can be a useful way to target and address specific nutrient deficiencies when needed.
Fruits and Vegetables: Increase your intake of organic fruits and vegetables (preferably purchased from local, non-commercial farms, or a Farmer’s Market, which tend to far richer in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Lean Proteins: Incorporate lean protein sources like pasture raised, free range poultry, regenerative farmed fish (see seatopia.com or wildalaskacompany.com), tofu, and legumes to meet protein requirements.
Avoid Gluten: Though this is something we are told only effects people with celiac disease; the fact is no one can digest the high content of gluten in foods today. Gluten breaks down into two byproducts that are pro-inflammatory.
If you’re not keen on going gluten free, Sourdough bread is a good option, though not as good as gluten free. Sourdough bread is made with a yeast that consumes a large portion of the gluten in the bread, not eliminating it, but reducing it. If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to give up gluten, choose whole grains over refined grains for a higher content of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Fiber: This is arguably the most important aspect of one’s diet. Years of consuming vegetable and seed oils, refined flours, “Added” highly-refined sugars, and irradiated, hermetically-sealed, processed foods, has caused 88% of Americans to have metabolic disorder, with many not even knowing it. This causes leaky gut syndrome, which reeks havoc on the human immune system. Fiber prevent insulin spikes, insulin resistance, and seals the gut repairing it and restoring the gut biome. Make getting fiber in your diet a priority. High fiber foods include: Beans, Berries, Broccoli, Avocados, Sweet Potatoes, Greens,
Healthy Fats: Opt for healthy fats from sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil that are loaded with Omega-3 fats. Avoid Omega-6 linoleic acid found in all vegetable and seed oils. Cook only with Olive oil, Avocado oil, or Coconut oil. I’ve written an entire article on the dangerous of consuming vegetable and seed oils. You can read that article by clicking this link: The Dangers of Vegetable & Seed Oils – And the Adverse Effects On Your Health. https://www.shiftethos.com/shift-your-body/the-dangers-of-vegetable-amp-seed-oils
Iron-Rich Foods: Include iron-rich foods like lean, unprocessed (lunch) meats, beans, and lentils to address iron deficiency.
Vitamin C-Rich Foods: Pair iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich foods like citrus fruits and bell peppers to enhance iron absorption.
Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Incorporate fatty fish like sardines, salmon, and mackerel for omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart and brain health.
Nuts and Seeds: Snack on nuts and seeds as they provide a range of essential nutrients.
Avoid Processed Foods: I’ve mentioned earlier in the article why you should avoid all processed foods. Do yourself a favor, avoid all consumption of highly processed foods, as they lack virtually all nutrients and contain excessive additives. Here’s what I teach. If it comes in a bag or a box there’s a very good chance you shouldn’t consume it. If you really want to do a deep dive into the lethality of process foods, I highly encourage reading METABOLICAL by Dr. Robert Lustig.
Food Allergies and Sensitivities: I encourage every reader of mine to get a food allergy or food sensitivity test done. You may be eating food you think are contributing to your health, when, in fact, they may be severely deteriorating it. You don’t know until you get this type of test done. My girlfriend of 10 years and I had one done four years ago, and the results were staggering. I would argue no one eats cleaner or healthier than the two of us, and yet she had eight food sensitivities to otherwise extremely healthy foods that we didn’t know about. She has sent removed all these foods from her diet. Be mindful of food allergies or sensitivities that may limit your intake of certain nutrients and explore alternatives.
Manage Cooking Methods: Cook foods in ways that preserve their nutrient content, such as steaming vegetables instead of boiling them.
Hydration: Drink water, drink water, drink water. Proper hydration supports nutrient absorption and overall health, by flushing the body of toxins. Also, I cannot encourage one enough to avoid any and all soft drinks, energy, drinks, flavored waters, etc. All of these have a deplorable effect on human health, type two diabetes being the least of them. This is yet another subject I could really expound upon, but in the interest of brevity I digress.
Monitor Dietary Patterns: Periodically review your dietary patterns and make adjustments as needed to address nutrient deficiencies.
Remember that individual nutrient needs vary based on age, sex, activity level, and health status. It's important to consult with a healthcare professional or registered nutritional therapist for personalized guidance and to address specific nutrient deficiencies effectively.
Hope this helps you in your Journey to Optimal Health!!!
I would love to hear from you and hear your thoughts or questions regarding your current diet and dietary choices. Do you feel you need help? Do you feel you are on top of it? Let me know in the comment section below. I look forward to hearing from you.
Disclaimer:
I am not a medical doctor or a medical practitioner. I am not legally permitted to treat, cure, or heal disease. I can, however, provide educational content with respect to building and maintaining good health through nutrition, diet, and exercise.
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