Here come the holidays so remember: you are what you eat!

If you are a “typical American”, be prepared to be “overfed and undernourished”!

A rich, holiday diet typically contains a lot of processed starch (bleached flour, pasta, and sugar). In addition to being short on proteins our holiday treats leave us deficient in. Micronutrients are the trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other compounds found in foods. This is opposed to macronutrients, which are what is found in higher concentrations in food (starch, proteins, fats).

Historically, foods that humans have consumed were made up of a balance of macro- and micro- nutrients. For instance, vegetables and fruits are made up of carbohydrates and a small amount of protein and fat. They also contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. The typical foods consumed today in the Standard American Diet (SAD) have an abundance of processed and refined foods that are stripped of their vitamins and minerals. Because of this, we consume plenty of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, but they lack the vitamins and minerals that we need.

The human body is probably one of the most complex and resilient “systems” in the universe. This allows us to adapt to almost anything that we can do to our bodies. In the case of micronutrient deficiency, our bodies can adapt to allow short term survival, but it is done so at the expense of long term health and well-being. In other words, taking in fewer nutrients than we need now doesn’t cause any immediate short term effects, but let this go on for several years or decades, and it will take a toll on our health.

We see evidence of this phenomenon everyday. Chronic micronutrient deficiency is linked with increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. All diseases are on the rise even though we have access to more food than ever. These lifestyle related diseases combine to kill more people than any other causes. Additionally, we have also seen a decrease in quality of life due to degenerative diseases such arthritis.
Micronutrient deficiency causes DNA damage and mitochondrial decay, leading to increased free radical production and oxidative stress in the body. This “leads to functional decline of mitochondria, cells, tissues, and eventually organs such as the brain with an accompanying loss of ambulatory activity.” The DNA damage and mitochondrial decay is also seen with exposure to radiation and other harmful chemicals. It’s interesting because most people freak out over the risk of radiation exposure from 3-Mile Island or having x-rays done, yet they think nothing of allowing themselves or their kids to become micronutrient deficient!

Message of hope:
What we put in our bodies really does matter, and we can make small changes for big rewards.
Add healthy items for awhile before trying to deprive yourself of treats. Add fruit and vegetables to your diet starting today.
Later you can “raise the bar” and cut out sugar and processed grains. Additionally, you can take a high quality daily multivitamin with minerals.