Micro-Managing Your Health

We all know that calcium builds strong bones and vitamin C gives our immune system a boost, but what do choline, zinc or biotin do? If you have written them off as extras, don’t! Every micronutrient plays an essential role to our health; in fact, without them, we would cease to exist! All nutrients work together in an intricate, complex web of reactions to maintain daily function, and when this homeostatic system becomes unbalanced, nutrient deficiencies arise.

Did you know that over 90 percent of the population is deficient in one or more micronutrients, 50 percent of whom are taking supplements!

How do our micronutrients become unbalanced? The answer to that question is quite easy. We eat foods void of nutrients. In fact, they deplete the few nutrients we store in our bodies (can you say sugar?). We take prescription medications and don’t breathe nearly enough fresh-air. We live in a fast-paced society, and daily stress pulls nutrients from our body, especially B-vitamins and antioxidants, weakening our immune system and leaving us susceptible to disease. Air, water and radiological pollution bears extra stress on our bodies and demands an even stronger detoxification system from our livers. Prescription medications interfere with the absorption and function of many micronutrients; for example antacids, such as omeprazole, are known to cause deficiencies in B12, folic acid, vitamin D, calcium, iron and zinc. Popular cholesterol-lowering drugs, like statins, deplete our muscular stores of co-enzyme Q10. Oral contraceptives, commonly known as “the pill,” can cause deficiencies in vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, magnesium, selenium, zinc and folic acid.

The very foundation of our food system, the soil, is over-worked and depleted of vital nutrients such as selenium, copper, zinc and iodine, and therefore our food supply provides less of those essential trace minerals. And the story isn’t just one way — a lack of sleep or chronic fatigue may contribute to nutrient deficiencies, but nutrient deficiencies may result in fatigue and insomnia. What came first, the deficiency or the symptom — the chicken or the egg?

So why not just take a broad-spectrum multivitamin that provides 100 percent of the daily value of all micronutrients? That is certainly a good place to start, but most people, depending on their lifestyle, diet and overall stress level, may need more or less of certain nutrients to meet their individual needs. We are all biochemically individual— not one of us functions in the exact same way as another, and because of the complex nature in which micronutrients interact, supplementing with too much of one micronutrient could drive a deficiency in another, or worse, serious health risks. For example, over-supplementing zinc without adequate copper could drive a copper deficiency. Or, post-menopausal women attempting to reduce risk for osteoporosis often supplement calcium, but calcium without adequate co-factors like vitamin D, vitamin K2, magnesium and boron, could be driving soft-tissue calcification (stiffening and narrowing of your arteries due to calcium build-up), increasing cardiovascular health risks instead.

What can you do? Find a credentialed healthcare provider that can test you for micronutrient deficiencies. Often dietitians, naturopaths, chiropractor or other alternative practitioners can help. Don’t keep guessing what supplements are right for you. Test for what you need and leave the rest!

#health