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individuals consumed more than 10 times the amount of vitamin are present. Minerals are expended rapidly by the body as a result A than is found in the typical modern diet. The excess, he of normal metabolism, but the need is increased during times of hypothesised, was an extra measure against the possibility of defi- stress. Other factors that increase the need for minerals include ciency. The need for vitamin A increases during times of stress, consumption of coffee and caffeinated beverages, exposure to with exposure to environmental toxins and with the presence of _ pollution and use of drugs. As a result, many individuals are defi- any chronic or acute disease. cient in one or more essential minerals. Vitamin D is another fat-soluble vitamin that is indispensable Bones and teeth contain varying amounts of all the minerals, for healthy teeth and bones. While it is true that the body can not just fluoride. Though fluoride's role in cavity prevention has make small amounts of this vitamin from exposure to sunlight, an been elevated beyond the status of other nutrients, it is certainly adequate dietary supply is also required. Many health authorities not the only requirement for healthy teeth. Adequate calcium, agree that the US Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin D magnesium and trace minerals such as zinc, vanadium and boron needs to be increased. Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption are necessary for building teeth. These elements are hard to find of calcium from food in the digestive tract. It is also required for in the modern diet under any circumstances because of our the process in which the calcium is deposited into the bony struc- depleted soils. tures and teeth. A severe vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets in Minerals come from the earth—from the soil, and from rocks children and osteomalacia in adults—conditions in which the that have been eroding for thousands of years. Under the best bones begin to soften. It is no secret that vitamin D deficiency is conditions, plants absorb the minerals and make them more easily common and widespread.'* In a modern dietary research study, it available to the mammalian digestive system. These compounds was found that Norwegians consume 50 times the amount of vita- eventually become part of the food chain and enter our human min D as Americans in order to keep themselves healthy."” diets. The more minerals that are present in the soil, the more that The Western diet tends to be low in end up in the foods we eat. But when fat-soluble vitamins for at least two the soil becomes depleted throug reasons. First, vitamins such as A and overuse and improper care, the miner- D are mostly destroyed or removed | Another reason why our foods als never make it into the plants in ade- during "normal" food processing. For quate quantities. As if this were not example, raw cow's milk and cream are deficient in the fat-soluble damaging enough, the mineral content are typically excellent sources of | yjtamins is that they have been of foods is further depleted throug vitamins A and D. However, during processing and refining. the process of pasteurisation, in which purposefully removed The kinds of foods we eat determine the milk is heated to very high along with the fat. our mineral intake. Ancient cultures temperatures, these nutrients are lost. around the world, for example, includ- In an attempt to replace the lost ed mineral-rich bone broths in their nutrients, milk companies add diets. Yet these nourishing foods have synthetic vitamins to their products. been replaced in our modern society Yet, much evidence suggests that these artificially derived by heavily processed canned and packaged soup mixes whic compounds are not as well utilised by the body as their natural have hardly any minerals at all! An easily available and inexpen- counterparts. sive solution to improve dietary mineral content is to include Another reason why our foods are deficient in the fat-soluble "bone broth" in the diet every day.’ This tasty, mineral-rich meal vitamins is that they have been purposefully removed along with _is prepared by boiling bones (raw or cooked) in water with a little the fat. We've been told by the health authorities—including the vinegar for 24-48 hours, skimming off the surface residue every American Heart Association, the American Dietetic Association so often (see endnote 19 for recipe source; also see the website and our own family doctors—as well as the media that animal fat —_http://www.westonaprice.com). The resulting broth should be is not good for us, that it is the greatest causative factor in many drunk in small quantities throughout the day; excess broth can be chronic degenerative diseases. We have been lulled into forget- frozen in separate containers and then thawed and reheated each ting that the fat-soluble vitamins on which our health depends are day. A dose of one or two cups per day would be sufficient for only found in the fatty parts of the animal foods. As the fat is improving health. Other excellent sources of minerals include sea removed from milk to make skim milk, all of the fat-soluble vita- vegetables, unrefined sea salt, organically and/or biodynamically mins are also removed in the process. When the fat is cut away _ produced fruits and vegetables, and raw cow's milk. from a steak or the skin on a piece of roasted chicken is discarded, the fat-soluble vitamins are being thrown out as well. The fash- = Enzymes ionable practice of eating a reduced-fat diet has had the concomi- The third major component of natural foods that was abundant tant effect of reducing our intake of all of the fat-soluble vitamins in the diets of native peoples around the world but nearly absent as well. This practice is to our detriment. from most American diets is enzymes. Enzymes are the af tha purposefully removed along with the fat. ~ Enzymes The third major component of natural foods that was abundant in the diets of native peoples around the world but nearly absent from most American diets is enzymes. Enzymes are the compounds which catalyse most of the billions of chemical reactions that occur in the body each day. These macro- molecules are discrete protein elements, each with a specific structure and dedicated function. For example, the enzyme amylase breaks down carbohydrates into sugar molecules, protease breaks down protein from foods in the digestive tract into amino acids, and lipase breaks down dietary fat into glycerides. Enzymes, though varied, all share one weakness in common: heat. Enzymes are destroyed in cooking and at temperatures used in food processing. Heat denatures an enzyme so that its structure + Minerals Mineral content is a separate but related issue. Modern diets contain only a small fraction of the minerals that were present in the diets of our ancestors. Primitive diets contained from six to 25 times the content, depending on the particular mineral under question.'* Modern food processing techniques strip the food of its mineral content and leave it depleted. Any inefficiency in digesting and assimilating these nutrients further compounds the problem by making it difficult to absorb the scant minerals which NEXUS + 21 FEBRUARY — MARCH 2006 www.nexusmagazine.com