September 2016 e-Newsletter on 2 Key Nutritional Deficiencies
When I was a child, we used to have to take Iodine tablets in school, then it was added to salt. But when cardiovascular conditions and obesity started climbing, people were advised to cut out the salt!
There are a variety of essential nutrients that are necessary to maintain good health. Before processed foods became so prevalent, it was possible to get most of these nutrients from a typical diet of whole, natural foods. Nowadays, the typical modern diet often fails to provide sufficient quantities of many of the most important essential nutrients: iron, iodine, vitamin D, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin A and magnesium. Two key nutritional deficiencies at the top of that list are iodine and vitamin D.
Iodine deficiency is more likely to occur in the northern half of the USA, where we Wisconsinites live, in what has been diagnostically mapped as the “Goiter Belt.” Currently, we are witnessing a huge resurgence of hypothyroid conditions and goiters, once again due to iodine deficiency.
Symptoms of iodine deficiency include:
- tired all the time; afternoon energy loss,
- always cold; cold hands and feet,
- constipation,
- weight gain and difficulty losing weight,
- skin dry and itchy,
- eyebrows thin, especially the outer third,
- hair loss,
- brittle nails,
- forgetful and foggy brain,
- difficult swallowing or hoarseness,
- heavy or irregular menstrual periods,
- difficulty getting pregnant.
The more chemically active halogens including chlorine, bromine and fluoride can and will compete with iodine absorption by displacing it in any and all chemical reactions. These halogens are commonly found in municipal water supplies, fabric, cosmetics, plastics, laundry cleaners, breads and may even be sprayed on some foods. This presents a serious challenge to the thyroid, struggling to maintain the edge in an environment contaminated with chlorine, fluorine and bromine compounds.
Vitamin D deficiency is also back on the rise. My concern is that typical Western medicine standards are way too low at only 30ng/ml. According to Functional Medicine, Integrative Medicine and Holistic doctors, who have much greater training in clinical nutrition, standards are recommended in 65-85ng/ml levels. In the US, more than 40% of people may be vitamin D deficient. This number increases to more than 70% of the elderly and more than 80% of people with dark skin (which produces less vitamin D in response to sunlight). Vitamin D is actually a hormone. Deficiencies of vitamin D can have far reaching effects. We believe it is important to find your baseline level and be tested on a yearly basis.
It is so important to have a yearly nutritional evaluation in order to be certain you are protected and thriving in good health. Call Nelson Healing Center to schedule a nutritional evaluation and consider attending our Metabolic Detoxification program on Sept. 15.
“If you study the rhythm of life on this planet, you will find that everything moves in perfect symphony with everything else — by grand divine design. The earth has the ability to heal and regenerate itself, just as our oceans have the ability to replenish themselves by turning over their debris with the waves to wash them ashore. This perfect orchestration of the cycle of life is one of the Creator’s greatest and most beautiful miracles. The earth will continue to exist with or without us. So the real concern should be, will we be able to continue to co-exist with each other?” ― Suzy Kassem, from Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassel