NUTRITION HEALTH MONTH
Nothing is more important than what we put in our mouths. The picture above is what should be avoided but unfortunately, this picture reflects what many Americans consume each day. Hippocrates, the father of Western Medicine is famously quoted as saying “Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. Today our food and the western diet has turned into poisons and the root cause of most chronic diseases. Throughout history, a good nutritious diet and exercise has shown to complete prevent, treat and cure most chronic diseases and science has revealed the mechanism of these clinical observations. Linus Pauling revealed that chronic disease is caused by nutrient deficiency. I would add that chronic disease is caused by nutrient deficiencies and exposure to toxins. In many cases, the toxins to which we are exposed comes from our food.
The field of nutritional epidemiology has demonstrated that the people that live the longest can be correlated to their diet and lifestyle. The food we eat today is much different than the food our predecessors ate decades before. The pressures of feeding a growing global population have resulted in food and vegetables that are depleted in basic minerals and nutrients. As shown in the table below, basic nutrient density in vegetables grown in the U.S. has declined by as much as 76%. Moreover, there is over 1 billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides sprayed on our crops in the U.S. each year and over 5 billion pounds used globally. Not only are our foods depleted of basic nutrients but now they are replete with poisons. So even if you try to eat raw food and practice good nutrition, it is almost impossible to acquire enough nutrients from raw vegetables due to farming practices. The media has also conditioned us to eat organic. In 2021, organic retail sales were estimated to be more than $52 billion, about 5.5 percent of all retail food sales. U.S. farms and ranches sold nearly $11 billion in organic products in 2021. Most people do not even understand what “organic” even means. Produce can be called organic if it’s certified to have grown in soils that had no prohibited substances applied for three years prior to harvest. Prohibited substances include most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. We published years ago that organically grown vegetables have 10-50% less nitrate than conventionally grown vegetables. Without nitrogen, the plants have less nitrate when harvested and therefore we become nitrate deficient which leads to nitric oxide deficiency.
I would agree we must limit our exposure to chemical toxicants found in our food supply so in this regard, organic is good. However, without a standardized fertilizer and sufficient nitrogen in the soil, vegetables cannot assimilate most nutrients. We need nitrogen in the soil in order to maximize nutrient density and maximize crop yield. The emergence of genetically modified organisms (GMO) allows for crops to survive poisons that would ordinarily kill the plant. These GMO foods can now survive the application of poisons such as glyphosate or Roundup. Foods to which glyphosate has been applied now eaten by consumers are exposed to these poisons. If we look at the correlation between glyphosate use and the incidence of autism spectrum disorders and dementia/Alzheimers, it does not take a statistician to recognize the almost perfect correlation with the increase use of glyphosate and the increase incidence of many chronic diseases. Glyphosate not only destroys the human microbiome including those that produce nitric oxide but it also destroys the nitric oxide synthase found in the lining of our blood vessels and completely inhibits nitric oxide production. Inhibiting both pathways that produce nitric oxide in the human body leads to complete nitric oxide deficiency and this is the cause of all chronic disease.
The other poison we must deal with is sugar. Sugar poisons our body, disrupts normal metabolism and leads to metabolic disease and diabetes. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 Americans suffer from metabolic disease. Americans consume nearly 100 grams of “added” sugar each day. This does not even account for sugar found in the foods we eat or the conversation of carbohydrate foods into sugar when consumed. Sugar causes glycation of proteins and enzymes making them dysfunctional. When sugar binds to the nitric oxide synthase enzyme, it disables the enzyme. Sugar also reduces the pH in the mouth, causes dysbiosis and leads to complete nitric oxide deficiency. Looking at these statistics from a biochemical perspective, it is no surprise to me why Americans are the sickest population on Earth. Everything we do is leading to nitric oxide deficiency and the onset and progression of chronic disease.
What is the solution?
I don’t mean to paint such a bleak perspective but these are the data and the truth. The good news is that we can do better and we must do better. We can be deliberate in our choices of what we put in our mouths. I am not a big fan of extreme diets such as complete vegan or complete carnivore. There is good data and outcomes from both. There is not a one size fits all. However, what is clear is that we must have sufficient nutrients from our diet, we must consume enough protein and limit sugar consumption in order to give our body what it needs to do its job. A balanced diet in moderation is key along with moderate physical exercise. Below are a few tips that I recommend in order to make sure you give your body what it needs and eliminate exposure to toxins.
- Start with a micronutrient analysis so you can customize foods and/or supplements to restore what your body is missing.
- Buy from your local farmers. You can question your local growers on how they grow their produce. I am fortunate to be able to grow my own food. I raise my own beef and grow my own vegetables. I do soil analysis in our garden and then add standardized fertilizers to replete specific nutrients but do not add herbicides or pesticides to my crops.
- Avoid antacids. Without sufficient stomach acid production, we cannot break down proteins into amino acids, we cannot absorb many nutrients such as magnesium, iodine, chromium, selenium, iron, B vitamins just to mention a few.
- Avoid sugar and high carbohydrate diets.
- Make sure your body can produce nitric oxide to deliver nutrients and oxygen to every cell in your body.
There is a growing trend in the supplement industry to deliver nutrients in gummies or chews. Some companies are selling so called nitric oxide products in the form of gummies and chews. You cannot deliver nitric oxide in gummies and chews. The last thing Americans need is more sugar. Sugar is a poison and a toxin. Avoid all gummies and chews. Change your diet, consume more protein, supplement missing nutrients, start exercising, give your body what it needs, remove exposure to toxins and your body will perform as designed. The human body is a remarkable organism that is regenerative by nature. We just need to get out of its way. Consider our nitric oxide product technology that can help restore nitric oxide production.
Dr. Nathan S. Bryan is a biochemist and physiologist that has more than 20 years of basic science and clinical research. His many seminal discoveries have resulted in dozens of issued U.S. and International patents. He is an international expert in nitric oxide and molecular medicine. Dr. Bryan is an innovator and successful entrepreneur who product technology is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue worldwide. This content is not intended to replace medical advice from a physician.