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Nutritionists tell us that with RDAs, deficiencies are a thing of the past, but is that really the truth? RDAs or Recommended Dietary Allowances are the absolute minimum of a vital nutrient, without which we will get ill and die from a deficiency disease. In a recent article I have cited evidence that RDAs are insufficient to assure optimal health.
Vitamin C is an example. Unlike almost all animals, humans do not manufacture several grams of vitamin C per day in their livers and are thus completely dependent on dietary intake. 60 milligrams of the vitamin as recommended are sufficient to prevent the end-stage deficiency called scurvy, but are woefully inadequate to assure cardiovascular health or proper immune function. An optimal daily intake of Vitamin C of 3000 milligrams (3 grams) has recently been suggested by the National Health Federation in a submission to the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses, based on an evaluation of numerous studies.
Remember those 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables the nutritionists recommend we eat each day? The mineral we generally find in fruits and vegetables together with vitamin C is potassium, and what do you know - we may be routinely deficient not only of vitamin C but of potassium as well! Ironically, there is no RDA for this vital mineral, although it is arguably the most important of them all, and potassium dosage in supplements has been limited by the FDA to 100 milligrams per tablet or capsule, although the "population reference" intake set by the EU in 1992 is 3.1 grams per day.
Potassium has no RDA
I have been supplementing both vitamin C and potassium for years and would say that these two substances are possibly the most important single elements that we should add to our food. Joe Vialls who is an investigator - his site is great if you want to look "behind the news" - has experienced a severe potassium shortage himself and has researched and written an excellent article that I suggest you read:
POTASSIUM DEFICIENCY SCAM KILLS AND MAIMS MILLIONS
Deliberately restricting your potassium intake makes you very ill, and thus vulnerable to hundreds of highly profitable medical "cures"
The title immediately suggests to the reader that a giant pharmaceutical atrocity has been inflicted on the poor natives of some far off third-world country, by a predictably greedy drug multinational, but this is simply not the case. By far the largest number of deaths and permanent crippling disabilities from potassium deficiency occur in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and several other western nations.
How this horrific state of affairs came into being and was perpetuated thereafter, is a very long and frequently confusing story, meaning that we must start at the very beginning if we are to have any real chance of understanding the lethal implications. We first need to understand what potassium ...
read the full article here
Related articles to read:
Blaming dietary sodium for high blood pressure is too simplistic; the real problem may be mineral deficiencies
Posted Wednesday, December 14, 2005 by Dani Veracity
In popular thought, disputing sodium's link to high blood pressure is equivalent to questioning whether the earth is round. However, some experts now believe that salt will not raise blood pressure in everyone, just in people who are "salt sensitive." Only 10 percent of the population is salt sensitive, according to BioMarkers by Professor William Evans and Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg...
Preventative Potassium - By Alan R. Gaby, MD
Healthnotes Newswire (February 10, 2005) - Scientists have long known that eating a diet high in potassium is associated with a reduced risk of stroke. The potassium - stroke connection has now been strengthened by a study showing that potassium inhibits the function of blood platelets, an effect that would be expected to protect against stroke.
ONE MINERAL CAN HELP A MYRIAD OF CONDITIONS FROM ATHEROSCLEROSIS TO "COPD" TO ZITS
If you've read or heard anything at all about potassium iodide, it's probably been in association with terrorist attacks or nuclear power plant disasters. Potassium iodide (usually taken in tablet form) is recommended by "public health" authorities to protect the thyroid gland against accumulation of radioactive iodine released by a "terrorist bomb" or by nuclear power plant "meltdown". But in reality, potassium iodide is a very effective "home remedy" with literally dozens of uses.
The Magnesium Lottery - Magnesium deficiency is common and deadly.
MAGNESIUM: A Dietary Mineral You Need (and Probably Didn't Know It)
The Miracle of Magnesium
Most Americans don't get enough magnesium, poll shows
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Monday May 3 2004
updated on Sunday February 5 2006
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