What’s the 3rd most common deficiency? …  Yup, it’s calcium!

I’ve said it before (1), and I’ll say it again:

We are NOT getting “all the nutrition we need from our food”.

We simply are not.

Theoretically we can.  Philosophically we should.  Realistically we are not.

Yes, I’m talking mostly about developed countries.  Countries where most people have access to a variety of foods all year long.

Study after study shows a pattern that is not serving our health; and we’re not just talking people who have health issues that are known to affect nutrient absorption and metabolism, or those people who may be taking medications that affect nutrient status.  This is common amongst the population in general.

Most common deficiency – Vitamin D

Did you know that vitamin D deficiency is SO predictable in the UK in winter, that a mathematical model has been created?(2,3)

Vitamin D is a topic for another post, but know it is hands down the most common nutrient deficiency in Canada (4,5) & the US (6).  It’s also common in the UK(2,3), and in fact much of the world!(7,8)

Second most common deficiency – Magnesium

Magnesium, the mineral needed for over 300 biochemical reactions in your body(9) is often quoted as being the second most common deficiency in many of the developed nations.(3,5)

Magnesium is central to the chlorophyll molecule, so it’s necessary for all green plants.

Guess what that means?

We’re not eating enough green plants!(10)

And green plants have more nutrition than just magnesium!  They’re amazing powerhouses of multitudes of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals.

Third most common deficiency – Calcium

And this is where I want to help.

Too many people think they’re getting their full 1,000 mg (or more) of calcium.(11) And they may or may not be eating/drinking dairy (which is not necessary, if you can’t or choose not to consume it).(12)

Download my free calcium guides “The Real Deal About Calcium and Your Bones”, and the Calcium Food Chart & Tracker right here.

How to get enough calcium

My approach as a science-based holistic nutritionist is to get nutrients from food first.  Preferably as unprocessed as possible. There are lots of reasons why I recommend and help clients with food first, but the main ones are that:

1. Food is a matrix of nutrients.  You get a variety of micro and macronutrients from foods, not just “500 mg calcium carbonate” which you may be getting from your supplements.
2. Supplements have not been shown to replace a nutrient-dense diet.  They can certainly make up for shortfalls (hence their name “supplement”), and can help many people who need higher levels of certain nutrients.  Some of them even have a variety of nutrients (multivitamins), but they just can’t compete with foods in terms of health benefits.

Lack of sufficient calcium is such a concern for our health in general, and bone health in particular, that I’ve created some nutrition freebies for you.

The free book will help you to see how much calcium is actually in many of your foods (and is sorted by amount of calcium per serving, and colour-coded).  It also has direct links to the database for each item listed so you can see for yourself where the info comes from, but more importantly so you can adjust your serving size & have the database re-calculate the calcium quantity for you.

Download my free calcium guides “The Real Deal About Calcium and Your Bones”, and the Calcium Food Chart & Tracker right here.

References:

(1)  thewellnessbusinesshub.com/yes-nutrient-deficiencies-heres-proof-can/

(2)  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960076016300619

(3) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960076016302461

(4)  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/surveill/nutrition/commun/cchs_focus-volet_escc-eng.php

(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26641010

(6)  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174857/

(7)  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096007601630022X

(8)  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25277808

(9)  http://claudiapetrilli.com/8-signs-you-may-be-deficient-in-magnesium/

(10)  http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-625-x/2015001/article/14182-eng.htm

(11) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/reference/table/ref_elements_tbl-eng.php

(12) http://www.onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(16)00005-2/fulltext