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Taking us to Chelsea in 2007.
Live images in March from Melbourne & Chelsea in May.
Please tell your friends. No one else will.
Written by Wally Richards. 10th March 2007
Written by Wally Richards.
VITAMINS IN YOUR FOOD CHAIN
We are all aware that our bodies need adequate amounts of vitamins and
minerals, nature has over thousands of years evolved our bodies to take
the vitamins and goodness our of the fruit and vegetables that we eat.
When we eat a fresh bit of fruit or a vegetable we take into our bodies
a number of vitamins, minerals and enzymes which are in balance and readily
absorbed by our metabolism.
It is also known that a number of minerals and vitamins need to have complementary
enzymes and minerals for absorption. If these are lacking then our bodies
will likely pass the valuable vitamins out with our toilets.
The more I read and understand about our food chain and the assimilation
of healthy, nutritional dense food the more intriguing it becomes.
For instance there maybe a herb that you can take to assist with a health
problem. Scientists discover that the constitute of the herb, that assists
the condition, is a particular substance so they then synthetically make
the substance. The man made substance often is not as affective
as the original herb and may even cause adverse reactions in some people.
The reason is simple, the herb contained many properties other than the
particular substance that assisted with the health condition. When the
man made substance is produced we lose all the other properties which
enhance the action or absorption in our metabolism.
This point was raised in a recent article I read in the Dominion Post
entitled, ‘Vitamins’ value debunked’ The article came from The Times in
Britain and was originally published in ‘Journal of the American
Medical Association’ The article read, ‘Vitamin pills, commonly taken
by millions of people, are doing them more harm than good, an analysis
of the evidence has concluded.
Three supplements- vitamins A and E and beta carotene- appear to increase
the death rate of those taking them. Vitamins C and selenium have no effect.
The research was carried out by a team led by Goran Bjelakovic of Copenhagen
University Hospital and colleagues, using methods developed by the Cochrane
Collaboration, the leading international group specialising in the analysis
of what works in medicine.
Supporters of vitamin supplements believe these man made vitamins act
as anti-oxidants, preventing highly active oxygen radicals in the body
damaging molecules such as cholesterol, to cause heart disease. The theory
seemed plausible, and some initial trial results appeared to lend it support.
But as better trials were done different results emerged. The Copenhagen
team found that supplements as a whole increased the death rate by 5 per
cent. When supplements were taken separately, beta carotene
increased death rates by 7 per cent. (For those that do not know, Beta-carotene
is the molecule that gives carrots their orange colour. It is part
of a family of chemicals called the carotenoids, which are found in many
fruit and vegetables, as well as some animal products such as egg yolks.
Carotenoids were first isolated in the early 19th century, and have been
synthesised for use as food colorings since the 1950s. Biologically, beta-carotene
is most important as the precursor of vitamin A. It also has anti-oxidant
properties and may help in preventing cancer and other diseases.)
Vitamin A increased death rates by 16 per cent and vitamin E by 4 per
cent. The team said it examined only the use of synthetic vitamins.’
I have believed for many years that man made vitamins were a waste of
money and the only effect of them was that they changed the colour of
your pee.
Instead of wasting your money on vitamin supplements do what the British
Heart Foundation says,
‘People should not take supplements, but should concentrate instead on
eating a healthy diet.’
Which leads us back to our gardens where you can simply grow very healthy
fruit and vegetables at little cost and enjoy the vast complexity of vitamins
and minerals they richly provide.
For instance one cup of raw spinach contains .86 grams of protein and
.81 grams of fiber. Plus Potassium - 167.4 mg, Phosphorus - 14.7 mg, Magnesium
- 23.7 mg,
Calcium - 29.7 mg, Sodium - 23.7 mg, Iron - .81 mg, Selenium - .3 mg,
- Vitamin K - 145 mcg,
Also contains small amounts of manganese, copper and zinc. Plus
Vitamin A - 2014.5 mg,
Vitamin C - 8.43 mg, Folate - 58.2 mcg and contains some other vitamins
in small amounts.
Spinach is so easy to grow as well.
One medium size tomato contains 1.05 grams of protein and 1.35 grams of
fiber, Potassium - 396.7 mg, Phosphorus - 62.7 mg, Magnesium - 22.8
mg, Calcium - 31.9 mg, Sodium - 11.4 mg, Iron - .51 mg,
Selenium - .8 mg, Also contains small amounts of manganese, copper and
zinc. Plus Vitamin A - 2364 IU, Vitamin C - 25 mg, Folate (important
during pregnancy) - 46 mcg, Niacin - .94 mg,
Vitamin B6 - .1 mg and don't the ones you grow taste so much better than
purchased ones?
There is another rule in nature, in that you only get out what you put
in, so when it comes to growing any fruit and vegetables you need to supply
into the growing medium a vast range of minerals and this can be simply
done these days with applications of Magic Botanic Liquid which we wrote
about last week, the minerals from the ocean, ‘Ocean Solids’ and the minerals
from rocks, ‘Simalith’. Add these to your soil with ample amounts of compost,
animal manures and any other natural products.
If you have limited room you can grow a few vegetables in containers or
polystrene trays using a mix of compost and a bit of soil.
One really great thing you can grow is wheat grass in trays and then juice
it through a manual juicer to drink about 30 mils a day on an empty stomach.
Grown with all the minerals supplied by the products mentioned above,
that 30 mils is the equivalent of 1 kg of fresh vegetables in regards
to the vitamins, mineral and enzymes.
I have been growing and juicing wheat grass daily, for over a year now
and I cant remember a time, other than my youth, when I have felt
so fit and healthy as I do now. I don't even catch colds anymore, I can
feel a cold coming on and next day its gone. For more information see
my web site at or give me a call on 0800 466464
Most of us cannot grow all the fruit and vegetables that we need in our
daily diets but what we are able to grow can obtain a good percentage
of our bodies daily needs of vitamins and minerals.
Grow your own and be healthy, don't waste your money on supplements.
Problems ring me at 0800 466 464 (Palmerston North 3570606)
wallyjr@gardenews.co.nz Email
Web site www.gardenews.co.nz
Garden Pages and News at www.gardenews.co.nz
Shar Pei pages at www.sharpei.co.nz
Please check
out the Event Calendar. If you want your activity included, just let us
know. Thank you.
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