The use of supplements in traditional and alternative medicine is becoming increasingly common. Calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamin B and vitamin D are the most deficient nutrients that we need to supplement, says dietitian-nutritionist Sara Aberkan .
Nutritional deficiencies are the cause and the consequence of inflammation, because an organism that lacks enough nutrients will not have the ability to resolve inflammatory processes, explains the specialist, specifying that each vitamin and each mineral is necessary for proper functioning. of the immune system and the resolution of inflammation. ” A deficient organism is a stressed and inflammatory organism“, adds Aberkan.
According to the nutritionist, in an inflammation scenario, we will see that nutrient needs or requirements increase. Yes, your body needs almost twice as much vitamin D to deal with an inflammatory process compared to a healthy body“.
The equation is simple, nutritional deficits would be the result of less nutritious foods + malabsorption of nutrients + chronic stress and inflammation = nutritional deficits, i.e. a lack of vitamins and minerals“, she indicated.
” Likewise, today we are more likely to have deficits due to the following factors: Less nutritious foods, both of plant (fruits, vegetables) and animal (meat, fish, eggs) origin. Most of the food, crops and animals traded around the world are growing at an increasingly rapid rate (with high use of fertilizers, animal feeds and hormones). This generates a more productive market, but at the expense of its nutritional quality“, laments Sara Aberkan.
She continues: “ I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but if you take a tomato from the orchard, which is natural and whose natural growth times have been respected, compared to a tomato from the supermarket, which is accelerated growth, you will notice many differences. The first is a tomato that has matured slowly, allowing it to absorb as many nutrients from the soil as possible.“. And you can apply that same example to other crops, even meat and eggs, she says.
It has been observed that animals raised in the open air, which exert themselves and can feed on grass, have cell membranes that are more nutritious, richer in fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and with a higher content in omega-3s, says Aberkan. There are other factors that could also explain these deficits that we find so frequently today, in particular poorer soils because in addition to accelerated crops, we observe that the current soils where these grow contain a vitamin profile and mineral very different from that of a few years ago.
” Minerals such as selenium and magnesium, very abundant in the soil and in the roots of plants, are now rare“, notes the specialist.
Another very important factor is the change in our diet. A fast, pro-inflammatory diet high in processed and refined foods is a nutrient-poor diet. ” We need to stop looking at the calories we put in our mouths and start looking at the nutritional power of this food. A thousand calories in fruits, vegetables and unprocessed foods are not the same as a thousand calories in bread and chocolate, for example“, advises the nutritionist.
And to add: If to all this we add a growing imbalance and alteration of the digestive system, the intestines and the microbiota, and taking into account the fact that it is thanks to our digestive system that we absorb nutrients, what a mess we have. Because an inflamed bowel will not be a very efficient bowel to absorb the vitamins and minerals we ingest“.
And finally, ” to all of the above, add stress and chronic inflammation; because yes, a stressed organism is an organism whose demand for nutrients will be higher, ie it will need more vitamins and minerals. It has been observed that the more stress and lack of sleep you have, the more your body will need and need magnesium.“, concludes Sara Aberkan.