They are needed in exceedingly small amounts: All together, maybe one-eighth of a teaspoon daily. Yet their absence from the diet can cause serious deficiency diseases( pellagra, beri-beri, scurvy, night blindness), as well as nonspecific disorders such as poor appetite and failure to grow. Minerals, such as iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, and others, are also needed for proper metabolism. They are found in all plant and animal tissues in minuscule amounts. Current research holds that they cannot be synthesized by the body, but must invariably be obtained from external sources. They play a major role in regulating the acid-alkaline balance, the movement of fluid in and out of cells, electrical activity along the nervous system, oxygen transport, and countless other metabolic activities. A deficiency in minerals can cause such conditions as anemia( too little iron), poor bone resiliency( too little calcium), and increased neuromuscular irritability. 14 Interest in the molecular and atomic composition of the body has been growing throughout the century as the sophistication of microscopes and research techniques has increased. When vitamins were discovered to be key factors in the biological effects of different foods, the study of nutrition became more and more the study of the effect of these invisible compounds. The scientific, reductionistic approach to nutrition holds that only micro and macro nutrients( vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats) need be considered. The intangibles, such as animal or vegetable quality, shape, color, aroma, taste, texture, direction of growth, and climate or season of origin have, it is held, nothing to do with the appropriateness of one food or another. According to the systems approach, however, all the above factors play a role, and we must consider the context in which nutrients appear, as well as their proportion and relationship to one another. When that relationship is altered, the body has to make adjustments that are not always comfortable. The practice of taking vitamins as“ insurance,”“ just in case we’ re missing something,” ignores this. As an example, let’ s look at a carrot:
In its infinite wisdom, nature has designed carrots, and all other plant foods, as systems containing a wide array of nutrients. This is fortunate, because human beings do not always have access to a wide variety of foods. If each food has a range of nutrients, we are then more likely to be assured ample nourishment. Nature has also designed us so that we can chew, swallow, digest, and assimilate the carrot with all its nutrients. But when we take the vitamin A out of the carrot, put it in a pill with sugars or starches, and swallow that, our body system will be surprised. As it’ s not used or suited to metabolizing a single element, it soon starts asking,“ Where are all the other guys? Where’ s the chewy part?” It has been well established that vitamins in the B complex( thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B 6, B 12 and so on) are interdependent: Taking one of them increases the need for the others. 15
In other words, taking B 6 tablets can make us relatively deficient in B 1, B 2, B 12, and all the others. Why? Because the B-vitamin complex forms a living system of sorts, and breaking up a system always creates a need for that system to rebalance itself. Greater amounts of B 6 must be balanced with greater amounts of B 1, B 2, B 12, and so on. A carrot is also a system. Taking the vitamin A alone will make us relatively deficient in all the elements that usually accompany it in the carrot( or in other natural foods). And how does the body respond when it perceives itself as deficient? It reaches for something to correct the deficiency: In this case, it may go for“ the chewy part” and develop a case of the“ munchies.” Every time I bring up this concept in a class or a counseling session, eyes light up— ahh, is that why I’ m overeating even when I’ m not hungry? Is that why I’ ve been putting on weight since I started a“ health regime”? Yes, indeed, yes. In other words, if you take a vitamin A pill in the morning, you may be spending the afternoon looking for the rest of the carrot. Another way in which the body may try to right an imbalance— other than by adding the missing elements— is to expel the excess. The recommendations to take vitamins are often accompanied with a statement to the effect that if any are taken in excess, the body will simply get rid of them. This is quite true. What we fail to consider, however, is how this excretion will be accomplished, or through which organ: kidneys, intestines, lungs, or skin. One young woman who came to see me a few years ago had a rash all over the lower part of her face from ear to ear, like a beard. No dermatologist or nutritionist had been able to help her. I found she was eating quite well,