An eye-opening report in The Times of India recently described how 75 percent of the Indian population are believed to be deficient in several key vitamins. Summarizing a study carried out across four different areas of India, the article explained how alarming levels of vitamin deficiency have shown up among the country’s population. Notably, therefore, in an unexpected parallel, an award-winning analysis of the American population has found that not only do large portions of people in the United States have too low an intake of micronutrients, they are not even obtaining sufficient amounts when using dietary supplements. As such, with the primary cause of today’s most common chronic diseases now known to be an inadequate supply to our bodies of essential micronutrients, taken together these two studies confirm that micronutrient deficiency is a global problem that requires a globally sustainable solution.
The Indian researchers looked at three vitamins: vitamin D, vitamin B12 and Folic Acid. Based on tests conducted over a period of 3 years, the study observed deficiencies in all age groups. The proportion of people who were deficient in vitamin D, at over 81 percent, is particularly significant as there has been a general belief that low levels of this micronutrient are uncommon in India due to the abundant amounts of sunshine in the country. While available in some foods, vitamin D is also produced endogenously in the human body when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger its synthesis.
The results of the American research are arguably even more surprising, as orthodox medicine has traditionally preached that vitamin deficiencies are rare in developed countries. Published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, the study found that even when using supplements large portions of the US population had total usual intakes below the so-called “estimated average requirement” – a minimal level used as a measure of basic needs – for vitamins A, C, D and E. Moreover, intakes of minerals such as calcium and magnesium were also found to be insufficient. This clearly illustrates the importance, when choosing a dietary supplement, of only using high quality products – based on the very latest scientific research – that supply the body with proper amounts of all the cellular nutrients needed for optimum health.
As Dr. Rath’s scientific concept of Cellular Medicine explains, the primary cause of today’s most common chronic diseases – including various forms of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and others – is a chronic deficiency of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other essential micronutrients.
Thus, an optimal daily intake of these natural substances is a basic preventative measure for maintaining health, as well as achieving the safe and effective control of many pathological conditions.
In September 2011, in a graphic illustration of the continued failure of orthodox medicine to address micronutrient deficiencies, the World Economic Forum published an analysis of the global economic impact of the five leading non-communicable diseases: cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes and mental illness. Estimating that by 2030 their total costs could reach $47 trillion, the official news release accompanying the analysis openly admitted that this scenario had the potential to bankrupt national healthcare systems.
Correcting micronutrient deficiencies, and thereby preventing the chronic diseases caused by them, can avert this devastating economic outcome. However, we need to understand that achieving it will require persistent and concerted action at local, national and international levels. The publication of the Indian and American studies can thus be seen as a timely reminder of the urgent need to create a preventive global healthcare system based on natural approaches. No less importantly, it provides us with further evidence that the time to start is now.