This is a reprint from consumerlab.com. My comments appear in bold.

Question:
How likely are Americans to be deficient in vitamins or minerals?

Answer:
Based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2012, about 10% or less of the general population had nutrition deficiencies for selected vitamin and minerals. The rates of deficiency are shown below along with some notable differences by age, gender, and race/ethnicity:
Vitamin A: Less than 1%. However, 2% were at risk for excess vitamin A, with older adults most likely to be at-risk for excess vitamin A (4.8%).
Vitamin B-6: 10.5%.
Vitamin B-12: 2%. Older adults are the most likely to be deficient (4%) IRREGARDLESS OF B12 LEVELS, SUPPLEMENTS MAY IMPROVE MEMORY AND ENERGY
Vitamin C: 6%. Men (7%) were more likely to be deficient than women (5%) DO YOU REALLY THINK VITAMIN C PREVENTS COLDS?
Vitamin D: 8.1% (with deficiency defined as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level less than 12 ng/mL). An additional 24% were at-risk for inadequacy (level of 12 ng/mL to to 20 ng/mL). Non-Hispanic black (31%) and Mexican American (12%) people were more likely to be deficient than non-Hispanic white people (3%). I DISAGREE WITH THIS. ACTUAL STUDIES SHOW CAUCASIANS ARE 50% DEFICIENT IN VITAMIN D, HISPANICS 68% AND 80% IN BLACKS!
Vitamin E: Less than 1%.PLEASE NOTE THE INCREASED RISKS OF HEART DISEASE AND CANCER WITH TOO MUCH VITAMIN E
Folate: Less than 1%. Deficiency has decreased since mandatory folic acid fortification of enriched cereal grain products in 1998, raising levels by about 50%.TOO MUCH FOLIC ACID AND HEART DISEASE INCREASES
Iron: 6.7% deficient. Among women ages 12 to 29, 9.5% were deficient, as were 6.7% of children ages 1 to 5. There were higher rates of iron deficiency in Mexican-American children aged 1 to 5 years (11%) and in non-Hispanic black (16%) and Mexican-American women (13%) of childbearing age (12 to 49 years) when compared to other race/ethnic groups. Few men were deficient in iron, but 29% were at risk for iron excess.LOW IRON IN MEN AND POST MENOPAUSAL WOMEN IS NEVER NORMAL.SINCE THIS IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH INTERNAL BLEEDING AND/OR CANCER, IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE EVALUATED BY A PHYSICIAN

HARVEY S. MISHNER MD

Those of you who are my patients or who read my blogs are well aware that, although I think vitamins and supplements, for the most part, are unnecessary, I am a BIG fan of Vitamin D.
However, not all Vitamin D products are created equally.

Hmmmmm, I didn't know that!

Not only are Multiple Vitamins of no benefit, they can sometimes increase the risks of disease. We know Vitamin E increases the risks of heart disease and prostate cancer. B-complex vitamins will increase the risks of heart disease.
Vitamin A increases the incidence of lung cancer, especially in smokers. There are no medical studies that show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that vitamins improve health.
 
Herbal cholesterol lowering products are neither safe nor effective. Products like Red Yeast Rice may contain toxic contaminants. The only medications that have PROVEN benefits in lowering heart attack and stroke risks are STATINS.
No other prescription cholesterol products have any PROVEN benefits and these include ZETIA, WELCHOL, NIASPAN (niacin), FENOFIBRATES (Tricor, Trilipix)
 
The higher the Body Mass Index (BMI), the higher the risks of colon polyps and cancer.
 
An Aspirin or NSAID (Advil) daily can reduce the incidence of colon polyps. Please check with your doctor as these drugs may interact adversely with other medications.
 
The risks of heart disease in diabetics are related more to Hypertension, High Cholesterol and lack of Physical Activity than it is to poorly controlled glucose levels.
 
According to Consumer Reports, 25% of FISH species are mislabeled (remember the grouper shortage a few years ago?)
 
It is not unusual to “hurt” after beginning an exercise program (You are probable using muscles you haven’t used in years-not unlike being sore after throwing a baseball the first time the first warm spring day)
 
Vitamin and Herbal supplements, for the most part are not regulated by the FDA and have limited, if any, proven medical benefits. Consumers spend over $27,000,000,000/year looking for alternative routes to health.

A survey from Consumer Reports found that 22% of people skipped breakfast. Most people ate fruit. Cereal was the next most popular, followed by eggs, peanut butter and protein bars.
Our feeling is that breakfast should never be skipped because you have just completed a 8-10 hour fast and your body is pleading to be fed.
The problem is, most people think they will lose weight by skipping meals (Never happen) or just load up on CARBS for breakfast.
We think the ideal breakfast should consist of CARBS, PROTEIN and FAT.
A great choice would be low sugar instant oatmeal supplemented with 100% whey protein powder. Fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, whole grain breads etc are also good. We would skip ANY fruit juice including orange juice as these are just sugar water. Instead of supermarket juice, squeeze the oranges and have some fresh juice!.
Oh yeah? Vitamins. Forget about it. There is no proof that MVI’s are beneficial and may even increase your risk of heart disease or cancer.

A 14 year old girl may need a corneal transplant after buying and wearing $20 colored contact lens.

Beet roots and greens are loaded with healthy nutrients.  To prepare greens, steam and flavor them as you would any greens such as turnip or collard greens.  For the beet root, I recommend grating them raw onto salads, or, wrapping in foil and roasting in a 400' oven for about an hour, until a knife slides in easily.  There are many ways to enjoy beets hot or cold. The beet root is a good source of manganese, folic acid, potassium, phosporous, magnesium, iron and Vitamin B6.  Betacyanin is what gives beet roots their rich purple-crimson color and studies show this has cancer-fighting qualtities.  Raw or cooked, beet roots are a great source of fiber.

Nutritional benefits of almonds and walnuts are more commonly known, but other nuts can provide a healthy variety for recipe ingredients or snacks as long as you are getting raw or roasted, not salted or sweetened.   Pistachios are rich in lutein, beta-carotene and vitamin E and can have cardiovascular benefits including lowering 'bad' LDL cholesterol.  Antioxidants found in pistachios (and many other foods) have been scientifically proven to help with a variety of health concerns including cancer prevention, improved immune function, healthier skin or reduced risk of heart disease.    Brazil nuts are an abundant food source of the antioxidant selenium.   A recent study showed that eating just one Brazil nut each day for 8 weeks significantly increased plasma selenium status as well as an increase in the enzyme glutathione peroxidase-1 which protects the body from oxidative damage. 

According to a recent report, with ConsumerLab.com a recent analysis evaluating the benefits of taking vitamins failed to show any reduced risk of dying.
 This was a study that followed 180,000 people over an 11 year period. To add insult to injury they also found defects in 30% of the multivitamins that they analyzed.
Our policy at Kaizen total Wellness is that multivitamins are useless unless you have a known vitamin deficit. There is no substitute for fruits, veggies and whole grains.
For more information please contact us. 

First there was the snake-oil salesman who found that by claiming his product cured numerous ailments more people were enticed to buy it, and pay a higher price as well.  Constantly traveling from town to town served him well because people eventually discovered his boasts and 'guarantees' were false.  Today we are aware and against any false advertising and there are many laws and regulations, especially for things we consume such as vitamins, supplements, medicine, alcohol, tobacco and food.  Currently there are several health claims which are approved for legal use in the U.S. as long as they meet FDA-established criteria.  You will recognize them because of course manufacturers use them in marketing.  These are some of the valid claims which show a tested and true relationship: Consumption of dietary (non-sugar) sweeteners and reduced risk of dental caries; Diets rich in whole grain foods and reduced risk of heat disease and certain cancers; Consumption of soluble fiber from certain foods and reduced risk of coronary heart disease; Diets low in sodium and reduced risk of hypertension; Diets low in total fat and reduced risk of cancer; Diets with enough calcium and reduced risk of osteoporosis in certain populations.   Do not assume that health claims you read are valid, check them out for yourself.  For complete information about claims and food labeling visit www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation

Healthy Substitutions was the nutrition topic discussed in Monday's Healthy Lifestyle class. The Kaizen approach is not about deprivation, it is about making choices that will help you get your optimum nutritional value out of each calorie.

Smart substitutions are ones that provide more 'good stuff' like fiber and vitamins and less 'bad stuff' like saturated fats and sugar. The smartest substitutions do this without making you feel you are missing out on anything, like flavor, texture, or sense of fullness.

Here are some of my favorite substitutions. Please share yours with me!   

An almond-enriched diet improves LDL-Cholesterol and Insulin Sensitivity which are major risk factors for heart disease and type-2 diabetes.

Also olive oil and leafy vegetables have been shown to decrease heart disease in women by 40% according to a recent study that lasted 8 years.