Why Do We Need So Many Fruits and Veggies?

Why do we need to eat so many fruits and vegetables to heal our  bodies? 

There are a multitude of reasons why we need to eat a larger amount  of fruits and veggies than we are used to. 

The Standard American Diet includes fruits and veggies as an  afterthought. Often the protein, or meat is the star of the show. Or a  pasta or rice dish that, is full of flavor but not very rich in nutrients, is  the entrée. We are lucky to have a side dish of a frozen or canned  veggie or a little cup of fruit. 

Eating this way, deprives our bodies of the massive amounts of  nutrients, that serve as building blocks for our cells to build and repair  themselves. 

Over time, the lack of ample building blocks cause a break down in  our health. When our immune system doesn’t have the vitamins and  minerals it needs to remain robust, pathogens can take hold in our  bodies causing a whole host of conditions and symptoms. 

Often, our bodies start robbing our teeth, bones and connective  tissue, for minerals that we need, that are lacking in the diet. That  leads to all sorts of issues like osteoporosis, osteopenia, tooth decay,  Elhers-Danlos syndrome, bone fractures, joint degradation and much  more. 

In addition to diets lacking fruits and veggies, we also face other  challenges. The first of those is the toxic world we live in. The toxins  we encounter on a daily basis in the air, water, on the ground, and in  the products we use in our homes and on our bodies, cause our  bodies to require even more vitamins and minerals. The acidic nature  of the toxins and heavy metals cause our bodies to use valuable  minerals and vitamins to simply reverse the acidity, and bring our  bodies into a more alkaline state. The alkaline state is where the cells  can thrive and function at their best. Things like calcium, magnesium,  potassium and vitamin D are all alkalizing to the body and often are  used simply to counterbalance the acidity of the toxins. When that 

happens, those minerals are not able to be utilized in other ways that  would benefit the many functions of the body. This is why many of us  are deficient in these nutrients. Without calcium, our bones get weak.  

Without magnesium, our nervous systems can’t communicate  properly. So, it is important that we are feeding ourselves with foods  that provide these important nutrients. 

If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, then we also face the fact that  our fruits and veggies don’t have the nutrient quantity that they once  had. The agriculture practices in the United States commonly use  pesticides, herbicides and mono-cropping. All of these practices  deplete the soil of the minerals and other beneficial things. The  produce that results has little nutritional value, compared to those  produced 30 or more years ago. Therefore, we have to consume  more of it to receive the same nutrients. Most of the zinc is depleted  from the soil, according to Anthony William, Medical Medium. He  states that when DDT was commonly used in farming, that the DDT  depleted the soil of zinc. All of this, cumulatively, makes it  challenging for us to try and give our bodies the proper nutrition. 

So, now we know what we are up against. What are some things we  can do to maximize the amount of nutrition our bodies receive? 

• One simple thing we can do is add a squeeze of lemon or lime into  our water. Adding those puts the minerals back that have been  removed through water treatment plants. Our bodies can better  utilize the water with the added minerals in it. So it maximizes  hydration. 
• Juicing is another way to maximize nutrition. When we juice  produce, we are able to strip away the parts that don’t contribute  much to our health. In juice, we consume more of the vitamins,  phytochemicals, antioxidants and minerals, that our bodies  desperately needs to build healthy cells, repair damaged cells, and  maintain metabolic functions. Green juices can pack a powerful dose  of minerals that we would be hard pressed to get any other way.  Most of us don’t consume enough leafy greens, and juicing is a way  to get more of those into our daily diets. I particularly, love plain celery juice as well. Celery juice is another great source of those  crucial minerals we all need. 
• Snacking on fruit throughout the day is another way to amp up the  fruit intake. I know, recently, fruit has been villainized and lumped in  with processed sugar as the root cause of a myriad of illness’. But the  sugar in fruit is drastically different than that of processed sugar. It is  attached to valuable vitamins and minerals. The glucose or sugar is  actually helpful in getting the vitamins and minerals into the cells.  Without it, many of the nutrients do not get absorbed. One way I love  to amp up my fruit consumption, is to make a daily smoothie. Again,  it is much easier to drink a few fruits ,than it is to chew them up! 
• Add in greens wherever you can! Putting them as a base for a  cooked meal, or in a smoothie or juice are all great ways to get more  greens into your diet. The minerals in greens help rebuild  neurotransmitters and neurons as well as alkalize the body. One  thing you might not know, is that spinach is also high in protein as  well as iron and all the other great things. 

Addition of herbs and other wild foods also packs a serious healing  punch. Most herbs have anti-viral, anti-microbial and anti-fungal  properties. You can use them to season your food or make a tea  from them. Thyme tea is especially potent for bringing down the viral  load in your body. Aloe is another wild food that has vast benefits  when using food as medicine. Aloe can help repair the gut, remove  radiation from the body and improve skin, nails, teeth and bones.  And I have to mention wild blueberries. They are a fruit of course, but  not grown the same way that cultivated blueberries are grown. Wild  Blueberries are adaptogenic and therefor can offer the body more  properties to help recover from any illness. They also can help to  remove heavy metals from the body. 

As you can see, there are many reasons to increase the number of  fruits, veggies, herbs and wild foods. Every one that you add in  counts. We can’t build Rome in a day, but with dedicated effort and  just a 1% improvement each day, we can eventually eradicate the  symptoms plaguing us and take back our health!