The quality of your health depends upon many pieces that not only include the health of your bodily systems, but also include a healthy diet, exercise, and spirituality.

Treatment of nutrient deficiencies may center on developing general healthy dietary guidelines, in addition to making some key adjustments in your relationship with food.

Dietary recommendations for overcoming deficiencies include:

• Choose high-quality, organic, hormone- and antibiotic-free “grass-fed” meats.
• Increase your omega-3 essential fatty acids by selecting high-quality wild-caught salmon, minimal-mercury albacore tuna, fish oil, sprouted walnuts, and avocados.
• Eat raw, organic vegetables.
• Add high-quality fiber to your diet, such as ground flax seed.
• Add healthy saturated fats to your diet, such as virgin coconut oil.
• Add nutrient-dense and unprocessed foods such as sprouted nuts and seeds to your diet.
• Eat whole fruits with peels intact, such as raw apples, peaches, and apricots.
• Choose organic, cage-free eggs.
• Choose unpasteurized, raw dairy items that have live, active cultures (probiotics), such as yogurt and kefir.
• Drink purified water throughout the day.

Foods to AVOID include:

• All simple or refined carbohydrates (white flour, white rice, white bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, crackers, processed snack foods, etc.) –  Read more about good carbs and bad carbs.
• All foods containing refined sugar or artificial sugar-substitutes such as aspartame, Splenda^®, etc. Choose a natural sweetener like Xylosweet instead.
• Alcoholic beverages in excess since the body uses many vitamins and minerals to detoxify alcohol from the body, which can cause deficiency
• Fungi such as mushrooms
• Pickled foods
• Sweetened fruit juices that spike blood sugar levels too rapidly
• Carbonated soft drinks that cause blood pH levels to become acidic
• Bottom crawlers such as oysters, clams, and lobster that may contain toxic levels of mercury.
• Deep-sea fish such as tuna, mackerel, and swordfish that may contain toxic levels of mercury. Choose minimal-mercury albacore tuna instead.
• Farm-raised fish that contain PCBs and minimal omega-3 essential fatty acids, due to their land-based diets. Choose wild-caught salmon instead.
• Sodium nitrite found in processed foods such as hot dogs, lunch meats, and bacon – Read more about good protein and bad protein.
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) found in many foods as a flavor enhancer
• Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) found in many processed foods, deep-fried foods, fast foods, and junk food –  Read more about good fats and bad fats.
• Excessive caffeine intake – While moderate amounts of caffeine may be beneficial, excessive consumption of caffeine can disrupt the body’s systems, causing insomnia and irregularity (constipation or diarrhea).

Exercise.  It is highly recommended that you exercise outdoors.  Sunlight is essential for the body to obtain vitamin D naturally. In most modern lifestyles, we usually go from the office to home (and back again).  Therefore, we don’t receive enough sunlight to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D.  While it’s true that vitamin D supplements are available, studies indicate that the best way to obtain vitamin D is directly from the sun itself. Furthermore, a study from the National Cancer Institute now reveals that exposure to sunlight actually reduces the risk of skin cancer.

While extreme exposure is not a good idea (because you don’t want to burn), moderate sun exposure is acceptable.  Limit the use of sunscreen, to get the maximum benefit from the sun as you exercise, and to help control the number of toxins in sunscreen absorbed by your skin.

Other tips for overcoming deficiencies.

• If you have “silver” dental fillings, get an evaluation from a mercury-free dentist who specializes in the safe removal of mercury amalgam fillings.  Exposure to heavy metals can be a cause of vitamin, mineral, and amino acid deficiencies.  Find a mercury-free dentist in your area now!

Additional Information about Deficiencies

1. Deficiencies Overview
2. Common symptoms of deficiencies
3. Common causes of deficiencies
4. Natural and alternative treatments for deficiencies
5. Conventional or prescription medications used in the treatment of deficiencies
6. Additional Reading for deficiencies