By Mary Porter

If you are relying on your diet to deliver all of your nutritional needs, you may be coming up short. food today does not have same value as it did 50 years ago. Back then, farmers restored nutrients to soil by mulching with natural fertilizers, and by rotating crops. Today there is extensive use of chemical substances that eventually deplete soil of some of essential components necessary for adequate nutrition. The end result is supply of beautiful produce that looks great, but doesn't have near vitamins and minerals it should have, and did have 50 years ago.

Today's food also loses value in processes it is subject to. Canning, freezing, and even cooking fresh food all cost in nutritional value. The very popular added convenience of "quick to fix" or "ready to eat" takes away even more necessary elements.(Not to mention chemical food preservatives, stabilizers, flavor enhances, artificial colors, and other stuff you are ingesting!)

The FDA Food Pyramid recommends following:

Fats, Oils, Sweets - use sparingly Milk, Yogurt, Cheese - 2-3 servings/day Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry beans, Eggs, Nuts - 2-3 servings/day Vegetable Group - 3-5 servings/day Fruit Group - 2-4 servings/day

Doesn't look TOO terribly tough to accomplish. If you are focused, and plan your meals, and are organized enough to fulfill all of requirements. Then you have to make sure everyone in your household actually CONSUMES all of carefully planned and presented meals.(Does everyone at your house like spinach? I am only one here!)

Most people today are too busy to plan and deliver balanced, adequate meals every day. I can't imagine being in one place long enough to eat 5 servings of vegetables in one 24 hour period, let alone finding that many that my daughter will eat.

How do antioxidants promote better health?

They control affect of free radical damage. Free radicals are produced in your body as a result of oxidation. Oxidation is a naturally occurring process that takes place when cells use oxygen for fuel.

The byproduct of burning of oxygen is free radicals. In oxygen burning process electrons are separated, and some electrons are left isolated. They then begin to fly around looking for another electron to join with. When they find one, they join with it and become stable again. But electron they joined with may have left another electron behind, isolated and then itself becoming a free radical. It is a chain reaction. They can not be eliminated.

The cells have ability to control some free radicals within themselves. There are enzymes present in cells that can prevent free radicals from flying around, and enzymes can repair damage that may have been caused. But when there are excessive free radicals, more than cells can handle, free radicals escape into body, and continue to fly around, causing more damage.

Free radical damage can influence physical and mental aging. It can be responsible for developing cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and other degenerative processes.

Some causes of free radical production from our environment today would include air pollution, radiation and X-ray, cigarette smoke, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, emotional stress, and intense exercise.

Cells build their defense against free radicals by combining enzymes with minerals including manganese, zinc, copper and selenium. This combination places itself between flying electron and its intended target, rendering flying electron harmless. If cells don't have enough minerals for enzymes to combine with, they are unable to adequately protect from free radical activity.