The principle causes of death in today's world are very different to those of 100 years ago. In 1900, heart disease was a rarity, in fact early researchers had to travel from the UK to the USA to find examples of the new disease. Heart disease now accounts for one in four deaths. Diabetes in 1900 accounted for one in 100,000 deaths but now accounts for 1 in 20. Cancer was responsible for 3% of all deaths at that time but the figures have risen to 28%. Exposing yourself to the Sun is blamed for the rise in skin Cancers in the last 50 years, but the Sun has been shining on our ancestors for thousands of years without killing them. Note: Sun exposure is now proven to actually boost immunity by stimulating your body's production of vital vitamin D, a Cancer fighter

A massive industry surrounds the management of illness and there is little motivation to derail the gravy train when the treatment of symptoms will always be far more profitable than addressing root causes. The problem for the consumer is that corporate medicine has failed us. Degenerative disease runs rampant because the treatment of symptoms never addresses the real problem. Profits for drug companies will be maintained at all costs by feeding the public nonsensical statements about natural heath remedies which have worked for thousands of years and are still working for the world outside of the Western countries. It is time to reclaim responsibility for our own health. We need to become proactive rather than reactive to avoid becoming another grim statistic.

key considerations are the loss of nutrients in our diet involves several factors including the mining of minerals from our agricultural soils and the decimation of the soil microbe community, which makes minerals available to plants. The nutrient-deficient plants grown on these soils are then often processed to a point beyond recognition. White flour, for example, involves a 75% loss of B vitamins and the depletion of nearly 80% of minerals like magnesium, zinc, manganese and iron. Eighty-Six percent of Vitamin E is also removed during processing. White flour is actually an "anti-nutrient", which means that more nutrients are required to process this material in the body than it supplies. Note: two of the seriously depleted nutrients in white flour, magnesium and vitamin E, are both directly linked to heart disease.

Essential sweet fruit and vegetables are nutrient dense, and our attraction to sweet flavours is actually related to our body's constant quest for minerals. The junk food industry has taken advantage of this natural sugar attraction and delivered refined sugar without the minerals. Subconsciously seeking minerals, we will repeatedly consume sugar snacks and never be satisfied. Sugar increases urination and perspiration, which leaches minerals, so a vicious cycle begins which is compounded by the addictive nature of this most destructive of white crystals. Sugar is also directly responsible for the depletion of chromium, an important mineral for heart health which is also involved in the maintenance of healthy blood sugar levels (diabetes).

Almost all prescription drugs and many nonprescription drugs (pain killers in particular) generate a nutrient-inhibiting reaction. Each drug can affect the uptake of two to four minerals and double that many vitamins. We should at least be informed to take appropriate supplements with these medications to compensate for inevitable nutrient losses, but unfortunately this is not the way in a medical system dedicated to the management of illness. Agricultural chemicals have also been linked to reduced nutrient absorption in humans and animals particularly the uptake of manganes.

SUPPLEMENT OR SUBMIT
In light of these multiple factors impacting upon nutrient availability and uptake there seems little choice but to supplement. Just as a strategy like foliar fertilizing requires the understanding of several influences to achieve maximum benefits, there are some key tips for successful supplementing in human health management. The four main supplementation principles include the following:

(1) Synergism ( 2) Biochemical individuality (3) Don't expect rapid results (4) Take sufficient quantities to achieve results
SYNERGISM
Soil, plant, animal and human nutrition share a common characteristic. No nutrient ever acts in isolation so supplementation of a single nutrient is not the best approach. Calcium, the king of all nutrients performs better in the presence of boron, silicon, manganese, zinc and magnesium. Vitamins C and D are also calcium synergists. Vitamin D is absolutely critical for calcium uptake as it sets up the receptors to facilitate the transfer of calcium from the gut to the blood-stream. Magnesium uptake is improved when the magnesium supplement also includes zinc, manganese and copper. Iron should ideally be supplemented in a complex with folicacid, vitamin B12, vitamin E and zinc, and the essential immune supporter Selenium should always be combined with Vitamin E.

BIOCHEMICAL INDIVIDUALITY
It is rarely recognised that individual nutrient requirements can vary enormously. The concept of Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is often mistaken for 'ideal' daily requirements when it was only ever intended to reflect the bare minimum needed to avoid deficiency diseases. A recent UK survey found that a mere 10% of the population was even able to achieve the recommended daily allowance. Another problem with the RDA concept is that it implies a standard nutrient requirement for everyone. This is anything but the case. A combination of genetics and pre-existing health problems are responsible for huge variations in individual requirements for vitamins and minerals. According to "The Physicians Hand book of Nutritional Science," one person may require up to 20 times more vitamin C or up to 40 times more vitamin E than an other.

CONTROL YOUR IMPATIENCE
The symptom-treating illness industry is based upon instant gratification. Patients demand a rapid-response drug and doctor's deliver. Nutrient supplementation, by contrast, involves getting back to the root cause of the problem. You must effectively replace 'sick' cells with new healthy cells prior to relief from symptoms and this does not happen over night. If your repair involves the building of protein with amino acids then the regeneration time is 6 months. If bone density is a problem and you are suffering a lack of calcium or osteoporosis then the rebuild will take 12 months. Note: you will need to supplement with a calcium complex (including synergists) every day during that year. If you are anaemic then the full regeneration of blood cells will require 3 months of iron supplementation. This minimum rebuilding time requirement is probably the key to supplementing success which is least understood by most people.

DON'T UNDER-SUPPLEMENT
If you are deficient in a particular nutrient then it is advisable to supplement with a stand alone version of that specific nutrient rather than multi-vitamins and minerals. Ideally that nutrient should also include appropriate synergists. There is however an exception to this stand alone rule - B Vitamins should be supplemented separately but always in combination with a complete B-Group supplement ie If you are deficient in B2 and B12 then you supplement with these B Vitamins but always in conjunction with the complete B Group. Vitamin supplements should be taken regularly as sporadic supplementation is ineffective. It is initially important to take enough of a nutrient supplement to do the job. If you are deficient within a specific area then taking RDA doses will never get you back in the game. In some cases it is not just a case of playing catch up. Vitamin C, for example is best able to realise its full antioxidant potential at 3000 to 7000 mgs per day. The fat soluble vitamin A can apparently be dosed at rates as high as 400,000 IU in the autumn so it can be stored in the fat and can offer a full winter of protection against flu. Reports suggest that high doses of vitamin A can be more effective than flu vaccination without the potential side effects.

DISEASE-SPECIFIC SUPPLEMENTATION All diseases have a nutritional link. Key supplementation tips for major disease include:
HEART DISEASE	CANCER	HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE	ALZHEIMER'S
• Magnesium - 500mg Vitamin E - 500IU Vitamin C - 5000 mg Folic Acid - 5mg, Vitamin B6 - 25mg Vitamin B12 -1000mcg	• Vitamin C - 10,000mg Selenium - 600mcg Glutathion -200mg(antioxidant and detoxifier)	• Magnesium-400mg L-taurine - 500mg	• Acelylcarnitine - 2000mgs Phosphatidylserine - 200mgs.