What is the biggest nutritional problem?

Answer 1

Most people in the United States and other developed countries get plenty of macro-nutrients in their diets. They may eat too much protein, too many carbohydrates, and too much fat, but deficiencies in macro-nutrients are rarely a problem. The problem in the United States and other industrialized nations is primarily micro-nutrient deficiency: too few vitamins, minerals, and phytonutritents.

Humans evolved from simple unicellular organisms in the mineral-laden ocean. Now, billions of years later, the saline fluids around and in your cells and organs recreates that environment, with a similar balance of minerals. Sodium, along with potassium, provides the electrolytic "battery" that pumps nutrients in and out of cells and maintains the proper balance of fluids inside and outside each cell. Because sodium is not easily found in the land environment, your body evolved to retain it. Potassium, on the other hand, is plentiful in a land-based diet (in vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruits) and so we do not retain potassium. The modern industrialized diet reverses the natural availability of sodium and potassium: potassium is leached out of processed foods, and sodium is used extravagantly as a flavor enhancer and preservative. In addition, the modern diet often lacks magnesium and calcium, and manufactured table salt is exclusively sodium chloride.

In the U.S., one third of all adults get less vitamin C from their diet than is recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, and 1 out of every 6 adults gets less than half the amount recommended.

While the American Dietetic Association recommends 20 to 35 grams of fiber each day, unfortunately the average American only gets 12 to 15 grams.