9 Nutrient Thieves That Are Stealing Your Health

Did you know that these sneaky nutrient thieves can steal the valuable vitamins and minerals right out of your body?

We talked last week about how many people are deficient in several common nutrients, and which supplements are most helpful in general. But what if you’re already taking supplements, and your body just isn’t absorbing them – or they are being depleted in some other way?

This is something you don’t hear that much about – even in natural health circles, but there are a number of things that can actually “suck” nutrients from your body, leaving you deficient – even if you are supplementing or eat a good diet.

While there are a great many things that can affect how well your body absorbs and processes nutrients, here are 9 of the worst nutrient thieves that can steal the nutrition right out of the food you eat:

1. Processed Foods

This one is the biggest source of lost nutrients. If you choose processed grains/white flour over whole grains, your body is being robbed of nutrients.

When technology entered the food industry, manufacturers made softer bread, pastries, and cakes that had longer shelf lives. When a grain is processed, its fiber and nutrition germ is removed to create a finely ground flour that keeps longer, but can rob your body of nutrients.

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2. Diuretics:

Simply put, diuretics are used to promote more urination. They have a direct impact on your potassium levels, and are classified either as “potassium- depleting” or “potassium-sparing,” depending on what they do.

You should pay close attention to this. Researchers have found that diuretics also lower your level of folic acid — dramatically. For this reason, they suggest if you take diuretics, you should supplement with folic acid as well.

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4. Antibiotics:

These, as we all know, are drugs used to kill bacteria. Using antibiotics over the long term however can deplete your body’s store of essential nutrients — notably vitamins B2, B9, B12, and K. Antibiotics may reduce vitamin K levels especially, and the body’s ability to absorb it.

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5. Alcohol:

This is a big one. Consuming alcohol is well known to deplete the body of vitamins and minerals. It basically disrupts your absorption of nutrients from food, and the metabolism of nutrients in your cells. This is true of the majority of vitamins and minerals.

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6. Caffeine:

Caffeine acts like a diuretic in your body, and as such can cause nutrient depletion.

It can interfere with the absorption of several minerals and B vitamins, too. Most notably, it is believed that caffeine intake can cause calcium loss in your bones if you don’t get enough of this vital mineral in food or supplements.

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8. Cooking methods:

The way you cook fruit, vegetables, rice, meat, and fish can lower the nutrient levels. Removing skin off fruits and veggies or overcooking them will deplete valuable vitamins and minerals (especially boiling them)….

9. Antacids:

This common over-the-counter group of drugs can disrupt levels of several minerals and vitamins in your body if used for too long as an acid reducer.

Check out the full article at HealthierTalk.com.