Our species is tough, resilient and durable. Human expected average lifespan is now around Eighty years in most developed countries, together with more and more centenarians every year. Expanding scientific, biological and health care knowledge is now teaching us that there are a lot more components than the easier apparent short term effects of healthy diet and stress. There’s also important (and often subtle) long term consequences which should often be taken into account.

In nutrition, this means that there is a minimum amount of Vitamin C we need to keep from getting scurvy. So the recommended daily amount of Vitamin C was once set just high enough to keep people from getting scurvy. Later we began to realize that while low amounts of vitamin C kept us from getting sick, they did not promote optimal health.

If you don’t get any Vitamin C, you will contract scurvy in a few months. There is a longer general health cycle in play, measured in years, which calls for much higher vitamin C consumption levels.

There are other, longer-lasting cycles of effects of deprivations of nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals, probiotics and others that affect us. Long-term deprivations of these seem to lead to problems usually associated with aging, like diabetes, heart disease, senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

We also know now that numerous pollutants (like lead and mercury) and certain substances found in processed foods (like trans fats, nitrates and certain preservatives) have long-term life-shortening effects on us humans.

All this pushes us to avoid artificial drug solutions and move toward more natural cures whenever possible.

This new perspective now will help us with uterine fibroid cysts, with choosing psoriasis creams and in lessening symptoms of ovarian cysts..

Our biochemistry is very complex. There seem to be genetic links to more diseases and conditions than we ever suspected just a few years ago. As we continue to decode the complex interrelations of genetics, DNA, biochemistry and causes and effects of what we ingest, we are finding new remedies to old challenges in sometimes surprising places.

Disclaimer: This posting is based on information freely available in the popular press and medical journals that deal with medical matters. Nothing herein is intended to be or should be construed to be medical advice. For medical advice the reader should consult with his or her physician or other medical specialist.

Author – Jonathan Rushing