Join Our Newsletter https://alessifunctionalhealth.com/pages/health-decoded-newsletter
(0:00) Introduction to the hidden malnutrition epidemic (1:48) Discussion on pre-workout supplements and nutrient depletion (5:17) Impact of synthetic fertilizers and long food supply chains on nutrition (8:02) Exploring soil health and regenerative agriculture (10:23) The problem with ultra-processed foods (12:53) Identifying and addressing common nutrient deficiencies (19:00) Sponsor: Authentic Nutrition (21:15) The medical system's symptom-focused approach (22:15) The role of Big Pharma in health management (25:14) Personalized supplementation strategies (28:50) Key supplements for optimal health (32:38) The importance of proactive health management (34:03) Episode wrap-up and final thoughts00:00:00
It's become a hidden malnutrition epidemic.
00:00:02
So basically, the the concept is we are overfed but undernourished.
00:00:07
Right?
00:00:07
We're eating a lot of empty things.
00:00:09
So modern food production has made food a lot more accessible and convenient.
00:00:13
But what's the cost there?
00:00:14
Now our our diets are dominated by ultra processed foods.
00:00:18
Welcome to Health Decode, your number one source for real health information with your
00:00:23
host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.
00:00:27
Welcome back to another episode of Health Decoded.
00:00:32
I am your host, doctor Alessi.
00:00:35
And your co host, Matt Tack.
00:00:38
Matt Tack, looking good, buddy.
00:00:40
Got the beard all trimmed up finally.
00:00:42
I got it trimmed up, man.
00:00:44
I went and saw my niece and nephew and I was like, dude, I'm gonna be giving some kisses.
00:00:48
Yeah.
00:00:48
I gotta clean up a little bit.
00:00:50
You were in the middle ground where it wasn't like soft yet.
00:00:53
Was like spiky, You know?
00:00:54
Mine's like very fluffy and soft, but it's been some years to get there.
00:00:58
Mine goes
00:00:59
straight out.
00:00:59
It just goes straight out.
00:01:01
Like, I don't ever think it actually truly curls.
00:01:03
Maybe I I think I had a number of years ago in a crow, but
00:01:06
I am
00:01:06
down with the I had to down with facial hair.
00:01:11
Well, how you been, man?
00:01:12
What's new?
00:01:13
How's the week been going?
00:01:14
Week's been going good, man.
00:01:16
It's been busy.
00:01:17
You know, obviously, we've been working on a few things.
00:01:20
A few a few little bottlenecks with the Internet going down.
00:01:23
Right?
00:01:24
But as the game you gotta play and you gotta push through those things.
00:01:29
Yeah, I was just thinking that because like this whole week my like normally you and I are
00:01:34
working out like midday.
00:01:35
We're getting those lunchtime workouts, but my whole week's been off.
00:01:37
I've either had to go early or mostly I just been going out at the end of the day, like
00:01:41
05:30, six pm.
00:01:43
And I'm like, ugh, like that's not when I like to lift.
00:01:45
It's the gym is full of people.
00:01:48
It's I'm not I don't have the most energy, but dude, I've been I've been dialing in with this
00:01:53
product that Taylor sent us the authentic non stim.
00:01:57
So it's a pre workout that I can take before like an evening workout and not have to worry
00:02:02
about like is the caffeine going to keep me up all night because that affects me.
00:02:05
If I have caffeine after 4PM I'm I'm kind of going to be tossing all night but do like I was
00:02:11
just reading the ingredients of this loaded with L citrulline six thousand milligrams so
00:02:16
you get like a like a pretty gnarly pump from this And then he put in their lion's mane and
00:02:21
Alpha GPC.
00:02:22
Like really good focus man, like a really good kind of like sustained energy throughout the
00:02:28
workout.
00:02:28
So really digging it man, really great product.
00:02:31
Obviously, we work with them and there are sponsors.
00:02:34
Always want to plug that, but just a kind of a true testimonial there that I been been kind of
00:02:41
lately trying.
00:02:42
And then obviously right now, got a little mushroom coffee.
00:02:45
Yeah.
00:02:45
I love the nootropics.
00:02:47
The nootropics when they kind of add that in, you get that you get that brain fuel along with
00:02:53
the body.
00:02:53
Yeah.
00:02:54
Love that.
00:02:54
Exactly, man.
00:02:55
Well, awesome, man.
00:02:56
Why don't we get into it?
00:02:57
We want to thank you guys for joining us today.
00:03:00
Another episode of Health Decoded.
00:03:02
Today's episode, we're gonna be talking about supplementation, but more importantly, why
00:03:06
supplements aren't just a wellness trend and nowadays are a necessity.
00:03:11
Mhmm.
00:03:12
Then we'll dive into the modern food crisis, nutrient depletion, and why even healthy diet
00:03:18
often isn't enough anymore.
00:03:21
That's right, man.
00:03:22
That's right.
00:03:23
So in segment one, we're gonna just talk about the nutrition crisis.
00:03:27
So I want to highlight some of the things that we're going to be seeing just in the variations
00:03:34
of our diet and why supplementation is a critical part of that.
00:03:37
But declining soil quality and food nutrient loss is a crisis in modern agriculture.
00:03:45
The soil crisis, you know, the reasoning why our food is losing nutrients.
00:03:52
You know, over the past seventy years, agricultural practices have shifted
00:03:56
dramatically to support higher yields, faster growth in global food supply chains.
00:04:02
While this has allowed us to produce more food, it has also come at a steep nutritional cost.
00:04:08
So the very soil that grows our food is now severely depleted of essential vitamins and
00:04:12
minerals our bodies need.
00:04:14
In a study published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition compared USDA nutrient
00:04:20
data from 1950 to 1999, and found that the and so this is from 1999.
00:04:27
This was in 02/2004 and found that the mineral content of fruits and vegetables declined up to
00:04:32
38%.
00:04:34
Here are some micronutrients that you want to see this stat.
00:04:40
Calcium down 16%.
00:04:42
Iron down 15%.
00:04:44
Vitamin C down 20%.
00:04:48
A massive trigger in the growth of our ligaments, right?
00:04:52
That means we can't support enough muscle mass.
00:04:54
What does that do to the American body?
00:04:57
And, Riboflavin, the b two supplement, down 38%.
00:05:03
So this means that a bowl of spinach or an apple today can significantly fewer vitamins
00:05:07
and minerals that the same food a few generations ago did.
00:05:13
So now we ask our question self the question, why is this happening?
00:05:17
Synthetic fertilizers and monocropping.
00:05:21
So one of the biggest culprits behind soil depletion is the heavy use of synthetic
00:05:27
fertilizers.
00:05:28
Instead of natural compost and crop rotation, modern farms rely on chemical fertilizers that
00:05:34
provide only three key ingredients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
00:05:40
While these help plants grow faster and bigger, they do nothing to replenish the dozens of
00:05:44
other trace minerals our bodies need such as magnesium, selenium, and zinc.
00:05:50
So monocropping, the practice of growing the same crop on the same land year after year,
00:05:58
makes the problems worse by stripping the soil of specific nutrients without replenishing
00:06:02
them.
00:06:03
And here's an example.
00:06:05
Corn and wheat fields, which dominate modern agriculture, leaving the soil deficient in
00:06:10
minerals like magnesium and potassium.
00:06:13
Nutrients essential for human health.
00:06:16
Here's a study by the University of Texas in 02/2004 found that industrial farming has led
00:06:21
to a 40% drop in key nutrients and crops compared to those using traditional methods.
00:06:28
So long food supply chains equal fewer nutrients.
00:06:33
So even if a food is a nutrient rich at harvest, it doesn't mean those nutrients stay
00:06:38
intact by the time it reaches your plate.
00:06:43
Many store bought foods and vegetables travel thousands of miles before being consumed,
00:06:48
losing vital nutrients along the way.
00:06:50
And a study by the University of California recently in 2017 found that spinach loses up to
00:06:57
90% of its vitamin C value within twenty four hours of harvest.
00:07:03
By the time it reaches the grocery store, often five to seven days later, most of its vitamin C
00:07:10
is completely gone.
00:07:11
Other nutrients like B vitamins and antioxidants degrade rapidly in storage.
00:07:18
Here's why: Oxidation Light and temperature changes Heat and artificial lighting in
00:07:28
supermarkets accelerate this vitamin loss The processing and transportation?
00:07:33
Many fruits and vegetables are picked before peak ripeness, meaning they never fully develop
00:07:39
their nutrient profile.
00:07:42
So what does this mean for you?
00:07:44
Even if you eat a healthy diet, you may still be missing out on critical nutrients simply
00:07:50
because today's food is not as nutritious as it used to be.
00:07:54
This means one of the biggest reasons why supplementation is no longer optional, it's a
00:08:00
pure necessity.
00:08:02
You can't rely on the foods alone to meet all your micronutrient needs.
00:08:05
Even organic produce, while lower in pesticides, still suffers from soil depletion.
00:08:11
Modern agriculture focus on yield, appearance, and shelf life, not nutritional density.
00:08:18
So let's talk about how to reclaim your nutrition.
00:08:21
Prioritize regeneratively grown and local produce.
00:08:26
Farmer markets often have higher nutrient content than supermarket produce.
00:08:32
Eat fresh and seasonal.
00:08:34
The fresher your food, the more nutrient it retains.
00:08:39
Supplement supplement strategically because modern food is lacking targeted supplementation
00:08:45
is essential.
00:08:46
Support soil health initiatives.
00:08:49
Regenerate agriculture restores sore soil microbiomes, which naturally increase the
00:08:55
nutrient density of crops.
00:08:57
So here's the bottom line to all this.
00:08:59
The food we eat today isn't what it used to be, plain and simple.
00:09:03
If you're feeling tired, inflamed, or deficient, it's not just in your head.
00:09:07
It's likely in your food.
00:09:10
Yeah.
00:09:10
That's that's crazy, man.
00:09:12
And that's, you know, we've seen this trend just getting worse over time as well.
00:09:16
And so, you know, the biggest thing I think there is, like, these soil health initiatives.
00:09:20
I've been kind of a big proponent of this for probably the last ten years.
00:09:25
The the like dedicating money or like investing in these regenerative agricultural farms.
00:09:31
Kind of like what my cousin Andrew does with the boozy pig.
00:09:34
They have regenerative agriculture where the animals ruminate and eat food and then
00:09:39
obviously they you know, they poop and it goes into the grass and regenerates that soil and
00:09:43
that's how it's supposed to be.
00:09:45
That's then they walk on it, right?
00:09:47
And they step and they push that into the ground and it fertilizes it And all the
00:09:50
nutrients are able to grow and kind of like bud from there.
00:09:53
That's not being done anymore, at least on a large on these large scale farms.
00:09:58
So super important because that's where the the food gets its nutrients from is from the
00:10:03
ground.
00:10:04
So, you know, let's let's get a little bit into kind of what these deficiencies are that we see
00:10:09
now in, know, American people with the standard American diet and all of this that's been going
00:10:15
on.
00:10:15
So, you know, ultimately, it's all the ultra processed foods and the fact that they have
00:10:21
zero nutrition in them.
00:10:23
Right?
00:10:23
And so it's become it's become a hidden malnutrition epidemic.
00:10:27
So basically, the the concept is we are overfed but undernourished.
00:10:33
Right?
00:10:33
We're eating a lot of empty things.
00:10:35
So modern food production has made food a lot more accessible and convenient, but at the cost
00:10:40
of, right?
00:10:41
What's the cost there that now our our diets are dominated by ultra processed foods.
00:10:46
And some of these stats are actually really alarming, and I I was not aware they were this
00:10:50
high.
00:10:51
But a study in the in JAMA 2021 found that 60% of the average American's diet comes from ultra
00:10:58
processed foods.
00:11:00
60%.
00:11:01
That is a majority, obviously, but a big number.
00:11:04
And that means people aren't getting whole food nutrition or real food nutrition.
00:11:08
I call it fake food.
00:11:09
Whenever my kids were at the grocery store and they're like, Papa, can we get this?
00:11:12
I'm like, no, buddy, that's not food.
00:11:13
You know, I want them to kind of correlate that like that thing in a box there that's bright
00:11:17
green.
00:11:18
That doesn't exist in real life.
00:11:20
You know what I mean?
00:11:21
So putting that together in our heads, but among children and teenagers, this number is
00:11:26
even higher.
00:11:26
It's exceeding sixty seven percent of their total daily calories.
00:11:30
And a lot of the that is the breakfast foods.
00:11:32
Right?
00:11:33
So ultra processed foods contribute then to obesity, metabolic disorders, and nutrient
00:11:38
deficiencies, what we're talking about today.
00:11:41
So despite providing more than enough calories, right?
00:11:44
So they're very heavy in calories, but very light in actual nutrition.
00:11:49
And so why do they lead to deficiencies?
00:11:51
Because they're not just junk food, they're actually contributing to nutrient depletion.
00:11:56
Because these refined ingredients, they strip the body of natural vitamins and minerals
00:12:01
during the processing.
00:12:02
And so the high sugar and the artificial additives, they're going to increase
00:12:06
inflammation and deplete your essential nutrients, specifically like magnesium and B
00:12:11
vitamins.
00:12:12
And then obviously poor nutrient bioavailability.
00:12:15
So, the synthetic vitamins that are added back into these processed foods like in fortified
00:12:20
cereals, They aren't absorbed or even really like like grasped by your body.
00:12:25
Your body doesn't know what these are.
00:12:27
And so it's not going to utilize those in the way that it should.
00:12:30
And so this is why so many Americans are simultaneously overweight and malnourished at
00:12:34
the same time, which is then that paradox that leads to long term health consequences.
00:12:40
So some of the most common deficiencies and kind of what you can see from those, these are
00:12:45
like kind of symptoms that, know, you can look for is number one is magnesium deficiency.
00:12:50
This is a silent epidemic in our country.
00:12:53
So a study from the National Institute of Health in 2023, found that fifty percent of
00:12:58
Americans are deficient in magnesium.
00:13:01
Now, magnesium is essential for over 300 biochemical processes.
00:13:05
It's basically that co factor that your body uses for almost everything.
00:13:09
So, muscle function, stress regulation and sleep quality.
00:13:13
And so, the rise of ultra processed foods which contain almost no magnesium has led to this
00:13:19
deficiency.
00:13:20
And so, some symptoms you can experience when deficient in magnesium, anxiety and
00:13:25
irritability, right?
00:13:26
That inability to be able to like calm and relax, poor sleep and chronic fatigue.
00:13:32
And then like constant muscle cramping and headaches.
00:13:35
So, magnesium also plays a critical role in blood sugar regulation.
00:13:40
So, a deficiency in this is also linked to the reason we have such an increased risk of type
00:13:45
two diabetes and heart disease in this country.
00:13:47
And so, the processed foods strip out the natural magnesium found that in leafy greens,
00:13:52
nuts and whole grains.
00:13:54
And so, the next one which is probably right up there with it is the vitamin D deficiency,
00:14:00
which is our immune and hormone regulating it's a hormone really, not a vitamin, but we'll call
00:14:05
it a vitamin D.
00:14:07
And so a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2011 found that forty two
00:14:12
percent of US adults are deficient in vitamin D.
00:14:15
That's from 2011.
00:14:17
So it's more than likely higher today.
00:14:19
And so vitamin D is crucial for immune health, bone strength, and hormone regulation.
00:14:25
It's basically a pro hormone that helps our body to then synthesize real hormones, right or
00:14:30
the other hormones I should say your androgens.
00:14:32
And so with modern indoor lifestyles, less sun exposure, the overuse of sunscreens, right?
00:14:38
I try to tell people not to use too much sunscreen like there's a balance, right?
00:14:43
And poor dietary sources, those deficiency rates are climbing.
00:14:47
So, some things you can see with vitamin D deficiency, some symptoms you could experience
00:14:53
frequently getting sick, colds and infections, low energy levels and maybe even depression.
00:14:59
And then we can bones and muscle pain, right?
00:15:02
Those joint those chronic joint things that you see when you're like man, why do I just have
00:15:06
widespread kind of joint pain?
00:15:08
And so why is it a problem?
00:15:09
Well, vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher risk of chronic illness, including
00:15:14
autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and processed foods
00:15:19
contain little to no vitamin D.
00:15:21
So that means people are basically going to be vitamin D deficient year round.
00:15:26
And so you know, we're not getting outside and getting that adequate sunlight or getting it
00:15:31
from our food, that's going to become a problem.
00:15:33
And so then the next one, kind of the top three, right?
00:15:37
The Omega-three deficiency.
00:15:39
And this is one that I think kind of gets swept under.
00:15:42
Obviously, a lot of people talk about magnesium and vitamin D, but I think Omega-three gets
00:15:45
missed.
00:15:46
This is an inflammation driver.
00:15:48
So a study in nutrients '20 '20 found that sixty eight percent of adults consume below the
00:15:55
recommended levels of omega threes.
00:15:57
And so our diets in this country are very much high omega six which is pro inflammatory and
00:16:02
low omega three and should be the opposite should be at least a four to one, three to six.
00:16:07
So omega three fatty acids are essential for brain function, heart health and controlling
00:16:13
inflammation.
00:16:14
The rise of seed oils like canola, soybean and corn has led to a severe imbalance, right?
00:16:20
Those are omega six fats and so it's pushed that omega six level higher, which is
00:16:24
inflammatory and caused us to be lower in omega threes.
00:16:28
And so what you'll see with an omega three deficiency is things like brain fog and memory
00:16:33
issues, joint pain, chronic inflammation and an increased risk of heart disease.
00:16:39
And so, this is actually something we use in our clinic to help when people have those high
00:16:43
inflammatory cardiac markers, we're going to put them on a very high level of Omega-three
00:16:48
fish oil supplementation, even utilizing like sublinguals and stuff like that to drive those
00:16:53
inflammation levels down.
00:16:54
Obviously, they have to then go on a diet to avoid the pro inflammatory omega-six's as well.
00:17:00
And so, know, why does this become a problem?
00:17:03
Because the low omega-three over time is to link is going to be linked to cognitive
00:17:08
decline, right?
00:17:09
If we're talking about brain inflammation, this leads to things like Alzheimer's and dementia.
00:17:14
And so chronic inflammation from omega-six plus low omega-three is going to lead to those
00:17:19
things, those chronic inflammation diseases like arthritis, cardiovascular and autoimmune.
00:17:25
And so, know, I kind of like to plug in here like what are we doing, right?
00:17:29
Like how are we helping?
00:17:30
And so, with Alessi functional health, we're trying to address this from a proactive
00:17:34
standpoint like we always do, right?
00:17:36
So we understand that supplementation is no longer really optional.
00:17:40
It's necessary to counteract the effects of these modern diets and depleted food sources
00:17:45
that we've discussed here.
00:17:47
And so we focus on restoring nutrient balance through a combination of functional medicine,
00:17:53
lab testing and other innovative therapies.
00:17:56
And you know, looking to optimize our cellular health and reduce inflammation.
00:18:00
And so, we use targeted supplementation, high, high quality bioavailable forms of those things
00:18:05
like magnesium, vitamin D and Omega-3s to correct these deficiencies, which then you
00:18:11
know, you might not ultimately need to be on those high level supplementation for that long.
00:18:16
You can phase down to more of a low level, but ultimately something you want to maintain.
00:18:20
And then we educate our patients on how to avoid inflammatory seed oils, reducing
00:18:25
processed foods and getting back to like a whole food nutrient dense diet.
00:18:30
And so kind of the takeaway here, know, why supplements are no longer optional is that
00:18:36
everything you said, right?
00:18:37
The modern the modern food landscape is now deficient in all micronutrients pretty much.
00:18:43
Ninety percent what was it?
00:18:44
Ninety percent of vitamin c out of spinach?
00:18:46
I mean, that's crazy.
00:18:47
And so even if you're eating what you think is healthy or what like the Internet will tell you
00:18:51
is healthy, you're probably not getting out of that what you think you are because of those
00:18:56
lower levels of actual available microvitamins.
00:19:00
And so, ultra processed foods are dominating the diets.
00:19:03
We have these massive deficiencies which are widespread linked to chronic disease has put us
00:19:09
to a point where supplementation is really not even supplementation at this point.
00:19:13
It should be a part of your lifestyle.
00:19:15
It should be something that everyone's doing at least with these main ones that we discussed.
00:19:20
And so, you know, you if this is something you want to learn more about, at Alessi Functional
00:19:24
Health, we offer comprehensive lab testing where we can test basically anything via blood
00:19:29
work, micronutrients, minerals, electrolytes, inflammation.
00:19:33
We have very comprehensive kind of list of things that we can look for to then help fill
00:19:39
those gaps and obviously get people back to a state of optimal health.
00:19:43
And so, we always kind of at the end of the episode, we will tell you how you can get in
00:19:46
touch with us.
00:19:48
Real quick, let's take a break and hear a word from one of our sponsors.
00:19:52
This episode of Health Decoded is brought to you by Authentic Nutrition, the brand
00:19:59
redefining what it means to fuel your body the right way.
00:20:03
At Thentic Nutrition, they believe that what you put into your body matters.
00:20:07
That's why every single product is crafted with clean, premium ingredients and dosed with
00:20:12
maximum efficacy to ensure you're not just meeting your health goals, you're exceeding
00:20:17
them.
00:20:18
No fillers, no shortcuts, no gimmicks.
00:20:21
Whether it's their advanced supplements for energy, recovery, or gut health, you can trust
00:20:26
that what's on the label is exactly what's in the bottle.
00:20:30
Fentic Nutrition delivers science backed formulations that work as hard as you do.
00:20:34
If you're tired of products that promise the world but don't deliver, it's time to make the
00:20:39
switch to Fentic Nutrition.
00:20:41
Elevate your health with transparency, quality, and results you can feel.
00:20:46
Check them out today at authenticnutrition.com and use promo code Alessi 15 to get 15% off.
00:20:54
That's thenticnutrition.com.
00:20:59
Promo code a l e s s I one five to save 15% and take the first step toward real, lasting
00:21:07
health.
00:21:08
Authentic Nutrition, fuel your best self.
00:21:11
Now back to the episode.
00:21:15
So welcome back.
00:21:16
We're gonna talk about the medical system, focused on symptoms, not prevention.
00:21:21
So mainstream medicine is designed to manage disease, not prevent it.
00:21:26
Doctors are trained to diagnose and treat conditions with pharmaceuticals, rather
00:21:30
addressing the root causes, many of which stem from nutrient deficiencies and poor metabolic
00:21:35
health.
00:21:36
So what's the problem here?
00:21:37
Most doctors never check for nutrient deficiencies before prescribing medication.
00:21:42
Reactive medicine dominates, and patients seek only when symptoms appear, rather than being
00:21:49
guided on preventing nutrition and lifestyle changes.
00:21:54
Insurance driven care discourages nutrient testing.
00:21:59
Doctors are rewarded for prescribing drugs, not for helping patients avoid diseases altogether.
00:22:05
So here's a study in JAMA 2016 that found that less than twenty five percent of The US medical
00:22:12
schools even require a single course on nutrition.
00:22:15
Doctors receive an average of fewer than twenty hours of nutritional education during their
00:22:22
entire training.
00:22:24
So meanwhile, diseases like heart diseases, obesity, and type two diabetes, all of which
00:22:29
are directly linked to diet and nutrient status, continue to rise across the board.
00:22:35
So let's dig into a little bit of big pharma, right?
00:22:38
Keeping patients dependent on them.
00:22:40
Pharmaceutical industry makes billions off of treating chronic disease while preventing
00:22:45
nutrition is largely ignored.
00:22:48
Here's some data from the Fortune Business Insights.
00:22:50
In 2023, the global pharmaceutical market was valued at $1 and continues to
00:22:59
grow as the chronic diseases increase across the board.
00:23:04
So cholesterol too high?
00:23:07
Take a statin.
00:23:08
Blood sugar spiking?
00:23:10
Here's Metformin for you.
00:23:12
Anxiety?
00:23:13
Let's try some SSRI.
00:23:15
What's missing?
00:23:16
A doctor asking, Are you deficient in magnesium, vitamin D, or even omega-3s?
00:23:22
All of which play a critical role in these conditions.
00:23:26
Here's another, study done by The Lancet in 2019 found that deficiencies in key
00:23:32
micronutrients like omega-3s, vitamin D, and magnesium contribute to increased risk of
00:23:39
cardiovascular disease, depression, and metabolic dysfunction, yet are rarely addressed
00:23:45
in conventional medicine.
00:23:47
What's the answer?
00:23:48
Big Pharma doesn't profit when you're healthy.
00:23:51
Preventative nutrition reduces dependency on expensive medications, which threatens their
00:23:59
bottom line.
00:24:00
So here's our take: Doctors hand out prescriptions like candy and never check for
00:24:05
basic nutrient deficiencies that could be causing the fatigue, the anxiety, and the
00:24:10
overall chronic pain.
00:24:11
Why is this?
00:24:13
It's faster and easier to write prescription than educate a patient on nutrition and
00:24:16
lifestyle.
00:24:18
Insurance doesn't cover preventive focused care, leaving doctors little incentive to test
00:24:24
for deficiencies.
00:24:26
And then, most physicians aren't trained in nutrition, they just don't know.
00:24:30
So they default to medication instead of addressing root causes.
00:24:34
And the reality here, if more doctors were tested for magnesium, vitamin D and overall
00:24:39
vitamin omega-three deficiencies, we'd see fewer prescriptions, fewer chronic diseases,
00:24:45
and overall better health across American society.
00:24:48
So at Alessi Functional Health, we're breaking free from the conventional model that ignores
00:24:53
nutrition in favor of pharmaceuticals.
00:24:57
We test using comprehensive nutrition testing to identify deficiencies before they become
00:25:03
chronic conditions.
00:25:05
Here's another root cause focus: addressing metabolic imbalances, inflammation, and
00:25:10
nutrient depletion before they lead to disease.
00:25:14
Personalized protocols, quality bioavailable supplements, because not all supplements are
00:25:20
created equal, and targeted lifestyle changes to correct deficiencies and optimize your
00:25:26
health.
00:25:27
So here's what I want you to take away from this.
00:25:30
Why supplementation is non negotiable.
00:25:33
You can't rely on mainstream medicine to optimize your nutrition because big parm big
00:25:38
pharma profits when you stay sick, not when you're healthy.
00:25:41
Preventative health starts with fixing deficiencies and not waiting for disease to
00:25:46
develop.
00:25:47
So now let's talk about how to strategically supplement, right?
00:25:51
How to use supplements as a part of your lifestyle and not just like treating them the
00:25:56
same way you would medication right like like reactively so we've been told that a balanced
00:26:02
diet is going to provide all the nutrients we need I wish this was true it's just not like
00:26:06
that anymore based on the the stats we just went through with the nutrition depletion of
00:26:12
all these foods.
00:26:13
And so even if you're eating a rich a diet rich in whole foods, you're still at risk for some
00:26:18
of these nutrient deficiencies due to the soil depletion, the poor absorption, and just modern
00:26:23
lifestyle stressors.
00:26:24
And so, even whole foods are less nutritious than they used to be.
00:26:29
Fruits and vegetables and grains are not as nutrient dense as they were fifty years ago.
00:26:34
And the the soil depletion and modern farming strips the soil of essential minerals.
00:26:38
We've talked about this.
00:26:39
Right?
00:26:40
So there was this this chemist, he's a biochemist, Doctor.
00:26:43
Donald R.
00:26:44
Davis, and this is a great stat, or a great quote, I'm sorry.
00:26:48
He says, we still have plenty of food, but it's increasingly lacking in vitamins and minerals.
00:26:54
You would have to eat eight oranges today to get the same amount of vitamin C that your
00:26:59
grandparents got from one.
00:27:01
And so you know, again, that we don't have that.
00:27:04
I don't have the stomach to eat eight oranges a day, right?
00:27:07
So like not necessarily wanted to do that.
00:27:09
And that's where the supplementation comes in, right?
00:27:12
So, again, the poor absorption and gut damage from processed foods also lowers this, right?
00:27:19
This is something that you know, go back to some of our previous episodes on gut health,
00:27:23
and what it looks like when you have a leaky gut or inflammation, your body's not going to
00:27:28
be able to absorb things properly as well.
00:27:30
So when we have leaky gut, we're having these gaps in our body's ability to absorb and
00:27:36
process the things that we're taking in.
00:27:39
And so a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2019 found that over seventy
00:27:44
percent of Americans have some level of gut inflammation, impairing their ability to absorb
00:27:49
these key nutrients.
00:27:51
And so some of the common causes of nutrient malabsorption are the processed foods, which
00:27:56
contain preservatives and chemicals that are going to harm and imbalance our gut bacteria.
00:28:01
Chronic stress, which increases cortisol damages the gut lining and reduces nutrient
00:28:06
absorption.
00:28:07
And then medications, antibiotics, acid blockers, birth control pills, all deplete
00:28:12
essential nutrients.
00:28:14
So Doctor.
00:28:15
Doctor.
00:28:15
Mark Hyman has a great quote as well.
00:28:17
He's a functional medicine expert, great one to follow.
00:28:20
Says you are not just what you eat, you are what your body absorbs.
00:28:24
If your gut is inflamed, you could be eating the healthiest diet in the world and still be
00:28:28
malnourished.
00:28:29
And I think that rings true.
00:28:31
So, let's let's get into some of these must have supplements.
00:28:36
Some of the ones we discussed plus a few more.
00:28:39
And I'll just go through what they are, what they do for us and why they're so important.
00:28:44
So since food quality absorption and lifestyle stresses are working against us, strategic
00:28:49
supplementation comes in.
00:28:50
And so number one, definitely hands down number one is magnesium.
00:28:54
Again, it supports over 300 reactions in the body, including the ability for us to process
00:29:00
repair muscle, relax, sleep and process stress as well.
00:29:05
And so a study in the National Institute of Health twenty twenty three found that fifty
00:29:09
percent of Americans are magnesium deficient.
00:29:13
The next one is vitamin D3.
00:29:15
Now add to that K2 is another vitamin that binds with D3 to help with the absorption.
00:29:21
And so when you put these two together, it's essential for immune function, hormone balance,
00:29:26
bone strength and the K2 ensures that calcium is deposited into the bones rather than into
00:29:33
the bloodstream and then the arteries.
00:29:34
So that's why that's so vital.
00:29:37
And these are again, these are the things that you're not going to you're not going to know
00:29:40
from your medical doc or even just taking a D3 supplement, right?
00:29:44
This is important stuff.
00:29:46
And so a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that 42 of US adults
00:29:51
are vitamin D deficient.
00:29:53
So another big number.
00:29:54
And then this increases our risk for osteoporosis, depression and weakened immunity
00:29:59
as well.
00:30:01
The next one is Omega threes.
00:30:03
So these reduce inflammation, improve heart health, support brain function.
00:30:08
A study in nutrients twenty twenty, sixty eight percent of adults consume below the recommended
00:30:14
levels of omega threes, increasing those risks.
00:30:17
And so there's this high disproportionate balance of omega sixes in the diet and in our
00:30:22
lifestyle to the omega threes right.
00:30:25
The next one here is B vitamins.
00:30:28
B vitamins are crucial for energy production, for nervous system health and for our brain to
00:30:33
function.
00:30:34
And so there's a study in neurology that found that B vitamin supplementation slows brain
00:30:39
shrinkage and cognitive decline in aging adults.
00:30:43
That's amazing.
00:30:44
And that's something as simple as taking a supplement with some B complex, right?
00:30:49
Now, the critical thing with B vitamins that a lot of people don't know is you can't just go
00:30:56
to your general pharmacy and grab a B vitamin off the shelf and expect that to work for you.
00:31:02
The methylated forms of B vitamins are going to be optimal for absorption.
00:31:06
It helps our body to know what to do with it essentially when a when a vitamin B vitamin is
00:31:11
methylated, our body now can absorb that appropriately versus you ever taken a lot of B
00:31:16
vitamins and your pee turns real yellow?
00:31:18
That's because your body is just excreting all of it, right?
00:31:20
And so that'll tell you that you're not really absorbing much of that.
00:31:23
And so then the last one on this list and another very important one that you and I both
00:31:27
definitely are proponents of is probiotics.
00:31:31
So probiotics are going to support your gut health and balance.
00:31:35
They're going to improve digestion and immune function as well because your immune system
00:31:38
lives in your gut.
00:31:40
And so there's a study in Nature Reviews of Gastroenterology back in 2017 that basically
00:31:46
solidified that gut health impacts everything from digestion to mood and inflammation levels.
00:31:52
So that's kind of like the starting point.
00:31:54
Everything you put in has to get into the gut.
00:31:55
So if that's not healthy, you're going to be missing.
00:31:59
And so here's my take man eating healthy is a great start.
00:32:02
But in today's world, it's just not enough anymore.
00:32:05
And so nutrient deficiencies are rampant, even among the people who are prioritizing Whole
00:32:10
Foods.
00:32:11
So if you're serious about optimal health, strategic supplementation is a must.
00:32:16
And now that kind of real quick example we have friends, you and I both who are fit, they are
00:32:21
healthy, they're working out, they're doing all this stuff, they're almost like those
00:32:24
optimizers, right?
00:32:26
And they even are struggling with certain things, joint pain, brain fog, and it's like,
00:32:29
they're just not getting enough from their diet alone, right?
00:32:33
And so that's where at Alessi Functional Health, we take the guesswork out of
00:32:37
supplementation.
00:32:38
We use comprehensive testing, personalized protocols, and highly bioavailable supplements
00:32:45
to then fill these gaps.
00:32:47
And the key here is you don't want to wait until you have symptoms, right?
00:32:51
Because then you're already deficient.
00:32:53
So getting ahead of these deficiencies before they lead to chronic issues is basically what
00:32:57
functional medicine is.
00:32:59
If we see a B vitamin level that's bordering low but not quite like deficient low, let's
00:33:05
supplement that.
00:33:05
Let's get that up before it becomes an issue.
00:33:08
And so, we do recommend book a consultation with us, get your nutrient levels tested and
00:33:14
let's create a supplement plan tailored to your needs.
00:33:17
We also have exclusive discounts for listeners of the podcast or people who are on our
00:33:22
newsletter where we can give you price reductions on all the supplements blood work
00:33:25
everything to help you get towards that proactive state of filling in those gaps rather
00:33:31
than waiting until something happens.
00:33:33
%.
00:33:33
What a good episode.
00:33:34
And as always, if you found value in today's show, like, subscribe, and share this episode
00:33:39
with someone who needs to hear it.
00:33:41
And wanna get in touch with us or be featured on an episode?
00:33:46
Email us your questions at ask Alessi FX Health dot com.
00:33:51
And then if you want a little bit more information about us, visit AlessiFXL.com, sign
00:33:57
up for a newsletter, and check out resources page to learn more about our approach to
00:34:01
nutrition and cutting edge therapies.
00:34:03
Thank you for tuning in to Health Decoded, where we break down the science, bust the
00:34:08
myths, and help you take control of your health naturally.
00:34:11
Until next time, stay curious, stay empowered, and remember that your health is in your hands.
00:34:18
Thank
00:34:19
you for tuning in to Health Decoded where we break down the truth about all things health
00:34:23
and empower you to take charge of your well-being.
00:34:27
If you found value in today's episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with
00:34:32
someone who needs to hear this.
00:34:34
For more resources and personalized support, visit us at AlessifunctionalHealth dot com and
00:34:39
sign up for our newsletter.
00:34:41
To hear your questions answered live on the show, send them to askalessifxhealth dot com.
00:34:47
That's ask at A L E S S I F X Health dot com.
00:34:53
Until next time, stay curious, stay empowered, and remember, your health is in your hands.