Super Simple Sustenance: Two Easy Ways to Get the Nutrients Most People Miss

A new CDC report shows that 9 out of 10 Americans are missing two major hallmarks of a healthy diet.

To say that 9 out of 10 Americans have anything in common is fairly impressive. When it comes to health, though, the fact that 90% of us are missing two key items in our diets, according to a new CDC report, is a problem that needs to be addressed.

No matter who you are and what areas of your wellness you’re most focused on, your diet is absolutely foundational to your overall health. Before we reveal what the two key items are (have to keep up a little suspense, right?), take a guess of your own: what do you think are the two most likely candidates for key foods that the vast majority of Americans are neglecting?

The First Step to Better Health Isn’t a Leap

Here’s one more question that doubles as a hint: how many of the following improvements would you like to make to your personal wellness, if all it took was filling in these two mysterious dietetic blanks?

• Slash your risk of heart problems
• Encourage healthy blood sugar and cholesterol levels
• Promote sharp vision and clear thinking
• Lose weight and build muscle
• Boost immune health and encourage the growth of healthy gut bacteria.

Even better still, what if these key items were critical sources of vitamins and minerals, boosted your antioxidant defenses, and kept your digestive system in top shape? Alright, alright, we’re sure the suspense is killing you… what are these miracle foods?

We’re talking about simple fruits and vegetables here, folks. According to the CDC’s new report, in several states the average adult barely gets 7% of the vegetables they need for good health, and 9% or less of the fruit needed.

That’s like trying to drive from New York to Los Angeles on less than 10% of the gas your car needs for the trip. Sure, fruit and vegetables being crucial to nutritional wellness might seem obvious, but, the fact is, most Americans aren’t giving their body that necessary fuel.

Boosting Your Fruit and Veggie Intake The Easy Way

Even Californians, who grow the lion’s share of our nation’s fruits and vegetables barely manage to get 17% of the fruit and 13% of the vegetables their bodies need every day, and California is beating every other state! No wonder so many Americans have health problems when our bodies are starving for critical nutrients.

Luckily, there are easy ways to boost your fruit and vegetable intake without taking all the enjoyment out of your normal meals. Juicing is a fantastic method for concentrating the powerful nutrients contained in vegetables, and you don’t have to go crazy chugging the stuff down all day. Drinking 12 – 16 ounces of fresh vegetable juice can provide significant amounts of essential vitamins and minerals, while also giving you lots of phytochemicals that help boost your immune defenses.

Kale, chard, spinach, and other dark greens are a perfect base for juicing. From there, the sky's the limit! You can add red peppers for vitamin A, broccoli for lutein and sulforaphane, beets to promote healthy vision, and the list just keeps going. Experiment to find what tastes good to you, and vary what you juice to get the goodness from a variety of vegetables.

Don’t juice your fruits, though! The fiber in fruits helps your body deal with the high levels of sugar. Eat fruits whole to get the maximum benefit without driving up your blood sugar levels.

Not a Juice Fan? That’s Okay Too

An even easier way to boost your intake of key nutrients from vegetables is with what’s known as a “greens formula.” An organic greens formula typically takes extracts from young grasses and combines them with other greens to provide high levels of nutrients that may be missing from your diet.

Young grasses like barley and alfalfa are high in key vitamins and minerals, and are easy to digest. By mixing young grasses with single-celled plants such as chlorella and spirulina, a natural greens formula can fill much of the gap that 9 out of 10 Americans are experiencing in their diet.

The truth is, it just isn’t always possible or realistic to get all of the servings of fruit and vegetables your body needs, every day. That’s where juicing and greens supplements can really help you hedge your bets in becoming that 1 in 10 American who actually is getting key nutrients from these two food groups.

The bottom line and ultimate goal for you should be to get yourself into that elite 1 in 10 club of people who get enough of these two key food groups. When you do, your chances of staying healthy go way, way up. There’s a reason why you’ve been told to eat your fruits and vegetables throughout your entire life… they’re just flat out good for you.