We all know we’re supposed to eat our vegetables. But 80% of American children and adolescents and 68% of adults do not eat the minimal recommended five portions of fruits and vegetables a day. Putting two and two together, the vast majority of Americans are likely deficient in vital nutrients that help prevent disease. “A deficiency of any of the micronutrients: folic acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, niacin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, iron, or zinc, mimics radiation in damaging DNA by causing single- and double-strand breaks, oxidative lesions or both. … Micronutrient deficiency may explain, in good part, why the quarter of the population that eats the fewest fruits and vegetables has about double the cancer rate for most types of cancer when compared to the quarter with the highest intake.”1 The article goes on to say that “common micronutrient deficiencies are likely to damage DNA by the same mechanism as radiation and many chemicals” and “appear to be orders of magnitude more important.”
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