In the US, we think of vitamins as gummy candies as children or as tailor made diet regimes as adults. Vitamins are trendy supplements to improve your energy levels or make your hair healthier. Places like GNC offer custom vitamin packs for virtually every kind of “lifestyle” from the active young woman to an aging man. With the exception of prenatal vitamins, these supplements are rarely prescribed as vital to our health, but rather as a way to improve our health. I am not saying that all supplements are frivolous. I know myself, as someone who is anemic and has to take an iron supplement daily, that vitamins can truly be beneficial to our welfare. But the fact is that most Americans get more than enough of our essential nutrients from our varied diets and the geology of our soils and waters. The fact is that in developing countries, people are facing true nutrient deficiencies. Sometimes it can be because their varied is not as varied as ours because they lack the vast food distribution system American enjoys. More often it is that the geology of the country causes shortages in the soil food is grown in and the water these people drink. Furthermore, people in these countries do not have access to an overabundance of vitamin supplements that Americans do. These supplements would truly make a difference in the health of these people.
Sixteen mineral elements have been identified as essential for our bodies’ functions. These elements are essential for 1) bone and membrane structure, 2) water and electrolyte balance, 3) metabolic catalysis, 4) oxygen binding, and 5) hormone effects (Combs). For example, Fluoride is essential for new bone formation and protection of enamel from acid erosion. In America, fluoride can be found in almost all toothpastes and is often added to water supplies as well. Of course, there are even fluoride vitamin supplements. In India, fluoride intakes as become an issue for both wet and dry parts of the country. In wet regions of the country, fluoride, a highly mobile ion, is often leached out of drinking waters. Therefore, people in these regions experience increased cases of dental cavities and dental caries. In dry regions, the opposite is experienced. The fluoride concentration in the drinking water (mainly ground water) becomes too high. The excess fluoride in people’s diets hardens bones, decreasing elasticity and increasing instances of fracture. There are also cases of dental fluorosis or white streaking and staining on the teeth’s enamel (Selinus, et al).
Iodine is another mineral we rarely think about in the US. In the US we almost exclusively take in iodized salt. This is not a fact that the rest of the world faces. In places where people are not taking in iodized salt, such as rural India, they can experience serious iodine deficiency disorders. Iodine is an important nutrient in thyroid function and lack of iodine can lead to thyroid hypertrophy or goiters. I imagine that many people in America have never seen or heard of goiters as we have had iodine in our diets regularly for years. But goiters aren’t even the most serious health effect of iodine deficiency. It is also the cause of myxedematous cretinism, the leading global cause of metal retardation (Combs).
As already mentioned, much of our nutrient intake is related to our diet. For example, we know iron comes from red meats and green leafy vegetables, calcium comes from dairy and potassium comes from bananas, etc. However, it should be noted that our body cannot fully absorb all of the minerals found in these foods, so you cannot rely on the total mineral concentration in foods. However, ultimately the minerals found in our food goes back to geology and the minerals found in our soils. Just like geology varies globally so do the bioavailability of nutrients. This is even truer in places like India. Food systems are often highly localized, limiting access to only the nearest soils and thus the food only has a limited number of minerals. This can be further exacerbated by low uptake by crops, as is the case of zinc and excessive leaking as is the case of iodine. In iodine, there have been many studies that directly correlate instances of goiters with geographic soil deficiencies. In developed countries like the US, interregional and even international food transfer helps make these soil variances a non-issue. But as already mentioned, this kind of food transfer system is not available in India. Furthermore, the diets of many Indians are lacking even the appropriate foods for a truly nutritious diet. This can be seen in the lack of meat consumption and the high rates of anemia due to lack of iron (Combs).
As we take our morning vitamins, it might be helpful to think about our own dependence on vitamins. Are we taking the vitamins because our diets, our soil, our drinking water aren’t providing us with what we need? Or are we taking the supplements for supposed health improvement benefits? If it is the latter, consider how lucky we are to have vitamins as a choice not a worry.
Combs, Gerald, Geological Impacts on Nutrition.
Selinus, Olle. Finkleman, Robert. Centeno, Jose, Medical Geology: A Regional Synthesis.
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