From: "Francis J. Law" <fjlaw@freenet.calgary.ab.ca>
Subject: Re: Supplements? Check deficiency: By food records
Organization: Calgary Free-Net
How does one find out that the RDA has not been ingested.
I find assuming that 2oz of tomatoes has.... is assuming a lot, in a
calculation that is pretty fine. Unfortunately, I get my tomatoes, or
whatever from principally the same source. If they deviate from the
'normal' then they continue to do so, unless someone comes up with a new
contents list for the particular item (tomato) for my area. Then there
are the seasonal variations, or hot house varieties. My feeling is that
the variations are big relative to the RDA quantities. There is a
general, give up in desperation attitude, that over time, over a large
population, one equals out and gets what is in the original - garden of
eden - tomato list of contents. That is the statistics, let a monkey
type, long enough and you get 'Gone with the Wind'. Cannot fault that
reasoning, based on the given parameters, but - it stands to reason - that
we will have to use a lot of monkey lifetimes to get that book. Does it
change the calculation if a second monkey takes over from the first ?
I would like some ideas on how to use the RDA in a practical, every day
way. Thanks.
On Fri, 24 Jan 1997, owner-ismnt mailing list wrote:
>
> From: Kevin Kelly <kkelly@rrnet.com>
>
> Gary,
>
> You wrote:
>
> >Very nice Kevin,
> >Now want to go about telling us how to determine if we have a
> >deficiency? What blood, urine and stool and maybe even hair samples
> >are needed and who to send them to and what we should be looking for?
> >Are RDA's enough?
>
> First, a clarification, not an implication from your thoughts. The
> RDAs are not a diganostic tool. Often times, the RDAs are used to
> diagnose a medical condition. The RDAs are meant to be used as a
> guideline, just like the height/weight charts. People do not fit into
> categories. The RDAs apply to a healthy population, which covers most
> people. When illness and true nutritional deficiencies exist, more
> than the RDA is usually needed to bring that person back to good
> health. Keep in mind what R in RDA stands for: Recommended.
> Finally, only a physician can make a medical diagnosis. As a
> dietitian, I can pick out nutritional deficiencies, and suspect that a
> medical condition exists, but I will need the help of a physician.
>
> Finding nutritional deficiencies is rather easy. No expensive tests
> are needed. My patients/clients keep a food record for a week. This
> helps me individualize nutrition programs. Looking at a food record
> will usually tell me if there is a nutritional deficiency. I rarely
> use a software package, but for certain cases I do. I screen all
> clients/patients, and if a red flag comes up, I send them to a
> physician. At that point, tests on blood, urine and stool are done if
> needed. As far as hair tests, I am very suspicious of them. I think
> they are almost always part of the fraudulent end of the health care
> industry. I am sure there are situations where hair testing is
> informative, but I think that is few and far between.
>
> Kevin Kelly, Licensed Registered Dietitian
>
>
Frank Law T2G 5J5 == Did you say Hello to your God today ?
== Say a Prayer anytime !
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e-mail: fjlaw@yours.com