A Delicate Dance
Antioxidants, vitamins, minerals... known to reduce the risk
of... cancer, heart disease, diabetes... eat more: greens,
grains, fruits, vegetables...
We hear the admonishments and advice in the news, on talk shows,
and read it in magazines.
Do we have this much control over our health?
We do. While nothing is fool-proof, the idea should be to stock
up on anything that can provide us with maximum health benefits,
leaning the balance in our favor. It is truly our choice how we
live.
We also hear a lot about vitamins and supplementation. It is
implied that a state of perfect health cannot be reached without
them. The idea is to shore up your eating habits with all of
those nutrients you are missing at mealtime. Why are nutrients
missing at mealtime? The culprit is our food choices. If you
were to make a meal out of a loaf of white bread, wouldn't it
make sense that you may be missing a few things in the nutrient
department? While the example is a little extreme, the thinking
is the same. What do your meals actually look like?
Logically, balanced eating habits that are rich in whole foods
would be a better prescription than supplementing poor choices.
There will be days in which you don't provide every single
vitamin and mineral your body needs, but take a long-term
perspective. Look at how you are eating over the course of a
week. Plan meals that include ingredients from whole, unrefined
sources. It can be dizzying to go into a grocery store and
choose from the vast array of fruits, vegetables, and whole
grain products that can now be found on shelves. Variety is the
key to filling in any possible deficiencies, so mix it up and
try some new recipes and ingredients each week.
Supplements aren't "bad" - they can assist in your overall plan
for radiant health. But to rely on them exclusively is taking
the seemingly easy way out, when it's just replacing good
nutrition with a man-made ingredient! Vitamins found in whole
foods are much more effective than their synthetic counterparts.
For instance, 70 mg of vitamin C in one cup of broccoli
strengthens your immunity more effectively than 700 mg of
synthetic vitamin C. Plus, there are other nutrients found in
broccoli that makes it a more productive choice.
Research has found that with minerals, there is a balancing act
going on inside of our bodies. You'll read that in order for a
certain mineral to be absorbed by your body, you need to ingest
another mineral to help it along. This shows that a balance and
variety of whole foods will work hand-in-hand to provide your
body with its requirements for optimal functioning.
Choose balanced whole foods eating over the crutch of
supplementation. Instead of spending your time trying to
remember which bottle of vitamins you have or haven't taken for
the day, use your time more wisely and eat foods that work hard
for your body!