Have you ever?
Gone to the grocery store and wished your doctor could see your cart because it was loaded with awesomeness? A head of organic cauliflower (for cauliflower mash potato), a bunch of organic kale (for delicious kale chips) and a whole pineapple (to replace Chunky Monkey ice cream as your go-to dessert while binge watching Game of Thrones). But they end up in your frig just a few days too long and now the cauliflower looks brown, the kale looks yellow, and the pineapple smells weird?
Diagnosis:
You may be suffering from a very common syndrome – Great Vegetable Intentions. All those Pinterest recipes look so delicious! But they take a lot of TIME. You walk in the kitchen to make dinner but you’re wiped out from a long day at work, the kids are whining about how hungry they are, and you’re in a rush to get dinner on the table before driving to the millionth swim/baseball/dance practice. Problem is, those healthy ingredients don’t cook themselves. All you have the energy for is microwaving some organic mac-n-cheese with some frozen peas thrown in. Come on, we all do it!
We know that eating healthy is one of the keys to long term health….and we’re trying! But shopping, chopping, recipe-finding and cooking to get at least 8 servings of vegetables, fruits, plus healthy fats & healthy proteins Every..Single..Day.. is no easy task. It’s overwhelming!
Some Solutions:
Luckily there is help without having to hire Oprah’s personal chef: supplement your less-than-perfect plate with some high quality vitamins. But, you say, supplements get a bad rap and my best friend (who just lost 10 pounds and looks AMAZING) says you can get all your nutrients from real food.
I hear ya and I hate to be a downer, but ‘cha can’t. Don’t get me wrong, I want you to eat real foods — definitely eat organic, locally-grown, grass-fed, farm fresh food and wild-caught seafood. But even if you do, I still want you to supplement. Here’s why:
- Your diet isn’t All That and a Bag of Chips. Do you really eat the perfect diet, or do you indulge in chips? Do you suffer from Great Vegetable Intentions? What about grains and breads? How about sugar? All these things wreak havoc on your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. And if you suffer from irritable bowel, leaky gut or inflammation, your body is having a hard time getting the nutrients it needs.
- You’re getting older. Nutrient absorption doesn’t get better as we age (or eyesight, stamina, energy. Sheesh). On top of that, we often take meds (like proton pump inhibitors for our reflux- Nexium, Prilosec, etc.) that significantly alter our ability to absorb nutrients.
- Science has proven it, but you may not have heard. Yes, it’s true. Our low calorie, snack-pack, convenient diets that have been the fad for the last 20 years have been slowly killing us. Even back in June 2010 (J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010; 7:24) research showed that 4 popular diet plans failed to provide the minimum RDI for ALL 27 micronutrients that were analyzed. They calculated we’d have to eat 27,575 calories to absorb all we need to be healthy. Now that’s a lot of food!
- Soil depletion, water depletion, toxins…Oh My! Did you know that farmed salmon is fed coloring agents to make them look pinker? That can’t be good. Now think about all the other toxins we are constantly being exposed to: BPA in your water bottle, Roundup Ready corn and soy (thanks Monsanto!), household cleaning products with toxic chemicals. Even what we drink; our delicious Coke/Pepsi and household water filters are causing magnesium depletion. All of these products leach precious metals and vitamins from our body.
NOW THAT YOU’VE SCARED ME, WHAT SHOULD I TAKE?
Not all supplements are equal or good for you, and there are some that deserve the bad rap that they get. Read the labels, research the company, and ask your favorite health care provider what they take. There are a few essentials that most of us will benefit from, but each of us has special needs.
[alert type=”information” title=”Do I take supplements, you ask?” grey_skin=1] You betcha! While my family eats pretty darn healthy, I recently tested myself and came up short on several very important nutrients. As always if you have any questions, or would like to ask me about supplements, please feel free to contact me: [email protected][/alert]