Moving Toward Better Nutrition
Moving Toward
Better Nutrition
by Darra McMullen,
Women’s Health Network
Writer/Researcher
During the latter part of February,
our article took a look at lifestyle and nutritional advice for improving
cardiovascular health. That story was
intended as a logical transition between the earlier February heart health
article, and our March topic, which focuses solely on nutrition for overall
improved health. Hopefully, regular
readers of this blog have had a chance to catch both stories.
Now that we’ve taken a peek at
nutrition targeted for cardiovascular health during late February and early
March, we’ll next focus on maximizing our nutritional intake for overall
superior health and use the rest of March to investigate that topic.
To begin our investigation, the
following article will take a “bird’s eye view” of nutrition, looking at
several different areas and making specific recommendations for each one. Then, check back with this blog around March
23, 2018 for some of the latest nutrition news tidbits to close out the month.
Nutrition Overview
We’ve all heard or read in the
media that we should focus our diets on more unprocessed, natural foods such as
fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and lean meats. Likewise, we are urged to eat low-fat dairy,
“healthy” fats, and natural sweeteners and top it all off with generous amounts
of plain water. While all of the above
is sound dietary advice, we are not always aware of exactly why we should be
following it. What, then, do the above
foods provide our bodies that some other type of food would not? What do our bodies need to function at peak
performance? Is it possible to get peak
performance from healthy foods alone, or are supplements really needed?
To answer
the above questions, we should look first at what our bodies require, and then
examine what the above listed food groups can contribute to our well-being.
Our bodies
require water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats (the “macro” nutrients), as
well as vitamins and minerals (”micro” nutrients), and other less well- known
micronutrients in order to survive.
Optimal levels of these “macro” and “micro” nutrients can mean the
difference between just surviving and living life to its fullest potential (and
length) as is presently known to mankind.
Fruits,
vegetables, and whole grains provide carbohydrates, certain vitamins and
minerals, fiber (a type of carbohydrate resistant to the body’s digestive
enzymes), and phytonutrients (also known as phytochemicals) that are key
components to preventing cancer and other physical maladies. (Small amounts of other nutrients, such as
protein, may also be present.)
Meats
(including fish), dairy products, eggs, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans, peas,
lentils, and peanuts), and the various soy products provide proteins, vitamins,
minerals, and fats. (Again, small
amounts of other nutrients, such as carbohydrates, may be present.)
By
consuming foods from all of these categories, we improve our nutritional
balance and spectrum considerably and give our bodies what they need to
survive.
Eating the
above types of food in a “processed” form, that is to say in any way that has
been significantly “added to” or “taken away from” the food’s naturally
occurring state results in poorer nutrition for the individual. For example, processed grains have had their
naturally occurring outer layers removed, taking away much needed vitamins,
minerals, and fiber. Bleached flour has
had virtually all nutrition removed, leaving only the basic, most sugar-like,
simple carbohydrates intact. Processed
meats have had significant amounts of salt, sugar, and worse yet,
cancer-causing preservatives added to them.
Processed fruits and vegetables have often lost nutrients through high
heat processing and gained unneeded salt or sugar to improve flavor, which was
lost through processing.
To preserve
nutrition, always opt for fresh or frozen choices with simple preparation
techniques.
In summary
of the above, we can give our bodies excellent “survival gear” by eating a
balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, whole grains, legumes, nuts,
seeds, and lots of plain water, and by obtaining these food types in their most
naturally occurring, unprocessed state, we give our bodies another nutritional
advantage.
Are all of
the above going to enable us to live our lives to full physical potential? Evidence shows that it is unlikely,
especially given our busy, stressful lives, and our modern food supply that is
no longer as “micro” nutrient dense as it once was years ago. To maximize our physical potential, we will,
in most cases, need supplements for the “micro” nutrients.
Even with
adherence to superior dietary standards, we simply can’t get optimal “micro”
nutrition through diet alone. Several
scientific studies have shown that modern fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts,
seeds, and legumes aren’t as “micro” nutritious now as they used to be, even 50
to 100 years ago before recent farming practices were put into widespread use,
and the herbivores (such as cattle, poultry, pigs) that we also consume are not
as nutritious for us now either because they consume plant-based feed that
isn’t as nutrient packed as it once was.
To make
humans’ nutritional outlook even more precarious is our present state of always
being “on-the-go”, too busy, and stressed.
Adherence to excellent dietary standards often falls by the wayside,
even among the most well-intentioned, positively focused individuals. To complicate matters further, our stressful
lifestyles put additional demands on our bodies, causing them to need more
micronutrients to handle the extra performance we ask of our physical and
emotional selves.
To help
ensure optimal “micro” nutritional intake, supplements are needed. With the wide array of options available,
what are the basics desired, and how best do we get them?
If time or
budget constraints are severe, then an individual’s only option may be to take
a well-known national brand multivitamin/mineral or a store brand
equivalent. Supplements of this type are
quick, fairly inexpensive, and contain a small amount of several different
nutrients. However, the nutrient
concentrations are not optimal in amount, nor are all needed nutrients included
in the formulation. Still, if money or
time is a concern, taking one of these supplements is better than not taking
supplements at all.
A better
(and more expensive) choice is to supplement most vitamins and minerals
individually or in small, related groups; less popularly discussed
micronutrients, such as bioflavonoids or grape seed extract, can also be added
to a person’s daily routine with relative ease if individual supplementation is
his/ her norm. Individual nutrient
supplementation leads to much more precise nutritional enhancement and allows
each person to customize his/her supplement regimen to meet personal
needs. If taking advantage of this
method of supplementation, it is very important to know what dosage levels will
help prevent a person from taking too much or too little of a given nutrient
and suffering symptoms of overdose or deficiency. Even if an individual person chooses to take
a single multivitamin/mineral, awareness of optimal dosing is still a benefit
in that it allows the person to gauge the desirability of a particular product
and also gives the individual an idea of where his/her nutritional regimen is
weak.
The
subsequent list of vitamin, mineral, and other micronutrient recommendations
(detailed below) is taken from the popular and comprehensive nutrition book, Prescription for Natural Healing, by
Phyllis A. Balch. Other nutritional
guides echo similar “Optimum Daily Intakes”, as they are termed in Balch’s
book, for superior health.
Please note
that dosages listed are intended as a general guide for normal, healthy adults
without pre-existing conditions, such as severe illness, pregnancy, smoking,
alcoholism, recovery from surgery, etc.
Special conditions may call for more or less of certain nutrients, and
special needs should be investigated thoroughly before proceeding with a supplement
plan. Always consult with your physician
before proceeding with a supplement plan.
Also,
please note that the dosages listed are often greater for many nutrients than
are commonly found among government DVs (Daily Values) or RDAs (Recommended
Daily Allowances). The reason for this seeming
disparity is that the focus of this article is on attaining optimal nutrition,
not on merely getting enough of each nutrient to avoid deficiency diseases and
providing a basic level of health, as is the case with government issued
standards.
The optimal
micronutrient dosing list is as follows:
Vitamin A - 5,000 to 10,000 I.U.; Carotenoid complex - 5,000 to 25,000
I.U.; Vitamin B-complex - 50mg., except for the following six “B” family
members, whose dosages should be as indicated, B12 (200-400 mcg.), Biotin
(400-800 mcg.), Folic acid (400-800 mcg.), Choline and Inositol (50-200 mg.
each), and PABA (10-50mg.); Vitamin C - 1,000 to 3,000 mg. in divided doses;
Bioflavonoids (mixed) - 200 to 500 mg.; Hesperidin - 50 to 100 mg.; Rutin - 25
mg.; Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) - at least 400 I.U., 2,000 to 6,000 I.U. is
preferable according to many current sources; Vitamin E - 200 to 400 I.U.;
Calcium (citrate, ascorbate, malate) 1,500 to 2,000 mg.; Magnesium - 750 to
1,000 mg.; Iron - 18 to 30 mg.; Zinc - 30 to 50 mg.
A number of
other minerals are required for excellent health. Many of these minerals, including boron,
chromium, copper, germanium, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, silicon,
sulfur, and vanadium, are considered trace minerals because they are needed by
the body in such small amounts. Consider
supplementing these minerals with a trace mineral combination supplement from a
health food store. Supplementation of
these minerals is especially important if dietary intake of healthy foods is low.
Numerous
other micronutrients can improve health additionally and should be supplemented
individually as personal needs and budgets permit. “Optional” supplements include (but are by no
means limited to) the following: Coenzyme Q10, garlic extract, lecithin, grape
seed extract, lutein/lycopene, ginkgo biloba, octacosanol, spirulina,
quercetin, and glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate. Follow product label directions for proper
dosing.
A few final
thoughts for improving dietary nutrition are in order. To preserve nutritional content of foods when
cooking, consider using low to medium heat and generous quantities of plain
water. Season the cooking water
generously; add small amounts of fat if desired. Simmer gently for a longer time than would be
needed with high heat. Then serve part
or all of the seasoned cooking fluid as part of the meal. It is tasty, filling, and contains important
nutrients that cook out of the food. The
low to medium cooking temps help prevent destruction of nutrients and also help
prevent the formation of cancer causing substances known to occur when foods,
especially meats, are cooked at high temperatures. However, be careful to cook foods, especially
meats, at 165 degrees for at least ten minutes to kill harmful bacteria.
Eat
healthily, cook gently, supplement wisely, and most of all, live long and well!
