Essential nutrients are the building blocks of a healthy body.
Our bodies require many different nutrients for optimal function. The averge diet of the average person today is serious lacking in enough and the right kinds of nutrients that are vital for strong healthy cells. Busy schedules & fast food make it hard to prepare & eat meals that provide all the essential nutrients our bodies need.
The best source of the nutrients that we need is healthy whole foods. We need to make sure that we eat plenty of raw fruits & vegetables in addition to a balanced diet encompassing a variety of different food in each food group. The food guide pyramid is a reference that has been created as a general nutrition guide. We need to make sure we are getting a balance diet because one food group does not contain all the nutrients that our bodies need. For example, Vitamin B12 is only found in animal sources of food, and fermented beans (which comes from yeast, which technically could be classified as an animal.) If you don't eat any animal products, including milk & eggs, then you have to eat fermented beans, or take a supplement, in order to get vitamin B12. It is very important to chose the nutrient rich foods in each food group. For example, we might be eating the amount of grains that are recommended by the Food Guide Pyramid, but if that is made up of only white bread, or white rice, or other refined & processed grains, we are not getting many vitamins or minerals from that group. We are only getting calories. The best grains are whole grains. The best bread to buy is whole grain bread. Don't be fooled by brown bread that claims to be "Wheat bread." White bread is also wheat bread, & they just color it brown and call it wheat bread to make it seem to be healthier. Only bread that lists as it's first ingredient 100% whole wheat is actually whole wheat bread. Try switching to whole wheat pasta, crackers, flour tortillas, and whole grain cereal.
Even if we try to eat a nutritionally balanced diet, we may not be getting all the nurtients that our bodies need for optimal health, because the soil has been depleted of vital minerals & nutrients. Instead of using crop rotation & natural fertilizers to replenish & nourish the soil, most growers use chemical fertilizers, which not only robs the soil of vital nutrients without replacing them, but can also destroy the vital nutrients that are left. In order to get 100% of the essential nutrients that are vital for our bodies we often need to compliment our nutrient rich diets with nutritional supplements.
The answer to optimal health does not lie with 1 miracle food that is supposed to cure people from what ever ails them. Chances are, that if someone felt a miracoulus change after starting to take one specific type of food or supplement, that it was the lack of the nutrients contained in the supplement that was causing the problems on the first place. Taking the supplement allowed them to replenish the missing nutrient and correct the imbalance that had lead to their feeling of ill health.
I personally recommend eating green smoothies, and taking raw whole food vitamins along with nutritious meals to help maximize essential nutrient intake.
The steps listed below are just a brief outline of what you can do to optimize your health. Click on each step for further details.
5. Physical exercise.
6. Stress reduction.
7. Promote spiritual, mental & emotional well being.
