People need certain forms of nutrition to maintain life and health. Everything needed to survive and flourish can be found in fresh, whole, organically-grown food. However, much of the food found in stores today has little nutritional value, while environmental pollution and modern-day stress makes a proper diet more important than ever. "What nutrients does my body need?" is most easily answered with foods and supplements like vitamins and minerals.
Researchers have proved that modern food supplies are less nutritious than those enjoyed by former generations. Mono-cropping, factory farming, and depletion of soils has lowered the nutritional value, as does long-term storage and transport of foods. The use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers has also made our food less wholesome and our health requirements higher.
Basic needs for the human body are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, with a plentiful supply of water to give the body the fluids needed for proper digestion and utilization of these elements. Unfortunately, not all foods provide adequate nutrition, even if the gross amount of calories ingested is sufficient.
Fats, for instance, easily turn rancid and are harmed by heat. In fact, high heat can turn good fats into toxic substances. Manufacturers of packaged foods often remove healthful fats to extend the shelf life, replacing them with other forms of fat to mimic the desired taste and texture. This is why many people are deficient in important fatty acids, and why experts counsel supplementation for people of all ages.
Many people in even affluent societies suffer from a lack of quality protein. People may limit meat, dairy, and eggs for weight-control purposes or because they have allergies. These important protein sources should be replaced by fish or high-protein vegetables like whole grains and greens. However, many lack the knowledge to plan a balanced diet and in consequence suffer from fatigue, a loss of mental acuity, brittle nails and hair, and other results of dietary insufficiency.
Carbohydrates tend to make up too much of the diet for many. Baked goods, sweets, sugary drinks, and fruit juices are often replacements for whole foods, fresh vegetables, and pure water. Especially when carbohydrates are refined, as in white flour and sugar, the resulting food products are hard to digest and provide little but empty calories. This can cause obesity, diabetes and hypoglycemia, and the fatigue that plagues so many of us today.
Fats are another category that many people don't understand. There are nutrients in fish oils, for example, that cannot be found in any other food. These fats are easily destroyed by processing and can contain environmental pollutants if not taken from cold-water, deep-sea fish. Careful processing and testing is needed to ensure that supplemental fats from fish oil are pure and undamaged.
Organic, whole foods should be the basis of the daily diet, while supplements from reputable manufacturers can provide for gaps in nutrition caused by lack of time or access to fresh, locally-grown foods. Refined carbohydrates should be eliminated if health is to be achieved, maintained, or restored.
Researchers have proved that modern food supplies are less nutritious than those enjoyed by former generations. Mono-cropping, factory farming, and depletion of soils has lowered the nutritional value, as does long-term storage and transport of foods. The use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers has also made our food less wholesome and our health requirements higher.
Basic needs for the human body are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, with a plentiful supply of water to give the body the fluids needed for proper digestion and utilization of these elements. Unfortunately, not all foods provide adequate nutrition, even if the gross amount of calories ingested is sufficient.
Fats, for instance, easily turn rancid and are harmed by heat. In fact, high heat can turn good fats into toxic substances. Manufacturers of packaged foods often remove healthful fats to extend the shelf life, replacing them with other forms of fat to mimic the desired taste and texture. This is why many people are deficient in important fatty acids, and why experts counsel supplementation for people of all ages.
Many people in even affluent societies suffer from a lack of quality protein. People may limit meat, dairy, and eggs for weight-control purposes or because they have allergies. These important protein sources should be replaced by fish or high-protein vegetables like whole grains and greens. However, many lack the knowledge to plan a balanced diet and in consequence suffer from fatigue, a loss of mental acuity, brittle nails and hair, and other results of dietary insufficiency.
Carbohydrates tend to make up too much of the diet for many. Baked goods, sweets, sugary drinks, and fruit juices are often replacements for whole foods, fresh vegetables, and pure water. Especially when carbohydrates are refined, as in white flour and sugar, the resulting food products are hard to digest and provide little but empty calories. This can cause obesity, diabetes and hypoglycemia, and the fatigue that plagues so many of us today.
Fats are another category that many people don't understand. There are nutrients in fish oils, for example, that cannot be found in any other food. These fats are easily destroyed by processing and can contain environmental pollutants if not taken from cold-water, deep-sea fish. Careful processing and testing is needed to ensure that supplemental fats from fish oil are pure and undamaged.
Organic, whole foods should be the basis of the daily diet, while supplements from reputable manufacturers can provide for gaps in nutrition caused by lack of time or access to fresh, locally-grown foods. Refined carbohydrates should be eliminated if health is to be achieved, maintained, or restored.