Better Nutrition Better Health
Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said
“Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food.”
Why would he say this? What about medications we get from the pharmacy? Are these not more important?
Pharmaceuticals are vital as they help cure diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. They also help control and alleviate several chronic conditions that have wreaked havoc on the human population.
Unfortunately, most pharmaceuticals have side effects. The more drugs we are on, increases the chance of us developing side effects.
Most drugs, including vitamins, minerals, and supplements, have substances found in our food. What if we made it a point to eat more nutritious food, specifically fruit, and vegetables, to get what our body needs?
What are the benefits of Nutrition?
Nutrition deals with the taking in and metabolism of various nutrients that nurture and support the human body’s growth.
Without adequate quantity and quality of these nutrients, instead of maintaining optimal health and functioning, we open ourselves to various diseases caused by a lack of these nutrients.
The nutrients our bodies need are divided into two major categories; macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients versus Micronutrients
Macronutrients are essential nutrients that we require in relatively large quantities, including carbohydrates, fats, protein, and water.
Macronutrients to our bodies are just like gas to a car. Our bodies need macronutrients to function every day.
Micronutrients are essential nutrients required in relatively smaller quantities, such as minerals (sodium, potassium, iron, iodine, magnesium, and selenium); and vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin C).
All of these can be found in the fruit and vegetables we eat. Micronutrients to our bodies are just like brake fluid to a car. Micronutrients increase the efficiency of our bodies.
The Food Pyramid vs. Mypyramid vs. MyPlate
The recommended amount of macronutrients (food in the different categories) we are supposed to eat has changed over the years.
Here in the United States, this graphic representation has changed from the Food Pyramid (first created in 1992) to My Pyramid (in 2005), and now we have the MyPlate (2011).
My plate essentially shows that half of our plates should consist of fruits and vegetables. Other countries may have a different version of this.
Nutrients - How much is enough?
Macronutrients provide the energy or fuel we need to live our lives every day.
Micronutrients supply what we need to function like a well-oiled machine that does not break down.
They give our bodies the ability to:
remain healthy (boost our immune system so we can fight infections),
get rid of our bodies’ waste or exhaust (free radicals that cause oxidative stress),
limit DNA breakage (reducing the risk of cancer) and much more.
As mentioned above most of our micronutrients are obtained from fruits and vegetables. We need 7-13 servings a day. A serving is the size of your fist.
The number of servings of fruit and vegetables should not come from the same source. We need to have a variety.
We need to make sure we eat the ‘color of the rainbow’ as each fruit or vegetable has different phyto (plant) nutrients that our bodies need to function well.
As mentioned above, the number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables has increased from 3-5 to 7-13.
Why have daily servings increased?
First of all, our food quality has decreased because more and more of our produce is genetically modified and sprayed with herbicides and pesticides.
Secondly, for our produce to get to the grocery stores in good condition, they are picked early. Our produce is not coming from our backyard gardens but miles away and sometimes thousands of miles away.
Food, once it is harvested, it is no longer ripening; it is rotting.
That is a double whammy.
Not only are we not getting the full nutritional value from the outset, the nutritional quality further declines the longer our produce sits on the grocery store shelf or in our homes before it is eaten.
Early picking of fruits and vegetables means that it will not have the amount of nutrition that a fully ripened piece of fruit or vegetable would have, resulting in us having to eat more to get the amount that our bodies need.
How to Bridge the Gap?
Fruits and vegetables are essential for our overall health.
We need them in sufficient quality and quantity. Most people will find it difficult, if not impossible, to eat the required amount of 7-13 servings daily.
I have found a product that I use called Juice Plus+.
Juice Plus+ is concentrated vine-ripened fruits and vegetables of 20-30 different kinds. They come packaged in a gummy or capsule.
This product bridges the gap between what we eat and what we are supposed to eat.
I have been using Juice Plus+ for over two years. It gives me peace of mind that I am providing my body what it needs even if my diet is not the best.
What about you? Are you struggling to get an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables every day? Would you like to start providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function at its best?
I recommend Juice Plus+.
Believe me; it is the best thing you can do for your body.
Let’s focus on our nutrition as I believe it plays the most significant role in our health.
Better nutrition.
Better health.
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