Omega-3, vitamin C, vitamin B, fiber, iron, etc., etc. We
always hear about all of these nutrients and how healthy they are, which they
are. However, there is a common disconnect between these nutrients and the
foods they naturally can be found in. There is no vitamin C tree that just grows vitamin C. Believe it or not all of these
nutrients can be found naturally in food, not just food sprinkled with the
powdered form of these nutrients, and definitely not just supplements.
Beth where are you
going with this?
Funny, I often ask myself this same question J Let me, “illustrate”
my point for you. Let’s pretend that bae comes down with a case of the sniffles
and is being a bit of a drama queen about it...
Attempting to be a caring significant other, you fight
through your anti-commitment issues and general annoyance with princess over
there and head to the store to pick up some vitamin C supplements or just
anything touting vitamin C in the label because everybody knows that’s what you
need when you are sick (which is futile once you are already sick by the way
but I already covered that in a previous post). My question for you though is outside of supplements,
where can you find vitamin C? Believe it or not, vitamin C is found naturally
in foods such as citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers, kale, broccoli, etc. Ok
so you probably got the vitamin C and orange juice thing, but what I am getting
at is two things.
- You do not need supplements to get vitamin C—you can eat foods that naturally contain vitamin C.
- Vitamin C is only effective in helping lessen colds when used preventively, not when you already are sick
The same thing could be said for all of the other “trendy”
nutrients such as omega-3. Instead of taking some fish oil supplement that
makes your burps taste like fish, why don’t you actually eat some salmon or if
fish isn’t your thing, try some walnuts. Just a crazy thought I know.
Why does this matter
Beth?
Well, there are two reasons; the first and biggest reason is
that food sources of vitamins and minerals are better absorbed by your body
than those from supplements. The other reason being that people tend to think
that you can eat like crap and then take a multivitamin or something and think
that they are doing good. I hate to break it to you, but that’s not how it
works.
Breaking it down
Should you be concerned with certain vitamins and minerals? If
you eat a well rounded diet (aka eating fruits and vegetables) no, unless you are advised by your doctor. Not that
I am the healthiest eater that ever roamed the earth (probs close to it though J ), but I don’t take
any supplements and I also don’t keep a check list on me as to how many oranges
I need to eat a day to ensure that I get enough vitamin C. I just eat a variety
of foods that I enjoy. No need to haggle over certain nutrients and eat foods
that you simply just do not like. So instead of running to get some vitamin C
supplement the next time bae gets a ferocious case of the sniffles, tell him he should eat some oranges,
strawberries, peppers, etc. on the regular to prevent them. After all, they taste better than the
supplements do. Well I probably
should just take the rest of the day off; I feel a case of the sniffles coming
on. I am going to send this to my boss...
There is no way he can tell me no…kittens always win and I
am even a dog person. I don't care who you are, that kitten is pretty cute. Until next time!
Keep it Fresh,
Keep it Green,
Beth
