Supplements vs. Real Food

It comes as no surprise that we all need vitamins for our bodies to function properly and to live a healthful life.   A booming supplement industry has each vitamin, mineral, and amino acid neatly packaged up and ready to sell you.  So, is there any difference in the vitamin C pill that you can take with a glass of water or the vitamin C that you would find in a fresh orange?  This is important to know as you make decisions for yourself and for your family.

Food Habits

As humans, most of us want to find the path of least resistance or the easiest way to do things.  The supplement industry caters to our desire for “easy”, and many people are under the illusion that if they take a handful of vitamins, they are indeed healthy.  This can be problematic, as it can lead to poor food choices.  The example of a person that takes a variety of supplements and then chooses to eat fast food frequently throughout the week is far too common.  The truth is that many people need to learn new habits surrounding food.  Each time that you reach for a fish oil pill instead of cooking a piece of fish, you are not allowing yourself to develop a new relationship with food.   

Multifaceted Foods

Whole, unprocessed foods that are close to their natural state are complex.  They contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds.  When you eat a carrot, you get over a dozen vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, and folate.  All of these work together to provide your body with what it needs to function properly.  In addition, eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also provides fiber to the diet.  This is an area in which most people struggle, and increasing fiber can have a tremendous impact on a person’s health.

Regulation

Shockingly, the supplement industry is unregulated.  This means that companies can make a variety of claims, which may not have been proven.  Some studies have shown supplements to contain up to 80% less than the declared amount on the package!  On the other hand, although vitamins are essential to our survival, there is level in which they become toxic to us.  Although you have nothing to fear if you are eating real food, it is very easy to reach those levels in pill form.

Final Thoughts

While there is nothing wrong with including supplements or a multivitamin in your daily routine, it is important to remember what these products are meant to be – supplements.  This means that they should be included along with whole foods and a well-rounded healthful diet.  These products should be used to fill in the gaps during certain situations when it can’t be done with food.  You can take a vitamin C supplement, but it’s no replacement for a red bell pepper!

Nutritional Yeast

While we can all agree that nutritional yeast may have the least appealing name possible for a food, it is certainly something you may want to consider including in your diet.  Never heard of nutritional yeast?  You are not alone!  Although it has been around for quite a while, it has just recently started to become more popular and a larger number of grocery stores are now carrying it.  So just what is this mysterious product and why should you be eating it?  Let’s find out!

WHAT IS IT?

Nutritional yeast differs from bread and other yeasts in that is deactivated.  This means that it can’t be used as a substitute when making dough, and shouldn’t be confused with the type of yeast that is used in baked goods.  The yeast is grown on a food source, in some cases molasses, harvested, then dried and finally broken into small flakes.  This finished product has a wonderful nutty and cheesy flavor that is delicious with a wide range of foods.

WHY SHOULD YOU EAT IT?

While these yeast flakes may be small in size, they pack a supersized nutritional punch!  Nutritional yeast is loaded in protein, and in a ¼ cup serving, you get 8 grams or close to 16% of the recommended daily value.  In addition, it is a great source of fiber.  In that same serving size, you can get close to 12% of what is recommended daily.  While it is true that not all brands are created equal, it is common to find high levels of B₁₂ in most.

Are you ready for the best part?  In addition to being a great source of protein, fiber, and B₁₂, there is almost no downsize to nutritional yeast.  There is zero sodium, zero cholesterol, zero sugar, and zero fat.  There aren’t too many other foods out there that can make those types of claims!

WAYS TO ENJOY

So now your interest has been piqued, how exactly do you get nutritional yeast into your diet?  One simple and tasty way to enjoy this is to sprinkle some on top of popcorn.  Skip the buttery/salty variety and pick a plain flavor in which you can enjoy the naturally cheesy flavor.  Another great dish to try this on is pasta.  Instead of reaching for the overly processed green can of Parmesan, do yourself a favor and grab the yeast!  If you are a little more savvy in the kitchen and want to try something new, nutritional yeast can also be used to make some delicious and creamy cheese sauces.

Whichever way you choose to enjoy it, just make sure you are including it in your diet.  Try it tonight and see what you have been missing out on!

Chia Seeds

In recent years, chia seeds have been growing in popularity.  Remembered by many as a plant ordered off a late night infomercial, these little seeds have been found to be extremely beneficial if included in the diet.  So if you aren’t currently including them in your daily routine, you may just want to start.  Here’s why:

Dietary Fiber

Chia seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber.  Fiber adds bulk to the diet, and can make a person feel fuller, faster.  This can help to control weight, and also helps to prevent constipation and aid in digestion.  Foods that are high in fiber help to control blood sugar levels by slowing down the absorption rate into the bloodstream.  Fiber also plays a role in a healthy heart, as it helps in reducing blood pressure, inflammation, and cholesterol levels.

Omega 3

These healthy fats are an important part of cell membranes throughout the body.  They play a critical role in blood clotting and help to control inflammation.  In addition, this type of dietary fat supports brain health and may assist with depression.  The many benefits of Omega 3 fats are also linked to heart health.  This type of fat can help to improve blood vessel function and may help to lower blood pressure and heart rate.

Vitamins and Minerals

Chia seeds are a great source of a number of different micronutrients.  In particular, they are a wonderful source of the fat-soluble vitamin E, which helps immunity levels in the body.  They are also a source of calcium, which the body needs for proper heart, muscle, and nerve function.  Along with vitamin D, vitamin E can help to protect against cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

How to Enjoy

Including chia seeds in your diet is a great habit to start, and it couldn’t be any easier.  You don’t have to become a super chef or spend any extra time in the kitchen, all you have to do is add them to some things that you may already be eating.  One simple way to incorporate them is by adding a teaspoon to a 16 or 20 ounce bottled water.  After about 20 minutes, the seeds will absorb some of the water and expand.  You can sip on this throughout the afternoon, and it will help to keep you full and energized until dinner.  Other ways to enjoy include sprinkling on top of a salad, eating with yogurt, or as part of a smoothie. 

One important thing to keep in mind is to integrate them into your diet slowly.  If your diet is relatively low in fiber, it is ideal to increase the amount of chia in your diet  gradually to decrease the chances of any gastrointestinal discomfort.  If you want to do something great for yourself, start adding these powerful seeds daily.  Your body and mind will thank you!

Eating Habits

Have you ever wondered why you choose to eat the things that you do?  For many people, the answer to that question is no.  The majority of the population will move through life selecting foods that are pleasurable to them in that brief moment without a second of thought about it.  What if it was more complicated than that, and there were a host of things operating behind the scenes that were driving you to pick certain foods?  The truth is that there are a variety of things that you may have never considered that influence the choices that you make every day in relation to your diet.

Food Environments

A food environment is defined as biological, physical, or social factors that affect a person’s eating habits and patterns.  Examples of different environments include your home, neighborhood, or break room at work.  This could also encompass different settings like Thanksgiving dinner, lunch meeting with friends, or going to a baseball game.  All of these places have their own built in characteristics that may influence the types of foods that a person chooses to eat.  Some of these are more obvious, like a ball park serving processed hot dogs, but others may be more subliminal.  Take for example, your neighborhood.  If you live in a location that has fast food restaurants on every corner but the nearest grocery store is 5 miles away, you are far more likely to eat fast food than you are to shop for fresh food. 

While you may not be able to control every food environment that you enter each day, there is one that you are in complete control of – your home.  The foods that you choose to keep in your house are the exact same foods that you will eat.  If you possess a freezer full of frozen pizza and processed food, you are guaranteed to eat a diet full of frozen pizza and processed food.  If you keep a bowl of fruit on the counter that you walk by 20 times a day, you are far more likely to grab an apple at some point.  This may seem simple, but the foods that you see regularly and are easily accessible are the ones that you will eat habitually.  

Gut Bacteria

The human digestive tract is home to tens of thousands of different species of bacteria.  These types of bacteria are helpful to the human body and assist with many functions including breaking down food and keeping harmful bacteria out.  Just like no two humans are identical, the same thing can be said about the types of bacteria that live in each person’s gut.  For example, the microscopic creatures that live in the gut of someone that eats a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein may look radically different than someone that eats a diet high in processed and fast food.  It is important to keep in mind that these bacteria are living beings and carry out certain functions to ensure their safety and survival.  What does this mean?  The type of bacteria that you have living in your gastrointestinal tract right now may influence taste receptors in your brain to make certain foods taste better to you or can release hunger inducing hormones to control your eating behaviors.  So, are you hungry or is it your gut bacteria?

Mother's Diet

We all know that our eating habits are shaped from an early age, but did you know that it is possible that they may have been formed while we were still in the womb?  Some studies show that babies born to mothers that eat a diverse diet full of a wide variety of different flavors may pass those preferences onto their child.  For example, mothers who eat processed and sugary foods have shown that their offspring are desensitized to sweet and fatty foods.  This altered pathway in their children is similar to a person that is addicted to drugs, in that they require a higher dose to get the same reward as someone else. This is important information to consider, as a mother’s food choices while carrying the child and subsequently breast feeding may have lasting effects long into the child’s life. 

What Does This Mean?

All of this information means that there are many things going on behind the scenes that drive a person’s dietary preferences.  Things are not as clear-cut as we may of once thought, and the foods that an individual likes are not random, but more so developed due to a range of different influences.  If we start to learn why we eat in a certain way, we can then be more proactive about changing some of our habits.  If people can step back and look at the bigger picture, it may just help them to make the changes that they need.

The Truth About Soy

Has there ever been a food that has stirred up as much debate as soy has?  For just a simple and small size bean, it has created more than it’s fair share of controversy, discussion, and public hysteria.  So just what is the truth about soy?  Is it good for us, bad for us, or even dangerous to include in our diets?  There are a number of things to consider when answering these questions, and it is important to look at what science is telling us and avoid the loads of misinformation that is out there.

History

For thousands of years, soybeans have been cultivated in China and other Asian countries.  In fact, the history of people including soy in their diets dates back to the 3^rd and 4^th centuries.  The earliest record in America was close to 300 years ago, when soybeans were first planted in Georgia.  The soybean has been enjoyed in many cultures for a long time, and it is just recently that people have started to have any concern about a negative impact on health.

Nutrients In Soy

Soy is an excellent source of a variety of nutrients.  As a source of protein, these tiny beans pack a supersize punch.  In just 1 cup of soybeans, there is almost 70 grams of protein.  In addition, there are high levels of iron, magnesium, and healthful omega-3 fats.  Along with a host of vitamins and minerals, soy is loaded with fiber.  This is excellent news for the average American, as many people are lacking in this department.

Now let’s compare some of this information against ground beef as a protein source.  Where protein is concerned, 1 cup of ground beef comes in between 5 and 10 grams less than soybeans.  While ground beef may be an excellent source of iron, there is a high price to be paid in comparison.  The beef, while a good source of protein and iron, also contains saturated fat and cholesterol.  These are both things that are recommended to limit in the diet.  Furthermore, ground beef contains zero fiber, meaning that from a nutritional standpoint, soybeans outperform beef in almost every category.

Soy Products

There is a range of soy products on the market, and not all are created equal.  At any supermarket across the country, you are likely to find soybeans, soymilk, tempeh, varieties of tofu, soy cheese, and countless other products that mimic meat or other animal products.  This is an area where consumers need to be mindful, as they all land on different areas of the health spectrum.

Two of the more healthful ways to enjoy soy are tempeh and tofu.  Tempeh is less talked about in America, but is enjoyed in many other places around the globe.  It is fermented soy product with a host of health benefits.  Mainly, it is a probiotic food that helps improve the health of the human gut and gut flora that reside there.

Recommendations

To put it simply, there is no such thing as a “superfood”.   Unfortunately there aren’t certain foods that are perfect or that will cure every ailment.  Our bodies need a range of nutrients from a variety of sources, and because of this it is recommended that no single foods be relied on too heavily in the diet.  Including soy several times a week is a wonderful way to reap the benefits of this inexpensive and healthful food.

Have you heard through the grapevine that the majority of soy is genetically modified?  The current statistics report that close to 80% of all soy that is grown is indeed a GMO crop.  Those numbers are enough to raise the eyebrows of anyone, but consider the following.  The genetically modified soy that is being grown is typically not headed for direct human consumption, and in fact most of these crops are being used for animal feed.  In general, most of the popular soy products in your grocery store, including soy milk, tofu, and tempeh, are organic.  This means if you are scared about consuming GMO soy, you are better off reducing the amount of animal protein in your diet than you are eliminating soy!

Choosing foods with the least amount of ingredients and that are closest to their natural state is best way forward.  There are far more troublesome products that the food industry is peddling as food, but the soybean simply isn’t one of them.