Abundant Health Wellness Center is a non-profit organization with a mission to apply Biblical principles for the well-being of the whole person and cooperate with the Creator in His compassionate work in the restoration of your health. Our goal is to help you achieve your best health by helping you put knowledge into action, embrace health, and conquer disease.
In last week’s blog, we cleared up the confusion between macro- vs micro- nutrients and how both must work together to achieve our best health. Today, we will answer the question: What if the food we consume is missing most micronutrients? How do we know what foods are missing the micronutrients? What foods are deficient in micronutrients? And what are the most balanced, nutritious foods?
Just for review, macronutrients are nutrients the body requires in large amounts to function optimally (carbohydrates, proteins, fats). They provide the energy necessary for daily activities and bodily functions. While macronutrients are essential for overall health and achieving specific fitness or dietary goals, we need micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals, etc.) to help us properly utilize the macronutrients. Micronutrients facilitate metabolic processes, support immune function, and contribute to overall vitality and nourishment.
What if the food we consume is missing most micronutrients?
We would become a people who are overfed and undernourished, always hungry, with almost irresistible cravings, weak constitutions, sickly and often in a lot of pain (and the doctors don’t know why because it doesn’t show on the labs results yet). Can you identify?
How do we know what foods are missing the micronutrients?
If a food is not in its original state, ie. refined, “enriched”, or processed, it is missing some, if not most, of the micronutrients.
What foods would fall into this category?
Processed foods (ie. chips, most packaged foods, and cookies) and refined foods (ie. white flour, pasta, and sugar) lack almost all the essential micronutrients, vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds necessary for proper digestion and nutrient assimilation.
Examples include:
Refined Grains: Processed grains like white rice, white bread, and many breakfast cereals have had their bran (fiber) and germ (micronutrient nucleus) removed during processing, resulting in a loss of fiber, vitamins (especially B vitamins), minerals (such as magnesium, zinc, selenium), and phytonutrients (disease fighting nutrients).
Sugary Foods and Beverages: Foods high in added sugars, such as candy, sugary drinks, and sweets, provide calories (macronutrients from carbohydrate) but lack essential micronutrients. Excessive sugar consumption can also interfere with micronutrient absorption from other foods, contributing to deficiencies and weakening of the bones and immune system.
Fast Food and Fried Foods: Fast food items and fried foods are typically high in unhealthy fats, sodium, and calories (macronutrients), while lacking essential micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Such food becomes very difficult to digest and pulls nutrients from the blood and bone in the attempt to process the rich yet nutrient-depleted food. They may also contain additives that can interfere with nutrient absorption.
Oils: We will use olive oil as an example. The olive fruit has a wide range of micronutrients such as B vitamins, vitamins E, A, K, C, iron, copper, calcium, sodium, antioxidants and phytochemicals: oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, Tyrosol, Oleanolic acid, and quercetin. But by the time it is processed into olive oil, it retains only some of the all fat macro & micro nutrient, vitamin E and a small amount of iron.
What are the most balanced, nutritious foods?
Fresh, whole plant foods, minimally processed (with no edible parts removed) are the most balanced, nutritious foods. They have both the macro- and micro-nutrients intact. For example, a fresh apple is more balanced and nutritious than applesauce, apple juice, dried apples, candied apple, or apple candy.
Whole plant foods provide a wide range of essential nutrients in their natural forms, promoting better digestion and nutrient assimilation. Food eaten in the proper way, proportion, and at the right time can help you establish your Best Health!
Fruits and Vegetables: Choose fresh or frozen instead of canned or processed into chips of other packaged culinary creations. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins (such as vitamin C, vitamin A, and folate), minerals (like potassium and magnesium), fiber, and phytonutrients. Green leafy vegetables (dark lettuces, kale, collards, spinach, parsley, etc.) are particularly rich in minerals. Eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables ensures a broad spectrum of nutrients.
Whole Grains: Whole grains like oats, barley, quinoa, and brown rice, provide fiber, B vitamins, minerals (such as iron and magnesium), and antioxidants. They retain their bran (fiber) and germ making them rich in micronutrients. Choose whole grains over “refined” or “enriched” grains.
Plant Proteins: Foods like legumes (beans, peas, and lentils), nuts/seeds, and vegetables provide high-quality proteins along with essential amino acids, iron, zinc, and other minerals necessary for various bodily functions.
Healthy Fats: Foods rich in healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts, and seeds provide essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6), vitamin E, and other fat-soluble vitamins.
By focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods and minimizing processed and refined foods, individuals can support proper digestion, nutrient assimilation, and overall health. A varied and balanced diet that includes a wide range of these foods ensures that the body receives all the necessary macro- and micro- nutrients for optimal functioning, healing, repairing, and acquiring or remaining healthy.
Eat for Health and Strength
“Eating a diet rich in plant foods, in the form of [whole] fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals, probably remains the best option for reducing the risk of colon cancer, and for more general health protection.” The Lancet, 361 (May 3, 2003): 1448.
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:2 NKJV
“In [whole] grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts [and seeds] are to be found all the food elements that we need.” White, EG. Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 300.
Would you like to make a diet plan that will help you achieve your best health?
Call today to schedule an appointment!
Blue Skies,
Dana West, RDN, LD, DIPACLM
References:
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (n.d.). The Nutrition Source -Carbohydrates. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/
Mayo Clinic. (2023). Dietary fats: Know which types to choose. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fat/art-20045550 3. National Institutes of Health. (2022). Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin and Mineral Fact Sheets. Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/
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