Our modern diets these days leave most of us deficient in nutrients – most notably minerals.
What’s a modern diet you ask? Packaged and processed foods, foods that have been lying around for awhile (most any ‘fresh’ food at a grocer store), conventionally raised foods, foods that consist mostly of ‘empty’ calories (ex. baked goods from refined flour), foods that deplete the body of nutrients (ex. soft drinks) and foods that contain substances that disrupt important body functions (ex. trans fats, msg).
What’s so important about minerals? One that we all know is iron – we need iron to help transport oxygen to all the cells in our body. Then there is calcium which we need for our bones but calcium is also important for your muscles to work properly (along with magnesium) and in maintaining the proper pH in our blood – without the proper pH, we’ll see ya on the other side. Our skin needs selenium and zinc otherwise you might experience dryness and cracking – ouch. And copper isn’t just for pennies – we need it to build healthy collagen. In fact, just about every enzyme in our body needs one of dozens and dozens of minerals to function.
So what can we do? With a few adjustments we can put those handy minerals back into our lives. Here’s a few tips:
Replace as much soft drinks and coffee with mineral rich teas. Ideally we’d eliminate both but we have to have our treats. Pretty much any kind of tea is great – green, white, rooibos, mint, chamomile, Red Zinger, etc. Just don’t load them up with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Use honey, agave syrup, stevia, xylitol or even fruit juice instead.
Eat lots of fresh organic fruits and vegetables. There are numerous studies that show organic fruits and vegetables have up to 25% more nutrients. Green leafy vegetables are a good source for calcium and iron. I know organic can be expensive but do what you can afford. Remember though that local and fresh trumps organic. It’s much better to purchase a locally grown peach from 20 miles away than an organic one from 3000 miles away.
Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Eat whole foods. For example, instead of white rice enjoy brown rice. Instead of packaged cereal have a bowl of oatmeal (though not instant!). Instead of a cookie have some fresh or dried fruit.
Add nuts and seaweed to your diet. Nuts make a great snack – but in moderation. Say 10-12 pieces is a good serving. Seaweed is great sprinkled on salad, rice, soup – just about anything. I even posted a granola recipe a little while back that includes seaweed.
Enjoy mineral broths. What the heck is a mineral broth you ask? Basically it’s soup or broth made from either all veggies or veggies and chicken or beef or pork or lamb or fish bones. When you simmer all these goodies in a pot of water you extract the mineral from said ingredients. What a tasty and nourishing way to get your minerals. Limited on time? You can still get a dose of minerals from already prepared broths – organic of course and preferably low sodium.
And most of all – Variety! I figure variety is good not just so you don’t get bored of the same ol’ thing but this way you have a better chance of getting all your nutrients.
I’ll post recipes for broths in a few days.
Remember, food is our body’s fuel and building blocks. Good nutritive rich foods = a healthy strong body.
