What your body needs…and doesn’t need
Since our bodies do not produce vitamins everyday, we have to get them from the foods that we eat…whole foods. Real, and un-processed. Nutritionists and Scientists alike advise that The Standard American fast-food diet gives your body no fuel…nothing to build on! Of course, you knew that in order for muscles to remember and grow, your daily food intake needs to consist of unprocessed lean foods like brown rice, fresh raw fruits and vegetables, cooked sources of protein and essential fats like olive oil and
fish oil…your body needs a wide range of nutrients to function at an optimal level.
But what you probably didn’t know is that you can’t just replace what your diet is lacking with a $10 bottle of grocery store multi-vitamins. These are man-made, chemical complexes that are unrecognizable by your body. Since your body can’t recognize what it has ingested, the chemical vitamins are perceived as waste…and down the drain they go! Usually these isolated vitamin compounds have also been stripped of their natural supportive compounds as they exist in real food and so they do not provide the biological activity your body can use.
How your body “sees” what you eat
Our bodies evaluate food in three different ways: nutrients, toxins, waste. The useful nutrients are absorbed immediately into the bloodstream where they are used as building blocks to build and strengthen our systems. Toxins in the form of food additives like preservatives, colorings, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics as well as prescription medications, alcohol and even environmental pollution in the air we breathe make our bodies weak and sick whether we ingest them by choice or not. Anything else you take in is just useless waste that gets flushed out as something your body can’t recognize, absorb or use.
5 things to look for when choosing a multi-vitamin
If you want to feel better, work out harder and healthier, learn how to pick a better supplement. Give your body what it needs to perform every day by adding a whole food vitamin to your daily diet. But first, you’ll need to learn these top 5 tip-offs to a high-quality multi-vitamin:
1.Check the label: Look for high-quality ingredients, all-natural sources of the vitamin, whole foods, natural preservatives and 100% of the
USRDA.
2.Pay the higher price. Research, new formulations, natural ingredients, special manufacturing and quality equipment as well as adherence to new FDA Vitamin Good Manufacturing Practices all cost a lot of money. Always check the ingredients on the label and the company background online to be sure you’re getting what you’re paying for.
3.Look for scientific research. Look for vitamin formulations based on scientific research and published studies. Want to know what’s new in nutrition? Check out the fact sheets from the American Dietetic Association. High-quality vitamin companies will always publicize the research behind their formulas.
4.Just say “No” to chemicals. Steer clear of chemical vitamin sources, additives, preservatives, carbohydrate fillers and allergens like nuts and soy. Another low-quality tip-off: listing significantly more than 100% of the
USRDA for each nutrient (because the chemicals are not absorbed or used by your body and these manufacturers know it).
5.Depend on Good Manufacturing Practices. The United States Food and Drug Administration recently imposed new, stricter regulations on all vitamin and supplement manufacturers. These standards include a new consistency in the way vitamins and supplements are produced and handled for consumer’s safety and knowledge. Adherence to the GMP will be stated on the label. Look for it!
