The nutrients you choose to put in your body, become the fuel for trillions of biochemical reactions that fire off inside of you each and every day.
These biochemical reactions are responsible for keeping us alive, healthy and full of energy and vitality. When they become compromised, the way we look and how we feel every day is affected.
The food choices we make on a daily basis directly affect how many nutrients our body obtains. There is nothing in the world that can replace a highly nutritious way of eating. No amount of exercise can “burn off” the effect of a poor-quality way of eating.
Here are eight things you can do today to ensure you are getting the nutritional density that your body needs to thrive.
Choose Organic
In conventional farming practices, soils are used over and over and over again, usually without nutrient-dense replenishment. Every time a crop is grown, it draws the nutrients out of the soil and into itself. The plant uses the nutrients to grow. But if the nutrients aren’t replaced, or there is no crop rotation, the soils are stripped of their minerals. Typically only three nutrients are fertilised back into the soil, which means there are 52 missing. Certified organic farmers take greater care in ensuring their crop soil is nutrient rich and therefore by choosing certified organic vegetables we know we’re providing our body with food that nutrient dense. Remember, that if a nutrient is not in the soil, it can’t be in our food.
Choose Spray-Free
Certified organic vegetables are automatically free from pesticide sprays but if you don’t have access to certified organic food then spray-free produce is another wonderful alternative. When plants are not sprayed with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, they produce naturally occurring substances that help to protect themselves from pests. If the plant is sprayed, it doesn’t make its own innate protective substances because it has no need to. Many of these substances are antioxidants to humans so by choosing spray-free produce we are increasing the antioxidant levels in our foods.
Improve your Digestion
Good digestion is a foundation of good health. If our digestive system is compromised, our body’s capacity to absorb the nutrients from our food is diminished. Eating our meals mindfully (i.e. not watching or reading anything or eating on the run) and chewing our food well can be a great start to improving digestion. Bone broths and aloe vera juice are very nourishing and restorative for the digestive system. Taking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice in some water 30 minutes before eating can help to fire up the digestive enzymes needed to effectively digest food.
Choose a Mostly Plant-Based Diet
Plants are little superstars when it comes to what they are able to provide for you nutritionally. They are jam-packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and other unique substances that our body needs to thrive. Eating a diet that is mostly plant-based means we are ensuring a large quantity of what we put on our plate is nutrient rich.
Colour Diversity is Important
When choosing plants and vegetables, make sure you’re getting a wide variety of colour on your plate. Red, orange, yellow, green – each vegetable and its colour contains different nutrients and our body needs all of them to function optimally.
Have a Green Smoothie
Leafy greens are filled with fantastic nutrients and provide so much nourishment for our body. A great way to increase our intake of greens is to throw them together into the blender. For a supercharged green smoothie, try kale, spinach, coconut water (or pure water) and your favourite fruit with a scoop of Organic Daily Greens & Radiant Reds.
Take a Scoop of Powdered Greens Daily
A great way of ensuring we get our daily quota of nutrients is to enhance our vegetable intake. A scoop of powdered vegetables offered in Organic Daily Greens & Radiant Reds provides concentrated levels of loads of nutrients that are vital for good health. Add water to a glass and stir in the powder. Or add a teaspoon of the powder to a glass water bottle and shake well. Alternatively, as mentioned above, you can add it to a smoothie.
Reduce Liver-Loaders
When we regularly consume substances that if they accumulated in the body they would be harmful to us, such as trans-fats and alcohol, our body directs as many nutrients as it can to processing and eliminating them from the body. If we aren’t consuming enough nutrients to counteract the effects of the liver-loaders, our detoxification and elimination pathways can become congested and our health can suffer. Limiting our exposure to liver-loaders means that our body can utilise the nutrients we provide it with for all its other important biochemical functions, which helps us to feel and look our best.
