| We often have people ask for guidance on how Matt made his recovery from ulcerative colitis. And I would say that, fairly often, they have received blood testing results that reveal various deficiencies that are likely contributing to their health issues. And so it makes sense that they seek out the supplement forms of whatever nutrients they’re lacking. Or does it? I remember when I worked for a local health food store, I’d see people literally fill a shopping cart half full of bottles of pills, and then head to the checkout, with not a single whole food item in their basket. Not one food. From a health food store. And this was back in the food dark ages, before Wal-mart carried their so-called grass-fed beef or much in the way of organic veggies, so I very much doubt they were getting good, clean food elsewhere. I found it both shocking and tragic. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions and they did eat lots of whole, naturally-raised foods; perhaps they had a farm like me, and only ventured to town to get those items they couldn’t produce. But I’m going to guess that was probably not the case. I think we have this wrong idea that if we’re deficient or suffering some ailment, it’s as simple as isolating that one thing we need and taking THAT. But what if it’s more complex than that? What if science hasn’t discovered all there is to know about the various compounds and chemicals in food? (Hint: it HASN’T.) I have an antique book fetish, especially antique farming books! I once found a book on poultry production that was published around 1921. It has a section that discusses vitamins, and it says something to the effect of, “We are aware of these new things called vitamins, and we know they’re important, but we’re not really sure of anything else about them.” It hasn’t even been 100 years since vitamins were widely accepted as useful. Ponder that for a moment! What if someone came up to you and told you this: “I have made this discovery of this great new thing—it can transform everything about you—your hair, your skin, your intestines, your reproductive health.” And then they told you that The Thing was to go home, scrub and peel some potatoes and carrots, and make yourself a pot of homemade chicken soup. Talk about anticlimactic, right? How could chicken soup solve my problems?? I thought you were going to tell me about some great new scientific discovery! But aren’t we all guilty of looking for something newer and shinier to solve our old problems? You can ask Matt about my “meal planning” history, and he’ll laugh out loud. I’m always coming up with new ideas to solve my age-old problem of not being disciplined enough to write out a meal plan and knuckle down and DO IT. When it comes to finding a farm, researching their practices, going to the farm stand, buying what’s in stock, then having to prep and cook and store and clean, and finally, after all that, the 3-year-old still complains that he doesn’t like it! It’s so much EASIER to just buy the bottle of pills, isn’t it? That saves you from eating weird foods you don’t feel like eating just because they “have vitamins.” Hey, if we could all subsist on chocolate, popcorn, ginger ale, and multivitamins, why not? But I think there’s more to the story… I did a fun little podcast many years ago with a dietitian friend of mine, and she told the story of the time she was taking a course on children’s nutrition. Scientists had isolated a compound in blueberries that promotes immunity. So they took the compound and tried to spray it onto breakfast cereals (that’s where most of the “fortified” nutrients come from, you know), but they couldn’t produce the same results from the isolated additive as from the actual blueberries. She wanted to shout out in the class, “Just eat the blueberries!” EXACTLY. Maybe it’s not the random chemicals we’ve identified in foods. Maybe it’s the foods themselves. What if instead of taking iron, you ate iron-rich foods like liver, which also contain things like zinc and manganese and various enzymes and fatty acids that all help that iron molecule make it to where it belongs in your body? I’m NOT saying that supplements aren’t useful or necessary. We often get into predicaments where our bodies simply cannot get enough of “the things” they need from food alone. Some supplements, like probiotics and fermented cod liver oil, help us get more out of our food over the long haul, and are really more like foods themselves than just isolated chemical concoctions. Even if we find that we need to supplement a mineral here or there, doesn’t it makes sense to try to eat foods that contain “the thing” naturally, in order to augment our supplementation? In other words, I don’t think it works to continue eating processed junk, and simply take a multivitamin. Supplements do NOT cover a multitude of bad foods. 😉 Sometimes getting healthy is really as simple and non-glamorous as going to bed on time, moving your body every day, and eating normal, real food made at home from good ingredients (like chicken soup!). I’m afraid that, like with most things worth having, there’s no silver pill. Thank goodness the solution tastes way better than any supplement! 🙂 |
Basket full of pills?
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