I thought I would dedicate my next few blogs to vitamins, minerals and the importance of a balanced diet. Personally, if I eat well I feel great, if I start to slack, my body slacks with me.
Have you ever noticed how when we get ill people around us seem to have a magic cure? If you are suffering from a cold, you may hear your nearest and dearest say:
Is the common cold a by product of poor vitamin and mineral intake? By eating a healthy diet can we prevent ourselves getting ill? Personal experience and observation leads me to believe that if people eat well and maintain a healthy life style, they are less likely to suffer colds. A bold statement you may say; a good topic for debate I say!
What is the truth when it comes to vitamins and minerals?
Vitamins are "organic elements" that are essential for regulating metabolic functions of the body, how the body breaks down food to be used for energy. We obtain most our vitamin intake from our diet, so healthy eating is crucial to ensure that the body is not starved of essential vitamins.
Minerals are essential to our vital processes, e.g. organ function, but as they do not occur naturally, we must incorporate a good balance of minerals in our daily food intake.
Most of us would not need to take supplements if we maintained a good whole-food diet. However, women during pregnancy or people on restricted weight loss diets, may require additional supplements, so as not to deny themselves valuable nutrients that are needed for bodily functions.
Guidelines to ensuring food is as rich as possible:
(as written in my BSY training module)
Over the next few blogs I will summarise the A-Z of vitamins and minerals, the food groups you can find them in and the benefits of them to your overall well being.
image taken from www.healthytimesblog.com
- "are you taking enough vitamin C",
- "echinacea,that's what you need",
- "zinc, that's the way forward"
Is the common cold a by product of poor vitamin and mineral intake? By eating a healthy diet can we prevent ourselves getting ill? Personal experience and observation leads me to believe that if people eat well and maintain a healthy life style, they are less likely to suffer colds. A bold statement you may say; a good topic for debate I say!
What is the truth when it comes to vitamins and minerals?
Vitamins are "organic elements" that are essential for regulating metabolic functions of the body, how the body breaks down food to be used for energy. We obtain most our vitamin intake from our diet, so healthy eating is crucial to ensure that the body is not starved of essential vitamins.
Minerals are essential to our vital processes, e.g. organ function, but as they do not occur naturally, we must incorporate a good balance of minerals in our daily food intake.
Most of us would not need to take supplements if we maintained a good whole-food diet. However, women during pregnancy or people on restricted weight loss diets, may require additional supplements, so as not to deny themselves valuable nutrients that are needed for bodily functions.
Guidelines to ensuring food is as rich as possible:
(as written in my BSY training module)
- Always buy the freshest food that you can
- Colour should be vibrant
- Buy organic if possible (it may be more expensive, but the vitamin and mineral content is better
- Never over cook vegetables or pulses
- Retain and use any water from food preparation
- Avoid over cutting with knives or grading food on metal graters, as this reduces vitamin content
- Store food out of sunlight
- The cooler the better for storage
- Buy enough fresh food for a couple of days' needs, vitamin loss is rapid
Over the next few blogs I will summarise the A-Z of vitamins and minerals, the food groups you can find them in and the benefits of them to your overall well being.
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