The human race walks a common road but once in awhile there
is a revelation so profound that it changes the journey and
all observations. It is then not possible to return
unaffected and compliant with old beliefs, but begin to
embrace a vision of wholeness and balance in all of
Nature's cycles. It is a return to the bounty of what
Nature has provided immemorially for total health; thereby,
redressing our shopping habits, dinner tables and dietary
supplements.
This exercise is guaranteed to make you never look at a
vegetable or fruit in the same way again. Nature's plant
foods are intrinsic to our body's structure and function.
As importantly, when we choose our supplements, it is
Nature's whole plants that best meet the needs of the
internal pharmacist inside us.
A couple years ago I was walking in similar shoes as most
people believing several commonalities. Clearly, there is a
direct link between the food we eat and the structure and
function of our cells. Clearly, it is wise to eat several
servings of fruits and vegetables daily highly recommended
by many organizations, but often not substantially
followed. Commonly, we understand that modern agricultural
and food manufacturing processes have depleted and
denutriented our natural plants of many of the essential
elements Subsequently, we are informed to do the next best
thing ...SUPPLEMENT...SUPPLEMENT... SUPPLEMENT
Now there are whole volumes that deal with vitamins, their
role in health, best sources and more. But without a lot of
training, most of us go to a store and decide to buy but
based on what criteria. And on store shelves we are
accosted by every kind of fancy labeling, claims, pills,
capsules, powders, potions ...and for some of us, the
cheaper the better buy, right? And once in awhile there
appears a new buzzword of something vital for your body,
accredited by a doctor or two, and so we have to purchase
that, too. Often, to make sure we were getting a full
spectrum of essential nutrients, we end up swallowing a
handful of pills. Sound familiar? The latest advertising
images of various vitamins are shown as brightly colored
blocks with human bodies jostling each other to try and
rank importance. What insulting balderdash, in my opinion.
But how much do we truly understand what constitutes a
vitamin ? Here's an interesting exercise... Can you draw
the elements of a vitamin (in the same way that you can
draw the descriptive details of a cat, a dog, an apple or
any other basic concrete object) I've asked this question
many times and am not surprised by the responses. In truth,
a couple years ago, I would have responded in like fashion
with a simple sketch of a pill or capsule form speckled
with dots to show different vitamins. A vitamin is not a
dot, or speckle, a pill, a habit or a label. A vitamin
cannot be manufactured by the body and must be obtained
from our diet (or supplements). A vitamin is a biochemical
catalyst for growth, maintenance and reproduction of all
cells in the body. It is an integral part of hormones,
genes, amino acids, minerals, enzymes and immune components.
We need vitamins and minerals to help fill in the gaps in
our modern food supply to benefit from total nutrition and
who doesn't want that. Your choice of dietary supplement
is one of the most important choices you can make for long
term health for you and your family. The question is which
kind of supplement? We better get the right source and
validation. Undoubtedly, the most important drawing you'll
ever do is to see the real components of a vitamin. So take
a few minutes now and draw what you understand to be a
vitamin. Don't worry about different kinds (B, C, D, A,
etc.) because they all have three common features.
Don't read ahead until you have actually drawn something
because you'll be amazed at the picture of what constitutes
a vitamin. It is the revelation that transfigured my
perception of what Nature's provision is all about.
So what are the features of a vitamin?
A vitamin is an organic compound composed of three
elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
Different vitamins have different combinations of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen, some more a complex than others. A
drawing of a vitamin is a series of Carbon atoms linked
with Hydrogen atoms linked with Oxygen atoms...all
interconnected. For example, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
shows a fixed matrix with 2 Carbon molecules, 7 Hydrogen
molecules, and 6 Oxygen molecules
You can check out the actual configurations for different
vitamins by google searching 'vitamin structures.' Some
structures are impressively complex which further asks how
best to replicate them or keep them as natural forms found
in plants already.
Furthermore, an antioxidant is also a series of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen molecules...
A phytonutrient, or natural phytochemical, found in plants
is a set of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules...
An amino protein is a combination of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen with a Nitrogen element...
A fatty acid is a long chain combination of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen.
Our natural whole plants are also composed of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen molecules with the extra elements of
minerals drawn from the soil. Make sure your mineral
supplements also come from plants, not ground up rock or
metals that can actually accumulate in the body's tissues.
A natural question is to find out how many different
configurations are found in plant foods. The answer is a
second revelation. Fruits and vegetables contain hundreds
of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, trace minerals,
anti-oxidants, phytochemicals, enzymes, other co -factors
and fiber. For example, if an apple is "labeled" correctly
there would be over 600 nutritional elements that
scientists can identify. Just imagine, if Mother Nature in
the spirit of fair advantage, could also label the
nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, their lists would
be very long and very impressive! A bottle of manufactured
supplement pills with 20 or 30 elements could never compare
with Mother Nature's nutritional powerhouses.
This is such a simple revelation in a market of information
overload. Dietary supplementation is huge garnering about
17 billion dollars a year. There are least 29,000
supplement products made by at least 500 manufacturers,
many with ingredients from the same supplier (some of which
are pharmaceutical subsidiaries selling chemically derived,
isolated vitamins and minerals). Strangely enough, some
forms of chronic diseases have not changed and even
increased. In my opinion, in the same way that refined
foods are robbed of essential nutrients, so I believe
"refined" or processed pill formulations also cause
imbalances, especially if taken at high levels over a long
time.
This personal revelation finally led to a crossroads...how
to best supplement...increase our portions of whole foods,
supplement with whole food extracts, or take manufactured
pills with "fractions" of natural plants.
In making the decision, a few principles stand strong.
First, the body functions properly with proper "fuel"
(food) a synergy of at least 100 nutrients. Second, the
body is designed to draw nutrients from a natural food
supply all working synergistically. Third, be aware that
our genetic paleolithic blueprint hasn't changed and that
for thousands of years "ethnobotany" was the basis for
healing. Fourth, was the choice to focus preventatively on
natural whole foods to treat any prevailing unhealthy
condition, rather than on the disease itself hoping for a
chemical cure.
I decided to put my faith and trust in omniscient Nature
rather than sifting and sorting through a huge number of
products made in laboratories on conveyor belts. I decided
to align with the natural environment believing that the
"whole food best treats the whole body". I chose a whole
food supplement that comes from the ocean because of its
natural mineral formulation as well as many other vital
ingredients, including the essential fatty acids. I can
now drink all my essential nutrients as a delicious nectar.
Just try and reproduce a bottle of sea water in a
laboratory.
----------------------------------------------------
Anne-Marie Berukoff is a certified Nutritional Supplement
Distributor. She took early retirement from a 24 year
teaching career to pursue her interest in WELLNESS based on
using natural whole foods for preventative health. She has
compiled two workshops with CD's and an e-booklet: 101
Reasons to Plug Into Powerful Phytonutrients for Powerful
Health. Currently, she is an independent distributor for
The Limu Company. She welcomes all questions and comments
annemarie7@telus.net
1 866 866 3611
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