Written by our in-house Naturopath, Holistic Nutritionist and Medical Herbalist Em, from Nala Holistic.
We’ve zoomed in on Macronutrients; protein, fats, and carbohydrates. ‘Macro’ meaning we need these substances in large amounts from our diet to meet our brain and bodily nutritional needs, but what about ‘Micronutrients’?
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. ‘Micro’ meaning small, our body’s only need small amounts of these nutrients for basic survival. That said, our body’s cannot make any of these micronutrients, so we must obtain them from the foods we eat, or supplementation.
Both macro- and micro- nutrients play an essential role in processes of regulation, repair, growth, general health, and longevity and deficiencies can be detrimental to our health.
Whilst we get behind a whole-food, colourful, plant-rich diet, if its not in the soil, its not in your food.
The nutrient content of our food is reflective of the soil it’s grown in and unfortunately, science has shown that over the past 40 years, the nutrient content of our food has been gradually declining. NZ soils are lacking in essentials and minerals to maintain our body’s basic biological needs. This is generally due to the re-use of soil with little to no nutrient replenishment, as well as the use of various chemical fertilisers, and over processing.
Not in the soil. Not in your food. Not in your brain and body.
What are micronutrients needed for?
While only needed in small quantities, micronutrients are vital for the healthy functioning of every body system, and therefor are essential to good health. Think metabolism, energy production, enzymes, hormones, bone and muscle density, immune function, healthy aging, and so much more.
Back in the day, a whole-food, plant rich diet with a rainbow of colours and plenty of variety is likely to have met your nutritional needs. However today, the depletion in nutrients in our whole foods and the rise in highly-processed and refined foods (that not only don't contain the nutrients we need, but also challenge our systems to deal with synthetic substances) has sat alongside the rapid rise in compromised health and chronic conditions.
This is the very reason why good-quality, ideally whole-food and highly bioavailable, supplementation has become increasingly important.
That said, we all know there’s an outrageous array of supplements our there these days, coupled with equally as much conflicting and misleading information. When it comes to nutrition, it's can be as simple as remembering, nature tends to get it right and human intervention can get it very wrong.
When it comes to replenishing micronutrient status, fortified foods and manufactured vitamins tend to lack the nutrients and cofactors needed for your body to absorb and make use of them. In contrast, wholefoods contain the essential compounds needed for your brain and body to fully utilise them.
We are not suggesting supplementation replaces a well balanced whole-food diet. You can't out supplement consistently poor diet and lifestyle habits! That said, with the declining nutrient content of foods combined with the increased demand the modern lifestyle places on our brains and body's, clean and convenient ways to top up our nutrient status can fuel us to do the things we love, for as long as possible.
Shhh. . .
We may just be packaging one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, into the perfect, everyday essential for maintaining healthy nutrient status! Say goodbye to lab formulated, synthetic multivitamins, this is a 100% whole-food, comprehensive blend of essential vitamins and minerals.