When it comes to nutrition, there’s a BIG nutritional difference in natural and artificial. It’s not so simple as to say that natural is only fresh: fresh fruits, vegetables, protein or fat sources, and grains, nuts, seeds, etc. – because there are other sources of natural nutrition.
Now when it comes to artificial, there’s a whole new world. We have artificial flavors, additives, preservatives, sweeteners, and colors – all present in our foods. Here’s what the Cleveland Clinic says about processed, convenience foods: “Most convenience foods on the market today are laden with saturated fats, sodium and sugar and provide little to no nutritional value.” And yet we still eat A LOT of them.
Along with artificial comes the word chemicals. We live in a world of chemicals and can’t control much of what we are exposed to. We can, however, limit the chemicals we get in our food – especially those that are associated with increased health risks.
Do you Eat to Live – or – Live to Eat?
We need food so that our bodies can keep us healthy. Nutrition is essential in the prevention of illnesses and serious diseases.
Wikipedia is pulling information on their Nutrition page from the American Society for Nutrition and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and states:
A poor diet may have an injurious impact on health, causing deficiency diseases such as scurvy and kwashiorkor; health-threatening conditions like obesity and metabolic syndrome; and such common chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
Natural vs Artificial Aches and Pains
The food we eat, especially the processed foods in our diet that contain artificial ingredients and chemicals, can cause us all kinds of challenges, including making us feel tired and achy. Have you experienced:
- neck and back pain
- fatigue
- hormone imbalance
- adrenals over-worked and stressed
- weight gain (overweight or obesity)
- liver problems
- digestive problems
Lots of people like to detoxify periodically to get rid of chemicals and toxins, especially if they start to feel the kinds of symptoms described above. Personally I prefer to detoxify through my diet and keep energy levels up. When you have good foods going in, you detoxify naturally. Also, some of the supplements I take encourage it as well and I like that I can live more chemical free every day.
In addition to our foods, and because we don’t get enough nutrition in our diets today, many of us supplement with vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutrients that can help us build better health.
Natural and Artificial Supplements
There’s natural and artificial in the food supplement world as well. There are actually 3 choices. Here’s a quality comparison of each.
1. Test Tube or Synthetic – (Usual drug store variety)
- Man made (chemicals)
- No enzymes
- Inorganic substances
- Side effects
- Stimulant
- Can actually be harmful to your health
2. Natural Isolate/Organic Extract – (Usual health food store and other nutrition companies)
- Low quality raw materials
- Unbalanced
- Heat extracted
- Weak enzymes
- Fillers
- Harsh binders
- Uses chemicals in processing
3. Natural (All-Natural)
- Highest quality raw materials (organic)
- Balanced
- Low heat, low pressure processing
- Strong enzymatic action retained
- Exceptional bio-availability at cell level
- Feeds and improves cell’s health
Important to note: a food supplement can say 100% natural on the label and be only 10% natural. That’s due to how supplements are regulated. It is essential that you require the brand you use to verify they are truly all-natural.
It’s your choice what foods you eat, and whether you want to live more chemical free and consume less artificial ingredients. We have an abundance of information available to us about nutrition, including easy ways to eat healthy without having to eat too many processed foods.
This week I saw an article about the dairy industry considering making artificial milk. This seems outrageous to me that they would put artificial sweeteners in milk and other dairy products to try to get more people to consume them. And then worry that the artificial ingredients are going to make us sick and outweigh the health benefits of dairy products? This will not get my vote! In the spirit of ‘I report and you decide’.
Dr Oz on artificial sweeteners
We now have proof, in the form of a long-term, landmark supplement study that all-natural, food-based nutrition supplements really do make us healthier: Landmark Supplement Study.
To learn more about supplements, visit: Zerbee.
Prefer all-natural and living more chemical free.