Supplements: if a little is good, a lot if better?

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend lately: people self-supplementing with megadoses of vitamins, minerals, or herbs with no medical knowledge to back it up. I’ve talked to people taking thousands and thousands of IU’s of vitamin D because “everyone’s deficient”, iron (because they’re tired), or even fiber gummy bears. This seems like a problematic trend to me because your body has a way to regulate vitamins and minerals absorbed naturally from food, but when you start ingesting pills with high doses of a particular compound, how are you sure its doing what you intend it to? Further, if you think that the bottle is telling you all you need to know, think again. Remember, people make money when you buy their product. Don't rely on the label or packing of vitamins or supplements to give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about your health.

Just so you know, there are simple blood tests you can get from your doctor to check the status of your iron or vitamin D. If you are thinking about taking these supplements, please talk to your doctor. And be sure to ask them about their knowledge background in vitamins and supplements. Are they prescribing specifically for your needs, or comparing you to the general population’s needs? Remember, though you can buy these pills in a drugstore, they are biologically active in your body – be sure to protect yourself and use them wisely and with knowledge.

Time to Eat

If there is one commonality among problems with people’s eating habits I would have to say it really comes down to time – or a lack thereof. Any patient, friend, or relative I talk to shares this common issue. There’s no time to prepare food, so they grab something on the go. They get really hungry and didn’t plan ahead, so they make dietary allowances they ordinarily wouldn’t. They are in a hurry so they eat mindlessly and fast.

Please don’t think that I am excluding myself from this category of tribulations; this is one of my main challenges on a daily basis. How many times have you grabbed a bag of chips when you’re hungry and need an afternoon pick me up? Gone out to lunch instead of packing one? Accepted unhealthy food as a snack because you really need something and you didn’t bring any food of your own? I believe that the answer to those questions could be connected to America’s weight problem and the high consumption of processed, easy to grab foods.

What would it take for you to go grocery shopping and plan some weekly meals or pack your lunch for work or school? What would you feed yourself if you had “time”? Instead of not having time, and making your nutrition a second-hand thought it is time to bring the food we use to fuel our bodies to the forefront of our priority list. Consider the possibilities if you had….time.

Food Inc. Movie Review

We just watched Food Inc. on Netflix without really knowing what it was about or what to expect. The way our food is farmed and processed as well as laws governing food policy in the US is very interesting to me and I feel like I currently have a modest base of understanding on that topic. The person I watched the film with does not have a background in nutrition and until now was fairly uninformed about the problems we have in this country surrounding our food supply. This movie really touched both of us strongly, and for this reason, I feel that this movie is relevant to many different people with varying backgrounds and understanding of the topic.

We were surprised, shocked and fascinated by the information presented throughout the movie. I especially liked how they visited many topics surrounding the food issue from policy (food safety issues related to Kevin, a 2 year old boy who died in the E.coli outbreak), immigration (exploitation of the people working in the slaughter houses), and economics (eating fast food can be cheaper than buying vegetables in the grocery store). This movie is extremely hard to watch and I had to close my eyes several times to be honest. The way that food animals are treated is shocking and horrifying and I believe that it would be good for any person to have to see this and face the reality that the decisions to eat certain types of food entails.

However, despite the terrifying facts presented about food in this country throughout the movie, they end on a positive note. The end of the movie links the current problems we are up against concerning food to the changes the US has seen regarding tobacco. There was a time when tobacco companies had a lot of control (similar to the meat industry today) and it seemed that the public could never win against them, but things have changed a lot in the past few decades regarding tobacco and smoking. While the food issue is more complex and challenging (smoking is a choice, eating is not), I loved the way the movie ended by empowering the individual that the choices they make with their dollars make a difference to the food suppliers.

Someone told me the other day when I was explaining the premises of Food Inc.: “it makes me sick the way animals are treated – I know it’s really bad. But, I’m not going to stop eating meat and that’s what the movie probably wants me to do. I’m just one person and it doesn’t make a difference what I do. Everybody eats meat and that’s never going to change.”

I hate hearing things like this because it’s REALLY missing the point. You don’t have to stop eating meat. You just need to make better, informed choices regarding the type of meat you consume. You can make a difference if you get inspired to hold high standards for the food you put in your body and if you share your passion with the people around you. If you are interested in this topic, watch this movie – it may really inspire you like it did us.