"Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food"
This is probably one of the best known statements made by Hippocrates.
In 400BC he was ahead of his time and realized the importance of food, the importance of nutrition, to prevent and/or cure illness. Today, we realize more than ever about the impact nutrition can have on our health and how it can assist in the prevention and treatment of many diseases.
It is imperative to eat a variety of healthy products every day.
Through all my training and education I received about nutrition, there are a few issues that I still remember, to be important to realize. First of all, understanding that nutrition starts at the cellular level, and that a continued delivery of good (or bad) nutrients will eventually have an impact on the whole organism. Eating healthy will most of the time result in a healthy organism that functions well. Eating unhealthy, will not immediately, but eventually lead to an unhealthy organism with an increased risk for disease. Secondly, it is necessary to understand that a plate with food should be colorful. When you look at the picture of this article, you can see all different colors; green, orange, yellow, red, brown, pink, and grey. Understanding that our body needs a large variety of nutrients to sustain, to heal, and to stay healthy, one will understand that a colorful pallet of food will deliver a broad spectrum of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Visualize a lunch with an Hamburger and French Fries. It has a very boring color, it is all grayish; the bread, the meat patty, the French Fries, all about the same color. The most colorful thing on the plate would be the red (processed) tomato Ketchup. Compare this to a Greek Salad with Feta Cheese, carrots, onions, olives, etc. The color palate (thus the nutritional value) is more enhanced with green, orange, white, and black. It contains non-processed, all natural ingredients.
But, the Western world is fast paced. We do not give ourselves time to eat properly. We eat-on-the-go, grab something from the gas-station, because we just do not have the time to prepare ourselves a proper meal. Our on-the-go food will fill our bellies, but lack nutritional value. It will not prevent illness or cure diseases, more likely it will cause more problems. To offset our lack of proper nutrition, many have started to take multi-vitamins and other supplements to deal with the lack of vitamins and minerals in our food-selection.
Although it is much better to prepare meals with natural products, it is an understandable situation. But then which supplements to take? What brand? What supplements? When you stand in front of the selection of vitamins in our local grocery store, the choice is almost unlimited. Besides the large selection, there is a massive price difference between these options; from $5 for a jar with multi-vitamins to $50 a jar.
Which one to pick? Why spend $50 if you can buy the same for $5? Are they the same?
It will be important to understand that the price of these products are equally related to the quality. The $5 jar filled with 30 tablets of multi-vitamins is in no comparison to the one that is priced $50. When supplements are manufactured, the process of HOW they are made helps determine the price. A better product with higher quality ingredients, processed to be easier absorbed by the body, will cost more that the product that has cheap ingredients.
When selecting supplements and multi-vitamins, it is important to understand the relationship between quality and price. Here at Premier Healthcare, we have done a lot of research when it comes to supplements. We have found a product line that we feel comfortable with advising to our patients. The supplements are all made of high quality ingredients for a fair price.
We advocate a healthy life style that includes a healthy, organic, and natural diet, with exercise, mental balance, and (if needed) a proper selections of supplements.
Visit our website for more information.