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Get
off the pill! Supplement with food
Feb 18, 09
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
It’s
tempting to think of vitamin and mineral supplements as little
bits of dietary insurance.
In a world where french fries are often the only vegetable
on the plate, many of us hope to fill the nutritional gaps
with a tablet or gel cap.
For most of us, it’s a false sense of security.
With few exceptions – folic acid for women of childbearing
age and, in certain circumstances, vitamin D or B12 for others
– the benefits of supplements have not been borne out
by research. There’s little, if any, evidence to indicate
that supplements are helpful for healthy adults.
In fact, a paper published this month in the Archives of Internal
Medicine found that in a study of more than 160,000 older
adult women, there were no significant differences in risk
of death, heart disease or certain forms of cancer between
supplement-takers as compared with women who did not take
supplements.
That doesn’t stop many people, though, from spending
big money on a wide range of single- and multi-vitamin and
mineral supplements.
The rationale: It can’t hurt, and it may help.
It’s possible that’s true, but it’s also
possible it’s not. Some research has found increased
health risks in people taking vitamin E and beta-carotene
supplements, for example.
And high doses of some nutrients can cause imbalances when
individual nutrients, such as minerals, interact.
A better way to protect your health is to get your nutrients
– and supplements – from whole foods. It’s
likely that nutrients act synergistically and are most effective
when they’re present in the amounts and combinations
found in nature.
That means eating as well as you can every day.
When you can’t, or if you worry that you might be missing
something you need, think differently about how you might
supplement your diet.
Think in terms of quick and easy, nutrient-dense whole foods
that – in a single serving – can deliver a substantial
amount of the nutrients most of us need in greater quantities.
Then add those foods to your diet whenever you can.
Great supplements include:
* A dose of leafy greens. Add a large scoop of baby spinach
leaves from the salad bar to your plate. Roll them into a
bean burrito or mix them into an iceberg lettuce salad.
Stir a scoop of cooked greens into a bowl of lentil soup or
add a handful of chopped Romaine lettuce to a plate of nachos.
Greens are rich in fiber, folic acid, calcium, iron, vitamins
A and C and potassium.
* Deep orange fruits and vegetables. Grab a handful of dried
apricots for a portable snack, or slice a peach into a bowl
of cooked oatmeal.
Baby carrots dipped in salad dressing are a handy appetizer.
Add a thick slice of ripe tomato to a sandwich to supplement
your diet with vitamins A and C and fiber.
* Beans, peas and lentils. Get the side order of beans when
you eat at Taco Bell. Dip your chips into hummus or black
bean dip.
Keep a stash of soup cups (the add-hot-water-and-stir type)
at the office – bean, split pea, chili and lentil varieties.
Legumes add fiber, protein, folic acid, manganese, iron and
a long list of other minerals.
* A handful of cereal grains. Add wheat germ to casseroles
or hot cereal. When you want a midnight snack, reach for bran
flakes or shredded wheat.
Grains add fiber, B vitamins and trace minerals to your diet.
* Assorted seeds and nuts. Sprinkle them on salads and stir
them into muffin batter. They add fiber, protein, essential
fatty acids, and a long list of vitamins and minerals.
Supplement your diet, but do it with natural packages of nutrients
found in a varied supply of whole foods.
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