Supplementing with Superfoods

We don't take vitamins, partly because they are so expensive and we would rather put our money into good food than supplements, and also because I read an interesting book, The Real Truth About Vitamins and Antioxidants, that turned me off to supplements. The book discusses the dangers of synthetic vitamins and advocates for whole food "concentrates" (though I never really understood what "concentrates" meant), but talks about how just small amounts of whole foods will give us adequate amounts of the vitamins and minerals our bodies need. The author discusses the flawed studies on which the FDA bases our dietary recommendations. After researching several different vitamin companies and finding none that I felt I could trust, I decided to go for getting the nutrients our bodies need through good food.

I like the idea of superfoods. Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price Foundation says in her Guide to Superfoods,

"Superfoods—as opposed to vitamins or supplements—are foods that naturally concentrate important nutrients. Unlike dietary supplements, or vitamins taken in isolation, superfoods provide many nutrients that support each other and prevent the kind of imbalances that often occur when vitamins are taken singly."

She goes on to list a variety of superfoods and their health benefits. I have a handful of superfoods I've been using on a daily basis, including cod liver oil, nutritional yeast, azomite mineral powder, kelp, amla powder (like acerola but stronger, and it has spirulina in it), flax meal, coconut oil, and bee pollen (although lately we've been learning that our bodies may not be able to digest bee pollen unless it is part of cloudy, unprocessed honey). Check out the Guide to Superfoods for info on most of these items. I've been wanting to add sprouts and/or wheatgrass to the list, in addition to the fermented foods I try to get in every day. But are those considered superfoods?

I been working on putting these superfoods in everything I can think of (with the exception of cod liver oil, which I give on a spoon with honey or it makes everything taste like fish). I've been making oatmeal in the morning by soaking oats, cooking them in chicken stock, and then adding the superfoods (with stevia and honey and cinnamon to make it taste good). I've been putting superfoods in the kids' coconutty candies. The other day I made a smoothie with kefir, superfoods, strawberries, and vanilla and stevia. I froze it in an ice cube tray with popsicle sticks to make little popsicles. Ashton, who usually won't drink my smoothies, has been eating them nonstop. Score one for superfood mama!

What I want is for myself and my family to have the vitamins and minerals our bodies need, and I want those nutrients to come from food rather than expensive pills. Will you all share about your experiences with how you nourish the needs of your bodies? Do you take vitamins? Are you happy with the kind you are taking? What ways do you use food to give you your vitamins? What superfoods am I missing?


Related posts:
Liver, Ultimate Superfood
Coconut Oil: Our Favorite Snack
Health Checklist