The Foundations of Nutrition
The Building Blocks to Healthy Living
Foundations are what support buildings and other large structures. Nutritional foundations are what support the body for a healthy life. The Nutritional foundations include digestion and elimination, blood sugar regulation, fatty acids, minerals, and hydration. Each one of the foundations is an important part of a balanced, healthy body. To have the best health, each foundation must be balanced otherwise; the whole system could be thrown out of balance.
- Digestion and Elimination are a north to south process. That means you start digesting your food the moment you smell it and you start to salivate until the waste leaves the body. Many enzymes and hydrochloric acid (HCL) help breakdown our food and proteins, but the body must be healthy enough to produce these enzymes and HCL for the process to work. Even when we eat healthy foods, our bodies may not be able to use the nutrients for its benefit. This is why nutritional supplements are an important piece of restoring digestion to allow the absorption of nutrients.
- Blood Sugar Regulation is a key process that is being overworked because of the modern diet. Our bodies are not made to break down as much sugar as the average person eats. Each person eats about 150 pounds of sugar each year! This is why high blood sugar and diabetes is such a problem. Eating a balanced diet combined with a supplemental program can jumpstart your way to well being.
- Fatty Acids are important to our bodies in many ways. The public has been made to believe that all fats are harmful, but some fats are needed for optimal health. The fats you do want to avoid are those in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. But animal fats and those from other natural sources are great for the body when balanced with other good fats.
- Minerals are considered the spark plugs of life because they allow cell to cell communication. Our body does not make its own minerals so we must eat them. Of the 108 known minerals, 18 are needed for optimal health. Minerals are also needed for nerve conduction and bone health. Good sources of minerals include real sea salt, and bone broth.
- Hydration is the key to life; the body is made up of mostly water. The body needs hydration in the digestive track and throughout the whole body to survive. The cleanest water comes from natural springs. Bottled spring water or filtered water is your best option. You should drink half of your body weight in ounces per day but not more than 100 ounces (for example if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink 80 to 100 ounces of water a day). Drinking too much water can actually flush out important minerals. Try to purchase glass water bottles instead of plastic. If you do buy plastic, never drink water out of it after leaving it hot temperatures or freeze them. The bottle releases toxic chemicals into your water when it gets hot or freezes.
