may reach for chips or something crunchy. Vegetable juices may yield the same result. Colbin cautions that while vitamin and mineral supplements can be helpful in treating specific conditions or deficiencies, they nevertheless comprise fragments of food at best. She notes that the body may have difficulty processing these isolated nutrients outside of the whole food. Supportive studies include Kentucky’s University of Louisville School of Medicine comparison of the effects of the spice turmeric with those of its active ingredient, curcumin. Adding the whole food turmeric to the diet of rats reduced inflammation significantly, while curcumin alone was ineffective. Results suggested the difference may be explained by turmeric’s higher bioavailability. A Pennsylvania State University research review determined that although population studies consistently report that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables protects against cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, studies of antioxidant supplements did not show the same benefits. The difference may be that a whole foods diet naturally contains not only antioxidants, but a wide range of nutrients and compounds that may act synergistically to protect against diseases. Colbin goes further, suggesting that supplements may even make us less likely to want to eat vegetables and set us up for junk food cravings to balance out too many vitamins or minerals. Her advice is to use vitamins and supplements if medically required, but not every day and not for a lifetime. Her views are all about maintaining the natural balance in the foods that nature provides without worrying about striving for perfection or radical changes in diet. Colbin recommends aiming for 70 percent whole foods overall to keep everything in balance. Start by taking a few small changes, listen to the body to see if there’s a noticeable difference and adjust accordingly. Margie King is a former corporate attorney now working as a holistic health and nutrition coach and natural health copywriter from Philadelphia, PA. Connect via NourishingMenopause.com.
natural awakenings
January 2014
29