SEE HOW FOOD GETS FROM ‘FARM TO YOU’
In an age of once-daily multivitamins and aisles upon aisles of supplements, it’s never been more convenient to tailor your personal nutrition needs at your local grocery store.
However, it’s important to remember these are called “supplements” for a reason. Dr. Eliza Chakravarty, an Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation immunologist, says your journey to good health still needs to begin with food, not pills and capsules.
“Nothing replaces a healthy diet,” Chakravarty said. “Some people think that if they just take a multivitamin every day, then they can have chips and soda or whatever. But, actually, the best way to get your vitamins and nutrients is through a healthy diet.”
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and healthy fats still represent the foundation of a wholesome diet. And the broader the variety in your cart, the better.
But if supplements contain the same vitamins and minerals as food, why is loading up on spinach, apples and almonds still the superior option?
For one, Chakravarty said, supplements are specific extracts of nutritional components to a healthy diet. When you’re eating natural foods, there’s a lot more nutritional punch in the food that the supplement doesn’t contain.
“The trace elements that are part of natural foods aren’t contained in supplements,” she said. “They simply can’t replicate the wide array of benefits and nutrients of real foods and the fiber and other vitamins they contain.”
Experts suggest that food offers three primary benefits over supplements:
•Greater nutrition from the complexity of foods.
•Essential fiber to manage constipation and help prevent certain diseases.
•Protective substances such as phytochemicals that occur naturally and can help prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes and others. Many natural foods are also high in antioxidants.
“If you look at the drugstore, grocery store or advertisements, there’s a lot of money to be made in supplements, so they’re pushed by manufacturers as the answer to your nutritional needs,” Chakravarty said.
“I also think people consider supplements a shortcut to eating healthy, because we’re busier today. We don’t have the time or the family structures to cook meals from scratch the way we did 50 years ago.”
As a result, people are eating on the run and consuming more processed foods, because they’re more convenient. The supplement industry has capitalized on that on-the-go
NORMAN — Norman Public Library Central is bringing the “Farm to You” in a Cleveland County Extension Service presentation from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday in the Lowry Room of the library, 225 N Webster Ave. The program is an interactive, walk-through display of 10 stations that take students on food’s journey from the farm to the consumer. The program is geared to children up to age 11 and their caregivers. For more information, visit the library, call 701-2600 or go to www.pioneer librarysystem.org, click on Choose a Library and select Norman Central.