Nutritional Supplements - A Necessary Evil?

I just read an interesting article about all the so-calledWouldn't it be great if I could actually EAT like that
"Super Foods" that are supposed to help keep youeveryday? If I didn't have to worry about feeding
healthy. And I don't disagree. It makes sense thatanyone else in my family? Kudos to those of you
these great foods provide vitamins, antioxidants andthat do.
other important nutrients.Has anyone else been reading about the fruits and
If you are unfamiliar with these foods, they comprisevegetables NOT providing the source of nutrients
of blueberries, wild salmon, broccoli, spinach,they once did? With all the pesticides and processing
tomatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, soy, oats,problems going on, it sometimes gets a little scary.
walnuts.I'm not sure going all organic will correct that, but not
They've added some novel foods to the tally: indigoall of us live near markets that make nutritious
berry, goji berry, cocoa (hence the latest darksources of fresh produce and not all of us can afford
chocolate craze), acai berry and I'm sure there arethat.
plenty of others.Don't get me wrong - I'm all for nutritious eating. I
As I was reading through this tally of 12 super foodsregard my diet pretty nutritious and I do eat all of
you should eat every day, I decided to get out mythe foods on that tally on a fairly regular basis
pen and write down precisely what "they" thought I-maybe not in those quantities and not every day.
should eat everyday. Here's the tally:There have also been several compounds researched
Remember - this is EVERY DAYlately that have shown to have anti-aging attributes.
2 1/2 cups of beans (by the way, I hear black beansGinko, DMAE, resveratrol to name a few. In order to
have the better nutrition, with chickpeas following aget the amount needed to promote good health, we
close second)would have to overeat even if it was all "super"
1/2 c. fresh blueberriesfoods - and that's definitely not nutritious.
1 cup cooked broccoli (or 1/2 cup raw)So I think I'll continue taking my nutritional
3 servings of whole grainsupplements and KNOW that I'm getting the proper
1 serving soyamount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, greens and
1 cup cooked spinachwhat not.
1/2 c. beta-carotene product (sweet potatoes,Remember: no amount of supplementation can
carrots, pumpkin)substitute a nutritious lifestyle: proper diet and plenty
1 whole tomatoof exercise.
1 1/2 oz. nutsI've done some examination - there's no reason to
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oilspend a small fortune on nutritional supplements. You
1 oz dark chocolate (okay, that shouldn't be toocan still get good quality for a reasonable price. See
hard)the website below for sources.
Wild salmon - 4 times a week