Eating natural whole foods is the best way to get all the nutrients your body needs.

Most people have heard the expression, “You are what you eat.” The reason this expression is so popular is that it’s true. Every part of you is made from the components of your food and drink. 

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, your body performs a miracle: it transforms inert matter into living tissue. Your living tissue. But it needs an astonishing array of building materials to do that. That’s why nutrition is what the author calls the first life force. Proper nutrition gives us the building blocks of life.

The key message here is: Eating natural whole foods is the best way to get all the nutrients your body needs.

So what substances does your body require?

The list starts with basic macronutrients – fats, carbs, and proteins. They fuel all processes inside our cells. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Your body needs so much more: minerals, vitamins, salts, enzymes, antioxidants, electrolytes, phytonutrients. The list goes on. 

Fortunately, though, there’s no need for you to remember it all, or to keep track of individual nutrients. There’s a much simpler way. And it is to eat more natural foods – in particular, more fruit and vegetables. 

Broccoli, for example, is insanely healthy. This cruciferous superfood contains many substances that your body needs, like vitamins, fatty acids, and enzymes. If somebody invented a pill with all the health benefits of broccoli, she would make a fortune. 

Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? But many people shun fruit and vegetables and consume lots of unhealthy foods instead. They may even know that their diets are not perfect, and try to compensate by taking nutritional supplements. 

Unfortunately, there’s a catch. Many commercial supplements don’t even get absorbed by our bodies. They are not in a form that we can easily metabolize. So the contents of those expensive pills simply go straight through us and are disposed of. 

That’s why the best way to get everything your body needs is to eat a variety of natural whole foods. That means fruits and vegetables, but also beans, seeds, nuts, grains, and sprouts.

And it doesn’t need to be difficult. All you have to do is put the good food in your mouth and enjoy it.