Why Nutrients Are Important
Have you ever wondered what makes a particular food healthy or not? When I first started my health journey I cut out almost all desserts. I thought the best thing to do was to focus on vegetables and green juices. I was practically vegan because I had also carried over habits and thoughts that foods like eggs, dairy, and red meats were bad for your health. I carried this way of eating into pregnancy and postpartum but then after about 2 years of nursing, I felt drained. I was depleted and could definitely tell. My energy levels were low, my skin was dry and lacked coloring and the food I was eating was no longer appealing to me, so I knew something had to change. I started to learn more about the clean sourcing of foods and what foods contain bioavailable nutrients. Simply put, this means foods that contain nutrients that are easy for our bodies to absorb. I started to incorporate these foods into my diet and immediately started to feel better. I gained energy, my skin started to look better and best of all, I felt like a new person.
Why Consume Bioavailable Nutrient Dense Foods
Nutrients, found in food, provide fuel and support for your body. They are used so that your body can function well, grow, and maintain life. During specific seasons of life, like pregnancy or nursing, nutrient requirements go up in order for the body to perform its tasks well. If you are constantly eating food that is void of nutrients then you are likely to become depleted. Or in my case, if you are eating foods that contain hard to absorb nutrients then you are likely to become depleted. That’s why it is so important to nourish yourself with foods that contain high amounts of easily absorbed nutrients, like minerals, vitamins, proteins, and fats.
For Pregnancy and Your Baby
Did you know that you pass on your nutrient stores to your baby? So, if you are deficient in vitamin A, your child is likely to be also. This is why pre-conception nutrition is so important. It takes more effort than just taking a prenatal for a few months before trying to have a baby and is more about taking your time and replenishing your stores, even between babies. Your nutrient stores can also affect your health during pregnancy and your postpartum healing. Nutrient deficiencies in pregnancy are linked to preeclampsia and postpartum depression. We may never be able to fully control our health or our child’s but we can take steps to make sure we are giving them the best start possible, by first taking care of ourselves.
For Energy
Nutrients and the amount consumed are a key part of how your body functions and of your energy levels. Nutrients like proteins are the building blocks of life, they promote growth, healing, and hormone production. Another nutrient, sodium is needed for nerve function and for healthy nutrient absorption. The body needs nutrients to preform daily tasks and if it isn’t getting enough supply for the demand then you could be left feeling fatigued.
More energy is also used to process and absorb different nutrients. Take beta-carotene for example, it is the precursor to vitamin A, a critical nutrient for eye, reproductive, and immune health. This means that our bodies have to convert the beta-carotene into vitamin A, but if we just consumed foods with preformed vitamin A instead, we would not be wasting energy on conversions.
How To Know If A Food Is High In Nutrients
Back to the dessert I mentioned above. I now eat dessert, because I know how to prepare it in a way that contains lots of valuable nutrients. Instead of eating a boxed cookie that is most likely void or contains ingredients that are harmful, I make cookies myself. I make sure to include nutrient dense pasture raised eggs, high quality grass-fed butter, mineral rich sea salt and nutrient rich sugars. These additions make all the difference because instead of a cookie robbing me of nutrients it is adding to my stores and supporting my health.
How To Get Started
The easiest place to start, is adding in one food at a time. I’ve made a free download that will help you to know what foods to start adding into your diet. It’s a list the 5 most nutrient dense foods that will help to increase your nutrient stores, getting you ready for pregnancy, motherhood, increasing your energy and your overall health. It can be so hard to know where to start, so I hope you will download my guide so that I can help!
