Introduction To Whole Food Nutrition Supplements, Part II

The Importance of Whole Food Nutrition
Whole foods are foods in the form they were designed to be eaten; whole foods contain all the nutritional factors (vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.) needed to digest and use that food. Nutrition is best gleaned from whole foods; however, when nutritional supplementation is necessary, then whole food nutritional supplements offer the greatest nutritional integrity.  So far, more than 25,000 different phytonutrients have been discovered in [whole] fruits and vegetables.

Whole Food Supplementation
Whole food nutritional supplements come from whole foods that are organically grown, nutrient-dense, minimally processed at low temperatures, and are made body ready (through fermentation) for quick bodily absorption and assimilation. 

• Actual Whole Foods 
  Whole foods are foods containing the essential, synergistic nutrients that foster a balanced vitality and wholeness; whole foods contain only the naturally-occurring nutrients intrinsic to the original plant or animal.
• Organically-grown Whole Foods
  Organic refers to “earth friendly” and health-supportive methods of farming and processing foods.  Organically grown and processed foods do not contain pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or other damaging chemicals.
• Nutrient-dense Whole Foods
  Nutrient-dense means the most nutrients per amount or serving size.  Essential nutrients are important substances the body cannot manufacture on its own and are gained through foods eaten or supplements ingested.  Essential nutrients include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and specific fatty acids.  Whole foods are preferred sources of these nutrients, since they contain these nutrients at their highest, natural, unchanged levels. 
• Whole Foods:  Minimally Processed at Low Temperatures
  Essential nutrients from whole foods can be altered or destroyed during regular or excessive processing, and the isolating of nutrients process renders the supplements less therapeutic the more they are refined. High heat has a similar effect.   
• Whole Food Supplements:  Body-Ready for Body Absorption and Assimilation 
  One’s nutritional state relies on body absorption and assimilation, not only ingestion.  Excellent whole food nutritional supplements provide the means to achieve maximum absorption and assimilation; one way to do this is to make whole food nutritional supplements “body ready” in an already broken down state that the body can easily use through a fermentation process that enables maximum body utilization.   

Fermentation
Fermentation has been an important part of healthful food preparation in the United States and all over the world. Over a hundred years ago, Nobel Prize winning scientist Elie Metchnikoff proposed that the health, well-being, and longevity of Bulgarian pheasants were the result of their consumption of large quantities of fermented milk products. The current use of probiotics in fermented foods to promote good health by means of an improved balance in intestinal microflora came from Metchnikoff’s theory.  Microorganisms primarily found in fermented foods and used in probiotic supplements include various species of lactobacilli or bifidobacteria used individually or in combination with one another.  The cellular enzymes and other biologically active components produced by the probiotics greatly enhance the nutritional value of a food through increased vitamin levels and improved digestibility. Advantages to fermentation are that it:

• Renders food resistant to microbial spoilage and the development of toxins. Naturally preserves food and keeps it toxin-free.
• Inhibits the transfer of pathogenic (bad or unhealthy) organisms
• Improves digestion and nutrient absorption of food
• Enhances flavor and nutritional value of food

Probiotics
Probiotics are live microbial food supplements which benefit people by improving the intestinal microbial balance and adding health benefits. Our bodies rely on healthy gut flora fueled by probiotics. Healthy human intestines contain indigenous microflora (billions of microorganisms, more than 400 species-both good and bad.) We should have about 85% good and 15% potentially harmful flora in our gut.  Today, however, that ratio is often the opposite—15% good and 85% potentially harmful. Probiotic-rich foods help to re-establish the natural balance of our digestive system by promoting the growth of healthy flora.  Instead of food sources, some people choose supplements to ensure a healthy amount of probiotics.  The best probiotics to supplement with contain soil-based organisms (SBOs), similar to the organisms once found in healthy soil--a great way to reintroduce SBOs into your digestive tract, improving bowel and immune system function, increase nutrient absorption, and detoxify the body and its organs. Other benefits of probiotics include:

• The manufacture of certain B vitamins, including niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid and biotin.
• Enhanced immune system activity.
• Production of antibacterial substances that kill or deactivate hostile disease-causing bacteria.
• Friendly bacteria do this by changing the local levels of acidity, by depriving pathogenic bacteria of their nutrients, or by actually producing their own antibiotic substances.
• Anticarcinogenic effect, since probiotics are active against certain tumors.
• Improved efficiency of the digestive tract.
• Reduction of high cholesterol levels.
• Protection against radiation damage and deactivation of many toxic pollutants.
• Recycling of estrogen (a female hormone), which reduces the likelihood of menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis.

Enzymes
The reactions which enzymes stimulate are essential to the life process.  It is estimated that a single human liver cell contains at least 1,000 different enzyme systems.   Hundreds of thousands of enzyme reactions take place in your body each minute.   The best way to insure adequate enzyme activity is to provide our bodies with the building blocks needed to make those enzymes.  These building blocks are components of the foods we eat:  amino acids (from proteins), carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.  However, dietary enzyme supplementation can also prove beneficial through the use of digestive enzymes.    
  
Digestive Enzymes
Plant enzymes are used in complementary ways to improve digestion and absorption of essential nutrients.  This includes enzyme supplements, coupled with a healthy diet that features whole foods.  The human body makes approximately 22 digestive enzymes, capable of digesting protein, carbohydrates, sugars, and fats.    

Causes of Enzyme Depletion

• Pesticides and chemicals
• Hybridization and genetic engineering of foods
• Bovine growth hormone (BGH) used in livestock growing
• Pasteurization
• Irradiated food
• Excess intake of unsaturated and hydrogenated fats
• Cooking food at high temperatures, thus destroying the enzymes
• Micro waving
• Radiation and electromagnetic fields
• Fluoridated water
• Heavy metals
• Mercury amalgam dental fillings and root canals