I eat a healthy diet - why do I need to supplement? 
Written by Caroline Marie Dupont  

The key to health through nutrition lies in selecting foods that are in their whole natural state. What does 'whole' mean? When you select a food, think about how it grows in nature - the closer you can get to that state the better. The Earth has been providing balanced wholesome foods since the beginning of time and will continue to do so if we allow Her to. Any time a food is processed, nutrients like vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fiber are removed, creating a relative nutrient debt. If you want your billions of cells to function optimally you need the balanced nutrients that whole foods provide for you. Healthy cells create healthy organs, healthy systems and a healthy body. This means that you will choose the following foods more often: living (raw and as fresh as possible) foods, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains and possibly, whole forms of animal products like dairy, eggs, fish, meat. Include as many organic, local and seasonal selections as possible. Also, for nutrient diversity, broaden your range of fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and meats.

If you can incorporate this basic principle into your life you will reap great benefits. So why would you need to supplement? First of all, many people are not able to follow the above ideal guidelines all of the time. Also, our digestive system has been weakened by years of poor food selections and stress and as a result, even though we may be eating a high quality diet, we may not be absorbing the nutrients fully. In a future article, I will write about ways to improve digestion naturally. Finally, many of us are exposed to a great quantity of anti-nutrients which destroy and/or cause accelerated excretion of many nutrients from our bodies. Refined foods, white sugar, pop, caffeine, certain drugs, stress, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, chemicals all fall into the category of anti-nutrients. Obviously, as we seek to approach a more holistic lifestyle we will minimize these.

What is the best way to supplement one's diet? There are five broad categories of supplements. Fresh pressed juices, green powders, whole foods supplements, multi-vitamin/mineral pills, single nutrient pills.

Fresh pressed juices
Fresh pressed juices are in my opinion the ultimate supplement to any diet. At this stage in our collective health journey, juices are the universal supplement. Why?

• Most of us have nutrient deficiencies.
• Most of us have poor digestion. Many supplements (vitamin/mineral pills) are not easily digested and absorbed and may even cause nutrient imbalances by competing with other nutrients.

Fresh pressed juices are made up of whole foods in perfect nutritional balance, and will be absorbed from the stomach and small intestine minutes after ingestion. You can be sure that the nutrients from the carrot, kale, celery, lemon and apple contained in your morning juice will get to your cells and contribute to the rebuilding of your system and to detoxification. Plus fresh juice contains living enzymes which assist in virtually every physiological function of the body.  

Green Powder
Green powders are probably the most popular way of supplementing a whole-foods diet. Unless you are juicing and consistently using organic produce, I feel that they are very necessary at this stage.

These products are primarily made from freeze-dried superfoods, that is foods that are known to contain high concentrations of various nutrients, for example barley or wheat grass, spirulina, chlorella, or blue-green algae. Many manufacturers are marketing formulas which contain a variety of ingredients (often as many as 70 different ingredients). There are many products on the market, some excellent, some not as high quality. Things to consider when choosing a green powder: 

• Single ingredient powders are often the best way to ensure high concentrations of a product and are usually more cost effective. Look for spirulina, chlorella, wheat-grass powder, barley-grass powder, blue-green algae among others.
• Multi-ingredient powders are proprietary formulas which may contain algae, grass powders, probiotics, herbs, mushrooms, vegetable powders and fillers.
• Beware of inexpensive fillers like lecithin, pectin and rice bran: you will be fooled into thinking that you are getting more product than you think.
• I have some reservations about the addition of herbs to green powders. First, we do not all have the same needs when it comes to herbal supplementation. These needs depend on constitution and current health status. Second, herbs are meant to be taken over short periods and then stopped. The body adapts and the herb ceases having it's initial effect.
• Some powders add so called 'natural' flavorings. I personally find these obnoxious and many people notice that they 'get sick of' these products quickly.
• If you react to a multi-ingredient powder it is very hard to determine the exact source of the sensitivity. Try a single ingredient powder.
• In this case, it is true that the more expensive powders are usually the best quality.

Personally, I generally limit my recommendations to a whole foods diet, juicing and green powders. However, here are some further options:

Whole foods supplements
These are products made from whole foods pressed into pill form. They are generally balanced and absorbable. They can however be expensive.

Multi vitamin/mineral pills
If you decide to take a multi-vitamin/mineral pill make sure that the individual nutrients are balanced and absorbable. There are many companies that put extensive research into ensuring bio-availability of their products and many people report health benefits from these products. Again, they can be expensive. On a personal note, because I have such a profound respect for the wisdom of whole foods, I would prefer to see people spending their money on excellent quality food and a good juicer.

Single nutrient pills
All physiological functions rely on a vast array of nutrients. Take for example bone formation, which is of concern nowadays with such high rates of osteoporosis. Many nutrients and conditions are necessary for the proper formation of bones, and a program to rebuild bones would include including more absorbable calcium from whole food sources, juicing high calcium foods, enhancing digestion, eliminating anti-nutrients, getting more sunshine and exercise, decreasing acidifying foods, increasing alkaline foods. So the idea of taking a single nutrient, say calcium, to build the bones, is overly simplistic and short-sighted. I have never recommended single nutrient pills.

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About the Author

Caroline Marie Dupont holds a Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology, a Black Belt in the NIA Technique (a holistic fitness approach), is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, and has studied various forms of energy field balancing. Through her company Health & Beyond, she works with clients individually as a Holistic Health Practitioner using mainly energy work and nutrition, teaches NIA classes, whole-foods preparation, and presents on various health-related topics. She teaches for the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, Transformational Arts College and for Seneca College's Holistic Health Program, which she developed.