In this day and age there are many obstacles to nutrients traveling from our foods to our cells. In order to be truly well nourished, we need to address them all.
1. Farming methods: We strip our soils of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc. and we dump tons of chemicals onto our crops. Eating these chemicals has a detrimental effect on our health.
2. Food processing: Processed foods have become the norm since the 1950s. We add chemicals during processing such as preservatives, texturizers, emulsifiers, coloring agents, etc., and processing removes nutrients.
3. Partial Foods: Partial foods don’t contain as many nutrients as whole foods, and they don’t digest as well. Nutrients in one part of a food are often required to digest other parts of that food. For example, a grain of whole rice has seven layers. When whole rice is processed the outer few layers are removed to be sold as rice bran and other products. What is left is white rice. The outer layers not only contain most of the nutrients, but some of those nutrients are needed to digest the nutrients in the inner layers. Consequently, even the nutrients that are left in white rice are not usually digested well.
Another function of the outside layers of whole grains and whole legumes is to keep the kernel from spoiling. Once the grain or bean is broken open, or the outside layers are removed, it starts to turn rancid and loses nutrition. Grains and beans will retain their nutrient content for years if the outside layers are intact and they’re stored properly.
4. Food selection: The older cultures have for centuries put an emphasis on:
a. how foods effect the health of our three Systemic Functions.
b. the digestibility of foods
These days the focus tends to be only on the nutritional content of foods, which is certainly important, but most nutritionists have lost track of how to improve poor digestion, and understand little about the effects of foods on Systemic Function. We need to choose the foods that are right for our present systemic condition. As our state of health improves, our food selection can be freer and more relaxed as long as we practice a good foundation of whole foods.
5. Food storage: Even fresh, good quality food loses nutrients quickly if not stored properly.
6. Food preparation: Whether eaten raw or cooked, how we prepare foods determines their digestibility and nutrient content.
7. Food combination: People with weak digestion need to be careful how they combine foods. Once our digestion normalizes, it’s not much of a concern. The healthy human digestive system is designed to handle many combinations of foods without much problem.