When It Comes to Nutritious Foods, Keeping It Real Is Best!

Today, the interest in real foods has evolved beyond a mere trend. In fact, it's rare to find a nutritionist or dietitian who would argue that a refined, processed diet is superior to a whole foods diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

However, even for the most avid kale smoothie enthusiasts among us, it’s nearly impossible to obtain all the nutrients we need solely through food. Unfortunately, only 38% of Americans regularly consume a healthful diet.¹

So, what does “real food” mean for the future of our diets?

Real Food: A Blast From the Past

When it comes to health, we often hear about the shift toward fresher food and cleaner labels. But in reality, the move to real food represents a resurgence of values that were important to us long ago.

When vitamins were first discovered, they were isolated from food to better identify and study them. As the western world developed, so too did the need to provide better access to nutritious foods and their inherent vitamins and minerals.

Major food companies like Quaker Foods or Tropicana began with simple missions: to bring fresh ingredients like oats and oranges to the masses and to find ways to package, ship, and make their good nutrition more widely available.

Advances in food technology propelled companies like these to develop novel food products, eventually leading us to our modern food system.

These days, many food companies are working on ways to return to their roots in real, nutritious foods once again.

Why Real Foods Matter

There is extensive research on which diet is best for health and which foods should be included for optimal health. A few years ago, Dr. David Katz and Stephanie Meller were asked by Annual Reviews, a scientific publisher, to review several diets and elements of diets, including low-fat, low glycemic, low carb, Mediterranean, mixed/balanced (DASH), Paleolithic, and vegan.

Katz and Meller’s findings concluded that while there isn’t one "best" diet, there are patterns in eating habits that are proven to be beneficial for health.

They observed that, “the weight of evidence strongly supports a theme of healthful eating while allowing for variations on that theme. A diet of minimally-processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion.”²

The important phrase here is “minimally-processed foods close to nature...” This is what some refer to as real food, or whole foods.

Whole foods are generally derived from plants, unprocessed or unrefined, and free from additives or other artificial substances. In some cases, a whole food may be minimally processed or refined while still remaining free from additives or artificial substances.

Fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and legumes are whole foods. When they are not processed, or only minimally processed, they retain much of their complete profile of beneficial phytochemicals and nutrients, including fiber.

Sometimes, when a food is processed, it can be stripped of its fiber, phytochemicals, or other nutrients.

Here are a few reasons why whole foods are important:

• Phytochemicals: Whole foods contain phytochemicals (phytonutrients), which are biologically active plant-food components. Phytonutrients can be powerful antioxidants like lycopene, a red-colored carotenoid found mainly in tomatoes, and anthocyanins, which give berries like blueberries their deep blue color.³
   
• Essential Nutrients: Whole foods are nutrient-rich, offering a simple, easy way to incorporate more nutrients into our diets. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average American does not consume a diet rich in essential nutrients associated with good health, highlighting this as a public health concern. Americans underconsume recommended amounts of potassium, dietary fiber, calcium and vitamin D. By eating whole foods, you can increase your intake of essential nutrients.⁴
   
• Fiber and Whole Grains: Many minimally-processed foods are rich in fiber, which helps keep your GI tract on track and provides cardiovascular and weight management benefits. Moreover, whole grains retain vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that promote overall health.
   
• Good Fats and Protein: Processed foods tend to contain more trans fats and saturated fats, the not-so-healthy fats, while whole foods tend to have more of the good-for-you fats like omega-3 essential fatty acids (from both marine and plant sources), plus monounsaturated fat from plants. "Good fats" and the protein found in whole foods can help increase satiety, that feeling of fullness. The peptides send signals to the brain and gut that lead to the suppression of MORs (Mu-opioid receptors), resulting in the curbing of appetite.⁵ Additionally, protein stimulates the production of the hormone that signals satiety, cholecystokinin (CCK).⁶
   

Bridging Real Food Gaps with Real Food Supplements

Although we've heard for decades to get our nutrients from food and to eat daily servings of fruits and vegetables, the reality is that this isn’t entirely possible given typical diets, lifestyles, and nutrient-depleted soils.

Therefore, it's important to remember that supplementing your diet with vitamins and minerals can help bridge nutrient gaps.

If you’re determined to get as much of your daily nutritional intake from real food as possible, you likely want a vitamin and mineral supplement that closely resembles what you put on your plate.

Until recently, finding a real food multivitamin wasn't straightforward. But with ongoing research on nutrient-dense foods and advancements in harvesting and concentration technologies, it's now feasible to purchase a multivitamin that isn’t synthetic and is sourced directly from real foods.

Let’s explore the key factors to consider when purchasing a real food supplement.

The 5 Things to Look for When Buying a Real Food Supplement

1. Focus on Real Food Ingredients
   If you adhere to a real food diet, you likely want the supplements you consume to reflect what’s on your plate. Look for supplements that source their ingredients from real foods. Examples include quinoa sprouts, cranberry extract, and basil. The term “ingredient synergy” is often used when discussing real food supplements, as the nutrients are combined as they would be in natural foods, facilitating easy absorption by the body.
    
2. Opt for Yeast-Free Products
   Given the choice between a handful of yeast and a handful of quinoa sprouts, most would choose the latter. Some products derive their vitamins or minerals through a yeast fermentation process, which, although natural, may not align with the real food principle. Opt for products that do not use yeast or fermentation and instead derive their nutrition directly from real food sources.
    
3. Value Transparency
   When seeking real foods, ensure that the ingredients listed are indeed real foods. Avoid products with proprietary blends or unclear ingredient lists.
    
4. Know the Source
   Just as we care about the origins and methods of our food, we should also be concerned with how the food in our supplements is sourced. Look for real food supplements sourced through reputable or sustainable agricultural practices, as indicated by labels such as organic, non-GMO, or sustainably sourced.
    
5. Demand Clean Labels
   Real food should be represented by real labels. Seek products free from fillers, additives, or stability-enhancing salt additives, such as acetate, bitartrate, chloride, gluconate, hydrochloride, nitrate, and succinate. Real food doesn’t mean unquantifiable nutrient amounts. Opt for products that still quantify the vitamins and minerals you’re obtaining from real food. If you’re just consuming dehydrated food pill products, the actual vitamin and mineral benefits may be uncertain.

Real food is crucial, and it’s important to consume a nutrient-rich diet filled with whole foods. Everyone's diet has nutrient gaps occasionally, whether due to food availability, dietary choices, underconsumption, or the demands of modern life. In all these cases, real food vitamin and mineral supplements can help fill those gaps.

Always serving our customers,

Your friends at BubbForest

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Sources

1. Less Than 3% of Americans Live a Healthy Lifestyle. MedicineNet. Read source 

2. Can We Say What Diet Is Best for Health? Annual Review of Public Health. Read source

3. The Whole Foods Diet. WebMD. Read source

4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020. See source

5. Protein. PsyPost. Read source

6. Cholecystokinin. National Library of Medicine. Read source