Nutrient density
What is a nutrient dense diet?
A nutrient dense diet revolves around whole foods. Eating a whole foods diet minimizes the consumption of processed and packaged foods, which in turn, limits your consumption of harmful additives, chemicals, and other unnecessary ingredients. Whole foods offer the highest nutrient content, packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants that are often reduced or lost during processing.
A nutrient dense diet nourishes your cells, powering them to perform their functions and keep you in disease free state. Nutrients in food provide the building blocks and energy the body needs for growth, repair, and maintenance
Eating Seasonally and Locally
The current widespread access to food from all around the world is very recent. It allows us the convenience of year round access to any food, exposing us to a greater variety of ingredients and diverse culinary traditions. Although amazing in many ways, eating out of season is unnatural and presents an environmental mismatch to our body’s that still expect to function as our hunter-gatherer ancestors did. Over the course of the year, your body has unique needs, craving different foods in the summer than in the winter. Eating seasonally aligns your meals with your circadian rhythm, giving your body the nutrients it needs most and supporting its natural cycles. Seasonal foods are usually fresher and contain a higher level of nutrients. Eating local foods, such as from farmers markets, ensures you are eating with the season and consuming the freshest foods possible.
Organic Foods
Organic refers to foods that are non-GMO, free of pesticides and other “cides”, and in which most synthetic additives are prohibited. There are thousands of chemicals that can be added to conventional packaged foods. Many of these substances are concluded as “safe” under a regulatory loophole known as GRAS or “generally recognized as safe”. This exemption was created by Congress in 1958 and was meant to apply to foods widely accepted as safe, such as vinegar and salt. However, this loophole has since been expanded by the FDA, allowing manufacturers to self-declare a chemical as “safe” and voluntarily choose to inform the FDA of new GRAS ingredients. Companies and manufacturers have used this loophole to bypass safety reviews and approve about 99% of new food chemicals, leading to hundreds of new substances added to foods without oversight.
Artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors are not allowed in organic foods. Any synthetic ingredient that can be added to organic packaged food must be on the National List, which is a list of substances that must be reviewed and approved by the National Organic Standards Board. Choosing organic food will limit your exposure to many chemicals that are linked to health problems.
Diversity
A nutrient dense diet revolves around eating a variety of different types of animal foods, fruits, vegetables, etc. A diverse diet helps you obtain a wider range of nutrients that are found in different foods and avoid nutrient deficiencies.
High Polyphenol Content
Polyphenols have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and have beneficial effects on the intestinal microbiota. Microbes in the gut break down complex polyphenols into smaller metabolites to be absorbed and utilized by the body, supporting the digestive system, cardiovascular health, cognitive function, blood sugar regulation, and much more. There are more than 8,000 known types of polyphenols.
Fiber
Your large intestine (colon) is the primary site of the intestinal microbiome, housing hundreds of trillions of microbes. These microorganisms ferment dietary fiber and produce beneficial microbial metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Eating fiber from whole plant foods feeds your intestinal microbiome and promotes a healthy gut.
Pasture-raised, Grassfed, and Wild Caught
The best thing to look for on a label of beef, butter, milk, yogurt, chicken, eggs, etc. is “organic” and “100% grass-fed” or “grassfed & grass finished” or “pasture-raised.” These animal foods are free of antibiotics, hormones, and consume a natural diet.
Nose-to-tail Eating
When eating meat, our ancestors utilized as much of an animal as possible, thereby consuming a wide range of nutrients offered by various animal parts. Consuming bone broth and organs like liver, kidney, heart, and brain is an amazing way to get a lot of essential nutrients that are often lacking in a modern diet.
Fermented Foods
Kefir, kimchi, kombucha, yogurt, sauerkraut, natto, tempeh, and more are foods that have been fermented by microorganisms and contain beneficial probiotics and prebiotics. Humans have intentionally been fermenting foods for thousands of years, creating flavorful, nutrient dense, and longer lasting foods. Fermented foods support a diverse and healthy microbiome, improving digestion and gut health.
Herbs and Spices
Herbs and spices include leaves, roots, stems, flowers, seeds, and berries that contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. Health benefits of herbs and spices range from supporting digestion, blood sugar regulation, cognitive function, heart health, and more.