Enter Superfoods

 

In addition to buying organic, what can you do to make sure your family is consuming the highest quality, most nutrient dense food to support their body’s innate intelligence and ability to keep their immune system functioning at the highest level possible? Enter superfoods.

Not All Equal

We all know that not all foods are created equal. While all fruits and vegetables offer different nutritional properties to benefit the body – some go above and beyond. Superfoods are nutrient dense while generally being low in calories. Often they are all associated with one or more specific benefits such as heart health, cancer prevention, a strong immune system, lower cholesterol, or reduced inflammation.

They achieve these benefits through being high in:

• Antioxidants which protect our cells
• Minerals which help your body perform at its highest level
• Healthy fats which help lower your cholesterol
• Fiber which helps decrease cholesterol, prevent heart disease, and control glucose levels
• Flavonoids which have anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties.

Variety and Volume

If you search “superfoods” you’ll find lists of 20 or more foods including berries, avocados, apples, and more, all perceived to be superfoods for one reason or another. The problem is, how many of us really get 20 or more different types of foods into our diet on a daily basis, let alone at each meal? Who can eat that much? It isn’t easy. Some people might say it’s impossible.

So, where do we go from here? Is it enough to just eat as many nutrient dense foods all the time and hope for the best? Do we have options? Perhaps we should go the way of commercial meal replacement products such as bars or shakes?

Convenient, But Good?

Chiefly, meal replacement products such as bars and shakes were created to be a convenient and easy way to get a variety of vitamins and minerals into your diet, and they are. When you don’t have time for breakfast or the only other options for lunch are a fast food burger and fries or skipping lunch altogether, a bar or shake can be a better option. However, even among “healthy foods,” not everything is created equally. Are they all good quality?

First off, many, many of the most popular brands of bars and shakes are not made of organic ingredients. So right from the start you are eating processed food made from conventionally grown produce that is not nutritionally dense. And goodness knows what other types of chemicals and artificial ingredients that “food” contains.

All Natural?

Even if you’ve been purchasing products that claim to be “all natural,” you’re in for a real surprise. There is a big difference between organic and all natural. The good news is that neither organic products nor all natural products contain artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. Here, however, is where the similarities end. All natural products could have been grown with artificial fertilizer, artificial pesticides, irradiation, and/or genetically modified ingredients (GMOs). Organic products do not involve any of that.

In fact, according to the Environmental Working Group, for consumers seeking clean foods “organic brands are the only commercial option backed by enforceable standards.”

It’s All About the Formulation

But even if you’re already aware of the benefits of organic, the answer isn’t to just pick any organic product off the shelf. There is other information on that label, and other things you should consider. The formulation of these products is key. For example, is there added sugar, and if so, how much? Organic or not, sugar is sugar.

Does the product have enough fiber? Does it have a high quality protein source and provide adequate amounts of protein? In fact, are all of the ingredients listed on the label high quality superfoods in their own right, or merely organic fillers?

Again, it can’t be stressed enough that formulation is key. Formulation is a fancy word for “recipe,” and we all know that for every dish there are a million and one recipes. And they don’t all taste the same, and they’re not all equally good for your health.

Master Formulators, Master Chefs

A good recipe involves quality fresh ingredients, prepared by a master chef whose mission is to provide healthy food and an enjoyable dining experience for their guests. Today, that chef cares about not only how much their guests enjoy the meal, but how it contributes to their health and the health of the planet. And that chef wants them to come back to enjoy the food again and again. It’s their passion and they take pride in their work. It’s not just a job.

Today, food formulators are a new type of master chef. They are essential to developing recipes for new food products meeting the health and nutritional demands and needs of today’s consumer. If you’re going to eat any food that comes with a label, you care about food formulation.

A Complex Dish

Another way that a good formulator is like a good chef is the complexity of their recipes. Today we tend to think that “simple” is always best. For example, if you purchase a product where there is a single high quality ingredient that is the main composition of the product, that’s got to be good, right?

Well, let’s think this through. If our objective is to eat the rainbow by getting as many different, high quality, organic superfoods into our diet as possible, do we really want to get a mega dose of just one ingredient? Or even 2, 3, or 5 ingredients? Not really.

Master Crafted Formulation 

What would benefit us most is to have a well formulated product that brings 20, 30, 40, or more organic superfoods into our diet on a regular – if not daily – basis. If you’re going to dream, dream big. Right?

That’s exactly what Strive Superfoods, now endorsed by The 100 Year Lifestyle, has done. They’ve created a complete daily nutritional system comprised of 100% organic ingredients. Their three different superfood blends were formulated to help us meet our nutritional needs any time of the day, anywhere we are. It is a master crafted formulation designed to ensure that we get all the micro-nutrients we need – all day, every day. Strive was designed to help us Strive to be our best, while “chasing and living our dreams” every day.

Next week we’ll be taking a deep dive into the Strive products. If you can’t wait to learn more, you can start now by visiting their website. Just click here.

At The 100 Year Lifestyle we have always been about living a healthy lifestyle and supporting your body’s Innate Intelligence – nothing more, nothing less. In the 35 plus years that we’ve been helping people live at 100% for 100 years or more, we’ve never endorsed a food product of any kind. Until now. Why? Because we never found anything that met our standards, met your needs, and supported your goals and objectives – until now. We’re delighted to be affiliated with this 100 Year Lifestyle company.

We’ll be sharing more about what makes this company so special next week.