So I spent a few hours plugging and chugging different meal plans into our 15,000 dollar software at UT because I hate my fitness pal. While, I was down this rabbit hole I came up with this example of why Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and a quality multi are so important even when we live by the FOOD FIRST mentality.
I think everyone would admit that this is a really healthy diet for one 185 pound male on one off day.
3 six ounce portions of lean protein
1 Scoop Pure Paleo
2 Cups Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 Cup Organic Blueberries
1 Cup Organic Strawberries
4 Cups Spinach
2 Cups Broccoli
2 Cups Brussel Sprouts
2 Cups Cauliflower
3 TBS Olive Oil
2 TBS Coconut Oil
= 190 grams PRO, 150 grams CHO, 120 grams FAT
This is fantastic and would be my ideal off day if I was more richer and could afford guzzling organic berries. This template is 100% real organic food and would be hard for anyone except vegans to argue against. Interestingly, as this day does not have salmon or another cold water fish it is about 5:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3s. This would likely get into the ideal range (2:1 or 1:1) if you ate salmon 3 to 4 times a week, but if you don’t like fish you are going to need a super high quality liquid fish oil as well.
…but anyways wammmm check out the breakdown.
53 grams of fiber. Win. BUT even with this awesomeness it is not enough to even meet the RDA for…
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Calcium
- Zinc
- Copper
Ladies and Gents. Your diet isn’t that good. Mine isn’t that good most of the time and I do this for a living. I see low Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Zinc in damn near everyone who comes in for a consult. Everyone.
Buy yourself a High Quality Vitamin D (4,000-8,000 IUs), B12 (amount and type can be dependent on SNIPs), and a Multi and keep it in forever.
Your body doesn’t ever not need vitamins and minerals. Ever.
Myself and other functional medicine practitioners use medical foods or products from very very reputable supplement companies. “Medical Foods” is a horrible name, but it means what is in the bottle is actually in the bottle, and the companies guarantee purity and potency. These “Medical Foods” can only be distributed to folks with terminal degrees in nutrition or another health related field. I hope one day this will change, but for now that is the model of distribution and I get it, they want their products to be dispensed by knowledgeable and adept practitioners so they people get quality results.
For Vitamin D – I like Apex’s Ultra D 5,000 or Vitamin D Supreme
For B12 – I like Apex’s B12 Max and Designs For Health B12 Lozenges
For Multis – I like Designs For Health Complete Multi
Please don’t order any supplements off Amazon – it is soooooo sketch. If you are going to go through with this and spend your hard earned dollars make sure they are legit and order them from the company itself or you can ask me and I will drop ship them to you. However, I would much rather you work with a functional medicine practitioner to dig deeper and learn more about yourself other than your diet likely isn’t meeting your vitamin and mineral needs.
Be Well,
Ben
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