With such a large range of philosophies for health on the net these days, it gets easy to forget or overlook simple things that everyone agrees on. Every different approach has a list of what’s essential for health. But what is essential? Have we glossed over this word so much that we’ve forgotten how serious it is?
A quick search of the word “essential” gives us a very straightforward definition: absolutely necessary; extremely important. It’s almost as though the word should be italicized, bolded, and underlined. Perhaps even all caps and an exclamation point!
When you scrutinize your food, what makes it essential? Necessary for survival. Important for thriving. Something you literally cannot live without.
Vitamins. Sometimes referred to as essential. How did we overlook that? We HAVE to have those! This isn’t a question. Some vitamins are absolutely essential to our survival. That word, as we are learning, is not to be taken lightly.
Not every nutrition label will detail the different nutrients with the word “essential”. That’s a big word for such a little box. Here is a great list of all the essential nutrients, things you need to not only survive but thrive.
There’s one other part of the definition for an essential nutrient that seems like an obvious factor, but once again, it can easily be overlooked. It’s the fact that these nutrients must be consumed, as in, we do not produce them on our own. When you think about it that way, it makes the practice of eating healthy much more deliberate. While supplementation for some of these essentials is necessary due to a lack of resources within food, it really is best to get as much as possible from food.
Are you getting your essentials?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_nutrient
https://www.google.com/#q=essential&*