How healthy are you? A survey reveals a disconnect – or gap – between how healthy Canadians think they are and their actual nutritional habits. According to the Centrum National Supplements Survey, while fruits and vegetables should make up the biggest portion of a healthy diet, well above caffeine, Canadians’ daily caffeine consumption is actually on par with fruit and vegetable intake. In addition, Health Canada reports that more than 10 million Canadians aren’t getting all of the vitamins and minerals they need from diet alone.
Nutritional consultant Theresa Albert says it’s important to take control of these nutritional gaps early.
“It takes a long time for nutrient insufficiency to show up. I like to compare it to wear and tear on your favourite sneakers. When you use cells over and over again without replacing the building blocks, it will eventually lead to holes that can, in turn, lead to other problems. A simple thing like an eye twitch, for example, could be the result of stress, but it could also mean your body is too low in magnesium, the nutrient that helps release muscle tension. Prevention of little warning signs like these are much easier to manage before they become a deficiency.”
Vitamins and minerals are essential for good health—supporting everything from maintaining immune function and muscle function to eyesight and bone health. While there is no magic bullet, Albert says a multivitamin, like Centrum, can help counteract these shortcomings and help ensure we are getting the small but crucial nutrients missing from our diets.
Making your nutritional heath a priority is a resolution worth keeping – and it can be easier than you think. Here are five tips from Theresa Albert, nutritional consultant and author of Ace Your Health, that you can start incorporating today, to maintain your healthy eating resolution all year long.
1. Go raw. Incorporate raw vegetables each day along with your usual cooked favourites. Rotate colours to make sure you hit all of the phytonutrients.
2. Incorporate a daily multivitamin. Support filling in the gaps in your diet with a multivitamin, such as Centrum, to help get the nutrients that might be missing.
3. A handful a day. Nuts, seeds and beans contain many of the nutrients hard to obtain from fruits and vegetables like zinc, magnesium and vitamin E.
4. Make each mouthful matter. Focus on nutrient-dense superfoods so that each mouthful matters. My favorites are: chia seeds, blueberries, Brussels sprouts, cranberries and eggs.
