Years ago, Dr. Emanuel Cheraskin, an authority on nutrition and supplementation, wrote a paper on two keys to building optimal health. These keys are daily diet choices and vitamin/mineral supplementation.

Personal Story

My search for optimum health began in college. My mother-in-law was dealing with a recurrence of breast cancer. She was out of medical options and looked to alternate professionals for help. What she learned about nutritional supplements and diet, she put into practice. The result was a better quality of life during her last years on earth. Acting intentionally on dietary and supplemental knowledge has been a positive endeavor in my and my family’s life and helps us build optimum health.

The Key of Daily Diet Choices

Optimal eating for optimal living is categorized into foods to eat liberally, foods to eat sparingly, and foods to avoid.

Nutrient dense foods to eat liberally:

• Beans
• Berries
• Brown rice
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Fruit
• Meat
• Milk
• Nuts
• Peas
• Potatoes, Irish and sweet
• Poultry
• Seafood
• Seeds
• Vegetables
• Whole grains/products

Choosing a wide variety of nutrient dense foods provides optimum nutrition for the body.

Foods to eat sparingly:

• Chocolate
• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Hydrogenated fats (these should possibly be in the avoid list)
• Soft drinks
• Sugar

It may be good for many consider reducing salt intake, especially if there are fluid retention issues or high blood pressure.

Foods to avoid:

• Alcohol
• Artificial coloring agents
• Artificial flavoring
• Highly processed grain foods
• Sugar-high foods
• Athletic beverages
• Cakes
• Candy
• Dessert wines
• Frozen desserts
• Doughnuts
• Ice cream
• Milkshakes
• Mints
• Popsicles
• Puddings
• Punch drinks
• Sherbet
• Sweet pickles
• Sweet rolls
• Sweet syrups
• Sweetened applesauce
• Sweetened breakfast cereals
• Sweetened yogurt

This is only a partial list. Also try to avoid foods made with refined or enriched flour.

Ultimately, choosing a diet of whole, nutrient dense foods is a key to building optimum health. The amounts of food eaten would be adjusted according to a person’s weight goals and appetite. Vitamin C is destroyed by processing, so choose fresh foods first, frozen second, and canned third. Dehydrated or vacuum sealed foods can be used during seasons when fresh sources are scarce.

The Key of Vitamin/Mineral Supplementation

Dr. Cheraskin stated in his paper “… we also found that even with an optimal diet, it is important to take supplements”.  His reasons included nutritional loss during “garden-to-gullet transport” and nutrient depletion due to stress, aging, and a host of other things.

Vitamins and minerals play important functions in our body. The way they are absorbed to be used by the body makes a difference. For example, chelated minerals are more readily absorbed than the inorganic salts. There are trace minerals are important to our body.

Good Vitamin-mineral Supplements

Cheraskin wrote in his paper, “In some studies the “ideal intake appeared to be two to tenfold that of the FDA recommended or suggested dietary allowances.” He gave suggestions for the amounts of vitamins and minerals the body needs. This paper was written years ago, and the amounts may have changed up or down, so I didn’t include them. I believe we still need these vitamins and minerals.

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E (d alpha tocopherol)
• Vitamin C
• Bioflavonoid complex
• Rutin
• Hesperidin complex
• Folic acid
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Niacin
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Biotin
• Choline
• Inositol
• Pantothenic acid
• PABA
• Calcium
• Phosphorus
• Magnesium
• Zinc
• Potassium
• Iodine
• Iron
• Copper
• Manganese
• Selenium
• Chromium
• Molybdenum

A multivitamin-mineral supplement that contains the above will help insure optimum health. It’s best to take supplements before or during each meal, preferably at least twice a day. Additional supplementation may be necessary according to an individual’s needs.

Action

For optimum health, we need to supplement our nutrient dense diet with multi-vitamin/mineral supplements.

References:

https://www.science.edu/CheraskinPaper/CheraskinPaper.pdf

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. What experience do you have with this?