Joe’s Journal: Day 44 – The Facts on Micro, Macro & Phyto
By Joe Cross
After fueling my body with only fruits and vegetables for the past 43 days it’s hard to believe that the average American only eats 2.5 servings of fruits and vegetables combined each day. Can you believe it? I unfortunately can because I was definitely one of those people! And I’d count an order of french fries as my veggie for the day.
No wonder painful, chronic conditions are so prominent. If more people start to adopt a plant-based, micronutrient-rich diet their symptoms have the potential to be alleviated.
Food breaks down into two different categories…mirconutrient and macronutrient. Both groups work together to keep our bodies running smoothly; without the right balance of micronutrients, all the protein in the world won’t allow us to build muscle effectively. Macronutrients are elements like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that we need but should not consume in excess.
Micronutrients include all vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients, which comprise the plant’s immune system have properties that can defend our bodies against the toxic environments we live in. Phytonutrients and micronutrients are found in all plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, spices, herbs and teas. To date there are thousands of micronutrient phytonutrients that have been identified in plants, such as carotenes, antioxidants, and flavanoids. Often we hear that the vitamin C in an orange is responsbilde for its immune-boosting properties, but there are actually over 170 know phytonutrients in just one orange!
If that doesn’t make you want to eat more fruits and veggies then I don’t know what will!
Have you been following my past journal entries? Make sure you catch up here. I’m sharing these thoughts with you as part of the 2nd Anniversary celebration of Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead so I hope you are either able to relate or be inspired by my journal entries.