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We’ve all heard the old ‘aim for at least five serves of veggies each day’, but so many Australian adults struggle to meet their daily vegetable needs. Why do we need to eat our veggies? One of the most important reasons is their nutrient density, in particularly of micronutrients, antioxidants and polyphenols. Keeping this in mind, this means many of us aren’t meeting our daily nutrient needs, to keep our bodies functioning at their optimum.
Why do we want to boost nutrition intake?
Consuming adequate quantities of nutrients on a daily basis helps improve immunity, energy levels, and helps our bodies run as they need to. Meeting daily nutrient needs means that we will feel better on a daily basis, being able to perform better at work and in the gym, have more energy, and be less likely to get sick.
Firstly, if you’re concerned, it is best to check in with a health care professional as your first port of call, before starting to take any form of supplement. If your energy levels are low, you aren’t sleeping well, your notice changes to your skin or digestion, or anything else ‘isn’t quite right’, it may be worthwhile checking in with your dietitian or GP. Why not just take a supplement and see what happens you may ask? Some vitamins and minerals can cause problems or have side effects if taken in excess. Also, taking vitamins unnecessarily can simply be an extra expense! That said, if you do require a boost, then there are a number of great options on hand.
Whilst I am by no means suggesting that taking any supplement, or green powder can be a replacement for a healthy diet, as it is best to be meeting daily nutrition needs through foods. There are some great products on the market which can be used to supplement the diet, and boost daily nutrition intake. I am more likely to recommend these to people on certain elimination diets, where it may be harder to meet daily nutrition needs, people with elevated nutrition requirements (due to physical activity or illness), or those who struggle to get enough in, for example an individual with an eating disorder.
Using powders, such as Nutra Organics Super Greens + Reds powder can be a handy way to supplement your diet and add some extra nutrition in. It is important to remember that this isn’t an ‘instead of’, rather an ‘in addition to’ a healthy diet. Still aiming to get that minimum of 5 serves of veggies, 2 serves of fruit, along with the other food groups is still super important.
@wholesomehealthylife
What are some easy ways to add these into your diet?
- Morning smoothie
- Brownies or muffins
- Pancakes
- Protein balls
- Porridge
What’s my favourite way to add these in? Try this nutrient dense smoothie
Ingredients
- ½ banana
- ¼ cup berries
- 1 handful baby spinach
- 1 tsp cacao
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 1 cup coconut water or almond milk
Method
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Top with extra berries, banana, chia and cacao nibs if desired.