Thinking you or your kids are getting your daily calcium intake with your fat- free Greek yogurt? Think again! Theoretically you could be getting ZERO calcium. Why is this?
Your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. Vitamin D is a fat soluable vitamin, meaning it needs fat to be used by your body. So if you are eating fat-free yogurt, the vitamin D is not being carried to your body and thus calcium does not have the vitamin D partner it needs. You lose on both accounts.
Our body was meant to eat foods in their whole form. When a food is intact all of the correct vitamins, minerals etc. are balanced and bound to their corresponding nutrients. Start taking out the fat on dairy and you just changed the food. Any low or no fat milk product is “fortified” with vitamins A and D. This is because when you remove the fat, the fat soluble vitamins leave with the fat. Whenever you see the word “fortified” it means that the processing of the food took out the natural vitamins and minerals so they had to be synthetically added back in.
The biggest misconception with packaged food is that the labels is fact. I used to think that if it said calcium then I must be getting it. What I have now learned is that while the labels on packaged food do indicate what is in that particular food, the labels don’t mean anything regarding if your body will actually absorb or digest it.
Why do vitamins matter? Our brain only functions due to chemical reactions fueled by vitamins and minerals. Change the diet change the behavior.
When we think that there is something wrong with kids and their attitude (and ours for that matter too!) the truth is poor brain function or behavior is often a result of nutrient deficiencies or reactions to preservatives, dyes etc.
There are 1,000’s of doctors who treat behavior/attention deficit/depression/memory/brain fog etc. with foods, particularily the intake of Omega 3’s and highly nutrient dense food.
I challenge you to eat at home for 1 week and add some healthy fats back into your diet. I guarantee you will see positive results!
When I talk about eating healthy fats, I mean fats that are naturally found in nuts, seeds, milk, fish, meat, olives, coconut oil etc.
Many people get confused about what is good and what is bad fats. To make it simple ask yourself.
A Is the fat naturally in this food (like the walnuts pictured above.)
B. Is the fat in its natural state? (hint trans fats are not in their natural state).
So go ahead – indulge in the full fat yogurt. It will taste amazing and you and your kids will be smarter for it. Literally.
To you health,
Summer Joy
P.S. If you wish to learn more about the food-brain-behavior connection sign up for my newsletter or schedule a FREE health history.
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