Nourishing Foods For Dummies: Part One

I've mentioned "nourishing" and "nutrient dense" foods a lot here lately. But after talking with someone today, I realized the term doesn't really mean squat to most folks. I mean, the obvious question that comes to mind is "aren't all healthy foods nourishing and nutrient dense?" Well, it depends.

First of all, how do you define healthy foods? As you may have noticed, I'm not a fan of low-fat, diet foods. But turn on the TV, open a magazine, stroll through a bookstore and you'll see I'm in the minority. Others define healthy as eschewing animal products entirely...whereas I must respectfully disagree.

According to an online dictionary, the word nourishing literally means promoting or sustaining life, growth, or strength. And nutrient dense is simply a fancy way of saying the food you are putting into your mouth is in its most nutritious form. So when I say "nourishing" and "nutrient dense" foods, I'm talking about foods that are in the most nutritious state possible and good for your body, mind, soul, and tastebuds. I would also argue that these foods are good for the planet.

Let me give you some basic examples.

Salt
Let's talk about salt. Yes salt. Boring, white, available at the drop of a hat (although it used to be a highly prized spice back in the day). Salt is necessary for human life...without it, we would die. Most of us who currently use salt today, probably use the kind that comes in a cylinder-shaped box with a pouring spout. Maybe some of you home chefs use the fancier "kosher" salt. Fact is, most salts are heavily refined. And as with its look-alike cousin refined sugar, refined salt is completely stripped of its nutrients/minerals. Bleach-white in color and dry as a bone, refined salt contains anti-caking chemicals (not good) and added iodine (to make up for the loss of iodine during the refining process). It is processed at high temperatures, altering its basic molecular structure (uh-oh) and removing trace minerals (double uh-oh).

Up until 50 years or so ago, salts were unrefined. And then someone realized refined salt was a lot more profitable because unlike unrefined salt, it didn't clump in the presence of moisture -- so grocers could stock it longer on the shelves and homeowners/restaurants loved that it seemed to last forever. Plus, it was prettier looking than the dirty gray unrefined stuff.

Unrefined salt (sea salt) is 84% sodium chloride and 16% other minerals. Refined salt is 97.5% sodium chloride and approximately 2.5% chemical additives. Unrefined sea salt is a naturally occurring complex of sodium chloride, major minerals such as calcium and magnesium, and a complete complement of essential trace minerals. This is the form of salt the body recognizes and is designed to use. Refined salts, on the other hand, have been linked to hypothyroidism and an inability to regulate hydration (which, let's face it, is precisely what salts are SUPPOSED TO DO). Oh, and BTW, most unrefined salts are harvested sustainably by folks who have been working with salt for generations. Refined salts are created in factories.

The verdict? Refined salts are most certainly NOT nutrient-dense, nor are they nourishing. Avoid them. Instead, try to get your hands on Celtic sea salt, Himalayan salt, or even the new kid on the block, Hawaiian salt. They taste better and they are better for your body. And for more detailed salt info, take a peek here.

Flour
Reading this will give you a severe case of deja vu...especially after reading the previous paragraph and if you've also read my earlier post on sugar.

Flour, like salt and sugar, is another food that for whatever reason, didn't seem to cut it in its natural state. Wheat flour uses all three parts of the wheat grain (endosperm, bran, and germ) whereas white flour only uses the starchy endosperm. When the bran and germ are removed from the wheat grain, over 80% of the fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants are also removed, so much that the government requires five of the 30 nutrients removed to be added back in, producing what we know as enriched or fortified flour. The synthetic nutrients sprayed on the final product are much weaker than the real nutrients and only add a fraction of what is supposed to be there. Therefore, white flour is nutritionally useless and the body treats it like sugar (it literally cannot tell the difference between a spoon of white flour and a spoon of sugar) and you know that's not a good thing. Then early in the 20th century, someone got the bright idea to bleach white flour because it just wasn't pretty enough. Mmmm...chemicals.

So clearly white flour is neither nourishing nor nutrient dense. But what about whole wheat flour? According to The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, swapping whole wheat flour for white cuts a person’s heart disease risk by 20%. But wait folks, there's more! Because while whole wheat is definitely better than white, it can still be improved upon. Enter sprouted flour.

Sprouted flour is exactly what it sounds like, flour made from wheatberries that have been allowed to sprout and dry prior to grinding. Why bother? Let me sum it up here: your body treats regular flour like a carbohydrate...your body treats sprouted flour like a vegetable. Sounds good? Sprouting breaks down the starches so your body can digest it better, it increases vitamins B and C, carotene, enzymes, and reduces anti-nutrients (it neutralizes enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid, which is a substance present in the bran of all grains that inhibits absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc). Many people buy dehydrators and grinders and sprout, dry, and grind their own flours in the privacy of their homes. I'm not there yet...so I get mine here. (For the record, hardcore sprouting fans will tell you the nutrients begin to fade rapidly so it's best to make it at home in small batches. That's well and fine but I'm ok to purchase mine elsewhere for now).

Oh, PS, sprouted flour would definitely qualify as nourishing and nutrient dense.

I'm going to continue this over the next several days because I realized there are more than a handful of examples I'd like to share with you...stay tuned.