A little background. My eating plan has evolved little by little over several years now to the the point that it looks like a modified Plant Paradox plan. I like the plant paradox concepts but I removed anything processed or that comes in a box allowing for flax seed Nut Thins (because there is just nothing I like better with my sardines) and the occasional ice cream. Even though red wine is allowable on the PP plan, I find that it makes me feel terrible but port and rum do not. So be it.
The critical thing has been to focus on foods that I personally enjoy eating, make me feel energetic, keep my mood even and support my athletic endeavors.
But with any eating plan comes the danger that you might be missing out on specific nutrients. I wanted to know if my current vitamins where the right answer or if maybe I could find a single vitamin that would do the trick. So in full autistic OCD style, I did a FULL nutritional analysis of everything I eat. Here is what I found..
I had very small deficiencies of only a few things:
Vitamin E – 1 mg per day
Niacin – 2 mg per day
Zinc – 4 mg per day
Vitamin D – 1 mcg per day (equivalent to 40 IU)
Calcium – 60 mg per day
Sodium – 681 mg per day – OK that one is not small, I have started salting my breakfast
Other than the sodium, the other deficiencies are small. I was able to find a really nice vitamin supplement that would cover this all nicely in one pill per day with breakfast.
As I compared my previous vitamins to others that I found on amazon and other places, I was amazed at the differences. You cannot assume that any random multivitamin will have what you need. What I learned from this exercise is that you need to be aware of what what you are getting and what you need to supplement; and you need to examine your supplements in detail. Not all have iron, not all have enough magnesium or iodine or other critical vitamins and minerals. Caveat Emptor!
For your enjoyment, I have attached the insanity that is just tab one of my my nutritional spreadsheet. I am not saying you need to go as in depth as I did BUT this was an eye opener and it certainly would not hurt. If you want to see what I am eating, there is more detail here than you can possibly want.
The best result from this analysis is this: my plate is no longer a place of restriction. My plate is a competition – foods have compete to earn a place on my plate and my body is thanking me for this new mindset.
How would your meals change if food had to compete to be part of your food plan?
