naturalnews.com printable article

Originally published May 7 2013

Strategies for optimal nutrient absorption

by Ben Hirshberg

(NaturalNews) Nutrient absorption is a very important health topic that gets very little attention. The amount of available nutrients in a food is important as well, but not particularly helpful if those nutrients do not get absorbed and therefore used by the body. There are a few things that you can do to increase nutrient absorption and make the most of the available nutrients in your food.

Eating in a peaceful environment

In one study, participants consumed a drink containing minerals in a peaceful environment. In this setting, they completely absorbed the minerals. However, when the participants consumed the same drink with a person talking in each of their ears, they absorbed none of the minerals. So the lesson here is to eat in a comfortable environment in order to fully absorb the nutrients in each meal.

Eating enjoyable food

In another study, there were two groups of people consuming a traditional Thai meal: a group of Thai women and a group of Swedish women. The Thai women enjoyed the meal while the Swedish women did not, and the Thai women absorbed twice as much of some nutrients as the Swedes. But when the traditional Thai meal was blended into an unrecognizable mush, the Thai women's nutrient absorption decreased by as much as 70 percent. The takeaway from this study is that nutrient absorption is best when the meal is enjoyable.

Eating healthy fats with meals

A study on the relationship between dietary fat and nutrient absorption examined what happened to nutrient absorption when avocado was added to otherwise fat-free food. When the fat source of avocados was added to a salad, ten times more carotenoids were absorbed by study participants. And when avocados were added to salsas, study participants absorbed four times more lycopene than when the salsa was fat-free. Fat allows more nutrients to be absorbed because many nutrients are fat soluble, meaning that they are only absorbed by the body when dietary fat is present.

Eating meals that appeal to the taste buds, in a peaceful environment, and having fat with the meal are three of the best ways to ensure that most of the nutrients in your food are absorbed by your body.

Sources for this article include

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3582919

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/30/4/539.abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15735074

About the author:
Ben Hirshberg is a young author, health consultant, and entrepreneur from Seattle. He has a Personal Training certification from WITS and a Fitness Nutrition Specialist certification from NASM. His main topics of interest are positive psychology, behavioral psychology, personal finance, entrepreneurship, nutrition, and anything else health related. Ben likes to cook, meditate, read, party, and go trail running.

Go to www.BenHirshberg.com to download The Eudaimonia Manifesto for FREE.

You can also find his books on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1F0si1z


Ben Hirshberg is a young author, health consultant, and entrepreneur from Seattle. He has a Personal Training certification from WITS and a Fitness Nutrition Specialist certification from NASM. His main topics of interest are positive psychology, behavioral psychology, personal finance, entrepreneurship, nutrition, and anything else health related. Ben likes to cook, meditate, read, party, and go trail running. Go to www.BenHirshberg.com to download The Eudaimonia Manifesto for FREE. You can also find his books on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1F0si1z



All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml