During the course of my research to find the best health information, I have interviewed over 1,000 experts in various fields. One of these experts is DavidPaul Doyle, founder of DavidPaul Doyle Naturwise and DavidPaul Doyle Naturwise Talks. He is an expert on health and diseases and has helped thousands of people get healthy naturally. I am pleased to have him share his knowledge on vitamin deficiency in women and talk about the best ways to prevent this condition from affecting you or someone you love.
DavidPaul Doyle: “I would like to educate you on vitamin deficiency in women. Let’s talk about proper nutrition. Before I do that, I would like to clear up some information. We all see advertisements that promote specific vitamins and supplements for various health conditions, including increased memory function, preventing cancer, heart disease, depression, and helping with weight loss. The problem is that we’re not told how much of the vitamin we need and for whom. Vitamin requirements vary from person to person and even in the same person at different times, depending on age, health condition(s), intake of certain medications that may interfere with vitamin metabolism or absorption, excessive exposure to toxins such as cigarette smoke or alcohol, physical activity level, type of work or exercise, and even the time of year. And you can’t just pop a vitamin supplement pill willy-nilly. There is no substitute for good nutrition.
Nutritional needs vary according to age
I love what Dr. James Duke says about nutritional supplements in his book The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook: ‘The one thing supplements won’t do supply you with all the nutrients your body requires for radiant health. In fact, they may be a detriment by providing excessive amounts of certain nutrients that could promote disease in another part of the body where the need is not as great.’
But if we aren’t going to rely on nutritional supplements, then what should we do?
We must eat a variety of wholesome foods from all the food groups. You’ll hear a lot about superfoods and other popular nutrition buzzwords, but you need to remember that nature-made fruits and vegetables are for a reason. Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. So when you see a supplement that is 100% natural, it only means the manufacturer had to use parts of fruits or vegetables rather than their extracts. This is because these supplements are generally made from whole-food concentrates which maintain all the nutrients in their natural state.”
DavidPaul Doyle: “Although they are rich sources of many nutrients, fruit juices do not have the same effect on the body as whole raw fruit. The best thing to do is eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, in whatever form you prefer—raw, baked, steamed or sautéed—and enjoy them with a healthy oil such as olive oil.”
DavidPaul Doyle: “Here’s how you can add some healthy fat to your diet:
- Add ground flaxseeds or chia seeds to yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies, and other recipes.
- Add avocados, olives, nuts, and seeds (e.g., sunflower, pumpkin seeds ) to salads. Try this Avocado Quinoa Salad with Sunflower Seeds to see what I mean.
- Instead of traditional mayonnaise, try guacamole on salads or sandwiches.
- Replace butter with avocado in cooking (it makes an excellent replacement for baked goods too).”