Using foods as medicine is always my first priority when preventing imbalances, treating health challenges and promoting optimal health & vitality. Nature has provided us with a way of delivering our body’s nutritional requirements through the blessing of whole foods.
Optimal nutrition is crucial for growth, development, detoxing and maintaining the multiple functions your body performs day in, day out. Whether you’re nurturing yourself through a pregnancy, providing growth support for your children, aiming to increase physical performance, striving for bounding energy, working towards improved mental health and concentration or supporting your hormone health, setting yourself nutritional goals can play an important role.
To help you to use food as your medicine and incorporate a varied array of nutrients into your daily diet, refer to my list of vitamins found in health giving (grain free) foods, below.
VITAMIN FOOD SOURCES
VITAMIN A
Retinol sources
Fish liver oils (cod, salmon and halibut), liver (veal, lamb, beef and chicken), egg yolk, butter, hard and cream cheese (retinol)
Carotenoid sources, such as beta-carotene
Apricots, barley grass, broccoli, capsicums, carrots, green leafy vegetables, kohlrabi, mangoes, mint, rockmelon, papaya, peaches, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato, tomatoes
VITAMIN B1 (THIAMINE)
Asparagus, beef, brewers yeast, lamb, legumes, liver, nuts, pork, spirulina
VITAMIN B2 (RIBOFLAVIN)
Almonds, asparagus, avocados, barley grass, beans, brewers yeast, broccoli, currants, eggs, offal, raw milk and dairy products, sprouts
VITAMIN B3 (NIACIN)
Almonds, beef, brewers yeast, chicken, eggs, fish, halibut, legumes, mackerel, meat, peanuts, salmon (wild caught), sardines, sunflower seeds
VITAMIN B5 (PANTOTHENIC ACID)
Avocado, brewers yeast, beans, brains, blue vein cheese, crayfish, egg yolk, green vegetables, heart, kidney, lentils, liver, mushrooms, oranges, peas, raw milk, royal jelly, sweet potatoes
VITAMIN B6 (PYRIDOXINE)
Avocado, bananas, brewers yeast, carrot, chicken, egg yolk, ham, legumes, lentils, mackerel, offal, peanuts, salmon (wild caught), tuna, sunflower seeds, walnuts
VITAMIN B12 (CYANOCOBALAMIN)
Brain, clams, egg yolks, herring, kidney, liver, meat, raw milk, oysters, salmon (wild caught), sardines, swiss cheese
BIOTIN
Bean sprouts, brewers yeast, butter, cashews, egg yolk, kidney, liver, raw milk, peanuts,
Note: B12 and Biotin are produced from your beneficial bacteria in your gut. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut will support this production.
CHOLINE
Beans, egg yolk, lecithin, lentils, liver (beef, chicken), raw milk, peanuts, split peas, spinach
FOLATE
Beans, eggs, endive, green leafy vegetables, lentils, liver, offal, sprouts, brewers yeast
VITAMIN C
Aloe vera juice, blackcurrants, broccoli, brussels sprouts, capsicums, citrus fruits, guava, parsley, paw paw, pineapple, potatoes, sauerkraut, rosehips, strawberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes
VITAMIN D
Pickled herring, sardines, calamari, cheese, raw milk, egg yolks, butter
Note: Sunshine is is by far the best source of vitamin D for you, as it is produced by the action of direct sun to skin contact. You would need to eat a whopping 1 kg of butter per day, to get the equivalent of around 1 hour of daily midday sunshine!
VITAMIN E
Almonds, apricot oil, beef, egg yolk, hazelnuts, sesame seeds & tahini
VITAMIN K
Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, camembert cheese eggs, kale, kelp seaweed, lettuce, liver, pork, fermented soy (natto), liver (beef), spinach
Note: Just as B12 and Biotin, vitamin K is produced by your very own good gut bacteria. Enjoy your fermented foods to help support your vitamin K levels.
VITAMINS FOR HEALTH
It’s not just your greens you need to concentrate on including for a nutritious diet. Eat yourself a rainbow and gain the multitude of health benefits by supplying nourishing vitamins into your daily diet.
Minerals are just as important for your health. Read about mineral rich foods here.
References
For this post, I referred to Henry Osiecki’s The Nutrient Bible, 8th edition & Phyllis A. Balch’s Prescription For Nutritional Healing, 4th edition.