With the release of the new dietary guidelines, in the form of
the new food pyramid, I still find that many people don't
actually understand what nutrition actually means. Because of
this, dietary choices can seem overwhelming. Even greater
confusion can be generated by prime time news specials which
only strive to educate through clever sound-bites and diet fads
which lead some to believe that all of their answers are found
in one single "magic food." So what is nutrition and how can you
understand it in a way that helps you apply it to your life and
to the benefit of those you know and love? Here's an analogy I
have found helpful in teaching those who attend my free Sunday
Night Wellness Call.

Your body functions in a manner similar to a car assembly plant.
At that plant, a steady stream of new parts, the correct parts
and parts in the right ratios to each other are absolutely
necessary in order to keep that plant open for business and
running smoothly. 

What would happen if someone in purchasing forgot to provide
that plant with steering wheels? The cars would be almost
functional. But because of a single part deficiency, that car
would not be able to carry out its intended function.

If this only happened to a few cars, it probably wouldn't be a
big deal. You wouldn't see any symptoms of a parts deficiency.
But what if that plant had no steering wheels for an entire
month? How about year? First the plant would probably close, the
community would fail. Good people would move away and the "bad
elements" would most likely take over the town. The lack of
balanced parts would eventually lead to dire conditions.

What happens when the cells of your body are missing parts? 

You eat to provide your cells with nourishment. It's not just
about calories. That nourishment is the collection of parts
every cell in your body needs to function properly. You provide
your cells with parts and those parts are assembled according to
instructions in your DNA to create a variety of finished
products. That could include new cells, of which there are many
kinds, anti bodies to fight disease, neurotransmitters to carry
signals between nerves, and hormones to regulate your body. 

So again, there are beneficial raw materials in foods, which our
bodies use, and need, to carry out vital cellular functions. 

These functions keep us alive. 

These functions combat disease. 

These functions allow us to heal. 

These functions allow our cells to build new cells and all of
the other finished materials that are necessary for normal life
and optimal health.

And these raw materials are called nutrients.

We eat to give our body access to nutrients.

Sadly, our food does not contain the nutrients it once had in
abundance, so it is necessary to supplement a good diet with
quality nutritional supplementation to ensure that our cells do
not suffer from a parts deficiency. We should still strive to
have a good diet, from as many whole foods as possible, with
supplementation being a means to supplement, not substitute, the
benefits of a good diet.

Dave Saunders