These days there’s a supplement or pill for everything.

And each 'miracle' product usually comes with with a long list of promises about how it will help keep you much healthier than if you just get your nutrients from food.

Most of these are FALSE claims.

And whilst supplements may seem convenient, it's important to realise that nothing from a whole, living food can ever be "fragmented" into a pill or capsule that's beneficial to your health. 

Read on to learn why....

A Bit Of Background

The basic marketing spin of the supplement industry comes down to this.

In the not so distant past, in the USA, 'senate document 138' claimed that, all of the rains came and washed all of the minerals in the dirt to the ditches in the creeks and rivers that flowed into the sea, and now the only 'good' dirt on earth is on the bottom of the ocean floor.

The premise was this...

Dirt is now empty and devoid of the nutrients that fruits, vegetables (plants) need to grow up and be healthy, and therefore the only way to get nutrition is to "supplement"

From here, the revolution of mass marketing, 'BS' campaigns about a lack of nutrition in plant food (in order to promote the supplement industry) began in earnest.

This paved the way to introduce something that had never been pushed before in the history of the world - pills and capsules for nutrition!

And today, there are thousands to choose from.

And each one of them is claimed to be more unique, more potent, more exotic, easier to assimilate, sourced and prepared with greater care and quality, approved by 'Dr. so and so', with 'scientific proof' and testimonials galore to back up their efficacies. I have debated this publicly for decades.

Problem is they don't realise that the vast majority of scientific studies are funded and put out by billion-dollar companies with an agenda to bring a product to market.

The Truth & Reality

Firstly, plants don’t even eat dirt.

If that was the case, the forest and growing fields would fall in a hole!Microbes and worms EAT dirt and excrete what is called, 'castings'...which provide an electric signal to the roots of plants that helps them to activate and grow. Then, using sunlight, water and salt, plants photosynthesise to come out of the earth and become what they're meant to be.

This means, forget about the dirt.

Whilst it's true that different soils assist the growth of different plants, if you plant a carrot seed, apple seed or a tomato seed and it grows up and becomes a carrot, apple or tomato, they got everything they needed.

And they're not deficient.

Of course, there is another discussion that comes into play here about externally applied pesticides and herbicides that are used to repel insects and pests from crops versus organically farmed foods, but this is a separate conversation.

Please just don't be confused by all of the misinformation out there making you believe that either you or the whole food you eat lacks nutrition, so that you need to go get it from an isolated, extracted, devoid of life-force vitamin.

Always remember that, nature is complex so that we don’t have to be. All you need to do is support your body with the 7 principles of health, which includes embracing an abundance of locally grown, plant whole foods...and health and longevity will be the natural result.

A plant-based diet has every nutrient you could need and more, making it easy to avoid supplements—as long as you know how to eat. The following five steps show how to eat in order to get everything you need from your food, and to ensure you’re eating a wide variety of food sources, especially if you’re new to the plant-based lifestyle.

Top Foods to Eat (And Avoid)

With these tips, you’ll be eating a nourishing diet that can not only help you avoid expensive, useless supplements, but also help remedy a number of conditions and symptoms from inflammation to weight management and more.

Healthy food has never been more available or widely accessible, so learning what to eat and what to avoid is all you need in this day and age for natural nutrition that renders supplements obsolete.

1. Fruits & Vegetables

A huge part of a plant-based diet is fresh fruits and vegetables, ideally sourced from your local area since they're grown in the same temperate zone where you live.

Your cells recognise and benefit greatly from the nutrients contained in these locally sourced foods.

Fruits and Vegetables should make up at least half of your plate when you’re following a plant-based diet because they're the major sources of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients (anti-oxidants) and fibres which all have an electrical frequency that your body can identify with.

These foods can even help to detoxify overwhelm in your body and stave off illnesses and diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and more.

Each fruit and vegetable is chock full of crucial vitamins and minerals that help your body function optimally, and they’re also a great source of dietary fibre which is important for a healthy gut and digestive process. They’re low in calories and fat, which helps you maintain a healthy weight, and they help keep you full longer.

Try to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day and aim for a wide variety of fruits and vegetables; if you eat seasonally, you’ll easily introduce variety and balance into your diet while also saving money on produce.

Tip: If you're looking for ultra convenience our RA-W Juice Powders and Pulse Raw Food make it easy to consume more fruits in your diet, especially if you’re always on the go.

Learn more: Why You Should Eat More “Hydrating” Fruits & Drink Their Juices.

2. Beans & Legumes

Another staple in a plant-based diet are beans and legumes.

These protein and fibre powerhouses are so important in your diet because they can replace meat in your diet, while also providing you with minerals like potassium, folate, iron and magnesium. In fact, there’s one of the biggest reasons why you don’t need supplements in your diet.

They’re typically low in fat, have no cholesterol, and are incredibly satisfying if you know how to cook them well. They can easily be mixed together, substituted for one another, and work in a wide variety of recipes.

Some of the best beans and legumes to include in your diet are chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, soybeans, pinto beans, navy beans and peanuts (which aren’t actually a nut, but a legume).

To use more beans and legumes in your diet, try incorporating them into soups, stews and salads and/or use them as a  base for dips and spreads.

They also make great substitutes for the meat filling in anything from tacos to pasta sauces.

Learn more: Essential Plant-Based Foods For Balanced Nutrition.

3. Nuts & Seeds

Not only are nuts and seeds delicious and satisfying, but they’re also part of a healthy, balanced diet.

They’re bursting with the healthy fats your body needs (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats), while being low in unhealthy fats and cholesterol. They have protein, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and have a satisfying taste and texture that you might not necessarily associate with healthy food.

Nuts and seeds are a great source of energy, and make the perfect on-the-go healthy snacks so that you can resist unhealthier, convenient snacks.

Try to incorporate one serving of nuts or seeds a day (which is roughly 30 almonds, 15 pecans, or 20 hazelnuts as an example), but avoid salted or flavoured varieties. Some of the healthiest nuts and seeds include almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, pecans, chia seeds, sesame seeds, and flaxseed.

Learn more: 7 Healthy Benefits Of Eating Raw Nuts

Try our Cornucopia Epicurean Snack for a blend of nuts, seeds, and dry-roasted corn kernels for a delicious snack you can take anywhere.

4. Whole Grains

To maintain good, balanced nutrition, you want to include whole grains in your diet.

This isn’t to say you should be eating more carbs necessarily; whole grains are the seeds of cereals and include the three main components of a grain (bran, endosperm and germ) in their entirety. Refined grains have been processed and have had the germ and bran removed, making them not as healthy and nutritious as whole grains.

Whole grains are especially important because they provide fibre, vitamins, minerals, protein, and even plant compounds that can help prevent disease. Whole grains help prevent various diseases and illnesses, while also reducing inflammation and helping to promote a healthy digestive process.

You can easily start adding more whole grains to your diet simply by replacing the refined grains you currently eat; for example, swapping out your white pasta with whole grain pasta, and the same for bread and cereal.

You probably won’t notice much difference in taste, and your health (and waistline) will thank you for it. Pulse Sacred Meal harnesses the power of whole grains to provide you a nourishing, complete meal that can be eaten anywhere and anytime.

Learn more: 5 Healthy “Super” Grains & How Best to Prepare Them.

5. Foods To Avoid

Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet that gives you the nutrients you need naturally isn’t just about what you eat, but what you cut out as well. This can be one of the most challenging parts, since it’s much easier to incorporate healthier foods into your diet than to stop eating unhealthy foods that cause chaos and inflammation in the body.

In order to ensure you’re getting enough of the nutrients you need from your food, you should avoid eating unhealthy foods as much as possible so that your body is getting the most nutrients from each and every meal.  

Foods to avoid include:

- Fried fatty foods, particularly those made using hydrogenated oils

- Refined carbs like white rice, white flour, white pasta

- Processed or refined sugar and grains

- Packaged foods that include a combination of the above e.g. cookies, cakes and biscuits and big brand breakfast cereals that use genetically modified wheat and corn as a base.

Work towards the 80/20 rule as much as you can and you won't need expensive supplements.

Aim to make 80% of your diet fresh fruits, vegetables, salads, juices, steamed veggies etc. and you'll be getting everything you need.

The Takeaway

Nature's table has everything you need to support and maintain your health.

Don't fall into the trap of believing that you need to buy expensive supplements as an insurance policy to keep you healthy.

Simply concentrate on adding more raw plant foods into your diet every day - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seed and whole grains - and you'll have it done.

Go to your local Farmer's Markets whenever you can and you'll start to appreciate the abundance of colour, freshness and variety available to you.  Do this often and you'll soon find shopping at big supermarkets, with their overwhelming maze of disease-causing, food-less foods and life-less drinks less appealing.

Find more healthy foods and ways to live a balanced lifestyle in our store.

Learn more: Top 7 Reasons To Embrace A Plant-Based Diet & How To Do It

Tolman Self Care.