I just can’t understand it.  I was at my local natural foods store the other day, picking up some kale, some brown rice, and a few different types of beans and grains.  I wandered away from the food section, and found myself face to face with shelves upon shelves of supplements, pills and assorted potions.  They were selling: vitamins  in every letter of the alphabet; extracts of herbs and “superfoods;” enzymes and coenzymes; chlorophyll; protein powders and meal replacements; “detox kits” and “cleanses”. . . the list goes on and on.  And you know what?  People were grabbing this stuff up like there was no tomorrow!  What gives?  I like to call it the microscope approach to health, and it just doesn’t make sense.

I don’t believe there is any logic in focusing in on microscopic-sized things in an attempt to achieve and maintain the rather large goal of overall health. For example, people who eat a diet that is loaded with processed, packaged junk food and then pop supplements of “superfoods” for their supposed antioxidant power.    Or what about people who smoke and don’t exercise, but spend 24 hours every six months or so downing a “detox” potion to “flush the toxins” from their bodies!   Is it just me, or is there something here that just doesn’t add up?

Whatever your current state of health, you have achieved it by accumulating years of specific behaviours and practices, and by eating and drinking countless foods and beverages every day.  It is silly to expect that you can undo or reverse the effects of all those things by simply popping a pill or “flushing” your system once in a while.

Here’s the bad news:   There’s no magic bullet!

Science has advanced to the point where we are now able to describe in great detail the way molecules of anthocyanins from blueberries act in body cells. Researchers can tell you the pathways that coenzyme Q10 follows, or the many ways in which omega-3 fats play important roles in body tissues. However, there is one thing that still stands out loud and clear if you’re like me and you do read all the research.  There is no one single molecule, nutrient or “superfood”  that has the power to make you healthy all by itself, especially if you are doing and eating lots of other things that are unhealthy.

Now, here’s the good news:  There’s no magic bullet!

What we do know for sure is that it is the overall pattern of things you do and foods you eat every day that has the greatest impact on your general health.  You have to take a step back from the microscopic level, and look at your actions and your diet on a daily, even weekly level.  You need to take a “big picture” approach to your health!  What’s great about this is that it is much simpler than having to keep track of milligrams of this and doses of that.  If you focus on real food, and three simple words: balance, variety, and moderation, you can’t go far wrong!

The name “Rainbow plate” was chosen to reflect this philosophy.  Step back from your plate at every meal or snack and ask yourself:  ”does it look like a rainbow?”  Are there real, fresh foods on it?  Is there a variety of different foods and different colours?  If you take a big picture approach and consistently eat a rainbow of real foods, you are likely getting all those molecules in the pills on the store shelves.  As it happens, research has also confirmed that most of those molecules tend to have the greatest impact on our bodies when they come packaged in their original whole foods, rather than processed out into supplements, anyways.

Taking this approach also means that you don’t get all drastic and rule out whole categories of foods, like carbohydrates, for example.  Everything, even “junk” can fit into a healthy diet occasionally, as long as it is enjoyed in moderation, and it is balanced out with better food choices most of the time.

Remember, it’s the “big picture” that counts!