What is nutrient dense food?
There is a lot of talk about nutrient dense food recently and it is making people wonder what exactly that is. Some wonder if there is a list of nutrient dense foods. Is nutrient dense foods the secret to naturally vibrant health? These are great questions to ask and I will give you the answers I have found in my research.
What foods are nutrient dense?
I wondered what foods were nutrient dense for quite a while and the more I learned about it the more I found that it isn’t about the kind of food rather it was how the food was grown. It made sense when I learned that nutrient rich food could only be grown in nutrient rich soil. Many people have done years of research on the topic of soil health and my personal favorite is the discovery of a fellow by the name of Paul Gautschi. He simply uses the principals found in nature that were established by God our creator and lets the natural system God created do the work and the results have been the most amazing food that this earth can grow. The food He grows is more nutrient rich than anything I have ever seen. You can find out more about him at backtoedenfilm.com.
What about nutrient dense meat?
The growing of nutrient dense meat is where I find my passion. I enjoy watching animals thrive in the environment that God created them for. As with all food nutrient dense meat starts with the soil and the proper management of putting the animals in the right place at the right time to let them do what they do best. The expert and my mentor on this is Joel Salatin and he has done a great job of following the principals that God has established and also teaching others on how to follow them. You can find out more about Joel at polyfacefarms.com.
Organic doesn’t mean nutrient dense.
The term organic or all natural in our food world has taken on the idea that it is nutrient dense food and this actually has nothing to do with nutrients. The terms themselves aren’t bad and there are benefits to organic and all natural foods such as less exposure to chemicals and being genetically modified (GMO) however the nutrient content may not be any better than conventionaly produced food. You can grow organic certified food in poor soil (it doesn’t work well but can be done) and end up with nutrient deficient products.
It really does start with the dirt
We have been starting to realize this over the past few years and we have been making changes to the way we grow our food. I like to think that we are aiming for beyond organic results or perhaps say bio dynamic results in our finished products. It has shown up the most in the beef and chicken meat we raise. The difference is in nutrition which you can’t see per say but you know it is there because of the vibrant health of the animals and the flavor and texture (tenderness) of the meat.
Looking for nutrient rich food?
You can checkout our store for the products we raise and also see some sources we have found that offer nutrient dense foods. For more in depth research of nutrition a great resource is the Weston Price foundation. They are a non profit organization serving to educate people about true nutrition without the influence of government or big corporations.
Would you please leave a comment on your thoughts of nutrient rich food below.
Thank you and God bless!
Wow! There is so much information that I have never even heard of! I had NO idea about these things. Organic doesn’t mean nutrient dense, heck I didn’t even know what nutrient dense was. It absolutely makes sense the way you describe the difference though. Do you have any tables or charts on the effects of the different foods on focus groups? I would love to see how nutrient dense foods affect the human body compared to non-nutrient dense foods.
Glad you liked the post Beckie There is a lot of info on the nutrient density of food but it is relatively unheard of in the main stream corporate food world. If you are interested in the effects of nutrient dense foods compared to deficient foods all you have to do is look around and see the mass of health issues people are dealing with because most health issues are due to nutrient deficient food. If the food is void of nutrients so will we. Weston Price Foundation has done a lot of work to show how our food supply effects our health so check that out if you get a chance.
I hear a lot about nutrient dense foods and was wondering about it when I stumbled upon this post. Are these superfoods as well? It’s interesting that you included nutrient dense meat as well, as many health food blogs usually advise against eating meat, but I have always gone for balanced meal comprising meat/protein, veggies and mineral-rich foods. Thanks for sharing this information!
Glad you found us! I would aggree with you that we should be eating a ballanced diet with diversity. We were never meant to eat just one kind of food since different foods have different nutrients. Meats can be super foods especially if you eat the organ meats as they are the most nutrient dense parts of the animal. Glad you found the information helpful!