‘When Eating This, Eat That Too’

Food Pairings On Purpose

Coconut and pineapple, strawberry and rhubarb, peanut butter and jam, salt and vinegar or cinnamon and brown sugar.

Some flavours are just meant to be together.

While flavour is what is most thought of when pairing foods other factors, such as pharmaceutical contraindications, best vitamin uptake combination or the possibility of too much of one nutrient from once source are important considerations to keep in mind.

Most people are told or know that when taking a particular medication they are advised to avoid x, y or z for the risk factors that a, b or c could occur.

But what about for the rest of us? How do we know what we should be taking or eating along side a food or supplement to ensure wer’re doing our bodies maximum good?

Oh, here is it first…

****DISCLAIMER: I’m not givng advice…only sharing what I do and I am not a health professional so always consult with one first before trying anything new etc.***

There are endless suggestions and combos out there and you’ll have to research them for your self more, however, I will share some of my favourite food choices for certain vitamins I choose to take.

If you don’t know then you should…vitamins C & D, Zinc and Iodine are reeeeaaalllyyyyy important to take…especially in the times we are in currently.

Here are some interesting facts about each one and ways they jive together with other things:

• Vitamin C: “Drinking a small glass of 100% fruit juice or including a vitamin-C-rich food with meals can help boost iron absorption. Vitamin C can be destroyed by heat and light.”- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-c/
• Vitamin D: “Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it does not dissolve in water and is absorbed best in your bloodstream when paired with high-fat foods. For this reason, it’s recommended to take vitamin D supplements with a meal to enhance absorption” -https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-time-to-take-vitamin-d
• Zinc: “Your body absorbs 20–40% of the zinc present in food. Zinc from animal foods like red meat, fish, and poultry is more readily absorbed by the body than zinc from plant foods. Zinc is best absorbed when taken with a meal that contains protein.”- https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/zinc

Supplementing with zinc can cause a copper deficiency. Now this one is my favourite for a reason. Dark chocolate contains decent amounts of copper and so I eat a bit of 90% dark chocolate in a day to go with the zinc tablet I take in the morning. Winning.

While there are endless research papers on too much of this or too little of that, it’s still important to know a few basics of each one. Here is one article to get you started:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/zinc-overdose-symptoms#TOC_TITLE_HDR_5

• Iodine: Many people know we need iodine and know it’s used topically for surgeries and stuff but some don’t know they can (I do) take it orally. I take one small drop every day. Iodine is necessary and good for your thyroid.

As a side note, here’s a blurb of iodine deficiency symptoms to be aware of: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/iodine-deficiency-symptoms

Now as I look at my Horstings Farm cinnamon bun that isn’t topped with cream cheese icing, to pair it ‘properly’ as it should be… I’m going to go ahead and make some.

Happy pairing,

-Becky