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Complete Foods: 3 Common Myths Debunked
A meal that gives you everything you need: complete meals are becoming more and more popular! But with innovations come questions: Are complete meals really that good?
This big question stems from smaller questions and we will answer them once and for all.
So sit back, relax and enjoy some knowledge while you sip your Plenny Shake . Ah, that brings us to the first question!
You need to chew your food… Right?
Chewing is a pretty essential part of eating – if you don’t chew before you swallow, you’ll choke. But you also have to chew properly – chunks of food are bad for digestion. Food will stay in your stomach longer, which can lead to bloating, gas, constipation, and loss of energy [1].
But what if you don't need to chew the nutrients... and you can drink them?
Because our Plenny Shake and Plenny Drink are liquid meals, the question arises as to whether or not you should still chew. First, let’s take a look at what chewing does to your body.
Digestion
Chewing is part of the digestion process. It breaks down large chunks of food into smaller pieces and increases saliva production to allow food to go down without irritating the esophagus. However, making food go down easily is not the only function of chewing: chewing triggers the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach (which aids digestion) [2], and the saliva produced contains an enzyme that helps digest starch.
Processes
Digestion is divided into two processes: mechanical digestion and chemical digestion. Chewing is part of mechanical digestion – breaking down larger pieces into smaller pieces. After you swallow your food (or should we say drink?), it travels down your esophagus into your stomach, where chemical digestion takes over. All of the nutrients in food, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, are broken down by enzymes into parts that are small enough to be absorbed by your body. Without chemical digestion, you could chew until your jaws hurt, but your body wouldn’t be able to absorb the nutrients, leading to malnutrition or vitamin deficiencies [3].
Liquid Foods
So, chewing releases saliva with enzymes to help with the digestion process, but since some of our foods are liquid and not solid, chewing isn't really necessary.
Fortunately, the stomach has all the enzymes you need to chemically digest our nutritionally complete meals and benefit from the 172 proven health benefits !
Just take a look at Lee's 6-month Plenny Shake diet and his blood test results.
Or check out this guy who has been living off of Plenny Shake for 3 years and counting . So far, so good!
And if you don't want to stop chewing, don't worry. We still have Plenny Bars and Plenny Pots .
The body does not absorb synthetic vitamins and minerals!
The second concern we often encounter is about synthetic vitamins and their usefulness. Synthetic vitamins are isolated nutrients that are artificially manufactured. Whole food supplements, such as our freeze-dried fruit, do not fall under the umbrella of synthetic nutrients. I'm glad to have that out of the way.
Vitamin Pills
Synthetic vitamins are usually found in pill form. You eat one of those a day to supplement your daily diet. Synthetic nutrients can offer benefits to all kinds of different people. For example, the elderly, who are at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency [5, 6]. Also vegans and vegetarians, who are frequently lacking vitamin B12 [7, 8], and other people who, for whatever reason, may suffer from nutrient deficiencies.
Too Much Of A Good Thing
The fact that synthetic vitamins are not absorbed by the body is simply not true. The body absorbs them just fine! However, they should be used with caution – certain vitamins can be harmful when taken in excess, such as vitamin A [9]. If you want to do it right, make sure you regularly get blood tests done to determine your body's vitamin and mineral composition before taking supplements.
Working Together
The reason whole food vitamins are generally recommended over synthetic ones is because most foods contain a mixture of many different vitamins rather than isolated vitamins, as is the case with single vitamin pills. The mixture of vitamins and minerals usually complement each other and work well together, making your body absorb and use them in the most optimal way possible [10]. For example: Vitamin C improves iron absorption [11].
All in One
If you are looking for a convenient meal with a balanced combination of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre, and making sure your body absorbs and uses them well, you might want to knock on our door. Jimmy Joy offers exactly that. The ingredients we use, such as oats and flaxseed, contain natural vitamins and minerals, and the rest of the vitamins are reinforced by our highly bioavailable vitamin and mineral blend.
In case you are curious about the exact bioavailability of the vitamins and minerals found in our products, we wrote this article for you.
Carbohydrates Are Bad For You!
Bread, potatoes, cookies, pasta… Mmm, yummy! But some people believe that carbs are bad for you and avoid carbs more than they avoid eye contact while eating a banana. So: how bad are carbs, really?
Carbohydrates
First, let's establish what carbohydrates are. Carbohydrates are macronutrients and, along with fats and proteins, make up a large part of our diet [12]. There are three different types of carbohydrates: sugar, starch, and fiber.
Sugar
Excessive sugar consumption can lead to health problems such as diabetes , obesity, and heart disease [13]. It can also lead to tooth decay [14]. Sugar is what we call a simple carbohydrate [15] – it is digested quickly and turns into a short burst of energy [15].
Starch
Starch is often found in foods that come from plants, such as vegetables, legumes, and grains. Most starches are broken down in the body by digestive enzymes, [16] which convert them into glucose. Your blood carries the glucose to your cells to use for energy. Starch is a complex carbohydrate, meaning it will release energy gradually and slowly.
Fiber
Fiber is also a complex carbohydrate, but the difference between fiber and starch is that digestive enzymes cannot digest fiber [15]. Fibers are great because they keep your digestive system healthy and help prevent constipation [17]. They can be found in cereals, fruits, vegetables [18], and of course Plenny foods – 100 grams of Plenny Shake contains over 8 grams of fiber!
Simple & Complex Carbohydrates
The difference between simple and complex carbs is that complex carbs take longer to digest and offer more energy over a longer period of time [16]. Let’s say you eat a sugar cube and a similarly sized cube of whole wheat bread; you would benefit more from the latter. Simple carbs have shorter chains of molecules than complex carbs [19]. Those chains of molecules are broken down and converted into glucose, which your body uses for energy. Shorter chains are broken down faster, so it’s no surprise that sugar is broken down and absorbed faster than starch or fiber.
Carbohydrates are your body's primary source of energy [20]. Sure, consuming tons of sugar every day isn't the best idea, but starchy carbs and fiber definitely have their benefits!
Fortunately, Plenny meals are packed with complex carbohydrates and fiber: oats, flaxseed, soy, tapioca starch, rice starch, and inulin provide a minimum of 5.9 grams of fiber per meal .
So whole foods are so good...?
In short: yes!
Chewing
Chewing is not exactly necessary when you are eating a liquid meal, as it still produces the enzymes to break down the food in the stomach.
Synthetic Vitamins
Synthetic vitamins are absorbed by the body, but unless you have a severe deficiency, it is best to consume your vitamins and minerals with high bioavailability and in a balanced blend to ensure optimal absorption.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are necessary to keep your energy levels high throughout the day. They are great as long as your carbohydrate intake involves complex carbs and does not consist of spoonfuls of sugar.
Complete Foods
Whole foods are pretty great, especially if you don't have much time to prepare perfectly balanced meals. Instead of having to prepare your carbs, protein and fiber separately while also reaching for supplements to get your daily dose of essential micronutrients, how about a Plenny Drink instead? Simply pop off the lid, take a few sips and you've consumed the necessary nutrients. Convenient, healthy and tasty!
Sources
[2]. Intestinal. (n.d.). Why is it so important to chew your food?
[3]. NIH. (December, 2017). Your Digestive System & How It Works.
[4]. Ash, M. (January 11, 2017). Digestive Enzymes.
[6]. Tang, B.M., Eslick, G.D., Nowson, C., Smith, C., & Bensoussan, A. (2007). Use of calcium or calcium in combination with vitamin D supplementation to prevent fractures and bone loss in people aged 50 years and older: a meta-analysis. Lancet (London, England)
[8]. Craig W.J. (2010). Nutrition concerns and health effects of vegetarian diets. Nutrition in clinical practice: official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
[9]. Johnson, L.E. (November, 2020). Vitamin A Excess.
[10]. Liu R.H. (2003). Health benefits of fruits and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 78 (3 Suppl), 517S–520S.
[11]. Hallberg, L., Brune, M., & Rossander, L. (1989). The role of vitamin C in iron absorption. International journal for vitamin and nutrition research. Supplement = Internationale Zeitschrift fur Vitamin- und Ernahrungsforschung. Supplement, 30 , 103–108.
[12]. American Diabetes Association. (n.d.). Get To Know Carbs.
[13]. NHS. (January 9, 2020). The truth about carbs.
[14]. NHS. (July 14, 2020). Sugar: the facts.
[15]. American Heart Association. (n.d.). Carbohydrates.
[17]. NHS. (August 1, 2018). How to get more fiber into your diet.
[18]. BetterHealth. (March 31, 2014). Fiber in food.
[19]. Holesh, JE, Aslam, S, & Martin, A. (August 25, 2020). Physiology, Carbohydrates. StatPearls.
