Nutrition is so important! Sometimes the damage caused to our bodies by the modern American diet gets in the way of healing.  The individual processes of our bodies are very sensitive to deficiencies in our diets, as well as toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis.  We even know that certain vegetables can block some of our natural anti-inflammatory processes, exacerbating certain conditions like arthritis.  I try to guide patients on proper nutrition, but not everyone is ready or desperate enough to really make the changes needed.  How can I help them heal?

Taking nutritional supplements is one way to address our dietary deficiencies and promote healing, so I decided to add them to the products I offer for sale. Before choosing a product to recommend to my patients, I always research it thoroughly. My research showed that Standard Process products offer many advantages, but to assess their whole food supplements completely, I decided to fly from Arizona to Wisconsin and spend 2 days at the Standard Process facility to learn about their products and see their manufacturing for myself.

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply.  Willing is not enough; we must do.” -Goethe

Standard Process is an American company that makes high-quality nutritional supplements using whole food and other healthy ingredients. Healthcare providers around the world have been using their whole food supplements to improve nutrition since 1929.

To start my research journey I flew into Chicago, rented a car, and drove an hour and a half to Wisconsin.  During the drive, I felt overwhelmed with amazing feelings of happiness as I drove through forest and farm land.  The lush green trees, the small winding roads, the cool, moist air – what a difference coming from a desert!  My lungs and skin didn’t know what to do with the extra moisture!

Life was all around me.  I toured the 420-acre Standard Process organic farms, learning about the soil and the glacier run off that provided it with extra minerals.  I was even given the opportunity to transplant baby Brussels sprouts from the greenhouse to the field.  My hands were in the dirt of future medicine.  For a city girl, this was an amazing experience!

“The body cannot make something out of nothing.” -Dr. Royal Lee

The manufacturing plant was magnificent!  If you have ever been to any type of food processing plant, then you are likely aware of just how regimented their standards and cleanliness are.  This was no exception.  The laboratories were extensive, testing every single batch for purity and potency.  The company’s laboratories are so advanced they are used to analyze supplements for other companies.

FACT:  Food-grade supplementation is very highly regulated by the FDA.  The inspectors will often spend up to two weeks at a time monitoring and investigating the quality at Standard Process.

While I was there, I attended 16 hours of educational lectures by Doctors of Oriental Medicine, meeting fellow colleagues from all over the world.  I learned about the products and why we need them. There are basic nutritional requirements we are lacking in our diet and we can make up for those deficiencies by taking the right supplements.

Whole food supplements are created using a complex formula that includes plant extracts and other ingredients designed to create the best dietary supplement for various health indications. Standard Process uses nutrients as they are found in nature – in a whole food state where their natural potency and efficacy can be realized.  They start with whole foods – foods you might find in an organic grocery store – and prepare them in a way that safeguards their nutritional value. The resulting whole food ingredient is added to a formula whose efficacy has been proven over the years.

Standard Process whole food supplements are a great solution for those of us who struggle to resist the well-known evils of our diet – sugar and flour.

But what if you already eat a really healthy diet?

While touring the farm I learned about the health of its soil, how it contributes to the nutrients in vegetables grown in it, and how it compares to soil in other farms. Statistics show that the top two vegetables consumed in the US are potatoes and tomatoes, suggesting that fries and ketchup constitute the majority of vegetables we consume! A group of vegetables that doesn’t even make the chart is cruciferous plants, like Brussels sprouts and broccoli.  Broccoli and its sprouts have recently been praised for having a strong cancer fighting constituent – sulforaphane.  Sounds great, right?  Here’s the bad news.  Only organic broccoli contains any sulforaphane, and it’s only in low levels.  The good news?  Broccoli grown at the Standard Process farm contains the highest levels in the world! That means their cruciferous whole food supplement has exactly what we are looking for!

Even if you are making extremely healthy diet choices, the quality of fruit and vegetables you consume may mean you are still lacking a lot of the vitamins and minerals we need.  So, whether you can’t bear to make dietary changes to cut out nutrient-depleting foods, or you want to increase the power of the healthy diet you already eat, you can benefit from the extra whole food support.

Standard Process is only available through health care providers. Ask me about the various Standard Process whole food supplements I carry and how they can help you. I’d be happy to book you an appointment for a nutritional or herbal medicine consultation with me.

You never have to worry about giving the body unbalanced vitamin and minerals when you give the body whole foods.

These are foods, not pills.

Erin West is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and licensed acupuncturist in Gilbert, Arizona specializing in pain and infertility. She loves sharing her passion for natural approaches to health through her online articles and at her clinic, Mend Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, at Sage Health Point on Lindsay Road. Call for an appointment at 480-788-1757.