A question of healthy choices! Smart food or salad every day?

Are you familiar with “smart food” or “intelligent food”?

A concept that's been very popular in the United States for several years now and is making its way around the world. A complete meal in a single bottle or bar!

Why is this food called " intelligent" ? Because it is considered a complete and balanced meal, not too expensive and which provides 100% of our nutritional needs (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, etc.) It can replace any meal during the day, without any risk of deficiency, with the guarantee that we will not be hungry for half a day.

One article described the experience of a reporter from France who amused himself by eating only liquid meals for 10 days, morning, noon and night. (1)

The result? So what was supposed to be fun turned out to be depressing; by the ^6th day, he couldn't take it anymore, even his teeth felt the need to bite into something real. Yes, by the ^7th day, he was starting to get depressed. By the ^8th day, he was hiding these bottles under his bed; just one look at them made him feel nauseous.

Does that surprise you? Not me at all. To replace a meal from time to time, maybe if we really have to, I'll overspend or if there's simply nothing else to eat, but never, ever to replace all the meals we have to eat daily.

In his report, we read a common-sense quote from a dentist: Teeth are organs like any other. If you don't use them, they atrophy. In older people, not chewing has real consequences, particularly in terms of digestive problems . Jean-Marc Zakine, dentist at franceinfo.

There you have it, we were created to crunch, chew, taste, to savor!

To draw a parallel with colors, an example: if tomorrow, all flowers became the same color, if all perfumes smelled the same, we would surely no longer find as much interest in looking at them or smelling them, wouldn't that be "boring"?

Food is refined, precious, and much more than a simple bottle or a bland protein bar. A meal is an overflowing of flavors and colors, a varied plate filled with nutrients like a beautiful, well-stocked garden.

Every color of food plays a role on the plate. Shades of green, red, pink, yellow, orange, blue, purple... No, I'm not describing a box of coloring pencils so pretty, but rather what should be on our plate! Color on the plate is a delight not only for the eyes but for our entire body!

All these colorful foods have a purpose; they are filled with, among other things, antioxidants that fight free radicals and protect our cells from the inside out. The more varied our food colors, the more protection we provide! (2)

The article added that the researchers attempted to measure the link between the consumption of flavonoids , ( the antioxidants present in these beautiful colorful plates ) and mortality. In addition to their antioxidant action, flavonoids have anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic and anti-carcinogenic action. (3)

This study by Nicolas Bodonno, a researcher at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Australia, says that consuming about 500 milligrams (mg) of flavonoids per day would be enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

A whole large family, these flavonoids, here are a few: luteolin, apigenin, quercetin, kaempferol, epicatechin, flavanones like hesperitin, anthocyanins, isoflavones like genistin... They all have an interesting role to play. There are many of them. It's up to us to discover them!

How can you get the full benefit of these flavonoids? Likewise, you should vary the colors as much as possible ! They are particularly found in dark-colored fruits and vegetables where the concentrations are higher.

Vegetables and fruits, true health allies! Nothing compares to a bottled meal or a bar swallowed in just 5 minutes.

Incorporating them into our daily meals is a delight for the eyes and a treat for the stomach, not to mention healthy for our teeth! Life in color is always more pleasant, so let's dare the adventure of combining them all together and our health will only improve.

Who says eating salad every day is really boring?