While running can be really good for us, it also makes heavy demands on our body's reserves so it needs to be suitably fueled to ensure optimal health and performance.
It is nice to think we should be able to get all we need from a healthy, varied diet right? However, it's not as easy as it used to be to rely solely on only food. The downside of all year round supplies of all fruit and vegetables, (who knows what season strawberries are supposed to grow in anymore), means more food is grown and picked in ways not intended by nature.
Soil is being worked harder, requiring artificial fertilisers to 'put back' the minerals needed to grow crops and needed by our bodies. The fresh fruit and vegetables you find in the supermarket is being picked to ripen 'in the box'. This practice reduces nutrition content as many nutrients develop just before they are ready to be eaten. It's worth noting that this applies to organic produce if picked prior to being ripe.
Selenium has a different issue. It is a unique little mineral which is non renewable, the world only has finite supply to manage. So just eating a few Brazil nuts (nutritionists usual answer as to how to get your Selenium intake) might not be the solution anymore. If the soil lacks it, (such as in New Zealand where farmers supplement their cows with Selenium) then the nuts don't have it either. Fascinating (or is it just me)...but problematic.
Of course food must still be the main way we consume our bodies requirements and below this post you can download a printable showing all the foods which have the best content for all the micro-nutrients you need. However, to ensure you are getting what you need, in our opinion, just like the cows in New Zealand, we can benefit from a great supplementation.
When you review the nutritious foods list below it might also be a bit of a shock to realise just how varied your diet needs to be to cover the spectrum of nutrients. We often have times in the week when life pops up and ruins our best laid food plans. This is where a great supplement helps. Taking Daily Tonic every day gives you confidence that a few holes in your diet on a regular basis won't do too much damage.
Resources
NB: This is an abridged version. The full book has more detail on each micro-nutrient, as well as recommendations for macro-nutrient intake. It is available from HealthAliciousNess.com
Selenium status in New Zealand