A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Waistline
What do you think of when you hear the phrase raw materials? I tend to picture an assembly line in a factory. Others think of the basic building blocks required to create something more complex. When we apply that idea to holistic health, it starts to make a lot of sense, because few things are as complex as the human body.
So what are the raw materials of our wellness? I like to use another living organism as an example. Think about a plant or a tree. Nutrients in the soil support growth along with water and sunlight, eventually producing leaves, flowers, or fruit. When the soil lacks key nutrients, it’s pretty clear. The plant may struggle to grow, develop spots, weaken, or die sooner than expected. The same concept applies to people. Nutrition is the raw material for healthy living, just as soil is for plants. Everything you consume becomes information and building material for your body.
After nearly 17 years as a health coach, I’ve seen firsthand that we are a nation that is overfed and undernourished. I often compare this to pouring paint into a gas tank and then wondering why the car will not run. Highly processed foods, refined grains, and sugar-heavy food-like products act like that paint. Then we look around and question why chronic disease continues to rise despite incredible advances and spending in health care. The United States spends more on medical care than other wealthy nations, yet experiences higher rates of disease than most of them.
This tells us something important: When the body lacks essential nutrients, proper function breaks down, and disease can develop. The raw materials of the human body are nutrients, including macronutrients and micronutrients, supported by sleep, water, movement, and stress management. When these pieces are in place, we create an internal environment that supports holistic health.
However, there is an important nuance here. Just like plants have internal processes that allow them to use what they absorb from the soil, our bodies must also process the raw materials we provide. Think again about a car. Gasoline is refined before it ever reaches the pump, and crude oil would not work if poured directly into an engine. In the same way, some nutrients require specific steps inside the body before they become usable. This matters for food and for supplements.
A clear example of this is B-vitamins. Many of them must go through a process called methylation before the body can use them. Methylation is complex and requires multiple nutrients to work properly. A significant number of people cannot complete this process due to genetics or missing cofactors, which can lead to B-vitamin deficiencies. Research continues to link these deficiencies to infertility, certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, depression, dementia, reduced cognitive function, and Alzheimer’s disease. From a root cause perspective, the issue is not intake alone: it’s whether the raw materials can be converted into an active form. This is why, if you choose a B-vitamin supplement, it matters that it’s a B-complex containing 5 methyltetrahydrofolate.
Another major factor in how well we use nutrients is inflammation. I know this topic can feel overwhelming. For now, consider the lining of the blood vessels, known as endothelial cells. These cells help regulate blood flow and act as gatekeepers that determine what moves from the bloodstream into cells. When inflammation affects this tissue, nutrient delivery can suffer, which may contribute to deficiencies throughout the body. Supporting endothelial cell function is one reason oligomeric proanthocyanins, powerful antioxidants, get so much attention in science-based nutrition.
If all of this feels like a lot, take a step back. The core message is simple: nutrients matter because they shape the raw materials your body receives every day. When the body has adequate nutrients and the ability to use them, it’s better equipped to support healthy living and reduce the impact of inflammation.
So, take a moment to pause and reflect: What raw materials are you giving your body right now? Are your daily choices supporting holistic health, or are they making that job harder than it needs to be?