When you combine some nutrients, such as those in SaladPower, 1 + 1 = 3 or more!
As in sports and business, when it comes to nutrition, the sum is not always equal to its parts. That is, when certain elements are combined, the dynamic between them is so powerful that their output is more than seems possible given their individual properties.
If you have ever been on a successful team, or in a thriving partnership, then you have probably experienced this phenomenon. It can be downright miraculous what you can achieve.
As it turns out, the same can be true with nutrition. In this article, we examine nutrient synergy, and how the concept can be used to compound the healthy effects of the foods you eat.
Rest assured, there is plenty of nutrient synergy between the all-organic ingredients we selected for SaladPower, and we invite you to take advantage of the multitude of health benefits contained in every pouch!
What Is Nutrient Synergy?
Nutrient synergy is the evidence-based concept that combining certain nutrients yields a greater physiological impact on a person than consuming each nutrient by itself.[1] This is not to say that nutrients consumed on their own have zero health benefits, as a certain nutrient may be exactly what your body needs in a given situation. However, understanding the multiplicity of health effects to be garnered from combining nutrients is a vital tool in ensuring we get everything we can out of our diets.
This is especially important to keep in mind when you consider that daily recommendations found on nutrition labels only account for nutrients in isolation, though there is a growing awareness among public health officials that daily recommendations should factor in how clusters of nutrients work together.[2]
Nutrient synergy has also gained a foothold in discussions on “eating the rainbow” when it comes to vegetables and fruits, which emphasizes the healthy combination of phytonutrients found in foods of different colors. For instance, red vegetables and fruits commonly contain the bioactive carotenoids lycopene, beta-cryptoxanthin, capsorubin, and capsanthin.[3] In a 2022 study, researchers saw certain health improvements when three or more bioactive pigments were consumed.[4]
Using Nutrient Synergy to Enhance Your Diet
Numerous studies show that nutrient synergy can have profound health benefits on your brain, heart, lungs, stomach, immune system, and more.
In a 2020 study, researchers found that the combination of rhodiola, magnesium, green tea, and B-vitamins alleviated stress and anxiety in 100 moderately stressed adults. Each nutrient provided some positive effects when administered individually, but the most significant positive effects were observed when the nutrients were given together.[5]
In the realm of cardiovascular health, studies indicate that the combination of folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 have synergistic impact on reducing homocysteine levels, which is associated with decreasing the risk of heart disease.[6] [7]
Nutrient synergy also appears to impact respiratory health. In a 2018 study researching the viability of using diet to mitigate the effects of air pollution on respiratory disease, results suggested that the combination of vitamin D and vitamin E (and possibly also vitamin C, curcumin, choline, and omega-3 fatty acids) work together to protect against asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.[8]
As SaladPower contains only organic superfoods, there are countless combinations of nutrients synergizing to give you one of the greatest boosts a single meal can provide. For example, the magnesium and B vitamins contained in spinach and kale—two primary ingredients in SaladPower—synergize to reduce stress.[9] While vitamin B6 helps cells absorb magnesium, both nutrients help form serotonin and dopamine, thereby fortifying the health of your nervous system.[10]
This is just one example of the abundant health benefits associated with SaladPower. Packed with all-organic superfoods, SaladPower provides natural energy and nutrient synergy in a convenient pouch, allowing you to optimize your health even when you are on the go!
[1] Townsend, J. R., Kirby, T. O., Sapp, P. A., Gonzalez, A. M., Marshall, T. M., & Esposito, R. (2023). Nutrient synergy: definition, evidence, and future directions. Frontiers in nutrition, 10, 1279925. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1279925
[2] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee on Scanning for New Evidence on Riboflavin to Support a Dietary Reference Intake Review, Vorosmarti, A., Yaktine, A. L., & Schneeman, B. O. (Eds.). (2021). Scanning for New Evidence on Riboflavin to Support a Dietary Reference Intake Review. National Academies Press (US).
[3] Blumfield, M., Mayr, H., De Vlieger, N., Abbott, K., Starck, C., Fayet-Moore, F., & Marshall, S. (2022). Should We 'Eat a Rainbow'? An Umbrella Review of the Health Effects of Colorful Bioactive Pigments in Fruits and Vegetables. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(13), 4061. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134061
[4] Blumfield, M., Mayr, H., De Vlieger, N., Abbott, K., Starck, C., Fayet-Moore, F., & Marshall, S. (2022). Should We 'Eat a Rainbow'? An Umbrella Review of the Health Effects of Colorful Bioactive Pigments in Fruits and Vegetables. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(13), 4061. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27134061
[5] Boyle, N. B., Billington, J., Lawton, C., Quadt, F., & Dye, L. (2022). A combination of green tea, rhodiola, magnesium and B vitamins modulates brain activity and protects against the effects of induced social stress in healthy volunteers. Nutritional neuroscience, 25(9), 1845–1859. https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2021.1909204
[6] Homocysteine Lowering Trialists' Collaboration (2005). Dose-dependent effects of folic acid on blood concentrations of homocysteine: a meta-analysis of the randomized trials. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 82(4), 806–812. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/82.4.806
[7] Collaboration H. L. T. (1998). Lowering blood homocysteine with folic acid based supplements: meta-analysis of randomised trials. Homocysteine Lowering Trialists' Collaboration. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 316(7135), 894–898.
[8] Whyand, T., Hurst, J. R., Beckles, M., & Caplin, M. E. (2018). Pollution and respiratory disease: can diet or supplements help? A review. Respiratory research, 19(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-018-0785-0
[9] Pouteau, E., Kabir-Ahmadi, M., Noah, L., Mazur, A., Dye, L., Hellhammer, J., Pickering, G., & Dubray, C. (2018). Superiority of magnesium and vitamin B6 over magnesium alone on severe stress in healthy adults with low magnesemia: A randomized, single-blind clinical trial. PloS one, 13(12), e0208454. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208454
[10] Zempleni, J., Suttie, J. W., III, J. F. G., & Stover, P. J. (2013). Handbook of Vitamins. In Google Books. CRC Press. https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IEHSBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA351&ots=4170YPojYM&sig=hMPJzcO2iSeLUIeGufWDaF_dOF0#v=onepage&q&f=false