It's a better test to see what's coming into your body/being absorbed via some blood tests. Regardless of what's in the food, you want to know how much you're taking in from it if anything...

You aren't what you eat, you're what you absorb!

:)

I have to agree - absorption is key - but I have dreamed of a 'pocket spectrometer' since I worked in test and repair of the big ones, back in the mid-80's. Surely, someone has come up with one by now?

I see a hand-held or maybe even a BB app that will snag the data, do an FFT on it and tell you the nutrient makeup of, say an apple. I could walk down the isles and buy organic - or not (ha!) depending on nutrients present.

what can you use to test for nutrients

The blood test may only tell you half of what you want to know. The problem is that although the nutrients are cruising in our blood stream, the other parts of our body such as our liver are where nutrients are stored so it is kind of impossible to get a truly accurate reading just from blood. That being said blood may give you somewhat of a clue as to what amounts of nutrients you have absorbed. Obviously you are on the paleo diet, and to be sure you are getting the most nutrient dense foods be sure to include animal organ meats as these are the most nutrient dense and a staple in virtually all ancient cuisine. These people understood the benefits of these organ meats and other natural foods not through laboratory testing for individual nutrient amounts but through many generations of people passing along these culinary traditions after noting from experience what foods lead to healthier people and offspring. So you could spend the money for the tests or you take the advice of people who depended on their food for health, survival, and creating new healthy tribe members.

Sue, I think your idea of a hand held spectrometer (or something like it) is an AWESOME idea and is exactly what I'm looking for too. I'm a developing nutrition products in home and a tool like that would be super beneficial in figuring out the nutrient efficacy of my product.

Has there been any further development of finding a product like that since your post in 2010?

Thanks, Ashley

Really? Do you know how time consuming, laborious and costly that would be? Complete waste.

You're going to need a food science lab to do that. Which means you're going to need big agra money or USDA/FDA/NIH money. Or send out your food to labs with the equipment to do those tests at great cost to yourself.

Or, you can take Diane's advice and just get your blood checked every so often. What are you going to do anyway if you find out your grass fed beef doesn't have a perfect 1:1 ration of n-3 to n-6? Keep sourcing grass fed beef from around the world until you find one that is perfect?

You're better off just trying your best to eat the right things, avoiding the wrong things and that's about all you can do unless you plan on getting a farm and providing your own food directly. Even then, I imagine there are a variety of seasonal/environmental factors that might alter your hen's eggs or cattle's beef from the theoretical biochemical perfection.