"You seem to be quite fond of flax seed... Do you think you need it
for the Omegas?"
I include it because so many vegetarians consider it vital as a
source of omega-3. I personally don't use it, and consider it greatly
over-rated because we can convert so little of its short-chain
omega-3 to the long-chains used in our brains. I derate short-chain
by a factor of ten to allow for this, but some studies seem to show
that derating by as much as 25 might be warranted.
"By the way, I see you like an omega6/3 ratio of four"
The brain evolutionists claim 1:1 was what our brains evolved on,
while lots of North Americans seem to be doing OK on 20:1. I use 4:1
as a very rough compromise, nothing more.
"If you *really* need to supplement a vitamin or a mineral, then
supplement it separately and use the good stuff. If you don't need,
just don't bother at all. Right?"
IMHO, right (but please note that I'm not formally trained in
medicine or nutrition).
"Have you considered the vitamin losses in food storage and cooking,
and in industrial foods?"
Yes. First, the USDA says their unprocessed foods were bought at
regular retail outlets. They present matching data on many foods both
raw and cooked - I use their 'cooked' data whenever I cook a food. I
watch my food storage conditions and duration. I almost never eat
'industrial' foods except when visiting other people.
"how easy is it to have a healthy diet?"
I think it's easy! But, it greatly depends on whether or not you &/or
your family are hooked on over-processed foods with their gobs of
salt, sugar and oils. Basically, find a good fresh fruit&veg store,
prepare your own food as opposed to buying 'instant', and the period
of adjustment should be short.