Diet Information

In parts one and two of this series, titled “Take Back Your Life” and “Take Back Your Life 2″; we discussed the importance of proper cell function and the necessity of having and maintaining a balanced endocrine system as they relate to wellness. Here in part 3, we shall examine why vitamins and minerals, including certain trace minerals are absolutely necessary to further insure and maintain a state of wellness and optimum health.

Fresh foods have, in the past, been the main source that provided vitamins and minerals essential to the properly functioning, healthy human body. These nutrients, naturally occurring in some fresh fruits and vegetables, can and have, in the past given our bodies what was needed for health and vitality. Today, however, because of modern farming, harvesting, storage, and food processing methods, our formally nutrient rich food sources contain lower levels of some vitamins and minerals for supporting and maintaining good health. We still need to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in our daily food consumption, but we also need to complement that dietary habit with adequate, high quality, food formed vitamin and mineral supplements in order to insure that our healthy, active lifestyles which include proper diet and exercise are contributing to the desired state of optimal health.

Today, nutritionists remind us that we need to eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables including a healthy balance of dairy products, lean meats, and whole grains. But with modern methods of processing whereby our foods are boiled, microwaved, canned, frozen, refined, pasteurized, and laced with additives intended to help preserve them, our fresh fruits and vegetables are lower in vitamins and minerals today than they were even 30 years ago. One example from a recent study reported that two peaches would have supplied the current RDA of vitamin A for adult women in 1951. Today, a woman would have to eat almost 53 peaches to meet her daily requirements! These losses are due, primarily to the fact that food science has focused on the issues of mass production, visual appearance, and physical features that motivate people to buy rather than nutrient content. The average fruit or vegetable travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles from the farm to your plate. They are grown, harvested, stored, and handled with this in mind as priority of waste and product loss before being sold, trump any concerns for nutrient content and health benefits. There are extensive losses of many important nutrients during all stages of food production as our foods move from the farms to our tables to be eaten. Therefore we must supplement our diets with high quality food formed vitamins and minerals in order to achieve the health benefits that we desire.

Health is defined in Stedman’s medical dictionary as a state of normal functioning without evidence of disease or abnormality. That means feeling good, being symptom free, having all organ systems apparently functioning normally, no evidence of disease, and enough energy to do what we want to do. The lifestyle choices that we make are contributing factors in the quest for optimal health. Choices can be made that will have a major impact on our health. These choices include lifestyle, diet and nutrition. This is why it is highly recommended that we exercise, eat well, and supplement wisely. To be included in our diets are certain fruits and vegetables that help our bodies fend off disease. Amounts recommended include eating 5 to 9 varied servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It is further recommended that these food servings include cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruit, dark leafy vegetables and yellow/orange/red vegetables with three different colors per day. The vast majority of people in Western countries do not eat like this, which leads to poor health and desperate disease states. This being the case, if we will not eat the ideal diet, for whatever reason, it becomes absolutely necessary that we supplement our diets, with whole food based supplements. Isolated synthetics will not do the trick. Food formed vitamins and minerals as close to that found in Nature are best.

“Vita”, the Latin word for “life”, is the root of “vitamin”, the name given to certain nutrients identified as essential to life. Certain minerals have also been shown to be vitally important to human health. Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients that work together with enzymes to facilitate the chemical reactions involved in virtually every process in the body. Shortage of necessary vitamins or minerals can block critical functions. A certain level of intake of specific vitamins and minerals is required for optimal health. Micronutrient deficiencies in the diets of many people, I believe, contribute to many of our disease conditions that exist today. And because of this widely held association, I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from this type of supplementation to their daily diet. Daily supplementation is certainly very important to help avoid the risks to our health that are associated with poor diet. But, be careful! Not all vitamin and mineral supplements are created equal. There are vast differences between brands. Experts have learned that taking too much of certain vitamins is not healthy and can actually cause health problems. Ratios of one ingredient to another can also make a significant difference in how well any vitamin product will work. Be sure to get a comprehensive multivitamin and mineral supplement that is formulated to give you what you need and that is food formed so that your body may recognize and utilize these beneficial nutrients. And above all else remember to drink plenty of pure, enhanced water, move your body, eat well, and supplement wisely so that you can take back your life.

To read more about why Steve is so passionate about moving toward wellness and how you can head that way through a healthy lifestyle, that includes proper vitamin and mineral support supplementation, visit http://steve.myglycostore.com/go/glycentials

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Much of what we hear and read in the media these days about lowering LDL or bad cholesterol levels is sadly misleading.

Today I’m going to share with you some very powerful information which can have a dramatic positive effect on your health.

One of the best things about these proven strategies is that you will easily feel the results immediately. And as these strategies are natural, they are also inexpensive.

Because the fact is, raising your HDL or good cholesterol level has been proven to be much more beneficial.

The Framingham Heart study is THE standard from which proven data has been verified. -1

Because this Study which used a large population and tracked people over 40 years, proved that lowering LDL cholesterol levels had no effect on heart disease for people who have high levels of HDL cholesterol.

Unlike experimental drugs which could have many side effects, safe, proven and natural ways to raise your HDL cholesterol offer all of the benefits without the unwanted side effects.

Naturally, the more you hear about this proven strategy, the more you will feel compelled to implement it.

Why you might ask? Let me show you

Here are five safe, proven and natural ways to increase your HDL cholesterol level:

1 - Increasing your physical activity - Scientific studies have proven that physical activity raises your HDL and lowers your LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Your fitness program should include resistance training in addition to walking and running.-1

2 - Niacin - Important to the production of fats in the human body, Niacin changes LDL and triglycerides in a positive way. Niacin also increases HDL cholesterol. The best natural sources of Niacin are nuts and dried beans. Great meat sources include liver, poultry and Fish.

3 - Vitamin D - A fat soluble vitamin which also affects cholesterol so your body can better use them. Natural sources of Vitamin D are milk, eggs, tuna, fish oils and yes, sunlight.

4 - Eating a low carbohydrate diet - High in protein and the right fats this diet will help lower your blood cholesterol. Dietary and blood cholesterol are two different things so don’t get them confused. This diet will also help balance HDL and lower LDL cholesterol which reduces your chance of developing heart disease and obesity.

5 - Drink more - Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts has been shown to increase your HDL cholesterol levels. -2

As you can see and hear, physical activity And supplements will do your body a world of good, without the unwanted side effects of drugs.

Many of you have tried several strategies which may have had only limited effects And perhaps came with unintended side effects.

These safe, proven and natural remedies go straight the root cause of problems to help eliminate what ails your body.

Understand that when you act on this proven advice, you will be one of the few who actually take control of their own health and feel the benefits.

Dedicate, don’t medicate

While it may seem easier to pop drugs with dangerous side effects, the short and long term consequences are huge.

Dedicate yourself to a healthier way of life, the long term positive consequences are absolutely powerful.

1 - Dr. Al Sears, “Ignore the Hype, focus on cholesterol that matters”. Health Alert 164, Health Confidential for Men, April 6,2004

2 - Castiglioni A and Neuman WR. “HDL Cholesterol:What Is Its True Clinical Significance?” Emergency Medicine, January 2003:pp 30-42.

2004 © by Lee Cummings

Please feel free to use this article in your newsletter or on your website (with resource box included and use an active link).

This article may not be used in any e-mail promotions that do not conform with federal law.

If you use this article, please send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:leeman@lc-nutrition.com

About The Author

Lee Cummings has been helping people solve problems and feel better with proven nutrition for over 4 years. Lee publishes the montly LC Nutrition newsletter. For a Fr^ee Report - mailto:report@lc-nutrition.com. Discover proven nutrition information visit: http://www.LC-Nutrition.com

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Antioxidants, vitamins, minerals… known to reduce the risk of… cancer, heart disease, diabetes… eat more: greens, grains, fruits, vegetables…

We hear the admonishments and advice in the news, on talk shows, and read it in magazines.

Do we have this much control over our health?

We do. While nothing is fool-proof, the idea should be to stock up on anything that can provide us with maximum health benefits, leaning the balance in our favor. It is truly our choice how we live.

We also hear a lot about vitamins and supplementation. It is implied that a state of perfect health cannot be reached without them. The idea is to shore up your eating habits with all of those nutrients you are missing at mealtime. Why are nutrients missing at mealtime? The culprit is our food choices. If you were to make a meal out of a loaf of white bread, wouldn’t it make sense that you may be missing a few things in the nutrient department? While the example is a little extreme, the thinking is the same. What do your meals actually look like?

Logically, balanced eating habits that are rich in whole foods would be a better prescription than supplementing poor choices. There will be days in which you don’t provide every single vitamin and mineral your body needs, but take a long-term perspective. Look at how you are eating over the course of a week. Plan meals that include ingredients from whole, unrefined sources. It can be dizzying to go into a grocery store and choose from the vast array of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products that can now be found on shelves. Variety is the key to filling in any possible deficiencies, so mix it up and try some new recipes and ingredients each week.

Supplements aren’t “bad” - they can assist in your overall plan for radiant health. But to rely on them exclusively is taking the seemingly easy way out, when it’s just replacing good nutrition with a man-made ingredient! Vitamins found in whole foods are much more effective than their synthetic counterparts. For instance, 70 mg of vitamin C in one cup of broccoli strengthens your immunity more effectively than 700 mg of synthetic vitamin C. Plus, there are other nutrients found in broccoli that makes it a more productive choice.

Research has found that with minerals, there is a balancing act going on inside of our bodies. You’ll read that in order for a certain mineral to be absorbed by your body, you need to ingest another mineral to help it along. This shows that a balance and variety of whole foods will work hand-in-hand to provide your body with its requirements for optimal functioning.

Choose balanced whole foods eating over the crutch of supplementation. Instead of spending your time trying to remember which bottle of vitamins you have or haven’t taken for the day, use your time more wisely and eat foods that work hard for your body!

Debra Augur has studied holistic nutrition for years, put that knowledge into practice, and has a passion to share that knowledge with others who are seeking their own best health. If we are what we eat, are we denatured, devitalized, deficient and potentially toxic? Visit http://www.eat-well-to-be-well.com to learn more, and begin acquiring your healthiest self.

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