When was the last time you paused to “read” the ingredients of your favorite snack bar? Not only read it but understood what the ingredients are. I know most people would reply of course I have and of course I know what “oats” are. OK how about “Sucanat®”? Sure you may know it is a sweetener but where does it come from and is it really something that is good or better for me than “sugar”.
No worries because Sucanat® (which stands for Sugar Cane Natural), is a whole cane sugar. It’s made by simply crushing freshly cut sugar cane, extracting the juice and heating it in a large vat. Once the juice is reduced to rich, dark syrup, it is hand-paddled. Hand paddling cools and dries the syrup, creating the dry porous granules known as Sucanat. Nothing is added and nothing is taken out!
So there you go one less ingredient to have to pause and ponder about. Now you can reach with confidence for your favorite Oat Bar or whole grain snack bar that contains Sucanat®. But don’t forget to read the rest of the label for those ingredients that you are trying to avoid such as hydrogenated oils, Trans fats and “artificial” sweeteners.
This is Food? "NOT"
The foods we eat are not providing our bodies with the nutrition it needs to survive and be healthy. We are starving our bodies and we are sick. We suffer from diabetes, heart attacks, obesity, and the list goes on and on.
Given proper nutrition, the human body has an amazing ability to heal itself. If properly fed and given the right nutrients, the human body is designed to repair itself.
To do so, we need to eat a healthier diet, exercise, and take high-quality supplements made from whole foods. Whole food supplements supply our bodies with nutrients we are not getting from our diet, all the vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and phyto-nutrients that foods possess in a way that nature intended, in a whole food form.
Many question the need to supplement their diet with Vitamins and minerals. However if you look deeper into the quality and type of foods most Americans consume the reality and evidence for the need to add daily dietary vitamin supplements is overwhelming.
As a nation, we eat poor-quality foods that have been stripped of nutrients. We do not consume enough fresh fruits and vegetables. Many of us get our whole grains from instant rice, refined wheat breads, pastas, and cereal. We eat a tremendous amount of prepackaged, pre-made meals. One-quarter of Americans eat at fast food restaurants each day. Americans are overfed and undernourished.
Well admittedly I have been not been Blogging much this Holiday Season as I have been winding the year down and enjoying family and friends. I hope you have been able to do the same.
No mater what reason you celebrate the mid winter Holiday Season, one thing is for sure, on your special day of celebration there is usually food involved and lots of it. So there is no doubt most of you will meet or exceed the minimum daily nutrient servings of everything. So what the hay if you forget to take your multi vitamin this would be the day to do it. After all January 1st is just around the corner and as we all know it is New Year resolution time. Time to make all those promises but we will go there a little later as we get closer.
Until then blessings and Holiday greetings to one and all and may 2010 find you with vibrent health and prosperity.
So you don’t need a daily Vitamin? So that means you always have 6 to 8 servings of grains, 4 to 5 servings of vegetables, 4 to 5 servings of fruit, 2 to 3 servings of low fat dairy, and 6oz of meat, poultry or fish PER DAY? Really? And that just meets the very minimum standards for nutrition.
So you may want to rethink your option to take a multivitamin at the very minimum to supplement those missing servings. When shopping for a multivitamin look for whole food vitamins preferable organic for the best value and quality.
In the next blog we will look at those serving size and do some nutritional math that may surprise you.
Choosing the right vitamin can be a little challenging with the hundreds of brands and formulas available. A good place to start for a general nutritional boost is a Multi-Vitamin. We always recommend a whole food vitamin with an organic formula whenever possible for the best quality. The next step is to consider your personal life style and age to start to customize your choice.
Many of the formulas will give you a good idea by the label such as Multi + Stress Formula or 50 + Formula for older adults. Once you have narrowed your Multi-Vitamin choice closer to your personal needs you may consider adding additional supplements such as a b-12 complex for high stress situations. A protein shake is another great option for those times you can’t stop for lunch and want to avoid the fast food temptation.
Don’t be afraid to try different brands or formulas especially if you’re new to supplementing your diet with vitamins. Not everyone wears the same shoe size and not everyone’s body chemistry and needs are exactly the same so trying different formulas can get you closer to a more customized program. If you are still puzzled or overwhelmed, going on line or having a consultation with a nutritionist for more education on what vitamins best fits your needs is a great option.
Absolutely, “to B” is to be healthy. The safety record of the B-complex vitamins is extraordinarily good. Since their discovery, beginning with thiamin (B-1) in 1911, many thousands of studies have verified an unequaled therapeutic value of these essential substances. Side effects have been rare, and toxicity is nearly nonexistent, even at the highest doses.
Vitamin B comes in many forms, and all of them are necessary for healthy living. Getting plenty of B vitamins, usually much more than the recommended daily allowance is essential for optimal health. That is why high quality Whole Food multi-vitamins can help fill in the gaps in a daily diet. B vitamins can improve heart health, symptoms of depression; can also work to improve energy levels, brain function and much more.
In most cases the amount of b-vitamins found in a good complete multivitamin is enough. However during stressful times, poor health or a compromised immune system extra supplementation of b-complex should be considered. So to” B” or not to “B” is no longer a question.
When it comes to sugar Americans consume more sugar per day than any other country in the world.
At an average of 22.2 teaspoons per day caring about 355 extra calories it is nearly three times the recommended dietary amount based on the American Heart Assoc. guidelines. But wait it may not be the fault of the average consumer. Much of the sugar that shows up in our average daily food consumption comes from surprisingly unexpected places.
Take for example the health conscious buyer that shops for low fat products and buys “Reduced” fat salad dressings. Trying to cut down on saturated fats, one would think that this would be a good choice. However on a closer look we find that a one-cup serving of reduced-calorie French dressing heaps on 58 grams of added sugar, reduced-fat coleslaw dressing hits a home run with 103 grams of added sugar. Now we know that the average person does not use a whole cup of dressing on their salad but on average a quarter of a cup say 4 ounces. That will pour on 14 to 25 grams of sugar or 4 to 7 teaspoons. Over the course of a day these hidden sugars really add up. Hey how about some “healthy” dried cranberries? Commercial products are usually sweetened with sugar and on average a whopping 25 grams of sugar per cup of fruit another 7 teaspoons.
What’s the answer?
Along with good uncommon sense shopping such as buying fresh unprocessed foods READ THE INGREDIENT LABEL. Avoid being ripped off by miss leading labels, don’t rely on the sound bite on the front of the label. That’s why knowing what is really in the product and staying informed to understand what these ingredients are is so important. After all your health depends on it and it is not the marketing company’s priority. Look for healthy snacks and products that are sweetened with fruit juice or nothing at all including artificial sweeteners.
As most of us go through the day it is not always practical let alone easy to eat right. Getting all the daily recommended intake of vital nutrients to keep us on top of our game can certainly be a challenge in today’s fast paced nearly nonstop world. But without vibrant health it is nearly impossible to keep up with the modern day demands and the break neck pace of life. Plagued by the temptation of easily available fast food, the option for Americans is usually to opt-out for high calorie low nutritional foods.
That is why it is so important to take a daily multivitamin supplement to insure getting optimal daily nutrient intake. Whole Food nutrient dense vitamins are always the best choice whenever possible as they supply not only a full spectrum of daily nutrients it is also “real food”. Taking an organic formulated daily vitamin is even better when available.
In an ever present world of rising health care costs people are realizing that a pound of prevention is worth a ton of cure. It use to be an ounce and a pound but inflation is rampant in the medical business forcing basic services out of the reach of many. Between the cost of medical services and medical insurance (if you can get it) more and more people just can’t afford to get sick, literally.
The bad news is there is no end in sight soon, but the great news is prevention awareness is on the rise. People are making healthier food choices and using alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture to stay healthier.
Many people are going back to the basics and are taking there own health into there own hands by finding ways to “stay” healthy. Staying healthy is truly the best way to avoid rising health care costs. We are not of course suggesting you should not seek out medical help when necessary or you should self diagnose. However we do believe that you can do some simple things to be pro active in prevention and to avoid the high cost of medical services. Prevention is allot less expensive.
With just a few simple basic time tested steps you not only can help minimize having to go to the doctor you might just find that you fell better, are fully energized and getting more living out of life.
Here are our top six steps to a healthier you “Health Basics 101″.
- Eat Whole Foods – Organic Whenever Possible
- Drink Plenty of Pure Fresh Water
- Get Lots Fresh Clean Air
- Get Proper Rest
- Take Appropriate Nutritional Supplements for Nutrition Insurance
- Exercise,- Get Your Body in Motion.
Watch for future blogs as we take an in depth look at these six simple ways to staying healthy.