Top 6 Health Mistakes That Most of Us Make

Today we take a broader look at health. Most of us feel that the 'rules' about health are fairly flexible … that we can take the cheap multivitamin instead of the whole food multivitamin with little difference, that we can have an extra painkiller when our headache won’t go away, and that putting off a doctor's visit won't really matter. Actually, all of these things can have serious consequences for your health! Today we look at the top health mistakes that most of us make, from buying generic herbal supplements instead of respected products like Garden of Life, to cutting all sorts of health-related corners.

1. Thinking that switching to diet soda will hep you lose weight
   If a simple switch from Coke to Diet Coke were all that occurred, this would be true. In practice though, almost everybody tends to 'spend' some of the calories that they just 'saved' … usually on a 3,000 kJ muffin or another slice of 1,500kJ pizza. Always think of your calorie intake in total terms - keep a food diary if it helps. You can also try herbal supplements like FucoThin by Garden of Life.
2. Not getting a second opinion
   Doctors have done a lot of training. But they aren’t infallible, and they aren't all created equal. Before undertaking any major treatment, always get a second opinion.
3. Taking extra acetaminophen
   We all do this to try to hurry up the effects when we can’t stand a headache any longer. However, too much acetaminophen can and does cause liver damage, and actually kills around 100 people per year.
4. Quitting prescribed medication
   Whether they are antibiotics or anti-depressants, many medications have as many side effects to coming off them as going on them. Always 'go off' a medication under medical supervision.
5. Not following up
   If we are generally feeling healthy after a doctor's visit, most of us neglect to fulfil the follow-up appointment. However, they aren't just profit mongering … in many cases they actually do need to perform further tests to make sure you are healthy, and give you advice to keep you that way.
6. Drinking too much/smoking cigarettes
   Both of these activities have underestimated health implications. Many people think that social smoking, or social drinking is okay … in fact both of these greatly increase your risk of many major health conditions.

Supermarket Skeptics -- How Healthy is Your Trolley?

For many of us, implementing changes in our diet (and even, carrying on the same bad habits) requires a trip to the supermarket. Only a lucky few have any nearby farmer's markets, and although whole food supplements are readily available through home internet shopping, they are still supplements, and organic vitamins can't substitute for the real thing. The supermarket can be a confusing place, though - today we cast our eye over several common supermarket bamboozlements designed to keep companies in business … with the unfortunate side effect of ruining your health.

Do You Buy Any of the Following?

If you do, you might be sabotaging your health, even though you have the best of intentions.

Organic items of processed food

Organic doesn't automatically equal healthy. There are quite a lot of organic manufacturers that seek to differentiate themselves in other ways than simply getting the 'organic' label - New Chapter is a great example. Remember, brown sugar can be organic, wine can be organic, and even marijuana can be organic. Does that mean any of the above are healthy? Not necessarily.

Fruit drink

Fruit drinks often have very little juice in them - they are mostly water. They also often have lots of artificial preservatives and sweeteners. Having a fruit drink is unfortunately very different to having fruit - or even to having fruit juice! Cast your sceptical eye over drinks that say 'juice drink' or 'juice cocktail' also.

Yoohoo as a 'milk drink'

In fact, Yoo Hoo is a 'chocolate drink'. It has less calcium that a couple of spinach leaves. Real milk (in moderation) is much better for you - don't kid yourself into thinking Yoo Hoo is anything but junk food.

Products that claim to be made with 'natural flavors'

There are soooo many products that are 'health-washed' by claiming that one or another of their ingredients is natural. Gasoline has some natural ingredients … is it good fro you to drink? I'm not saying that natural is bad, only that there is more to health than a single natural ingredient.

5 Ways to Manage Your Triglycerides

Having high triglyceride levels is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease. High triglyceride levels are a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself - for example, most people have high triglycerides because they eat too many fatty foods and don't get enough exercise. Today we're looking at ways you can manage your triglycerides, with comprehensive solutions like dietary or exercise alterations, as well as simple helpers like Vitamin Code Perfect Weight America.

1. Limit saturated fat in your diet

This is one of the simplest things you can do to lower your triglycerides. Dietary fat is readily converted into fat circulating in the bloodstream. You don't need to turn into bran-loving, celery-munching, joyless rabbit, though. Replace your saturated fats with unsaturated or healthy fats. Use avocado instead of butter, vegetable oil instead of lard, etc.

2. Limit carbohydrates in your diet

People who eat absolutely no fat in their diet can still get fat. Glucose can be converted by the liver to be stored as body fat. Another thing to be aware of is that many foods rich in carbohydrates are simultaneously rich in (hidden) fat … cookies and cakes are a great example of this.

3. Remember to supplement

A new wave of vitamins and minerals is now available as whole food supplements. They come in a form that is easier for your body to absorb and use without creating nutrient 'lockouts'.

4. Stop smoking!

You may think that the way that cigarettes help keep you thin is actually doing your triglycerides a favor. It's not. Smokers have almost uniformly higher triglyceride levels. You might gain a little weight to start with, but with some effort that can easily be rectified.

5. 2.5 hours of exercise per week

This is the CDC recommended amount of exercise. Do it in at least 10-minute blocks, and make sure it is moderate intensity. 2.5 hours of window shopping doesn’t count, unfortunately … you have to be able to really feel your blood pumping. Brisk walking, tennis and cycling are good examples.

Sex Drive and Supplements

Much as we don't like to talk about it everyday … or around our bosses, or with our Moms and Dads, or with the children within earshot … sex is an important part of all of our lives! It releases so many feelgood hormones and keeps lots of bits of that body of yours 'in alignment'. So many women fall into the trap of thinking that because they don't feel like sex (and never really feel like it), that it doesn’t hold anything for them. Today we look at low sex drive in women, and the lifestyle changes and whole food supplements like New Chapter Native Woman that can help boost your downstairs department!

Physical causes of low sex drive

Before you start supplementing yourself to boost that sex drive, you'll need to make sure there aren’t any underlying issues. All the medicinal mushrooms in the world won’t help you feel like 'it' when you're surviving on 5 hours of broken sleep a night (thanks, parenthood … you're so rewarding). Look to these issues first:

• Pain during sex
• Medical conditions like arthritis, cancer, neurological diseases, etc
• Prescription medications
• Alcohol or drugs
• Surgery
• Fatigue

Mental issues that lower sex drive

You might also want to speak to a counsellor or psychologist if any of the following issues pervades your life and affects your sex drive:

· Poor body image following surgery, pregnancy, etc

· Infertility treatment can put you off having sex - both guys and girls

· An inability to orgasm (or not knowing how to bring yourself to orgasm) can definitely affect your sex drive

Supplementing for sexual satisfaction

There is actually an enormous range of whole food supplements that can get your sex life back on track. Obviously, different nutrients or glandular support will help women with different causes of low sex drive. The supplement categories that can often help are:

• Supplements that help you sleep well can increase energy, and therefore sex drive. Note that the natural hormones produced during sex help you sleep well too!
• Whole food supplements that provide glandular support to ensure that your hormone levels are well balanced can help
• And of course, there are some whole food supplements, like New Chapter's Native Woman, that focus specifically on the problem of low sex drive, and have other great benefits as well.

5 Tips to Sleep Well and Be Well!

Sleep is pretty important for our bodies. In evolutionary terms, anything that makes us so vulnerable to predators for an enormous 1/3 of the time we are alive MUST be critical to our survival! Even for those of us who diligently get our 8 hours sleep per night, a poor quality of sleep can still affect your everyday functioning. Today we look at some lifestyle choices, some nutritionist's recommendations, and some organic vitamins that can help you make the most of your nighty-nights!

High GI carbs at dinnertime

High GI carbs in general are something that must be taken in moderation. However, the crash after high-GI carbs is actually something that you WANT at bedtime! Studies have shown that higher GI jasmine rice helped promote sleep compared to low GI long-grain rice.

Drink warm milk or herbal tea? Perhaps not…

These are two folk remedies for helping fall asleep, but unfortunately their effectiveness hasn’t been proven. And in fact, while they may help some people get to sleep initially, they often create a poor quality of sleep by ensuring that your bladder is uncomfortably full most of the night.

Organic vitamins for sleep

Many 'sleep herbs' have not been fully proven to be effective. One exception is valerian root, which features prominently in New Chapter's Tranquilnite Plus. If you have trouble initially getting to sleep, this could be a valuable friend.

Skip the wine with dinner

If you are having trouble sleeping, don't drink with dinner. One theory is that alcohol suppresses REM sleep, which is critical for actually feeling rested in the morning. Drinking at dinnertime can also make you wake up more during the night, both because of a filling bladder and other causes.

Bedtime snacks

Having a bedtime snack can help stop you waking up during the night due to hunger. Often we don't even realise that we are hungry when we wake up during the night time … we just feel tired. If the cause of your insomnia isn’t determined, try a low GI snack just before bed. Keep it small, though, or your nutritionist will have something to say about it!

The Nutritionist's Take on: Headaches

So many of us (both husbands AND wives!) take headaches for granted as a fact of life. We feel them coming on and just struggle on through … not really present, definitely not enjoying whatever we're doing, but believing that everybody gets them.

In fact, headaches are NOT normal - pain one of our body's signals that something is wrong! Today we look at what nutritionists have to say about headaches … and how you could start truly enjoying your life, headache-free, from now on.

How headaches and nutrition are linked

Nutrition is rarely a direct cause of headaches (although there are exceptions to this rule). However, in many ways headaches and nutrition are inextricably linked. Here are some of the ways they go together like birds and bees:

• Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can lead to arterial spasms: If you eat too many high GI foods or skip a meal, the change in blood sugar levels can sometimes lead to a spasming of the artery walls. This will cause pounding, horrible headaches. This is one reason that you can't simply take whole food multivitamins on top of a diet completely devoid of fruit and veg.
• Caffeine withdrawals can cause headaches: Here is one of the direct nutritional links.
• Poor nutrition can exacerbate stress: Stress alone can be a major headache … simply trying to battle with your thoughts not to fall into a depressive or angry spiral is enough to give you a headache. However stress can also nullify the effects of painkillers, reduce your natural endorphin levels, and lower your tolerance to pain.
• Hormones can affect headaches: And your nutrition is well known to affect your hormones. This is particularly relevant for women, for whom a lack of estrogen can exacerbate headaches.
• Infections: If your body's natural resistance to infection is impaired by poor nutrition, you will be more prone to headaches related to infection in your ear nose and throat, all of which can cause related headaches.
• Nerve damage: Vitamin deficiencies can sometimes cause nerve damage, which would then cause you to develop recurrent headaches.
• Diabetes and headaches: Poor nutrition is a prime cause of type 2 diabetes - a diet that includes frequent peaks and troughs in blood sugar often increases the body's resistance to insulin. And diabetes itself, as well as the drugs used to treat it, are prime causes of headaches.
• Dehydration: Don't forget the liquid component of your diet! Nutritionists will tell you that water is an incredibly important part of your diet … become dehydrated, and it isn’t only your head that is suffering. Every cell of your body starts crumpling and not working properly.

In many of these cases, whole food multivitamins will help support your body through times when you just don't have the time to make salads for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, you need to have a good underlying diet as well … there is no substitute for the real thing, in the long term. Whole food supplements can help, too.

The Nutritionist's Take on: Allergies

Nutritionists and allergies have been long-time foes! There are certain foods which are extremely rich in nutrients and energy, but there are many individuals across the globe who are sensitive to them … meaning that they have to jump nutritional backflips in order for their bodies to get what they need. Today we look at some of the most important things that nutritionists want you to know about food allergies, and how to correct them with whole food supplements.

Common food allergies

Some of the food allergies most common in children are:

• Eggs
• Milk
• Wheat
• Soy
• Peanuts

Less commonly, kids might be allergic to shellfish, tree nuts, or even strawberries. However, adults more commonly have problems with:

• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Shellfish
• Other fish

Nutritional causes of allergies

It is also worth considering that some allergies are developed in response to certain eating habits. For example:

• Excessive fluid intake at mealtimes can increase the likelihood of allergies
• A diet which encourages overgrowth of candida albicans can increase the likelihood of allergies
• Eating a single food repeatedly can cause an allergy to it
• Food additives can cause allergies to the carrier media

Correcting for allergies with other foods

Most of the foods that both adults and children commonly develop allergies to are especially rich in nutrients, or are an integral part of our diets. It is often a major undertaking to cook for a family where one of the members is allergic to wheat, for example. Which is why most nutritionists recommend …

Correcting for allergies with supplements

Often the safest and simplest way to correct for allergies is with supplements. For example, if an adult is intolerant of milk, they'll need to eat around a kilo of spinach every day to get the same amount of calcium as they would from milk products.

However, whole food supplements are always recommended, as they come in a base closest to the way the body would naturally encounter the vitamins and minerals, making them easier to absorb.