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.

What's a Paraben?

Humans have done a wonderful job of manipulating our environment to suit ourselves. No other animal on Earth has managed to make their living conditions conform to their wishes quite so well. However, we haven't always been the best at anticipating the effects of some changes (quite understandably!). The effects of various chemicals on our health is one significant area where questions about safety are growing, and parabens are one of the focuses. Today we look at parabens from top to bottom and inside to out, as well as some natural skin care products alternatives that don't contain parabens.

Where are parabens found?

Usually in any topical pharmaceuticals, many skin care products, shampoos, cleansers, shaving gels, lubricants, etc. Almost anything sold in a chemist that doesn’t say 'all natural' on the label will include parabens. Parabens are also sometimes used as food additives.

What's the problem with parabens?

Parabens have been implicated in a variety of health conditions. However it must be noted that there is very little solid, clinical evidence out there … perhaps due to the fact that there is a lot of money available to invest in saying that parabens are safe, and no money to be made in discovering they are dangerous.

Parabens can be identified in blood tests only minutes after the application of a paraben-containing product. In conjunction with this fact, there are several characteristics of parabens that are causing wary consumers to opt for natural skin care products, to be on the safe side:

• Mimic estrogens in the body: This ability means they could be a factor in the development of breast cancer. Another study showed that parabens could adversely affect testosterone secretion in newborn male animals. Additionally, a UK-based study found parabens in around 90% of breast tumours excised from patients.
• Reaction with UVB light: The parabens in cosmetics may react with UVB light from the sun to increase your risk of skin cancer, as well as hasten photoaging and DNA damage. Just the opposite of what your sunscreen or foundation aims to do!
• Potential for allergic reaction: Some people are sensitive to parabens, so even products marketed as for sensitive skin will cause irritation and allergic responses.

Be safe - use only natural skin care products!

Water: It’s Not Just for Drinking Any More

Water is life’s mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.”

~Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Nobel Prize for Medicine (1937)

Water is truly life’s elixir, as the good doctor noted. By now you may have heard the advice to drink at least 8 glasses of pure of water each day for greater health. That’s a great idea, and as good health involves body, mind, and spirit, I’d like to pass along some other really fabulous and stimulating tips from wellness experts John Travis and Regina Sara Ryan in The Wellness Workbook.

For incorporating the planet’s most abundant element into your life, here are six super ideas to add energy, fun, and even intimacy and meaning to your day.

1. Wake up in the shower. When you want to stimulate your circulation, take a shower alternating hot and cold water for 30 seconds each. You’ll be rarin’ to go!

2. Have a water fight. Make yourself laugh! Those belly laughs are good for your spirit and your health, plus having fun with someone is a great way to really connect.

3. Gentler Exercise. If you are looking for a low-impact workout, water aerobics could be your thing! Check out classes at local Y’s and gyms.

4. Create your own foot spa. Add hot water or mild soap or baking soda to a basin. Add feet, and notice how your whole body relaxes as well as your bubbly toes! Dry with a coarse towel and massage. For more pleasure, exchange this favor with someone you adore.

5. Visit a hot springs. If you don’t live near one, put it on your next vacation itinerary and discover why their curative powers have drawn adherents for ages. How about making it an annual ritual? Imagine the possibilities with a partner or group of good friends? Now that's natural skin care!

6. Cleansing your energy field. When you need to move on from the “heaviness” of an illness or sadness, create a ritual involving water in which you purify your spirit. You might want to incorporate healing or sacred water in the ritual. May peace be with you.

Remember that you, like the earth, are composed primarily of water. We come from water. Like air, it can completely envelop us. Let the waters surround you, enter you, and heal you. As you continue, complement your holistic experience with water with the whole food vitamins and whole food supplements that will sustain you on your journey toward wellness.

Four Tips for Fabulous Mature Skin

Good self-care involves taking care of our whole bodies, outside and inside. Being in vibrant health means having energy, a light step, and glowing skin. For us women, as our skin ages, we need to take extra care if we want to keep our healthy glow!

This will mean changing some of our old routines. For one thing, our skin does not produce new cells as quickly. Also, we can see how biology and environment seem to conspire against us, conjuring up wrinkles, freckles, and age spots.

Here are five well-tested recommendations for “mature skin” from dermatologists and skin-care experts:

1. Wear sunscreen daily. As the days are now lengthening, this is especially important. Did you know that wearing sunscreen daily can reduce signs of aging (including age spots and wrinkles) and also decrease your risk for developing skin cancer? Fortunately there are new sunscreens that feel GOOD to put on your skin. Try some of the natural skin care products that are on the market now with the SPF you need for your skin. You will feel the silky smoothness!

2. Change to the skin care products you need now. More mature skin can be easily irritated by the alcohol-based products we needed for teenage skin! By age 40 or so, most women find that using mild, unscented products year round helps their skin feel better. Seek out skin care products that help you manage your skin, such as creams with ingredients such as retinol and vitamin C. Be sure to apply moisturizers, especially after bathing. There are many natural, plant-based and fruit-based products that can refresh and moisturize your skin. If you are not sure what your skin needs, see a dermatologist.

3. Manage stress. Chronic stress raises your level of cortisol, which in turn increases oil production and related skin problems. It also slows down the skin healing process and appears to in increasing the risk of developing skin cancer.

4. Eat a well-balanced diet. When you eat lots of good healthy food and drink plenty of water, you area giving your body the elements it needs to both repair and hydrate your skin from the inside out. To make sure you aren’t skimping on those vitamins and minerals, add a quality supplement. (There are many out there available from reliable health supplement vendors; personally, I take New Chapter Inner Beauty Every Woman’s Multivitamin.

What you don’t know will hurt you

For years I thought that as long as I don’t overindulge in certain foods I didn’t have to worry about their effects on my health. I finally realized that the perfect food in one man’s eye is not always so in another man’s eye. It’s very important to know everything that goes into the foods you eat so that you can understand how that particular food is helping or hurting the systems of your body.

You see, food lost its value a long time ago; people don’t generally pick a food to eat because it is going to help give them soft and healthy hair. People eat foods because they taste good and because they crave them. A billboard isn’t going to have a picture of a bowl of vegetables and say how that food will help your heart. Advertisers use billboards to speak to food cravings, such as having a picture of a fat, juicy hamburger. That entices a craving and a run by the drive-through. The dietary benefits to food is lost to taste. This is why so many people have to add whole food multivitamins to their diet; because they don’t get enough of the recommended vitamins from the foods they crave every day.

We need to be teaching our children a new way to look at food so that they don’t get caught up in using food as a crutch or for comfort as so many over-weight individuals do now. We need to be teaching the importance of weight loss and how living in a country with record numbers of obese people is a major factor in our health care system. Getting our kids back on a healthy track should be the main concern of our educators and parents alike. We are raising unhealthy kids and it never used to be like that.

You are what you Eat

The next time you fill your plate and your mouth with that hamburger and fries from that fast food restaurant you might want to know exactly how that food is going to help or not help your body. You might want to consider your digestive health before you eat a large helping of red meat that can sit in your digestive track for days and cause you all kinds of problems.

So many people don’t think twice about what they put into their bodies; they just think if its food, it has to be helping them. This isn’t always true because foods are supposed to have specific purposes for the different systems of our bodies. There isn’t a perfect food so much as there is lots of perfect foods that work together to fuel the cells that feed our bodies. The problem with food is that it tastes so good and we want to consume too much of it. Certainly there are foods that are very bad for us and should only be eaten in very limited quantities.

Our digestive system is an amazing thing. Once the food gets to our digestive track it gets broken down and picked apart to get all the good stuff that we need and is picked up by the cells and delivered to all areas of the body. When the digestive track gets sick we don’t get the good stuff that we need. That is why adding probiotics to your diet can help you in so many different ways. It helps to make the digestive track run smoothly to get all the good stuff and to efficiently remove all the bad stuff that can send toxins throughout your body. Getting proper digestive track health is vitally important to good nutrition.

Natural Cures

When I became ill with chronic digestive problems my doctor put me on several different types of medications. One medication was for the inflammatory problems in my digestive track and the other two were for side effects from the first medication. I decided, early on, that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life taking medications. I began researching the effectiveness of probiotics to help build a healthier digestive system. Once I had gotten enough information I began using them daily and within a month I noticed a significant difference in how my digestive system was working. I had less pain and a much more normal routine.

I completely eliminated the medications my doctor put me on and added whole food supplements to my diet. The more I researched about my condition the more I realized how much of this problem lies with the diet I was on. I changed my eating habits and began eating foods that help to make my digestive system function properly and with less effort. The foods I had been eating worked against my natural digestive system and caused it to have to work too hard which caused inflammation which in turn caused the pain I was having.

I gave up carbonated drinks and began drinking a lot more water and real fruit juices. I found that fried foods were a main cause of my digestive dysfunction so I stopped eating all fried foods and began eating baked or BBQ. I subscribed to ahealth newsletter that comes monthly and has many recipes and tips to help me continue living a pain free and medication free lifestyle. Too many people think they have no control over their bodies especially when it comes to illness. I have proven that we can take control and eliminate many of the dysfunctions of our bodies simply by changing what we eat and what we put into our bodies. I have never felt better.

The Business of Health

I am a certified and licensed nutritionist and have spent most of my career helping people to change their unhealthy lifestyles. I own and actively work in a health spa. We teach and guide people through weight loss clinics that help them to establish a long term healthy routine in their lives. We like to call it a total mind and body overhaul and we have successfully helped hundreds of people make major changes in their lives.

I personally teach classes on nutrition and have developed a diet that is both healthy and satisfying. The problem with so many people is they think they have to completely give up all the foods they have enjoyed over the years. I teach moderation as well as improving the diet by adding more organic and whole foods to the diet along with herbal supplements to ensure their bodies are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. I stress how important these foods are but also explain that it’s ok to have the occasional piece of cheesecake or slice of pizza now and then as long as it doesn’t turn into a pattern of unhealthy eating.

I also stress the importance of using probiotics to help build a healthy and strong digestive system which then, in turn, helps to build a healthy immune system. All the systems of the body are connected and if one system isn’t functioning well, the other systems will suffer. When you have a healthy digestive system the food you eat can be properly broken down and then distributed to all the cells of the body. When the digestive system isn’t working well, your body isn’t getting fueled properly which leads to it not functioning at top performance. What you eat and how it affects the body is the foundation of a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle. I am dedicated to ensuring that all my clients understand the importance of dietary supplements and eating a healthy diet.

Living a Long Healthy Life

I learned a long time ago that in order to live a long and healthy life I had to take care of the one and only body I was given. It’s so easy to be tempted into an unhealthy lifestyle by eating the wrong types of foods and not taking enough time for proper exercise but I know doing this will shorten my life and not help me to stay healthy during the flu seasons. By eating a good diet and taking herbal supplements and getting plenty of exercise I know I am better prepared for what life has to throw at me.

I’ve also began using probiotics to help maintain a healthy digestive system. When we have a lot of stress in our lives related to our work or relationships, our digestive systems can get out of whack. When the digestive system isn’t working right, we aren’t getting the nutrients from the foods we eat. I have a great deal of stress in my life so I found it quite necessary to include the probiotics in my diet so I wasn’t losing any of the vitamins and minerals from the food I was taking in.

I began using natural skin care products that have no artificial and harmful preservatives. My skin feels and looks at least ten years younger. I know that using natural products is much healthier for my skin than the other products on the market. I decided long ago to do everything I can to ensure my body gets the best of what it needs. Getting the best of what it needs doesn’t always mean the most expensive; it means the best of what makes my body responds and function in the most natural of ways. We can’t always get everything we need from the food we eat so it’s important to include whole food supplements along with plenty of exercise, rest, and a healthy diet.

Your Body, Your Health

Some may say the garden of life begins with what you put into your body to make it grow. Consider the health of humans long ago prior to manmade preserved foods. There was far less sickness and diseases before preservatives came along and I’ve come to realize that the more we get back to the natural food sources the better.

I put myself on a strict diet of only organic foods and began using organic whole food vitamins. Within two weeks of beginning this new life style I found that I was sleeping better, had much more energy, food tasted much better, my skin and hair had a new look to it, and overall, I felt 15 years younger. I removed harmful foods from my diet such as soda, sweets, fattening carbohydrates, and anything that wasn’t natural. All the meat that I eat is organic and has no preservatives.

Using the whole food multivitamins has made a big difference in my life. I can almost feel my body working more efficiently in the manner it was designed to function. My digestive system is working much better than it ever had before. I haven’t had the irritated bowl symptoms I used to get after every meal I ate. Because I have stopped drinking soda and started drinking more water, I can tell that my skin looks and feels much healthier and younger.

I feel it is very important to take care of our bodies in the way they should have been taken care of all along. By making much needed changes in your diet and by taking whole food vitamins, you could extend your life by ten or twenty years at least. There really is no telling how long you can live as long as you maintain your body and keep it healthy.

8 of the Most Nutritious Foods on the Planet

If you had a personal nutritionist, and they had only eight words that they could say to you, this is what they would say! Today we are looking at eight superfoods … foods that are big on health, big on taste, and big on benefits. You probably have quite a few of them in your cupboard anyway … read on to bump up the nutritional value of your next meal!

1. Kidney beans, boiled without salt
   Kidney beans can go in so many different dishes. They are great for tacos and all types of Mexican foods, and delicious n lasagne. They are also a nutrition powerhouse, with 45% dietary fiber (great for your gut), almost 0% calories from fat,, and plenty of protein.
2. Kellogg's All-Bran
   Yes, there are some healthy things in the world that come out of a box! You'll have to add fruit and soy milk to make All Bran palatable, but it is so good for your intestines and digestive health. High fiber products have also been thought to lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease
3. Nonfat mozzarella cheese
   Yum! Cheese in general is very fattening, but nonfat mozarella cheese actually makes it onto the nutritionist's superfoods list. It is high in sodium, but if it makes eating other ultra-nutritious veggies more palatable, then it does an excellent service.
4. Raw lemons
   Lemons are a great source of B vitamins, iron, magnesium, vitamin C, potassium and copper.
5. Bluefin tuna
   Packed with omega 3 and other nutrients, having a can of tuna on a toasted sandwich is a great way to bump up the health factor of a pre-packed lunch.
6. Eggs
   Eggs got a bad rap for cholesterol over the past couple of decades, but nutritionists have always stuck by them. Eggs are made to be a complete food to grow a chicken from nothing more than two little zygotes, to a fully functioning little bird. What can be bad about that?!
7. Coleslaw (homemade)
   The fact that we are eating these vegetables raw is one of the main reasons that home-prepared coleslaw is so healthy. Actively try to use low-fat and salt ingredients though, otherwise you wipe out the net health benefits.
8. Flaxseed
   It had to be on the list! Full of antioxidants, omega-3 and complex carbs, flaxseed is easy to add to other foods and ultra-healthy.

5 More Things You Didn't Know You Could Buy Organic

Many people are actually put off going organic by the amount of chemicals we are actually forced to ingest as part of everyday life. Understandably, some people feel that if they are going to be breathing in cleaning chemicals, having synthetic fabrics rub against their skin and wearing chemical makeup anyway, what is the point in eating organic strawberries? What they probably don't realize is the sheer number of products that are available in organic form nowadays. We go through five unexpected ones, from organic vitamins to organic mascara!

Organic mascara and other cosmetics

The fact that cosmetics are such personal products, applied daily to some of our most delicate skin, has been a major factor in the push to develop organic versions. Now even mascara, previously an invariably chemical-filled goo, has organic versions.

Organic veges in pill form

Did you know that you can get organic whole food multivitamins … you don't actually have to do all of that spinach and squash eating every day if you don't have time, but can still get the benefit of nutrients in an organic medium.

Organic clothing

You can get organic tshirts, skirts, dresses, pants, socks, underwear … everything! Organic clothing might be made from organic cotton or even bamboo fibers, and recycled suede and leather are also popular.

Organic tea and coffee

There are hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who drink more than one cup of coffee or tea per day. It's a Western ritual, and yet another area where you can make the choice to go organic for your health.

Organic toilet cleaner

Usually the most potent and nasty of all household cleaners, toilet cleaner is available in organic form, utilising natural ingredients that are organically grown and processed. The story of a person who had toilet cleaner spill inside their car, and subsequently had it written off by the insurance agency, saying that it would never be fit for a human to ride in again because of lingering fumes and damage to the chassis, has convinced many to switch!

More tips for feeling good

As a whole, the people of our world are living longer than we ever have at any time in the past. With the amazing advancements in medical science that allow us to overcome diseases, it becomes more important than ever to keep our bodies in good shape. We'll be using them for many decades! Today we continue our look at the concept and science of anti-aging - keeping our bodies as close to their young and healthy state as possible. We've got some great dietary supplement tips, as well as lifestyle changes to ensure you have not only a longer, but also a better life.

Don't drink much alcohol

Yes, some types of alcohol have antioxidants in them. However, so does a piece of broccoli! Drinking alcohol for the antioxidants is counter-productive, if you are embarking on an anti-aging quest. The alcohol will harm your liver, meaning that toxins cannot be filtered out of your body as effectively, and your general health suffers. Alcohol is generally a downer on good health. Enjoy … but keep it to an absolute minimum! You'll probably find that once you get out of the habit of drinking, it really doesn’t hold the same temptation.

Look to Japan

Researchers have been trying to pinpoint what it is about the Japanese lifestyle that helps them live so long, so healthily, for many decades! There is no single answer yet - but eating sushi, staying away from saturated fats and meats other than fish, and meditating will certainly not hurt your anti-aging aims.

Reduce stress

If you have done any research into the effects of stress on the body, your heart rate probably went up a bit thinking of how mean you have been to your heart, your brain, and your organs in general on all those horrible days at work! Everybody needs to do something they love at least once a day … otherwise what point is there in living til you are 90? Do what you love, and don't do what makes you stressed for best anti-aging effects.

Get moving

It hardly seems appropriate that this is at the end of the list - however we did mention exercise for anti-aging early on, as an 'antioxidant'. In reality, the benefits of exercise are too numerous to mention. It helps your heart, lungs, muscles, brain, liver, endocrine system, and just about every other little bit in your body to work properly. You need to do exercise at least six times a week - dietary supplements alone can't do all the work!

Awesome Anti-Aging Tips

The term anti-aging is relatively recent, yet the concepts that anti-aging specialists are using are actually very traditional and time-tested. It is simply that the media, the public and scientists are now drawing together all the facets of the science of anti-aging into a single discipline. We have been looking at some of the most important tips for keeping your body working well, as well as looking great. From whole food multivitamins to giving up the cancer-sticks, here are some top anti-aging tips!

Quit smoking

Of course, in one way smoking can keep you young … your friends will never remember you as an old person, because you will most likely have died by middle age. Smoking is one of the number one killers in our society, and decreases both lifespan and quality of life the longer you do it. It affects your lungs, your skin, your liver, your heart, your brain … it is hard, but ultimately worth it.

Always wear sunglasses

One of the only places in our body where cells are not naturally regenerated is our eyes. This is why macular degeneration and cataracts are such concerning conditions. Wearing sunglasses protects your eyes from UV radiation, which your retinas and lenses don't get damaged in the first place … which keeps your eyes younger!

Always Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide

The Australian Cancer Council created this ditty to help remind people how to be sun-smart:

• Slip on a shirt
• Slop on sunscreen
• Slap on a hat
• Seek shade
• Slide on sunglasses (which we already talked about!)

You do need vitamin D (from sunshine) for good health, but ten minutes a day on your face and hands is plenty. The sun has far more harm to do your body than good, if you want to stay as 'young' as possible.

Take omega 3 dietary supplements

If everybody in the world ate their two servings of fish per week, we would quickly run out of fish. Taking an organic whole food supplement focused on Omega 3 is both the healthy and environmentally responsible thing to do.

Awesome Anti-Aging Tips

It isn’t just simple vanity … often being able to turn back the clock in your body means that you will live a longer and more fulfilling life. Anti-aging is so much more than just getting rid of wrinkles … if it wasn't we would all just booking a Botox session and be done with it! Today we start a series of anti-aging tips (including ones on both lifestyle and dietary supplements) to help every man and woman look, but more importantly feel, their best.

Drink plenty of water

Water has several benefits to your body. For starters, most of us don't get enough for our kidneys, liver and brain to function at their optimal level. Secondly, drinking water means that you are not as likely to reach for soda, sugary flavoured milk, or highly caffeinated drinks. Having enough water in your body is essential to keeping your skin, teeth, and inner organs young. Use it to wash down some dietary supplements, and get double the benefit!

Focus on complex carbohydrates

People are often confused about what constitutes a complex carb … really it is simple. The opposite of a complex carb is (as you would expect!), a simple carb. Simple carbohydrates are sugars. Complex carbohydrates are broken down in to sugars. They are foods like seeds, wholemeal bread, brown rice, oatmeal, etc. They are packed with antioxidants, and help maintain digestive health just like probiotic dietary supplements do.

Make use of 'free' antioxidants

Antioxidant dietary supplements can be really handy if you lead a busy life, but one of the most effective antioxidants is free … oxygen! Oxidative stress occurs in an anaerobic environment … maximising the oxygen in your blood is a quick antioxidant boost , and has sooooo many other benefits!

Take your bacteria, every day

New Chapter's Probiotic anti-aging formula helps re-balance the bacteria in your gut, which can have quite a knock-on effect in other areas of your health, and a huge effect on how well you age.

Beating Candidiasis: 10 Diet and Whole Food Multivitamin Tips

Candidiasis can be such a frustrating disease. For those who are predisposed to yeast infections, and especially for those who are on long term antibiotics (such as for acne), or the contraceptive pill, they can be a daily part of life. Today we are looking at some strategies for getting rid of those nasty little bugs, and taking control of your body back, including diet tips and fungal defense complexes.

1. Avoid sugar. Yeast needs simple sugars to survive, so in addition to doing your pancreas and liver a favor, cutting down on the sugar will starve those little yeast organisms.
2. Avoid yeast. Eating white bread, white flour products that have been 'risen', crackers, pastries, etc will only put more yeast back into your body … and you want them OUT!
3. Avoid alcohol. Beer is not the only drink that is made with brewer's yeast - again, you don't want to put more yeast in your body when you're trying to get rid of it!
4. Avoid fruit juices and fruits. Fruit does have lots of essential nutrients, buit it also has a high percentage of natural, simple sugars. You'll be feeding the colonies.
5. Avoid coffee and tea. Pau de arco tea is the only exception to this - even green tea and herbal tea is sometimes seen to contribute to candida proliferation.
6. Avoid chlorinated tap water. This ultra-sterile environment may help the candida colonies grow - tap water can contain natural probiotics that will help outcompete the candida.
7. Avoid old leftovers. You can freeze any dinner that you don't eat, but if something has been in the fridge for more than three days after being cooked, it is a breeding ground for yeast.
8. Fungus foods like mushrooms and blue cheese should be avoided.
9. Peanut butter - it seems that candida likes this as much as kids do! You can use almond butter in place of peanut butter, for a lovely flavor and more nutrients.
10. Take a fungal defense holistic capsule as often as directed. Look for one that is made from organic vitamins and minerals, and has fermented whole foods.

Is Bottling the Answer to the Water Dilemma?

To answer the question posed by today's blog title … NO! If you are wondering why bottled water is certainly not the solution to the problems that our tap water often has, keep reading. We know that tap water is often filled with low levels of agricultural chemicals, chlorine, and various organic pollutants. We also believe that this low level chemical exposure is a huge contributor to degenerative diseases that proliferate in our society … completely negating the good effects of all those organic vitamins that you are taking! Today we give you six reasons why bottled water is not the answer to the water dilemma, but filtration is.

1. It takes three bottles of water to make one bottle of water
   The water input come in the processing, waste, manufacturing of the plastic to hold it, and transport. Seems crazy to keep drinking such a wasteful substance!
2. Bottled water is TERRIBLE value
   Bottled water costs thousands of times what water from the tap does. However, there are no guarantees that it is any purer or fresher than what comes out of your tap! In many cases, all he bottler does is put a label on it and do some marketing to give the impression that it is purer … but doesn’t actually filter anything. You aren't helping your body or assisting your organic vitamins by buying bottled water.
3. Bottled water creates garbage
   Even if you faithfully recycled all of your water bottles, there would still be resources in the form of energy and water needed to melt them back down and convert them into another usable form. If you don't recycle, your water bottles end up as landfill or litter. Given that there are 60 million of them in movement on any given day in the US alone, this is no small problem.
4. If we spent equaivalent money on public water systems instead of bottled water, we would have much more efficient solutions
   Buying bottled water puts your dollars in the hands of those that least need it. It might not feel like, it but it would actually be more sensible to donate what you would have spent on bottled water to your water authority.
5. Bottled water has contaminants, too
   There are no regulations, either state or federal, that require bottled water to be better, cleaner or safer than tap water. It must meet minimum standards, of course … but so must your tap water!a

If you want to make a difference in your body, buying a water filtration system is the best way to support all your other organic vitamins and healthy activities. Bottled water is a waste of money and resources!

Why Are Supercritical Supplements So Good?

If you've stumbled across the New Chapter range of whole food multivitamins and organic vitamins, you are probably also wondering about the "Supercritical" label that many of them have. Many people take it to mean that the supplement is one of the most critical elements of their diet … and while this can be true of the nutrients these little pills contain, it isn’t the intended meaning! Today we take a look at exactly what supercriticality is, and some of the products that utilize this technology and extraction method.

What is a supercritical fluid?

Rather like the superheroes of old, who were not quite man, not quite monster, supercritical fluids are stuck between two physical states. The critical point represents that highest pressure and highest temperature at which a substance can exist as a liquid and vapor in equilibrium. Above a certain pressure things trend towards being solid, while above a certain temperature they trend towards becoming liquid, then vapour -- think water turning to steam as it heats up.

However, there is a magical point at which something can be a solid, liquid and gas all at once. There is also a temperature and pressure range above which a substance is considered supercritical, and has the properties of both liquids and gases, both dissolving other materials and diffusing through solids.

What does supercritical mean with supplements?

It doesn’t actually mean that the organic vitamins exist in a supercritical state, partway between solid and gas … although that would be a neat trick! It means that their ingredients are obtained by supercritical extraction -- that a herb is taken to its supercritical zone to distill a substance from it.

What are the benefits of supercritical extraction?

It is the gentlest way to extract vitamins and minerals from a herb, and means that chemical solvents don't have to be used in the process.

What are some examples of supercritical supplements?

New Chapter has the market in supercritical supplements pretty much tied up! Check out some of their products if you want to see what difference taking supercritical, rather than ordinary, supplements could make to how you feel. Their range includes:

1. Supercritical DHA 100
2. Supercritical DHA 100
3. Supercritical Holy Basil
4. Supercritical Omega
5. Supercritical Stress Advantage Stress Take Care
6. Supercritical Antioxidants

6 Quick Facts About Bone Health

Our bones really do tend to get used and abused .. .even if they are never broken! They tend to be ignored until there is a problem with them -- while plenty of people do preventive cardiovascular exercise, they try to take care of their livers by not drinking alcohol or eating too much meat, and we are very protective of our skins, our bones just don't get that same focus. Today we take a quick overview of bone health at all stages of life, perhaps telling you something you didn’t know about the strategies and whole food multivitamins that can help ensure your bones stay healthy and strong!

1. Did you know the teen years are actually the most important ones in the prevention of osteoporosis? If you have a healthy diet and exercise pattern as a teenager, your peak bone mass grows, and you'll be able to get better effects from weight-bearing exercise andwhole food multivitamins.
2. Eating disorders can ruin your bone health. One unfortunate and long-lasting side effect of eating disorders is the leaching of calcium from your bones, through malnutrition.
3. Dairy products are a good source of calcium, but supplements aren’t always. If you hate milk or are lactose intolerant, be aware of how much calcium you take as a supplement. Taking too much calcium can actually cause it to leach from your bones -- not the desired effect!
4. The greatest calcium intake is usually required during the reproductive years. Between the ages of 20 and 45, there is no excuse for ignoring your bone strength!
5. Weight bearing exercise is critical for increasing bone strength. When you put pressure on your bones, they form tiny, tiny tears and fractures. When these heal, they are stronger than the previous bone was. When you're doing cardio, make sure you do plenty of jogging as well as swimming.
6. You should also make sure you get enough vitamin D to support calcium's role in maintaining strong bones. You get vitamin D from sunshine, so if you have an indoor job you may suffer during the winter months. Always be sun smart, though -- 10 minutes sunshine a day on your face and hands will get you plenty of vitamin D.

Boffin Update: What Science is Doing With Maitake New Chapter Mushrooms

Japanese people have been widely studied in the past several decades, with their seeming natural resistance to many of the common diseases of the Western world. Diet has been found to be an enormous factor in this good health, and as such, scientists have been studying traditional Japanese foods to see how their active ingredients work in the body. Now whole food supplements are incorporating them, including New Chapter organic supplements like Maitake caps and Maitake extract. Today we are doing a scientific rundown of the findings of various studies about maitake mushrooms and their effect on health.

Sugar from Maitake studied for antitumor effects

The department of microbial chemistry at Kobe Pharmaceutical Univeristy found the a polysaccharide (sugar) from maitake mushrooms, also known by their botanical name of grifola frondosa, has antitumor properties. It does this by promoting expression of mRNA in the spleen, as well as enhancing the cytotoxic (cell death, usually cancer cells), of natural killer cells.

Maitake for gastric cancer

This study was done at Tottori University in Japan, in the Division of organ pathology. A water-soluble extract of maitake mushrooms was studied in vitro on four different cell lines of human gastric cancer. A particular type of gastric cancer cell, TMK-1 cells, showed 90% inhibition after treatment with a 10% solution of maitake extract for only 3 days. Of course, in vivo tests will be needed to discover whether this can be translated to use in the body.

Chromium enriched grifola frondosa could be useful for insulin-resistance

Insulin resistance is an important precursor to type II diabetes, one of the biggest killers in the west. Maitake extract, at least of a chromium enriched kind used in this Sichuan University study, could help lower insulin resistance. Mice that were fed the chromium enriched grifola frondosa (CEGF), showed significantly improved glucose disposal rates.

Maitake helps natural killer cells to kill

A study at Kobe Pharmaceutical University has found that maitake mushrooms have an enhancing effect on the action of NK cells, natural killer cells, which are an important component of a strong immune system. D-Fraction, which is a sugar extracted from maitake caps like in the New Chapter organic supplement, can also activate macrophages, dendritic cells and T-cells, as well as inhibiting the growth of tumor cells.

It seems that cancer and insulin resistance are two of the most important potential treatments incorporating maitake … watch this space!

Micronutrients and Whole Food Vitamins

Taking care of our bodies helps us to stay healthy as we age. We know that eating right and exercising can help our bodies to stay healthy. The only problem is, that many of us lead very busy lives and it is hard to get the proper nutrition that our bodies need on a daily basis. Face it; we have all had those days when the only thing we have time to eat is a burger from a fast food restaurant or a doughnut and some coffee at the office. Living on a diet made up of processed foods is not good for our bodies. This is where taking whole food supplements can help give our bodies the nutrition that they so desperately need to function properly.

Taking whole food vitamins can help keep our bodies healthy when we are not always able to eat right. Whole food supplements are made from whole foods not synthetics like many of the other multivitamins on the market. These supplements are made from whole foods that contain micronutrients. Micronutrients are found in fruits and vegetables. They work with the other vitamins that are contained within a whole food to give the body optimal benefits. These nutritional benefits are lost when taking an isolated vitamin alone.

There are also many options that companies are now offering their customers when choosing whole food vitamins. Some are 100% vegan and others are only made with only organic fruits and vegetables. Both still contain micronutrients and are a good choice. Vitamin Code is a great vegan multivitamin brand and Garden of Life supplements make wonderful organic whole food vitamins.

Isolated vitamins and other synthetic multivitamins can irritate the stomach when taken without food. A whole food multivitamin does not irritate the stomach and can be taken on an empty stomach. This is because the body processes the whole food supplements the same way it breaks down any other type of food that is digested. This can be beneficial for those that suffer from stomach or digestive tract problems.

By taking whole food supplements can help all of us get the micronutrients, vitamins and minerals that we need. With not all of us being able to eat healthy every day, taking organic whole food vitamins can help us get the nutrition that our bodies need. Taking good care of our selves will help many of us live a long and healthy life.

Making a Healthy Resolution

The first day of January is when many of us make our resolutions for the year. Unfortunately many of us make resolutions that are not realistic to stick to for a few months, let alone a whole year. This year, try to make a few small ones that will make a big difference in you over all health. One resolution that I have made was to start taking vitamins and supplements everyday in order to help my body get the vitamins and minerals that it needs to stay healthy.

I did a little research and consulted a nutritionist on what I need to be taking to help improve my over all health. With many of us having different health and nutritional needs, it was important to me to find the right supplements and brands that I should be taking. For me, takingorganic whole food supplements was the right choice. I found that this type of multivitamin would help my body to stay healthy. After all, many of us do not have enough time to exercise or eat right on a daily basis. By taking a product that was all natural also made me feel better about what I was putting in my body. The Garden of Life products were the perfect brand for my health and nutritional needs.

After deciding to start taking the Garden of Life supplements, I then decided that not only was taking vitamins for my body a great way to start improving my health, that I wanted to do something healthy for my skin. I found many great natural skin care products that would help my skin to become healthier too. By taking care of my inner body by taking vitamins, I should also be taking care of my outer appearance. TheMyChelle skin care products were just what I needed to take better care of my skin. This has made a big difference in how my skin reacts to all the environmental stresses that can make our skin look dull or dry.

Just by taking a few small steps can help one to stick to that resolution all year round. Not only will you be doing something healthy for your body everyday, you will start to feel better. By doing small things for my health has helped me to stay on track and not to break my resolutions this year.