Archive for the ‘vitamin supplements’ Category

The Superfood Cure: Fabulous Fiber Anti Aging Benefits

Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Super Food

Super Food

Who would have guessed this non sexy, oldie but goodie food can be so beneficial to your health and can be the best cure for what ails you. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that has the parts of plants that cannot be digested. It is composed of both soluble and insoluble forms. Soluble fiber draws water into the bowel and slows digestion: oats, barley, psyllium. It is fermented in the colon. Insoluble fiber is not fermented or digested and absorbs water and helps move your bowels. Soluble fiber seems to have the greater health benefit and the good news is that it also has insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber has the best of both and usually is in foods that have a lot of nutrients.

The usual intake in the SAD or Standard American Diet is only 15 grams! If you eat over 35 grams, you can be anti aging by reducing chronic diseases such as:

  • Coronary Artery Disease
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Stroke
  • High Cholesterol
  • Constipation
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Diverticulosis
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Chron’s Disease
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Weight Control
  • Blood Sugar Control
  • Colon Cancer
  • Reflux
  • Diabetes

A little goes a long way!

  • Only a 10 gram increase will result in a 14% decrease in cardiovascular effect and 27% decrease in risk of death from heart disease.
  • Adding an additional 14 grams is associated with a 4-pound weight loss. It makes you feel full and curbs your appetite
  • Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar and decreases belly fat.
  • Soluble fiber decreases bile acids and lowers cholesterol reducing your need for cholesterol lowering medication.
  • Fiber also balances hormones and blood sugar.
  • All of these benefits are anti aging and prevent or reverse chronic illness.

It moves you!

  • It is a gentle and natural laxative and lightens your load.

While all that I listed has both soluble and insoluble fiber, here are good sources:

  • Soluble fiber: legumes such as peas, lentils and kidney beans, fruits especially apples, pear, oranges, berries and prunes, oats, rye, chia seeds, barley, vegetables such as broccoli and carrots
  • Insoluble fiber: whole grains, bran, nuts (raw, unsalted), seeds, flax, hemp, peels of fruits

Novel sources:

  • Chia seeds: Soak in water or almond or coconut milk and add cinammon and a slight touch of stevia to make porridge. They are an excellent source of fiber and Omega 3 fatty acids. You can also sprinkle them in shakes, yogurt and cereal.
  • Quinoa: It is not only high in fiber; quinoa is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids and is an excellent source of magnesium and manganese. You can use this as a side dish instead of rice or make a hot cereal. Cooked quinoa seeds are fluffy and creamy, yet slightly crunchy with a nutty flavor. Quinoa is gluten free and high in vitamins and minerals.

Supplements:

  • Look for supplements with beta glucan and psyllium to get all of these beneficial effects: laxative, lower cholesterol, blood pressure, weight and blood sugar as well as reduction in heart disease.

Start slowly and increase gradually. Drink plenty of fluid. Fill up with fiber for a fabulous cure.

Lorraine Maita, MD is an award winning physician, speaker and author of “Vibrance for Life: How to Live Younger and Healthier”. She is an expert in anti aging medicine, bioidentical hormone replacement, weight loss, nutrition, supplements and executive health.  She has a private practice in Anti Aging Medicine www.howtoliveyounger.com  in Short Hills, NJ.  You can live younger and healthier!

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Fish Oil Nutrition Facts

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

What’s fishy about your fish oil? The standard bottles boast over 2,000 mg in a capsule. However when your read the fine print, the part of the oil that has the benefits of decreasing inflammation, lowering cholesterol and preventing clotting and other health benefits are the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) components. When you read the label, the EPA and DHA are usually 720mg or less. Also, some of the latest studies indicate that the way a fish oil is processed and purified affects its bioavailability – meaning how much is really absorbed and gets into your system. The latest study, published in the European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology, suggests that omega-3 fish oil concentrates that are on a triglyceride backbone have much better bioavailability than purified fish oil. There are other benefits to taking this type of fish oil. Be a savvy consumer because saving some money to get less absorption and less of the benefits may actual cost you dollars and not make much sense.

Good nutrition

Get fit

It’s important to buy purified fish oil to avoid unwanted mercury, PCB’s and other contaminants. If the fish oil is then concentrated, it can be esterified to an ethyl group (Omega 3 –EE) or re- esterified to a triglyceride backbone (Omega 3 – TAG or TG) which is the natural way oils are found in nature. It is more expensive to process the oils this way. The process of converting EE to TG is uncommon due to cost. It can add 30-40 % to the end bulk oil cost. Therefore, to keep costs low, the vast majority of fish oil concentrates sold globally are EPA and DHA EE concentrates. Because the term fat or oil refers only to TG the EPA and DHA ethyl ester concentrate is, by definition, no longer a fat or oil and is incorrectly marketed as fish oil.

A small percentage of fish oil concentrates on the market are natural TGs. To offset the increased cost, there are advantages. Here’s what studies show how they stack up.

• Because EEs rarely occur in nature this affects the way they are digested and absorbed in the body.

• The EE oils are 50 times more resistant to lipase, an enzyme that digests fat and a study showed they stopped being broken down after 10 minutes and could not continue to be absorbed. The study showed TG oil was continuously broken down and absorbed.

• Natural TG fish oil results in 50 % more absorption comparison to EE oils.

• Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of EEs are much less stable than those in the natural TG form and readily oxidize.

• After a ten-week oxidation period, the EE DHA oil decayed 33 % more rapidly

• The TG form offers greater stability to the fatty acids and prevents breakdown and oxidation. Oxidized fats lead to inflammation and plaque formation the very thing you want to avoid by taking the fish oil.

To determine if your fish oil is a good quality

• Do not buy if it is labeled “Fish Oil concentrate”

• Look for the amount of EPA and DHA

• Look for rTG or TAG to be sure it is the triglyceride form

• Buy from a reputable company that has a third party test their products for potency and purity

Buying the less expensive product may save you 30%, however is it worth it to get 30% less shelf life, 50% less absorption, and a less stable product with less active ingredient and reduced capability of obtaining the nutrition benefits for which you are taking it?

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Vitamin D – Defense for your immune system

Friday, January 21st, 2011

Could Vitamin D be the best defense against colds, flu and other infections? Colds and flu abound in winter when Vitamin D levels are the lowest. I had the privilege of attending a lecture on one of the world’s experts on Vitamin D, Dr. Michael Holick and he confirmed a lot of what I have been reading and practicing regarding Vitamin D. Here are a few important facts:

• You cannot make Vitamin D in winter above a latitude of 35N (Alburquerque, NM, Charlotte, NC, Kyoto, Japan, Kirkuk, Iraq, Nicosia, Cyprus).

• It is very difficult to get toxic from Vitamin D even though it’s a fat -soluble vitamin. Toxicity occurs if your levels are above 150 ng/ml.
• The optimal range is 60-80 ng/ml, normal ranges are 35-100
• Vitamin D deficiency is rampant.

• 52% of healthy adults are deficient in Vitamin D at less than 20ng/ml.
• The percent of adults over age 50 that were vitamin D deficient 30% of whites, 42% of Hispanics and 84% of blacks.

• Recommended doses to treat deficiency is 6,000 IU per day for 8 weeks
• Recommended dose to maintain levels is 3,000 IU per day.

• The increase in colds and flu occur in winter may be due to low Vitamin D levels.

• Vitamin D is essential for your immune system to function (T cells and macrophages).

• Studies show that Vitamin D supplementation reduced the incidence of respiratory infections in adults to half and school children given 1200 IU of Vitamin D had almost half the rate of flu as those who did not take Vitamin D.

It is important to take a Vitamin D3 supplement, have adequate nutrition and have your levels measured by your doctor. Having a strong immune system is important to ward off infection and along with coughing and sneezing into your elbow and washing your hands to prevent spread, you can build immunity internally. Have a healthy New Year.

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