Enhanced water: not best method to get vitamins

health supplements - vitamins enhanced waterQ: I have seen a number of bottles of water containing vitamins in the supermarket. Should I buy these for my family?

A: The simple answer to your question is no. There are better ways for your family to get their vitamins. Foods based on Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide provide the best source of nutrients, but if you are concerned about your nutrient intake, a multivitamin, or mineral supplement is a cheaper alternative to these vitamin waters.

Vitamin waters, also called enhanced waters, are the latest fad to get people to drink more bottled water. They are simply flavoured water, some with sugar or artificial sweetener as well as vitamins and in some cases, herbal supplements added. They range from 0 to 100 calories per 591 mL bottle. They are marketed as an option for people who dislike the taste of plain water but want to drink something lower in calories other than pop or juice. However, at about $2 per 591 mL bottle, they are an expensive and inefficient way to get these vitamins.

Most of the vitamin-enhanced waters on the market have added B vitamins such as vitamins B3, B6 and B12, while others have additional vitamin C, pantothenic acid and vitamin E. The percentages of vitamins added range from 10 per cent of what an adult needs daily to 250 per cent. Whenever amounts exceed the recommended dietary allowance for vitamins, there may be a risk for toxicity.

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What Are The Effects Of Anger And Stress On Your Health

stress managementA test was performed on subjects at UCLA with anger and response. Those subjects who kept their anger inside experienced a decrease in immune system activity, but those who expressed their anger showed no chemical change in their bodies. Pent up anger is not the only kind of anger that is dangerous to your health, according to Duke University, students who had low hostility scores had one quarter less chances of having coronary heart disease then those who scored higher in hostility levels.

Those who response violently to stressful situations experienced biochemical changes that are just as destructive to the body and these violent reactions may elevate serotonin levels in the body. Studies with mice and serotonin levels showed that mice with higher levels of serotonin were more aggressive than those with lower levels; more studies need to be done to determine if upholstery cleaning respond in the same way but theoretically speaking serotonin can increase aggressiveness in humans as well. One study on students at Harvard Medical School that was going on for forty five years suggested that health and happiness in older age was directly related to how well those individuals got along with their parents while they were younger. Those students who had a stronger family relationship were happier forty five years later when the University followed up on how they were doing later in life.

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Calcium-rich foods protect bone health in adults

bone healthEvery so often a report is published that claims a miracle food has the potential to prevent cancer, halt heart disease or increase energy levels. Yet, research has consistently proved that a balanced diet and moderate physical activity is the best approach for the average healthy adult. People with special health situations should follow their doctor’s advice.

Why is a balanced diet always touted? Different foods contain different kinds of nutrients, such as protein, minerals, vitamins and carbohydrates. So a variety of foods should be eaten to provide all the nutrients the body needs to maintain good health.

There is a common misconception that only growing children need calcium. But adults also need calcium and vitamin D to protect bone heath during life. The body cannot make its own calcium. It can be supplied by eating calcium-rich foods.

Primary sources of calcium sources are milk, yogurt and cheese. Some people are lactose intolerant and have difficulty digesting milk products. They may ask their doctor about getting their calcium through nondairy calcium-rich foods, taking calcium/vitamin D supplements, using lactase pills or drops that make milk products digestible or drinking lactose-reduced milk.

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How Sugar destroys human health

sugarSugar is addictive and is a low grade poison like any other addictive substance.
Refined sugar in particular provides only “empty” calories and lacks natural nutrients which are present at least in some degree in the whole sugar beet or whole sugar cane.

Such sugar is a refined and therefore incomplete carbohydrate. The body cannot utilize refined carbohydrate that has been depleted of all the proteins, vitamins and minerals that make a complete carbohydrate.

Eating sugar is worse than not eating anything because to digest, detoxify and eliminate it, the body tissues must give up precious vitamins and minerals which are vital to cellular health. Deficiencies occur and cells grow weak ­ causing the tissues and organs they compose to become weak and your health to deteriorate.

Additionally, the body’s attempt to use incomplete carbohydrate results in the formation of toxic substances such as pyruvic acid and abnormal molecules containing five carbon atoms. Pyruvic acid accumulates in the brain and nervous system causing all manner of problems. The abnormal molecules accumulate in the red blood cells causing a different set of problems.

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Tired All the Time? It May be Sleep Apnea

Sleep ApneaRepetitive blockages of the airway, called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), can reduce airflow or cause breathing to stop. When this happens, frequent brief awakenings can leave a person feeling excessively sleepy during the day, even though they believe they have had a full night’s sleep. More serious consequences, including obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes — are often related to OSA. Primary care physicians must be able to recognize symptoms of OSA and counsel their patients to provide optimal treatment.

To make clinicians aware of the importance of proper diagnosis and management of OSA, The Journal of Family Practice published a 32-page supplement in August 2008, Obstructive sleep apnea: Recognition and management in primary care. This multi-authored supplement discusses recognition of OSA, its economic and societal burden, clinical consequences, and treatment options.

The Journal of Family Practice, an indexed and peer-reviewed journal distributed to 96,000 family physicians, has published Obstructive sleep apnea: Recognition and management in primary care with support from Cephalon, Inc. It is available in print and can be found online at: http://www.jfponline.com/supplements.asp?id=6507 .

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Take Herbal Supplements to Retain Youth

herbal nutritional supplementsThese herbs are quite difficult to take alone. So the best way to take them is in form of Herbal Nutritional Supplements. Some of the herbal supplements are mentioned below:

• Bilberry Extract Supplements: These supplements improve eye health and night vision. Clinical tests confirm that the herbal nutrition supplement bilberry is effective in treating eye diseases such as cataracts, retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma and myopia.

• Cranberry Extract Supplements: These supplements are used for prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections and type II diabetes.

• Ginger Extract Supplements: These supplements are beneficial for irritable bowel syndrome, morning sickness, nausea, osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, gastro intestinal disorders, hay fever, HIV support, low back pain, migraines and rheumatoid arthritis.

• Gingko Biloba Extract Supplements: These supplements promote mental clarity and concentration, increases alertness and short-term memory and is used in cardiac protection formulas. It offers significant protection against the development of Alzheimer’s disease, hearing loss and strokes.

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Biotechnology can improve health

food and nutrition - biotechnologyIn its broadest sense, the history of food and nutrition is that of biotechnology. The current fascination with advanced genetic and production technologies has tended to obscure the fact that biotechnology has been critical to the food industry and to human health for millennia.

Preservation techniques using live organisms (such as yeast for brewing or bacteria for yoghurt manufacture) have been around for a very long time and they show no sign of being superseded. Similarly, selective breeding of domesticated animals and plants has made them almost unrecognisable compared to the original wild types. Modern oranges have been tailored to human tastes and are quite unlike the small, very bitter native fruit.

In Australia, selective breeding of plants, cereals in particular, has been central to the food industry. One spectacular (but largely unrecognised) example is the selective breeding of cereals (especially wheat) to cope with the excessive levels of boron in large tracts of the country. Some 30 per cent of agricultural land is affected by this toxicity and the selection of resistant cultivars has given us high yields from otherwise unusable soil.

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Alan James Group Launches Enhanced Websites for Existing Nutritional Supplement Product Line

nutritional supplements

nutritional supplements

Alan James Group (AJG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Interleukin Genetics, Inc., announced today that it has launched several new websites for its line of branded nutritional supplements, including Ginsana(R), Ginkoba(R), Venastat(R), Optiform SAM-e(R), Cransana(R) and Ginsana Gold Multiplex(R). AJG markets items in multiple categories in the Food, Drug and Mass (FD&M) channels, including Energy, Memory, Leg Vein Health and Heart Health. AJG also distributes Kyolic(R) in the FD&M channels under an agreement with Wakunaga of America Co. Ltd.

“Our products help enhance energy and memory, promote leg circulation, support cholesterol, joint and urinary tract health, and improve general wellness,” said Woody Kassin, General Manager of AJG. “We believe our products can help individuals to lead healthier and more fulfilling lives.

“The product-specific websites provide scientific research regarding how AJG branded nutritional supplements may help promote a healthy lifestyle, as well as education on proper usage. In addition, each website provides product information including ingredient descriptions, recommended daily dosage, as well as where the products can be purchased and the money back quality guarantee. The new websites are: http://www.ginsana.com/, http://www.ginkoba.com/, http://www.venastat.com/, http://www.optiformsame.com/, http://www.cransana.com/ and http://www.kyolic.com/.

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New Online Venture Offers Unique Herbal Supplements

herbal supplementsWhen it came time for Mildred Jones to start her own business, she did something unique by combining her love of the Lord and his message with the work that she’s doing. The result is www.JCOnlineHerbalSupplements.com, a website that specializes in health supplements that can help with hypertension, vision problems, weight loss, menopause and a host of other issues.

“Being a Christian and focusing on the spiritual and the mental well being of the people at my church, I wanted to focus on the physical, as well as the spiritual,” explains Jones. “I am very health minded and I take many of these products for my own well being. I thought it would be a great idea just to sell them.”

A fresh face to internet business, Jones’s store opened in June 2008, but she’s already taking the initiative and thinking about what to add to her company’s catalog. “I want to expand my target base in the categories that are on my site, such as high blood pressure and menopause,” Jones says. “In the near future, I’m thinking about building another website.”

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Hungry or thirsty - how to differ?

hungry or thirstyEvery time you feel for another snack, ask yourself, “Am I really hungry?” Many people confuse thirst for hunger. We think that we need some food but instead our body needs just water. As a result, we overeat, and leave our bodies still thirsting.

Proper consumption of water is one of the ways, not only to feel fit and healthy, but to look and feel our best, as well. Find out what Dr. Cousens, a renowned nutritionist, has to say about the connection between water and health. This article will also offer you a new formula for increasing the volume of water you drink. Here it is:

A simple way to avoid overeating is to drink less. According to Dr. Cousens` words, “When you start to hydrate by drinking enough water, then your appetite goes down because you’re actually fulfilling what your body needs—which is water. And that’s also a very powerful way to lose weight, but also, in a sense, the hydration makes everything, including your brain, work a lot better.”

His position is to drink more water. Then you will feel well and have more energy.