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When choosing a multivitamin it is important to remember that not all supplements are created equal.

These 5 tips should help you in choosing the best multivitamin for you:

1) Study the “USP” number on the label. This number will indicate the percentage of the product that will dissolve after one hour in your stomach, the higher the percentage the better, it varies from product to product.

2) Make sure that the iron in your product is either ferrous fumarate or ferrous sulfate because they are the most absorbable.

3) For best absorbtion take your supplement with meals, on an empty stomach it may cause nausea.

4) Make sure to take your multivitamin with a meal that contains a little fat. Vitamins A, D, K and E need a little fat to be effectivley absorbed by your body.

5) Make sure that your supplement only provide 100% of the RDA.

It is still better to get your vitamins from fresh food, since it remains the perfect nutrient but seeing that we don’t live in a perfect world it is wise to supplement your diet with a good multivitamin.

Your health

Libido and Health

P.S. For a good selection of the best multivitamins see our - where to buy - online health store.

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Supplementing with vitamin D has many extremely important health benefits e.g. anti aging qualities, a combination of vitamin C and vitamin D is a very effective barrier against viral infections, vitamin D helps in the prevention of auto immune diseases, etc.

Recently, researchers found a link between inadequate vitamin D in large populations and sudden mass outbreaks of influenza and other viral diseases.5 They pointed out that adequate vitamin D “dramatically stimulates the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells and epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract, where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection.”

It’s my opinion that avoiding sugar and refined carbohydrates, while taking in adequate vitamin D (from sunshine and supplements), ascorbic acid and whole foods will ultimately be found much more effective than vaccinations in preventing the flu.

If you’re a serious anti-aging enthusiast, 3,000 to 4,000IU of vitamin D daily should be just a starting point for finding out your individual optimum level. After using that amount for a few months, work with a physician skilled and knowledgeable in nutrition and natural medicine to have your serum calcium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels checked.

Tropical levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (60 to 100 nanograms per millilitre) are considered both safe and optimal for the best of health, anti-aging and longevity. Serum calcium is a double-check on vitamin D safety, since taking too much vitamin D will cause your serum calcium to elevate.

If this happens, you should stop supplementing with vitamin D temporarily and use a lower level when you start taking it again even if the 25-hydroxyvitamin D level is at the optimal tropical level.

Vitamin D helps prevent auto immune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. It also promotes healthy bones in children and adults, helps prevent and (if necessary) treat osteoporosis, effectively treats psoriasis (with topical vitamin D) and down-regulates a metabolic pathway that is directly involved in many cases of hypertension.

Research has also demonstrated an 80% reduction in new cases of childhood diabetes.

The benefits are incalculable because supplementing with vitamin D and vitamin C can add many healthy years to your life and give your children a healthy head start in life.

Another fact I’ve come to realize about diet is that is not so much what we eat that is the problem as it is what we don’t eat that has serious health repercussions.

So don’t be naughty take your vitamin D.

Your health

Libido and Health

P.S. For optimum supplements follow this link - Where to Buy?

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Revealing facts about a lack of vitamin D that you should know.

True we should all guard against too much sun that could cause skin cancer, the fact however remains that a lack of vitamin D has been proven to be a leading nutritional lack in many other cancer cases e.g. breast cancer and prostate cancer.

I’m sure most of you know by now how good vitamin D is for you and that the sun is the very best source of this nutrient. Study after study has shown that a lack of vitamin D is a direct cause of disease, disability and shorter life spans.

Unfortunately, a large majority of dermatologists and conventional medical practitioners are too crippled by heliophobia (Helios is Greek for “sun”, phobia is Greek for “exaggerated or irrational fear”) to pay any attention to this research.

It’s sad that most conventional medicine practitioners need to be reminded that humanity evolved (or was created) in tropical areas, wore very little clothing and had maximum exposure to sunlight. When people got too much sun, they knew it just as we do today so they found shade or covered their skin.

Back then, their blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were almost certainly the same as those of frequently sun-exposed people living in tropical areas today 60 to 100 nanograms per milliliter.

By contrast, the large majority of individuals I help test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D usually have levels of 20 to 30 nanograms per milliliter. Even people who are specifically working on anti-ageing often don’t measure above 40 to 45 nanograms per milliliter.

Part of this could be because we don’t get much sunshine here in Seattle, but even physicians I know from Southern California and Arizona tell me their patients’ 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels average only 10 nanograms per milliliter higher than mine do in Washington.

How could this be possible? I think it all comes back to medically induced heliophobia, which has led to the use of irrational quantities of sunscreen and it’s all justified by the so-called “experts” on the basis of preventing skin cancer.

But better-informed experts, such as Professor Michael Holick, point out that for every one case of skin cancer prevented by application of heliophobia principles, there are between 20 and 30 more cases of breast and prostate cancer that are directly traceable to a lack of vitamin D.

The risks of developing colon cancers and others are also increased by a lack of vitamin D.

It is a blinding fact that most of our debilitating, killer diseases are as a direct result of our modern diet and lifestyle.

So if you are not able to spend 15 minutes a day in the sun without your shirt on the you most definitely should supplement your vitamin D intake.

Your health

Libido and Health

P.S. Don’t gamble with your life, especially if it is plain idiotic to do so, get your vitamin D today. Where to buy?

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7 Tips To Help You Change How You Eat!

As you may know, not fueling up with the right nutrients can affect how well your body performs and the overall fitness benefits.

Even though healthy eating is important, there are myths that hinder your performance when you fall for them. Below, you’ll find some myth busters on healthy eating.

1. Working out on an empty stomach.
If you hear a rumbling noise in your stomach, the rumbling is trying to tell you something. Without listening to them, you are forcing your body to run without any fuel. Before you exercise or do any physical activity, always eat a light snack such as an apple.

2. Relying on energy bars and drinks.
Although they are fine every once in a while, they don’t deliver the antioxidants you need to prevent cancer. Fruits and vegetables are your best bets, as they are loaded in vitamins, minerals, fluid, and fiber.

3. Skipping breakfast.
Skipping breakfast is never a good idea, as breakfast starts the day. Your body needs fuel as soon as possible, and without it, you’ll be hungry throughout the day.

4. Low carb diets.
Your body needs carbohydrates for your muscles and the storing of energy. Make sure you get unrefined carbs from whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables.

5. Eating what you want.
Eating healthy and exercising doesn’t give you an all access pass to eat anything you want. Everyone needs the same nutrients whether they exercise or not, as well as fruits and vegetables.

6. Not enough calories
Although losing weight involves calories, losing it too quickly is never safe. What you should do, is aim for 1 - 2 pounds a week. Always make sure that you are getting enough calories to keep your body operating smoothly. If you start dropping weight too fast, eat a bit more food.

7. Skip soda and alcohol.
Water, milk, and juice is the best to drink for active people. You should drink often, and not require on thirst to be an indicator. By the time you get thirsty, your body is already running a bit too low.

Changing how you eat is always a great step towards healthy eating and it will affect how your body performs.

The healthier you eat, the better you’ll feel.

No matter how old you may be, healthy eating is something you should strive for.

Once you give it a go, you’ll see in no time at all just how much it will change your life - for the better.

Your health

Libido and Health

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Many patients can reach LDL cholesterol goal through dietary changes alone

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Worried about your cholesterol? You may want to schedule a few appointments with a registered dietitian, to get some sound advice about how to shape up your eating habits, according to a new national study led by University of Michigan Health System researchers.

Not only are you likely to lower your cholesterol levels, you may be able to avoid having to take cholesterol medication, or having to increase your dose if you’re already taking one. And you’ll probably lose weight in the process, which also helps your heart.

The new results, published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, are based on data from 377 patients with high cholesterol who were counseled by 52 registered dietitians at 24 sites in 11 states.

In the group of 175 patients who started the study with triglycerides less than 400 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL), and who had their cholesterol measured before they changed or added medication, 44.6 percent either reduced their levels of “bad” cholesterol by at least 15 percent, or reached their cholesterol goal.

The results reflect progress in approximately eight months, after three or more appointments with a dietitian. But the results add further evidence that medical nutrition therapy, as it is called, can make a big difference in a patient’s life.

All of the R.D.s in the study based their advice to their patients on the latest research-based evidence about eating habits and cholesterol levels available at the time of the study: the American Dietetic Association’s 1998 Medical Nutrition Therapy Hyperlipidemia Protocol.

Since that time, the ADA has updated the clinical guideline based on new research, which means that patients who see an R.D. today may have even more success.

The study was funded by the ADA and its Clinical Nutrition Management Dietetic Practice Group, and based on a framework developed for a pilot project carried out in Michigan by the Michigan Dietetic Association and led by U-M cardiovascular dietitians.

“Everyone knows that nutrition is important for cholesterol management, and that a registered dietitian is the professional most thoroughly trained to help patients choose foods wisely,” says lead author Kathy Rhodes, Ph.D., R.D., manager of Nutrition Services with the U-M Cardiovascular Medicine program at Domino’s Farms and the U-M Cardiovascular Center. “But this is the first national study to show what happens when high-risk patients work with R.D.s to follow nutrition guidelines grounded in the best evidence.”

Key nutrition issues in the 1998 guidelines used in the study include reducing saturated and trans fat and increasing “healthy” fats such as olive oil; increasing soluble and insoluble fiber; eating fish twice a week; increasing fruits and vegetables; regular exercise and healthy weight management. Information about food-label reading and dining out was also included.

Called the Lipid Management Nutrition Outcomes Project or LMNOP, the national study was launched by Rhodes and her U-M colleagues Melvyn Rubenfire, M.D., and Martha Weintraub, MPH, R.D., after the successful completion of the Michigan-wide pilot project. Rubenfire, Weintraub and Christina Biesemeier, M.S., R.D., FADA, of Vanderbilt University are co-authors of the new study.

The study gives us an important “real world” picture of what happens when R.D.s try to implement evidence-based nutrition guidelines in daily practice, Rhodes notes.

Some commercial health insurance plans are beginning to cover appointments with registered dietitians, but many still do not. Only dietitian visits for diabetes or kidney disease are covered by Medicare. It is important for people to check their specific health insurance plan to see whether nutrition is covered, Rhodes says. But even if individuals need to pay for the appointments out of their own pocket, they may find that an R.D.’s advice will pay off in the long run, she says.

To get uniform data, the researchers brought lead R.D.s from each state to U-M for training on the cholesterol and nutrition guidelines, and on the data collection practices used in the study. R.D.s at Veterans Affairs hospitals got their training by phone conferencing. R.D.s then returned to their own practices, trained their colleagues and implemented the ADA guidelines.

The study included only patients between the ages of 25 and 70 years who had high cholesterol levels, or triglyceride levels over 200 mg/dL, and who met other inclusion criteria including no recent changes in their cholesterol medication status. Neither the R.D.s nor their patients were paid to participate in the study.

The “real world” aspect of this study included the disappointing finding that many patients dropped out of nutrition counseling after one or two visits, when three or four sessions with an R.D. is recommended to make and sustain truly effective changes in eating habits. Lack of insurance coverage was a major factor in this dropout rate.

Patients whose doctors changed their cholesterol medication status, either by starting them on a drug for the first time, or increasing their dose before assessing the effect of diet change, were not included in the analysis. But for the 219 patients who didn’t have any change in their medication status, the impact of the R.D. counseling became apparent in the first year after the initial visit.

“Although some patients may already be eating a relatively healthy diet, medical nutrition therapy can increase patient’s knowledge of ‘cardioprotective foods’ and assist them in individualizing the guidelines to fit their preferences and lifestyle,” says Weintraub. A significant number of patients reduced the fat in their diets to less than 30 percent of calories, as recommended for a heart health. Many participants also lost weight and/or increased the number of days each week on which they exercised for 30 minutes or more.

“Often, we see heart patients who are on multiple cholesterol medications but have never seen a dietitian. And even when a patient with high cholesterol does get to see an R.D., their care team may not allow enough time to see how effective diet is before they add additional treatment,” says Rhodes. “We hope that this demonstration of how well cholesterol can be lowered without medication or increases in medication will be very useful for patients and physicians, and perhaps insurers too.”

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To learn more about how eating habits can influence cholesterol levels, or to find an R.D., visit the ADA’s web site at www.eatright.org. For more on U-M Cardiovascular Medicine and its nutrition services, visit www.med.umich.edu/cvc/prevention. Reference: JADA, Vol. 108, No. 2, Feb. 2008.

Sources: “EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS”

I trust that you found the article enlightening. It is my purpose in life to persuade you to make the positive changes to your lifestyle that will result in you living a longer, healthier, fulfilled life.

Your health,

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