Tips for Choosing Vitamins

This article came out on the internet a few days ago, titled - "Are Vitamins a Waste of Money? Here’s Some Tips for Choosing a Great One".

Recently, there’s been a good bit of crack-down on super stores, drug stores, and health food stores carrying vitamins and minerals that have found to be inefficient and a waste of people’s hard-earned money. Many are even made with toxic chemicals, fillers, and some don’t even contain the amounts of vitamins that they claim to. Stores like Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and GMC have all been made to remove these products, along with many other stores as well. It’s left consumers not only questioning the entire supplement industry, but if vitamins are actually just a waste of money to begin with?

Why Multivitamins are Important and How to Choose the Best

First, let’s take a look at three reasons we actually do benefit from quality vitamins and minerals, and why it’s not smart to skip them.

1. Our soil is not as healthy as it once was, therefore the food we eat is likely not as high in vitamins and minerals as much as we need in order to get the recommended daily amounts of nutrients. While eating organic is a great start, it’s not a full-on solution.

MyAchingKnees comment: Agree! We are not producing nutrient rich foods anymore and with the introduction of GMO products that gets worse. We simply cannot get the nutrients we need from food. Add the fact that we live in a toxin laden environment, the need for nutrients is greater. Supplementation is necessary for optimal health.

2. Planning out meals to get enough of the RDA of each vitamin and mineral is not only timely, but can also be exasperating having to measure out foods and get enough of each of them, while also maintaining a work schedule, family, and let’s be honest … food cravings and prep time! Taking a multivitamin and eating a healthy diet is just a no- brainer for most of us and a simple way to ensure we get what we need. While just taking a multi doesn’t make up for a poor diet (nothing will), it does help those eating a healthy diet be their healthiest selves without much hassle otherwise.

3. Shortages in certain vitamins and minerals should never be minimized. They can lead to digestive, energy, heart, mood, weight, and blood problems in a very short amount of time. While some nutrients like vitamins A, C, and E are very easy to obtain in the diet, some others aren’t. Minerals like magnesium and calcium are quickly depleted by the body. If iron isn’t consumed with enough vitamin C, you could suffer an absorption problem, and vitamin B12 and vitamin D can not be obtained in our food naturally in sufficient amounts. (Vitamin B12 comes from bacteria in the soil and vitamin D from the sun.) Fortified foods may help, but they’re also not a guarantee anymore than most highly processed, synthetic vitamins. In fact, they may be more harmful due to sugars, refined oils, and other processed ingredients they contain.

So, if we need a multivitamin (and a vitamin B12 and vitamin D3 supplement), how do we know if we’re getting a good one and not some phony that’s stealing our money?

MyAchingKnees comment: Your proof is going to be self evident. Certainly after a couple months you will be able to tell the difference if you are taking a quality product. Maybe your allegeries will be less. Maybe you'll have more energy, get sick less or as in my case, not sick at all in 10 years. Blood tests can confirm if you are getting quality nutrients. In my blood tests, my cholesterol lowered significantly as did my A1C, PSA, LDL level, and homecysteine. My blood pressure also dropped from a norm of 138/94 to 120/84. I cannot attribute this to anything other than taken quality supplements. Again, the effects or proof will be self evident or they won't be. Knee pain significantly deceased - almost non existent in fact, so I am convinced that quality is the key to nutritional supplements.

Here are three simple things to keep in mind next time you purchase vitamins, minerals, and supplements of any kind. If you follow these, you can easily be sure your money is well-spent and health is in better hands than just winging it or buying cheap products.

1. Look for a Food-Based, Organic Multivitamin

These may sound pricey, but there are many, many affordable brands that are multivitamins and supplements made from real, organic foods. Most are vegan, but you’ll want to check labels. This gives us a synthetic-free form of getting in our multivitamin that’s free of chemicals and is closer to a natural state. Most of these are also much more effective and most are allergen-free and non-GMO, though you’ll want to check labels to be sure.

2. Be Vitamin D and B12 Savvy

B12 is one of the most important vitamins for brain, nerve, digestive, blood, and overall heart health — you have to be sure to take this for good health. But you don’t have to opt for a chemical-based or hard-to-absorb form. Go for a vegan option so you know it’s free of animal ingredients and choose a sublingual form which dissolves under the tongue and immediately enters your bloodstream (don’t worry, they don’t taste bad!). Or, you can use a liquid form which will also go immediately into the bloodstream like sublingual supplements do. Multivitamins typically contain less than what you need, or they don’t contain an easy to absorb form.

Vitamin D should be consumed in the form of vegan vitamin D3 by a supplement, not D2 (synthetic-based) which is what most fortified foods are made from, sadly. Research based on the benefits and importance of vitamin D comes from D3, so be sure you spend your money on the right type. Vitamin D does come from the sun, however, most of us don’t get enough or may suffer absorption issues that are hard for us to measure how much we’re actually getting. Look for a vegan vitamin D3 supplement with 400- 5000 I.U. depending on how much you need (women in menopause, those who suffer bone health problems, depression or low energy, or those at a risk for colon cancer may need more).

3. Look for GMP Certified

GMP stands for Good Manufacturing Practice. It’s the certification that top quality supplements receive and ensures they have been thoroughly tested. If you’re purchasing your vitamins from a natural health store, are buying food-based and organic, you are likely already purchasing GMP certified. But check the label just to be sure—it never hurts.

MyAchingKnees comment: GMP is not the certification for top quality supplements. There are two types of GMP - Food Grade and Pharmaceutical Grade. If a product say's GMP without stating Pharamceutical grade GMP then it is food grade GMP and cannot guarantee it is free of impurities and the ingredients were tested for potency. With Pharmaceutical Grade GMP you get what's on the label, with Food Grade GMP it's a crap shoot.  Bottom line is that you get what you pay for.

You needn’t spend a ton of money on supplements; there are many terrific, vegan brands out there that come with a price range for everyone, so pick the ones that work best for you. Don’t be afraid to supplement a healthy diet; in today’s world with all the health problems and struggles we face, it’s a smart choice so long as you’re smart about doing it.

Article from One Green Planet

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

10 of the Most Nutritious Vegetables You Can Eat

I like this article (originally published on Wall St Cheat Sheet) I because one of my four legs of a healthy lifestyle is to "maximize the good foods and minimize the bad." Any article that can point out some of the better foods we can eat is worth reading. But the consumer will never know for sure what they are eating in today's world of GMO foods, and with vegetables losing much of their nutrient content in the picking-processing-shipping-purchase cycle. Still, best to do as well as you can in picking and eating foods. Optimally, we could eat whole foods and get all the nutrients our bodies need for optimum health. But that's not the case, so another leg of healthy lifestyle is take the best quality nutritional supplements you can get. And let's not forget the two other legs of a healthy lifestyle,....live a physically life (be physically active), and, avoid toxins - the worst being tobacco.

10 of the Most Nutritious Vegetables You Can Eat

We have already established that eating healthy is hard. Navigating a Whole Foods is not for the faint of heart. Which fats are bad? Which vegetables are best? Does anyone really know? Maybe, maybe not, but thanks to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, we can at least see how all the famed veggies stack up.

What do you think?

The agency responsible for the newsletter gathered nutritional info made available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database, and it ranked the world’s most popular vegetables, taking into account their calories and Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, Potassium, and fiber content. Some veggies were obvious superstars, racking in scores of over 1,000 points, but others didn’t fare so well, coming in with a score of 54 points, and yes, iceberg lettuce, we’re looking at you.

So just in case you’re interested to see if you’re favorite veggies make our top-ten list, check out these top nutrient powerhouses that experts are particularly impressed with. Corn, parsnips, and celery surely aren’t inspiring awe in anyone, but we bet you can guess who are.

10. Carrots

Coming up first on our list, sitting at the No. 10 spot is a vegetable that is arguably pretty easy to love: the carrot. One serving of this orange veggie is only 30 calories, and it comes packed with fiber, Vitamin K, and lutein. Lutein is a caretenoid concentrated in the retinas of your eyes, and it’s a necessary component of normal vision. It is suggested that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that contain lutein may also decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, so it appears as though your grandma was actually on to something. There’s a reason she told you eating carrots is good for your eyes.

9. Radicchio (raw)

Radicchio is next! Sounds like the king of the vegetables, yes? And the Nutrition Action Healthletter supports that ranking. Sometimes known as Italian chicory, two cups of this good stuff yields a whopping 20 calories and a score of 467 points on the newsletter’s rank. Radicchio also comes laden with Vitamin K and lutein, along with Vitamin C and potassium. When you’re on the hunt for radicchio in the grocery store, seek out the leaf vegetable with white-veined red leaves. Though it has a bitter and spicy taste as raw, grilling or roasting helps mellow out its flavor. Unfortunately, radicchio is only listed at No. 9 on our list in its raw form, but we won’t blame you if you wade into the radicchio waters roasting the vegetable first.

8. Sweet potato

Coming in at No. 8 is American’s favorite superfood, the sweet potato. The white potato’s healthy counterpart racks up a score of 492 points on the Nutrition Action Healthletter’s list, and it’s all thanks to the ample amount of Vitamin C one small potato with skin provides, along with potassium, fiber, vitamins, and magnesium. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, there’s a reason healthy eaters love to love this naturally sweetened carbohydrate.

7. Mustard greens

But the sweet potato still isn’t healthier than seven other vegetables that reign supreme, and one of them is the mustard greens. One serving of these veggies yields just 10 calories, but its nutritional profile is worth much, much more. Mustard greens are chock full of Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, and fiber. They’ve been noted on lists as the world’s healthiest foods, and just in case you’re ready to give mustard greens a try, look out for the plant that often occurs in some form in African, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and soul food cuisine.

6. Pumpkin (canned)

Continuing to make our way down the list, we come to another favorite orange veggie, because pumpkin shouldn’t only be purposed as a vehicle for your Halloween jack-o-lanterns. Rather, in its canned form, it racks up 577 points on the list highlighted on the Nutrition Action Healthletter, and there, experts praise its Vitamin K, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber content. Bake this baby into baked goods and pride yourself on eating one of the top six healthiest veggies.

5. Turnip greens

Back on our greens game, we come to another impressive plant, the turnip greens. Turn up for turnips. One serving of these babies comes to only 20 calories, and for that measly total, you get vitamin K, lutein, vitamin C, and fiber. Sorry, potassium, turnip greens aren’t a vehicle for you. These root vegetables go by a lot of different names, but Americans tend to either roast them, sauté them, mash them (with bacon!), or puree them into a soup. It’s your choice how you consume them, but as their score of 714 points evidences, you should definitely say yes to the turnips.

4. Swiss chard

Swiss chard comes in at the No. 4 spot, boasting an impressive score of 717 points, just slightly higher than the value of turnip greens. This leafy green vegetable is often used in Mediterranean cooking and covers all the nutrient bases, coming packed with Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. It is also rich in minerals and protein. Healthy eaters have been chomping down on this veggie for decades now, but if you’re new to swiss chard land, sauté it or roast the chard leaves first. Cooking mellows out the bitter taste of this vegetable and yields a pleasant, albeit earthy, flavor.

3. Collard Greens

And you don’t have to be from the South to enjoy this next highlighted vegetable, although that’s where collard greens enjoy the most fanfare. These plants are known for their large, dark- colored, edible leaves, and they’re easily made into a number of popular dishes, including good old sautéed collard greens with bacon. Loaded with Vitamin K, lutein, Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, there really is no reason you shouldn’t be at least trying to incorporate collard greens in some of your meal plans, especially considering one serving only yields 20 calories. C’mon now.

2. Spinach (raw)

Getting closer to the distinction of best, vegetable, ever, we come to spinach, a vegetable that many consumers have grown to love — no pun intended. In its raw form, spinach totals 968 points on the scale provided by the Nutrition Action Healthletter, and it’s no surprise, considering the green vegetable is teeming with vitamin A, lutein, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Hide spinach on your salad, in your eggs, in your smoothies, or even in your desserts, and you’ll be benefiting from its impressive nutritional profile.

1. Kale

And the greatest vegetable of them? King Kale, killing the competition with its score of 1,392 points. It’s hardly a surprise that kale takes the No. 1 distinction, considering it’s the it veggie healthy eaters love to love, but now we fully understand why. This vegetable has been around since the dark ages, but it’s now one of hottest greens that can be found on foodies’ plates, especially if it is massaged. Raw kale previously seemed almost unpalatable due to its bitter taste and unappetizing texture, but now that chefs and foodies have discovered that massaging the vegetable with olive oil and salt can break down its tough cellulose structure, healthy consumers are all about reaping the benefits of the greens packed with Vitamins A, C, and K, B6, and calcium. Case in point? Eat your kale, and like it too.



For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

The Truth About Your Metabolism

The Truth About Your Metabolism From Men's Health, .....well maybe not the whole truth, but interesting enough to post. 

People talk about their metabolism a lot. You'd think they actually understand it. But often that's not the case. Here are four things you should know about the M-word:

Burning Truth No. 1: Skinny People Have Fast Metabolisms

VERDICT: Sometimes

"There are slim people with slightly low metabolisms who just don't eat very much," says Michael Jensen, M.D., an endocrinologist with the Mayo Clinic. "And there are heavy people with really high metabolisms who eat a huge amount."

Burning Truth No. 2: Lean Tissue Burns More Calories Than Fat Does Even While You're Asleep

VERDICT: True

"Your brain, heart, liver, and kidneys use a lot of energy, even when you're lying still," says Dr. Jensen. Muscle and the GI tract don't use much at rest; fat burns practically nothing. His estimate: You burn about a calorie per minute at rest. A quarter of that is torched by muscle, and 1/50th of it is burned by fat.

Burning Truth No. 3: Some Guys Can Only Slim Down By Slashing Calories

VERDICT: False

"In 30 years I've never seen anyone with a truly low metabolic rate," says Dr. Jensen. "People who think they need an 800-calorie diet often have resting metabolic rates of 1,500 calories."

So why can't they slim down? They're often eating many more calories than they realize. His fix: Accurately record everything you eat for two weeks. Unhealthy trends may emerge.

Burning Truth No. 4: Cutting 500 Calories A Day Means You'll Lose A Pound A Week

VERDICT: Not Quite

A pound of fat does equal 3,500 calories, and you may lose a pound the first week. "But when you eat less, you lose lean tissue, so your basal metabolic rate goes down," says Dr. Jensen.

Surprise: You may gain more than a pound after a 3,500-calorie pig-out, since calories stored as sugar cause you to retain water.

MyAchingKnees Comment: You can spend your time trying to figure out Metabolism rates, what foods may increase it, and what doesn't. You can try the latest fat burning tablets from the local pharmacy. Or you can just accept that diet and exercise, minimizing the bad foods you eat and increasing your physical activity is the most assured way to lose weight.

If you try some of those well advertised diet plans out there just be aware that most of these diets fail because they do not provide the nutrients your body needs. That's why some people get sick during their diets as their immune system is depressed from the lack of nutrients, and that's why some people gain weight after the diet as they are nutrient starved when they come off their diets.

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

Derick's Question on PSA Levels

Derick wrote: "Dear MyAchingKnees, thanks for all the information on joints and supplements. I think I found you searching for 'degenerative diseases'. I may have used PSA since I was looking for articles on high PSA level and calculations (?) what people have been eating or taking for this. Derick".

Derrick, this is what one of the on-line medical journals say about Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA).  PSA is present in small quantities in the serum of men with healthy prostates, but is often elevated in the presence of prostate cancer or other prostate disorders.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PSA test for annual screening of prostate cancer in men of age 50 and older. PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter) are a warning sign and further testing is advised .

It also sounds like you are asking what products people (men) take for prostate health.  Here is my story:
In 1993 I was involved in a car crash resulting in, among other things, a back injury. Since that day I have had urinary tract symptoms replicating a much older man with prostate issues....frequent urge to urinate, getting up in the middle of the night to urinate, and a weak stream of urine, etc.

In 2002 I took a medical exam for an insurance policy. Blood work showed that my PSA level was 3.5
In the next couple of years I again had blood work done and on subsequent lab reports my PSA levels were 3.8 and 3.9

In 2005 I started taking a pharmaceutical grade multi-mineral and anti-oxidant supplement. In 2006 and 2009 or 2010 my blood work showed my PSA level at 0.7 and 0.6 respectively. What I believe made the difference, the lowering of my PSA, is that the optimum level of quality nutrients I was providing my body. I took no other supplement but a high quality Glucosamine, and a Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement as well.  But while my PSA levels went low, my prostate symptoms were not resolved. 

It was not until just a couple years ago that I started taking a prosate specific product. This product contains ingredients that most prostate supplements have,.... Saw Palmetto Extract - 320 mg; Lycopene - 5 mg: Soy Isolflavones - 25 mg, but is produced in a FDA certified lab with USP specifications for potency, uniformity, and disintegration. Since I started taking this prostate product my symptoms have gone away. I have no other reason than to believe it was this product that helped that.

Derick,..don't know what info you are looking for, but surely if you have a high PSA level, please go back to the doctor and get a more fuller exam.  I would advise you to be careful if you are prescribed any medication for problems relating to prostate issues.  Some of those are thought to have significant side effects.  Take charge of your health and be a informed consumer. 

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

Nutrients For Faster Weight Loss

From the article Six Nutrients For Faster Weight Loss, by Alisa Bowman and The Editors Of Women's Health

Vitamin D For years scientists have searched for a magical ingredient that would help people shed fat. In 2008, Dr. Shalamar Sibley of the University of Minnesota put 38 obese people on an 11-week diet where they consumed 750 calories less than their estimated daily need. Study participants whose blood levels of D were higher at the study's start lost more weight than participants whose blood levels of D were lower. They actually lost a lot more--70 percent more, to be exact. Based on the results of this study, by fueling your body with the D-rich nutrients it needs to stay out of a fat-storage state and in a fat-burning state, you can speed weight loss by 70 percent! Thousands of studies on vitamin D have been completed over a span of 40 years, and it's become clear that vitamin D is pretty incredible and effective. Still, it's not the only player on this fat-melting team. Turn up your metabolism and melt body fat adding vitamin D and these five fat-melters from The Vitamin D Diet.  

MyAchingKnees comment: While I believe that we need to take much more Vitamin D that the RDA recommends,...I am currently taking between 3,900 and 5,900 mgs each day, it is hardly definitive that Vitamin D works to burn fat. It is widely thought, and believed by me anyway, that Vitamin D is an essential ingredient for bone health and especially proper immune system function. The question needs to be asked, "what other nutrient deficiencies did the obese people with Vitamin D deficiencies also have?"  

Calcium
Calcium is a mineral that works in tandem with D to help you shed fat. Calcium is stored in fat cells, and researchers think that the more calcium a fat cell has, the more fat that cell will release to be burned. Calcium also promotes weight loss by binding to fat in your GI tract, preventing some of it from getting absorbed into your bloodstream.  

Protein
In addition to keeping hunger in check, regular doses of protein help to keep body composition--the amount of fat relative to muscle--in better proportion. Along with calcium and D, protein helps you to preserve muscle mass as you drop pounds. A recent study out of the University of Illinois found that women who consumed protein twice daily lost 3.9 percent more weight than women who consumed less of it on a diet. They not only lost more weight, they also got stronger as they did so, with their thigh muscles alone ending up with 5.8 percent more protein at the end of the diet than before.  

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3s enable weight loss by switching on enzymes that trigger fat-burning in cells. They also help to boost mood, which may help reduce emotional eating. And omega 3s might improve leptin signaling in the brain, causing the brain to turn up fat burning and turn down appetite. You almost can't consume D without consuming omega-3 fatty acids, and that's a good thing. Fatty fish like salmon (which are also high in D) are one of the richest sources of this fat. Other foods, such as some nuts and seeds, contain a type of fat that can be converted into omega-3s after ingestion.  

MyAchingKnees comment: I think that all the benefits of Omega 3's are relatively unknown to people. If people have experienced what I have experienced with a quality Omega 3 supplement, they would be breaking down the doors to take it.  

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)
MUFAs are a type of fat found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, peanut butter, and chocolate, and they have just one chemical bond (which is why they are called "mono" unsaturated). One Danish study of 26 men and women found that a diet that included 20 percent of its calories from MUFAs improved 24-hour calorie burning by 0.1 percent and fat burning by 0.04 percent after 6 months. Other research shows that MUFAs zero in on belly fat. Specific foods that are high in MUFAs--especially peanuts, tree nuts, and olive oil--have been shown to keep blood sugar steady and reduce appetite, too.  

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)
CLAs are potent fat burners that are found, along with D and calcium, in dairy products. They are fatty acids that are created when bacteria ferments the food in the first part of the stomach of cows, sheep, and other ruminant animals. The CLA that is created through fermentation then makes its way into the meat and milk of these animals. When we consume these foods, the CLA helps blood glucose enter body cells, so CLA can be burned for energy and not stored as fat. CLA also helps to promote fat burning, especially in muscles, where the bulk of our calorie burning takes place.  

The whole fat-melting picture Now before you start superdosing yourself with all of these fat melters and waiting for the fat to magically melt away, let's be clear: D and other fat melters facilitate weight loss, but they are not magic pills. If you just took a bunch of supplements, you might see some effect--for instance, by swapping some fat for muscle. But to see serious weight loss, you'll need to combine these fat melters with portion control.

MyAchingKnees comment: While I like all the efforts to bring sound nutritional research to people, the danger of articles listing single ingredients as some people will buy and consume these single ingredients while missing others.  I believe that we need a wide range of nutrients in scientifically determined ratios so they can work syngergistically with each other to provide our body's immune system with the complete package.    

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

Nutrient Depletion from Prescription Drugs

MyAchingKnees has been saying for the last couple of years that there are side effects, some severe, some not that affect people differently. One of the ways prescriptions drugs as well as some OTC medications affect our health is to bleach nutrients from our bodies. Not good when you consider that almost everyone does not get the required amount of nutrients they require for optimal health anyway. We were happy to see an article published to express this view. The excellent article below was written by Melissa A. Bartoszewski, DC, on www.naturalnews.com

(NaturalNews) Many people do not realize that the medications they take on a daily basis can negatively affect the amount of nutrients stored in the body. Numerous drugs actually deplete specific vitamins and minerals, causing a whole host of additional problems. Being aware of what is being depleted by the prescription you are taking can help you to choose what to supplement with. Vitamins and minerals are vital for the everyday cellular processes in your body; inadequate amounts may lead to decreased immunity, digestive issues and much more.

What you are losing

Below are a few examples of some commonly prescribed drugs and a list of the nutrients that are automatically depleted.

Anti-inflammatory drugs deplete: Calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, Vitamins B6, C, D, K, folic acid, chromium, glutathione, Vitamins B6, C, D, and K

NSAIDs: Folic acid, melatonin Aspirin/Salicylates: Vitamins C, K, B5, folic acid, calcium, iron and sodium

Corticosteroids: Vitamins A, C, D, B6, B12, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium and zinc

Cochicine (used for gout): Vitamin B12, calcium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, Beta-carotene

Statins (Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor,etc.): Coenzyme Q10

ACE Inhibitors for hypertension (Lisinopril, etc.): Zinc

What's the big deal?

Zinc is a master mineral necessary in hundreds of enzymatic reactions throughout the body and plays a vital role in immune function. Zinc is not stored in the body and must be ingested through diet or supplementation. If you are chronically sick, you may be deficient in zinc due to poor dietary intake or from drug induced nutrient depletion. A good way to see if you are zinc deficient is to buy organic zinc lozenges, hold in your mouth, if it tastes sweet, you are deficient, if it tastes bitter, you are not. Once the sweetness wears off and there is no taste/bitter, discard the lozenge.

Coenzyme Q10 is a very powerful vitamin and antioxidant, also known as ubiquinone ("found everywhere"), because it is found in every cell of the body. Energy and ATP production are the main functions of this important vitamin. Research has shown that people with heart failure have lower levels of coenzyme Q10 and the vitamin may help to increase the energy production, pumping action and strength of the heart muscle.

Folic acid, also known as Vitamin B9, helps convert food into energy, assist with proper brain function, DNA/RNA synthesis, red blood cell production and iron functions. This vitamin may also aid in the prevention of heart disease, although further studies are still needed. Folic acid deficiencies may occur due to drug induced nutrient depletion, Celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and alcoholism, just to name a few.

These are only a few examples of very important vitamins and minerals that are automatically depleted when taking certain medications. Zinc, coenzyme Q10, folic acid and the other vitamins and minerals are essential for good health and the processes that go on inside of our bodies on a constant basis.

Take control of your health

What's important to remember is that no drug is 100% percent safe and side effect free. Researching any drug your doctor prescribes is vital to being your own health advocate. Question your health care provider as to why the medication that he/she is prescribing is necessary. A list of side effects is now given with each prescription at the pharmacy; a list of vitamins and minerals that are automatically depleted as a direct result of the medication should also be supplied to every patient, with every prescription. You only have one body and should do everything in your power to protect it and keep it functioning optimally.

Sources:
http://www.invitehealth.com/drug-induced-nutrient-depletion.html 
http://www.nutridesk.com.au/mineral-matters.phtml 
http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/supplements/a/CoenzymeQ10.htm
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b9-000338.htm 

About the author: Dr. Melissa Bartoszewski is a chiropractor at Estramonte Chiropractic & Wellness Center. She is a graduate of New York Chiropractic College. Dr. Bartoszewski is also a raw food and natural healthcare advocate.

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

More on Vitamin D - Yahoo article

 This is from an article on Yahoo! by a lady named Weir.  Her article begins: Vitamin D provides a wide range of health benefits. It is effective in preventing rickets and treating other bone diseases such as osteoporosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, getting enough vitamin D may prevent high blood pressure and protect against certain types of cancer. It may also promote weight loss for women. A growing body of research links heart health to sufficient vitamin D.

Most recently, a large-scale study in the American Journal of Cardiology discovered that boosting vitamin D levels in heart patients who were deficient cut their risk of death by 60%, among other significant findings.

Getting enough vitamin D

It's estimated that 30-50% of Americans suffer from vitamin D deficiency. The human body produces vitamin D, which is actually a hormone, when exposed to sunlight. However, during the winter, it is impossible to get enough exposure anywhere north of San Francisco or Philadelphia. People in southern states who slather on sun block or who stay indoors most of the time may not be getting enough either. The same goes for people who are housebound due to illness or whose work keeps them inside all day. In addition to lack of sunshine, other conditions may increase likelihood of vitamin D deficiency:

o Infants who are exclusively breastfed. Mother's milk may not provide sufficient levels. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a supplement of 400 IU per day.

MyAchingKnees comment: 400 IU is the old RDA for Vitamin D. Nutritional experts now recommend many times that. The sources that I trust, recommend a minimum of 2,000 IU daily. And the benefit to Vitamin D, of course from a reputable company manufacturing a potent, bio-available product, is that 2,000 IU can come in a very small tablet form making it easy to take.

o Older adults. The elderly do not synthesize vitamin D as effectively as younger people and tend to spend more time indoors.

o People with dark skin. The pigment melanin can reduce the body's ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight.

o Obese people. Body fat alters the way vitamin D is released into the system.

Choosing a vitamin D supplement

If you are shopping for a supplement, research suggests that vitamin D3 is more effective than vitamin D2. Food sources rich in vitamin D include cod liver oil, fatty fish (such as mackerel), eggs, and fortified milk and orange juice.

MyAchingKnees comment: We agree that the form and source of Vitamin D to take is the D3 form. Most people just do get an adequate amount of good food each day, and have no way of knowing if they are getting the right amount of complete nutrients from their foods - other than repetitive blood tests, hence the need to supplement.

There is some debate over how much vitamin D to take. The National Institutes of Health recommends 600 IU per day for adults but some experts say that taking a supplement that contains between 1000-2000 IU can be beneficial. Its important to stay within the appropriate range--there is a toxicity at over 10,000 IU. The best way to determine how much you might need is to have your physician administer a simple blood test and make a recommendation based on the current level in you system.

MyAchingKnees: I take 3,800 IU of Vitamin D3 (as Cholecalciferol) daily, while my wife and college bound daughter take 4,400 IU each day.

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.

Eight Healthiest Spices & Herbs

One of my friend's swears up and down on the validity of herbs and spices. Everything from the well know Ginseng to Sage to Cardamon. I believe herbs and spices are great optimizers with the other essential nutrients we should be getting in the right quantities each day. But beware of bad sources. The article below is from Eating Well Magazine, by Kerri- Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D., Associate Nutrition Editor.

8 of the World’s Healthiest Spices & Herbs You Should Be Eating
As a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor at EatingWell Magazine, I know that herbs and spices do more than simply add flavor to food. They let you cut down on some less-healthy ingredients, such as salt, added sugars and saturated fat, and some have inherent health benefits, many of which Joyce Hendley reported on for EatingWell Magazine.

Modern science is beginning to uncover the ultimate power of spices and herbs, as weapons against illnesses from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. "We're now starting to see a scientific basis for why people have been using spices medicinally for thousands of years," says Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D., professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and author of Healing Spices
(Sterling, 2011).

Aggarwal notes that in his native India, where spices tend to be used by the handful, incidence of diet-related diseases like heart disease and cancer have long been low. But when Indians move away and adopt more Westernized eating patterns, their rates of those diseases rise. While researchers usually blame the meatier, fattier nature of Western diets, Aggarwal and other experts believe that herbs and spices-or more precisely, the lack of them-are also an important piece of the dietary puzzle.

"When Indians eat more Westernized foods, they're getting much fewer spices than their traditional diet contains," he explains. "They lose the protection those spices are conveying." While science has yet to show that any spice cures disease, there's compelling evidence that several may help manage some chronic conditions (though it's always smart to talk with your doctor). What's not to love? Here we've gathered eight of the healthiest spices and herbs enjoyed around the world.

MyAchingKnees comment: Keep in mind while although Spices and Herbs may help fight infection and disease, and I believe they do, they will have significant less potency, if any potency at all, based on who manufactures the item and how they do so. The dried herbs and spices, ground up and placed in little shaker bottles found in about any kitchen in America, probably have little or no potency or nutritional content left. Best case if you grow your own, harvest and use immediately or find another alike source, or, find a manufacturer who guarantees the potency, purity, bio-availability and dissolution of any herb or spice based product.

Chile Peppers
May help: Boost metabolism.
Chile peppers add a much-appreciated heat to chilly-weather dishes, and they can also give a boost to your metabolism. Thank capsaicin, the compound that gives fresh chiles, and spices including cayenne and chipotle, their kick. Studies show that capsaicin can increase the body's metabolic rate (causing one to burn more calories) and may stimulate brain chemicals that help us feel less hungry. In fact, one study found that people ate 16 percent fewer calories at a meal if they'd sipped a hot-pepper-spiked tomato juice (vs. plain tomato juice) half an hour earlier. Recent research found that capsinoids, similar but gentler chemicals found in milder chile hybrids, have the same effects-so even tamer sweet paprika packs a healthy punch. Capsaicin may also lower risk of ulcers by boosting the ability of stomach cells to resist infection by ulcer-causing bacteria and help the heart by keeping "bad" LDL cholesterol from turning into a more lethal, artery-clogging form.

Ginger
May help: Soothe an upset stomach, fight arthritis pain.
Ginger has a well-deserved reputation for relieving an unsettled stomach. Studies show ginger extracts can help reduce nausea caused by morning sickness or following surgery or chemotherapy, though it's less effective for motion sickness. But ginger is also packed with inflammation-fighting compounds, such as gingerols, which some experts believe may hold promise in fighting some cancers and may reduce the aches of osteoarthritis and soothe sore muscles. In a recent study, people who took ginger capsules daily for 11 days reported 25 percent less muscle pain when they performed exercises designed to strain their muscles (compared with a similar group taking placebo capsules). Another study found that ginger-extract injections helped relieve osteoarthritis pain of the knee.

Cinnamon
May help: Stabilize blood sugar.
A few studies suggest that adding cinnamon to food-up to a teaspoon a day, usually given in capsule form-might help people with type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar, by lowering post-meal blood-sugar spikes. Other studies suggest the effects are limited at best.

Turmeric
May help: Quell inflammation, inhibit tumors.
Turmeric, the goldenrod-colored spice, is used in India to help wounds heal (it's applied as a paste); it's also made into a tea to relieve colds and respiratory problems. Modern medicine confirms some solid-gold health benefits as well; most are associated with curcumin, a compound in turmeric that has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin has been shown to help relieve pain of
arthritis, injuries and dental procedures; it's also being studied for its potential in managing heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Researcher Bharat Aggarwal is bullish on curcumin's potential as a cancer treatment, particularly in colon, prostate and breast cancers; preliminary studies have found that curcumin can inhibit tumor cell growth and suppress enzymes that activate carcinogens.

MyAchingKnees comment: The Glucosamine I take contains and is optimized by a very bio-available form of Curcumin complex.

Saffron
May help: Lift your mood.
Saffron has long been used in traditional Persian medicine as a mood lifter, usually steeped into a medicinal tea or used to prepare rice. Research from Iran's Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences has found that saffron may help to relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and depression. In one study, 75% of women with PMS who were given saffron capsules daily reported that their PMS symptoms (such as mood swings and depression) declined by at least half, compared with only 8 percent of women who didn't take saffron.

Parsley
May help: Inhibit breast cancer-cell growth.
University of Missouri scientists found that this herb can actually inhibit breast cancer-cell growth, reported Holly Pevzner in the September/October 2011 issue of EatingWell Magazine. In the study, animals that were given apigenin, a compound abundant in parsley (and in celery), boosted their resistance to developing cancerous tumors. Experts recommend adding a couple pinches of minced fresh parsley to your dishes daily.

Sage
May help: Preserve memory, soothe sore throats.
Herbalists recommend sipping sage tea for upset stomachs and sore throats, a remedy supported by one study that found spraying sore throats with a sage solution gave effective pain relief. And preliminary research suggests the herb may improve some symptoms of early Alzheimer's disease by preventing a key enzyme from destroying acetylcholine, a brain chemical involved in memory and learning. In another study, college students who took sage extracts in capsule form performed significantly better on memory tests, and their moods improved.

Rosemary
May help: Enhance mental focus, fight food borne bacteria.
One recent study found that people performed better on memory and alertness tests when mists of aromatic rosemary oil were piped into their study cubicles. Rosemary is often used in marinades for meats and poultry, and there's scientific wisdom behind that tradition: rosmarinic acid and other antioxidant compounds in the herb fight bacteria and prevent meat from spoiling, and may even make cooked meats healthier. In March 2010, Kansas State University researchers reported that adding
rosemary extracts to ground beef helped prevent the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs)-cancer-causing compounds produced when meats are grilled, broiled or fried.

MyAchingKnees comment: I would add Garlic to this list. From personal experience and also with others I believe Garlic cloves, crushed and chopped then lightly cooked with food provides the an immune boost at least for the first 24 to 48 hours. I found this out by our practice of taking a handful of garlic tabs while in the woods and swamps in order for our bodies to emit either an odor or sweat that kept insects, like mosquitoes, away. One of the guys I knew used to keep crushed garlic cloves in a zip lock bag and would chew on them throughout the day. He swore up and down that it helped him get over colds quicker.

For Information on the Products I recommend, click here, to contact me.