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One of the most common questions people ask is that who should take vitamins and why?
The answer to this is that it is recommended that everyone should take vitamin supplements since most of us do not take adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and whole foods in our daily diet.
Nearly all of us are rushing against time and we do not have the patience to pick and choose the right type of food. So we land up taking a handful of vitamin pills thinking this would supplement our daily need for nutrients.
Yet if you stop and think for a while - is this pill popping habit doing us any good? According to conservative nutritionists the answer is a NO.
But they add with some consideration that if you do take whole food vitamins, take the natural ones instead of the synthetic pills, compiled in labs and marketed with pomp and glitter.
The question is what are natural whole food vitamins and why are they more beneficial over synthetic, lab-generated vitamins? Here are some pointers to clarify this question:
As the name suggests, natural whole food vitamins are extracted from organic, animal and plant tissues. This means that the vitamins are sourced from fruits and vegetables which are grown in soils rich in minerals. They are grown without using any chemicals or pesticides and made without using any preservatives or additives. Thus the final supplement is made from this non-toxic, natural and concentrated whole food. If you consider an example: it is known that tomatoes are good for health as they are rich in Vitamins C and E. But to get your full quota of these vitamins you would have to eat nearly a dozen tomatoes everyday, which is not possible. So when naturally grown tomatoes are dehydrated and put in capsule form, you could get the benefits of the vitamins only by swallowing a few capsules of pure goodness. When whole food vitamin capsules are made from natural sources, they would contain the entire range of several vitamins and minerals along with several micro-nutrients. Incidentally all these work in a synergistic fashion to enhance the metabolic and absorptive processes. Synthetic vitamins on the other hand provide only part benefits. For instance, with natural vitamins, there are enzymes, antioxidants, trace elements and other activators which assist faster absorption by the body. But when the same vitamins are created synthetically in a lab, none of these catalysts can be recreated. Though there is still no evidence that synthetic vitamins can bring any damage to the body, but it is a fact that most of the synthetically made nutrients are lost since the body can not absorb them. Synthetic vitamins look more attractive when displayed on store shelves as they are not only attractively packaged but also cost less than natural whole food vitamins. But does buying a cheap product make sense, if more than half of it is not even used by the body? The artificial coloring and flavors added to synthetic vitamins may make it look and smell attractive, but have you considered the damage or allergic reactions these additives can cause?
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Once you accept that there is no magic diet, no secret formula, except the clarity of you own mind; then you are free to get a clear understanding of the dynamic benefits of fresh whole food.
One essential story of whole foods over the ages is that food has remarkable healing properties. Most of these properties will keep us well and slow the aging process. We all age and we can learn to do it with excellence by identifying which whole foods can give us a giant acceleration in the right direction.
Some of us might even admit that we have succumb to some eating habits, and lifestyle diets that are not health building to say the least and to say the most down right disastrous.
With your choice in whole food you can make easy shifts in diet like changing what carbohydrates you now prefer. Poor carbohydrate choices are a major deterrent in progressing towards diet success to slow aging. The good news is that you can get supreme nurturing in the form of antioxidants and vitamins from most vegetables. For Vitamin C, at the top of the list are papayas with 188 milligrams in one medium papaya. The list goes on with citrus, kiwi, guava, strawberries, bell peppers and some greens. These can be weaved into your diet on a daily basis. This is easy since food high in vitamin C should not be cooked. Heat destroys Vitamin C.
Sometimes symptoms of aging show up as joint and muscle pans in response to your immune system fighting off free radicals by producing inflammation. Vitamin C in food form can smooth out this process and eliminate the resulting pain. Mostly the carbohydrate like sweets, white bread, low fiber muffins, sweetened juice drinks and high sugar processed cereals will cause us grief if we continue eating them after age 30. Have you noticed how quick and easy it is to over load on french-fries, donuts, sweet breads made with white flour, and processed food like potato chips? This kind of carbohydrate food of youth will definitely produce aging symptoms like belly fat, low or high blood sugar and inability to lose weight and keep it off. Chances are you will not overload on eating natural, whole foods.
As you age you will find that your body will miss the nutrients that so generously come with whole food diets. Trying to maintain smooth skin, joint action, bone density and excellent digestive function will diminish. This is a good time to switch to whole carbohydrate foods that contain calcium, zinc, vitamins, fiber and folic acid. It would also be wise to add healthy fats, like low fat yogurt, nuts and seeds. You will get top nutritional recovery. Who would think that you can get this much food value from eating carbohydrates? The fact is carbohydrates have gotten a bad rep simply because they are the food of choice for massive revenue stream of food manufacturers. When presented to you they are sweet, trans-fatty, over- processed, and definitely detrimental to successful aging.
You might find that your intentions to be successful with selecting, preparing and practicing for your whole food diet are daunting. Then take time to seek out and work with a wellness cooking coach who will take you to effortless success with slowing aging.
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It seems like every time we turn around there is another virus. Strange viruses that are resistant to modern medicine and that threaten to do widespread damage. If you are like me, you have probably decided to try to protect yourself from these renegade viruses by taking supplements and or vitamins. However, did you know that not all multivitamins are not the same? Some of the vitamins that we have been putting into our system are made of synthetic materials.
What is worse is that even if the vitamin or supplement is not made of synthetic products it may not be manufactured in such a way that protects the integrity of the product. This has become such an issue that the Food and Drug Administration has instituted new policies for 2009 and 2010 regulating supplement manufacturers. This however has given vitamin manufacturers until 2010 to become compliant with the new regulations, which means right now they do not have to be compliant.
This information frustrated me to no end; I wanted a good multivitamin to supplement my diet. I tried many of the products for sale at my local retailer but when I found out that, many of them are utilizing isolates, which are synthetic forms of the vitamin I decided to look for something better.
I wanted something that was natural, wholesome and that contained no synthetics. What I found was exciting, I found a whole food multivitamin that was manufactured by a company that not only is years ahead of the FDA standards but also submit themselves to third party inspections! Their whole process has been checked, and then double-checked.
Whole Food Vitamin
When you are young and vibrant you really do not think much about vitamins and supplements. However when you begin to age you become more concerned with your body and health, at least that has been my experience. I wanted something to help my body naturally fight off the effects of free radicals and renegade viruses.
The supplement I finally decided on was Mercola's whole food or raw food multivitamin. Just think about it, what makes more sense health wise a synthetic blend of essentially "fake" nutrients or a supplement that comes from whole, raw foods? When you weigh the benefits of vegetables for instance, in what form are they the most beneficial cooked or raw? Raw, of course!
With the whole foods multivitamin I get the benefits of strawberry, pomegranate, spinach, apple, broccoli and kale just to name a few, and trust me I am not eating spinach no matter how good it is for me! That is one of the many reasons I was so excited to find this supplement. This company has extremely high quality standards and is offering something no one else is even considering.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a great multivitamin that will provide essential nutrients from a natural source, I am sold on whole food multivitamins from Mercola. Unlike many supplement manufacturers they do not use high heat or pressure that can destroy nutrients to create their supplements. There is no fear of allergen contaminants and these vitamins are completely vegetarian! No animal products whatsoever! Trust me, if the other vitamin and supplement manufacturers could boast half of this they would, Loudly. If your multivitamin is not all natural and the company is not ISO 9001 compliant you may want to look for another supplement, I did.
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It is cold and flu season again and many people are asking what to do to avoid or cure a cold or flu. One of the most common remedies is vitamin C. While there are many other things to do and consider, this short article will focus solely on Vitamin C, and specifically on ways to get vitamin C from whole foods (the best kind).
There is a difference between ascorbic acid and whole vitamin C. These two are often thought of as the same thing and used interchangeably. However, ascorbic acid is one component in vitamin C. When you take a vitamin C supplement or tablet, you are getting ascorbic acid. This is definitely better than nothing, but it is not the whole thing.
Vitamin C found in whole foods contains various other elements and benefits in addition to the ascorbic acid. Things like sulfur compounds, flavanoids, enzymes, minerals, etc. The compound of different elements all aid in helping to keep the body healthy.
So what are the benefits of vitamin C foods?
First they help protect cells from free radical damage. Second they lower your cancer risk. Third they regenerate your vitamin E supplies. Fourth they improve iron absorption.
How do you know when you need more high vitamin C foods? The following events can indicate that you are vitamin C deficient. Poor wound healing, frequent colds or infections, or lung related problems.
So what kind of foods contain vitamin C? The following list of some of the best foods with the highest concentration of vitamin C. These foods should be even in their whole state. Not processed. Here is a simple list of foods that all contain high amounts of vitamin C:
Bell Peppers Parsley Broccoli Cauliflower Strawberries Lemon Juice Mustard Greens Romain Lettuce Brussels Sprouts Papaya Kale Turnip Greens Grapefruit Kiwi Cantaloupe Oranges Cabbage Tomato Swiss Chard Collard Greens Raspberries Asparagus Celery Spinach Cucumbers Fennel And Pineapple Watermelon Green Beans Cranberries Summer Squash Close Winter Squash Basil Cayenne Pepper Blueberries Carrots Garlic Apricots Sweet Potato Plum Greenpeace Raw Onions Oregano Chili Palmer Leaks Potato Yam Bananas Apples Beats Shiitake Mushrooms Pears Grapes Corn Avocados
That's quite a list. As you can see, there are actually quite a few foods that are high in vitamin C. With a list like this, you should never have to take ascorbic acid supplement.
The biggest, most important thing to keep in mind is that these foods should be eaten fresh and whole. It is okay to do minor preparation such as heating or cooking, but heavy processing should be avoided. And eating processed foods such as jams and jellies, sugary fruit juices, pop tarts, fruit snacks, do not count.
So there you go to the fantastic list to start with. Now go out and eat healthy.
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There is a substantial difference between whole food vitamins and synthetic vitamins. This short article aims at explaining this crucial difference and implications that taking one or the other kind has for our wellbeing.
Whole food supplements are derived from naturally-occurring, full-spectrum food extracts. To understand this better, it's crucial to define what 'naturally-occurring' means. By taking a nutrient rich-plant, removing the excess water and fiber via a chemical-free vacuum process, to later package it for stability, is the most common way of obtaining a 'naturally-occurring' vitamin. This way, the entire vitamin complex is captured intact, retaining its nutritional integrity and full spectrum values. Whole food supplements can be defined as highly complex structures that combine a variety of enzymes, coenzymes, trace elements, antioxidants, and activators that all work together synergistically in your body as co-factors for each other's efficacy. Natural vitamins contain the essential trace minerals necessary for the synergy with your body to occur.
On the other hand, synthetic vitamins contain no trace minerals and are forced to use your body's already existing resources and mineral reserves to perform like the whole food, natural supplements. If within the chemical compound of synthetic vitamins, one part is missing, or is fractionated, the entire chain of metabolic processes cannot proceed normally.
Only intake of naturally-occurring vitamins, found in wholesome organic foods can most benefit our body's performance. Numerous studies and articles have proven that daily consumption of synthetic vitamins 'from A-Z' create toxic and adverse reactions in the body. There is an enormous difference between vitamins found in natural foods unaltered chemically, and those manufactured, drug-like substances that are called vitamins which are in no way beneficial.
For a nutritional effect, repair, and maintenance of all biochemical activities in the body, only natural, whole vitamin "complexes" as they exist in whole foods are acceptable and make a positive difference. Unfortunately, most vitamin products fond in healthy food stores and pharmacies, primarily contain synthetic vitamins. Numerous studies conducted, have proven that the intake of isolated vitamin pills and supplements does not function as effectively as complete natural vitamin intake and is not efficiently utilized in the body.
The most popular vitamin supplements contain ultra high doses of synthetic vitamins, and their consumption can be compare to taking any sort of drug. In his book "The Foundations of Nutritional Medicine" Dr. Melvin R. Werbach states, that most supplements are constructed too densely and are insoluble, therefore simply pass through the digestive system without disintegrating at all. They are excreted without any benefit. In addition, Dr. Royal Lee, claims that vitamins isolated or synthesized under laboratory conditions, are toxic and are the main cause of chemical imbalance in our body. Studies demonstrate that our body treats isolated and synthetic nutrients like foreign substances (xenobiotics). Synthetic vitamins do not function like nutrients found in foods. Food sourced nutrients function synergistically as a complex and not in isolation. Therefore, synthetic vitamins are best defined to be fractions of the whole vitamin complex, synthesized in a laboratory, and claimed to be biologically active. A good example of this process is the isolation of ascorbic acid from the vitamin C complex, and later calling it vitamin C. Similarly, isolating the alpha tocopherol from the vitamin E complex and calling it vitamin E. It is roughly estimated that a vitamin complex loses 99% of its potency and effectiveness when separated from its natural synergists.
There is a substantial cost difference between producing whole food vitamins and synthetic vitamins. The production of synthetic vitamins is substantially cheaper than the production and cultivation of natural vitamins. Companies claim that they produce natural products, but they simply fail to deliver this promise. The loophole that all manufacturers use to their benefit, is the fact that the required by law percentage of 'natural' substances (in order to be able to label it 'natural) varies from country to country. Carefully planned marketing strategies and wording labels some supplements 'natural' when, in fact, they are far from it.
Grzegorz Misztal
