Category: Nutrition (Page 27 of 45)

      One more nail in the vegan diet coffin, but they’re not the only group at risk

      October 2, 2009 /

      Vitamin B12 is known as the ?energy vitamin,? and it is essential for many critical functions in your body, including energy production, supporting your immune system, and helping to regulate the formation of red blood cells. Recent studies from the US Framingham trial show that one in four adults in the US are deficient in this vitally important nutrient and nearly half of the population has suboptimal blood levels.

      Bioavailable (absorbable) Vitamin B12 is present only in animal sources of food, which is one of the many reasons to stay away from a strict vegetarian or a vegan diet. In India, which is primarily a vegetarian based culture, current studies show about 80% of the adults are deficient in vitamin B12. But vegetarians are not the only ones at risk.

      The older you get the more likely you are to have a vitamin B12 deficiency. The two ways that you become deficient in vitamin B12 are from not getting enough in your diet and from losing the ability to absorb it.

      The older you get the more your digestive system breaks down, especially if you have been following the standard American diet. Specifically the lining of your stomach gradually loses its ability to produce hydrochloric acid which releases vitamin B 12 from your food. The use of antacids or anti ulcer drugs will also lower your stomach acid secretion and decrease your ability to absorb vitamin B 12. Infection with Helicobactor pylori, a common contributor to stomach ulcers, can also result in vitamin B12 deficiency.

      However the main cause of vitamin B 12 deficiency is a term researchers call food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome. Cobalamin is the scientific term for vitamin B12. This typically results when your stomach lining loses its ability to produce intrinsic factor which is a protein that binds to vitamin B12 and allows your body to absorb it at the end of your small intestine.

      Mercola.com

      Anti-Aging, Diets, Foods products, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Supplements, Vitamins/Minerals

      Anti-aging wonder?

      September 10, 2009 /

      There is a naturally occurring substance that has been receiving a whole lot of attention over the last several years. It’s a polyphenol antioxidant called resveratrol found in foods like peanuts, some berries, grapes and consequently, wine. In a new study researchers examined the effects of resveratrol on rats with colon cancer.

      The rats were divided into four groups according to treatment?one that received a chemical to induce cancer (called 1,2-dimethylhydrazine, or DHM for short), one that received DHM and trans-resveratrol, one that received only trans-resveratrol, and finally, one that received no treatment to serve as a control.

      Over the course of this 30-week study, researchers had two major goals: to evaluate the short-term effect that this powerful compound would have on DNA damage and to evaluate the long-term effect it would have on membrane lipid peroxidation (the process by which free radicals cause damage to cell membranes). In addition, the researchers measured the levels of circulating antioxidants.

      The results? Rats supplemented with trans-resveratrol showed significantly less white blood cell damage than those that received DHM alone. What?s more, those that received trans-resveratrol for the full 30 weeks also showed a marked increase in several key antioxidant enzymes?including superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione reductase?along with other antioxidant factors like vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene. Finally, this group of rats also showed a noticeable decrease in markers of dangerous lipid peroxidation.1

      In the end, the study authors? conclusion couldn?t be more clear?or promising, for that matter?stating ?results indicate that DMH-induced DNA damage and oxidative stress were suppressed/prevented effectively by chronic resveratrol supplementation.?

      So does this study show that daily supplementation of resveratrol will keep you young? No. However, resveratrol has a whole lot of good things going for it backed by a lot of research and should be considered as part of ones daily regimen. Vitamin Research Products

      Another benefit males might be most interested in has to do with estrogen. Resveratrol acts as a potent estrogen antagonist. This means it hinders the negative effects of estrogen.

      In higher concentrations, it acts as an aromatase inhibitor. Resveratrol has been shown to hinder the transformation of testosterone to estrogen. As ones estrogen goes up the testosterone goes down. This means that it help to halt the body’s natural aging process of whittling away at your Testosterone.

      Why is this good for men? Because if a substance hinders the transformation of testosterone to estrogen or estradiol, not only does it prevent the malicious effects of estrogen like a decrease in muscle and strength and an increase of body fat, it increases your level of testosterone, which translates into an increase in strength and muscle.

      Anti-Aging, Cancer, Hormone replacement, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Testosterone boosters

      Vegan diet not an option

      September 1, 2009 /

      In a December Q & A, there was a questioin about a comparison between a vegan diet and the American Diabetes Associations diet for controlling diabetes. The question was raised after a reader read about a particular study advocating a vegan diet for controlling blood sugar levels. The study claims a vegan diet works as well, if not better than the standard diet for diabetics.

      I think you will find the response very interesting. A case is made against eating a vegan diet for any reason. The reader is informed about the anatomy of herbivores as compared to omnivores which is what humans are. The following is a sample from the Q & A column:

      Myth: You can obtain vitamin B12 from plant sources.

      Fact: One can only obtain B12 analogues (similar structure) from plant sources. The problem with these analogues is they are not bioavailable, which means our bodies cannot use them.

      Myth: Vegetarians/Vegans live longer.

      Fact: There is no scientific proof of this whatsoever. The few studies that have reported a longer life span among vegetarians have been shown to be “misinterpreted” to support a politically correct view.

      It is important to note that not too long ago a vegan diet was not even an option. Without modern day supplements and food enrichment it was not possible for a human to survive on such a diet. Too many essential nutrients are lacking

      To see the entire column go here.

      Diets, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition

      You want comprehensive healthcare reform ? lead a healthier life.

      August 31, 2009 /

      It?s been estimated that healthcare, or more accurately insurance, costs each American $8000.00 per year. The health-care we receive in the US is the best in the world by a long shot. It?s our insurance industry that our government has helped create through worthless regulation that needs reform. A majority of Americans agree in poll after poll, insurance reform is needed, but they do not want government run ?healthcare?. They are smart enough to understand what a disaster that would be. Every ?social program? from Medicare to social security is literally bankrupt. There are other answers.

      Why don?t we hear anyone talking about is lifestyle and disease prevention as the key to affordable insurance? Because, it?s not PC to talk about the financial burden the unhealthy lifestyles many Americans put on the rest of the population. Although Americans have free will and choose their lifestyles, 100% of the blame is not theirs. A large portion of it belongs to the American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association, the pharmaceutical industry, the food industry, the edible oil industry and our government. The recommendations, treatments and products these organizations have bombarded society with using billions of dollars over the years wreak havoc even on the healthy. The end result, 100?s of billions of dollars wasted annually on treating highly preventable diseases.

      The CDC reports that obesity related diseases have reached almost $150 billion. The cost of treating obesity has doubled over a decade due to increasing prevalence. According to the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)t he cost of cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the United States in 2009 is estimated to be $475.3 billion. This figure includes both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include the cost of physicians and other professionals, hospital and nursing home services, the cost of medications, home health care and other medical durables. Indirect costs include lost productivity that results from illness and death. The American Cancer Society estimates total costs of cancer to be $228.1 billion. Those with diabetes in 2002 had more than double the healthcare costs than those without. This includes both direct and indirect costs.

      It?s glaringly obvious that the medical, pharmaceutical and insurance industries need to move from being treatment oriented to disease prevention. Unfortunately moving from allopathic medicine to holistic medicine is about as likely as winning the lottery; these industries make a fraction of the money in disease prevention as they do in treating disease. There is just not a lot of money to be made in healthy lifestyles.

      Anti-Aging, Cancer, Cholesterol, Heart disease, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition

      Is popping multivitamins on a daily basis a risk to your health?

      August 27, 2009 /

      This article by Men?s Fitness.com says so:

      Mom always said to take your vitamins. But she didn’t mean overdo it. Thirty-five percent of adults swallow a multivitamin on a regular basis, but several studies warn that an abundance of extra nutrients may not be as good for the body as previously suspected. Just check out the data.

      DIABETES: While vitamin K and thiamine appear to help reduce risk factors, scientists warn that selenium in vitamins may increase the risk of type-2 diabetes.

      PROSTATE CANCER: Too many multis may increase your risk of developing a form of fatal prostate cancer, according to data from the National Cancer Institute.

      LUNG DISEASE: Multivitamins don’t protect against lung cancer, say scientists at the University of Washington. (In fact, too much vitamin E may increase the risk.)

      LONGEVITIY: Perhaps most alarmingly, vitamin supplements may increase your overall mortality risk. So says a recent Danish review of 67 studies involving more than 200,000 participants. After analyzing the data, researchers found that people taking vitamins were 4% more likely to die during the course of the study than people who weren’t taking them. Yikes.

      THE BOTTOM LINE: If your diet sucks, a multi may help. But if you already eat well
      and buy fortified cereals and breads, you’re likely getting all the nutrients you need.

      Interesting. Like most Americans who believe that they?re taking an active role in their health, I ingest a multivitamin on a daily basis (and actually, I take them on a nightly basis). But I don?t know if this article is enough to scare me away from taking them every day.

      I wish the article had provided more detail as to the appropriate amount of times a week it?s okay to take a multivitamin. Based on that last paragraph, the article would almost lead you to believe that you should take a multivitamin on the days you can?t eat as healthy as you should.

      Cancer, Medical Issues for Men, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Prostate health, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

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