Skin & Body Nutrition

Vitamin D or calciferol, is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is mostly made in the human body after exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. The liver and kidney help convert vitamin D to its active hormone form.

Benefits of Vitamin D?

« Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D deficiency can make bones thin, brittle, soft and easily prone to fractures. Without sufficient vitamin D, our body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.

« Vitamin D acts like a hormone, thus regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine.

« It helps to control the movement of calcium between bone and blood, and vice versa.

« It helps bone mineralization along with a number of other vitamins, minerals, and hormones of the body.

« Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even helps control diabetes and obesity.

What are the sources of Vitamin D?

Food sources –

Only a few foods naturally contain significant amounts of vitamin D. Foods with naturally occurring vitamin D are usually animal derived containing the vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). They include egg yolk, liver, fatty fish and fish oils. Smaller amounts are also present in dark leafy vegetables.

Fortified foods are the major dietary sources of vitamin D. Although milk, soya milk is fortified with vitamin D, dairy products made from milk such as curd, cheese, yogurt are usually not fortified.

It is important for individuals with limited sun exposure to include rich sources of vitamin D in their diet.

Exposure to sunlight –

Exposure to sunlight is an important source of vitamin D as ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight trigger vitamin D synthesis in the skin.

It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in the body.

What can Vitamin D deficiency lead to?

« Vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets in children which results in skeletal deformities. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia, which results in muscular weakness in addition to weak bones.

« Osteoporosis is commonly caused by a lack of vitamin D, which resists calcium absorption.

« Insufficient vitamin D leads to prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer.

« Vitamin D deficiency may also make a person prone to Type 2 diabetes and impair insulin production. Infants who receive vitamin D supplementation have around 80% reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes over the next twenty years.

« Vitamin D deficiency causes schizophrenia.

How much vitamin D is required?

The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine considers an intake of 1,000 IU for infants up to 12 months of age and 2,000 IU for children, adults, pregnant, and lactating women to be the tolerable upper intake level.

Daily intake above this level increases the risk of toxicity and is not advised.

Who all are at risk of Vitamin D deficiency?

« Older people as the ability of the skin to convert vitamin D to its active hormonal form decreases

with age. The kidneys, which help convert vitamin D, do not work quite well when people age.

« People who do not get adequate exposure to sunlight, such as women who cover their body outside for religious or cultural reasons or individuals working in occupations that prevent exposure to sunlight.

« People with dark skin synthesize less vitamin D on exposure to sunlight than those with light skin.

« Obesity increases the risk of vitamin D deficiency. Once vitamin D is synthesized in the skin, it is deposited in the body fat, making it less bio-available to overweight and obese people..

« Individuals who have reduced ability to absorb dietary fat as Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. This may be due to conditions such as pancreatic enzyme deficiency, Crohn’s disease, bowel disease.

« Exclusively breast-fed infants because human milk may not contain adequate vitamin D.

Is too much of vitamin D risky?

Intake of too much vitamin D can cause toxicity leading to nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, and weight loss. It can also raise levels of calcium, causing mental status changes.

Calcinosis, the deposition of calcium and phosphate in soft tissues such as kidneys, lungs, blood vessels and heart can be caused by vitamin D toxicity. The kidneys may be permanently damaged and start malfunctioning.

A word of caution:

Even weak sunscreens (SPF of block the body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. This is how sunscreen products actually cause disease by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body. Chronic Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system.

By: Tom alter

About the Author:

I believe that first-hand experiences of real people are the greatest complementary to skincare reviews. It will lead you to the discovery of the Best Skin Care Products which point directly to your anti aging skincare needs. As we know, not all individuals are having the same type of skin, some could be oily, dry, sensitive or even allergy skin. Finding the right skincare products to treat your skincare problem is a try and error kind of hard work. Some are lucky to get the right skincare treatment the first time they try it, some might not.

The right thing to do before you begin your quest of searching for the best skincare treatment, you must understand what is the actual condition of your skin. The best person to consult is always the beautician or even doctors who are Skin Specialist. Inevitably, the beautician will give you free examination or test provided that you will need to sign up for a skincare treatment package which is going to cost you a bomb. The Skin Specialist will charge you an expensive professional consultation fee. On top of that, the skin doctor will say you need this special clinical skincare treatment, and the total cost might even take away your saving.

I am not asking those with serious skin problems to shunt away the beauticians nor the skin doctor. You will need to go seek proper treatment should the skin problems is affecting your life badly. Anyway, getting to know the skincare reviews will be of great help for you to receive the right skincare treatments. For those who are looking for mild skincare remedies, or concern about the anti aging skincare practices, reading the skincare reviews will give you the in depth understanding of the best skincare products.

You don’t need to try out every single skincare product in the market in order to find the best skincare brand. The best way to do this is to read those skincare reviews by independent individuals, you can get this from magazines, newsletter from some skincare or health organization, local newspapers, and other printed media. In my opinion, the best skincare reviews will be from internet media, where most individuals are of genuine and independent personal experience. Unlike printed media, some authors or publishers are being paid to write on behalf of the skincare business owner.

Some good skincare reviews are presented in forum format which viewers are allowed to response and comment on that reviews. In this way, you simply post your doubts and questions and either the author or the viewer will response to that. If the skincare reviews is being run by professional like health researchers or doctors, you are most likely to get most of your question answered. These is of great help and cut short your search time for the best skincare brands specifically to your skincare problems.

In return, if you can share your skincare comments, skincare recommendation, and your own skincare reviews, you will not only improve your skincare awareness, but also helping others with skincare treatments problem. The contribution you make, will benefit the skincare industry as well as the peoples who are constantly looking for the best skincare brand.

Improving your personal life with multivitamins

Vitamins are very essential to everyone’s body to keep it going. Some vitamins are needed on a daily basis and others not so often.

We get vitamins from our food and then we need to use extra vitamins to get the full amount needed. Getting the right amount of vitamins daily helps to produce your blood cells and they change the food to energy. One of the best vitamins I discovered is the prenatal vitamin. Even if you are not pregnant, the vitamins will restore lost nutrients.

You have two different kinds of vitamins that you can purchase. One of them is a fat-soluble that is stored in the body in the liver and fatty tissues. Only take fat-soluble vitamins as recommended because you can store too much. When storing too much fat-soluble vitamins it can be poisonous and even cause death. The fat-soluble vitamin is the A and D type.

The second type of vitamin is the water-soluble and it will dissolve in water just as it says. Don’t worry about taking too much of they vitamin because you will pass what isn’t needed through the urine. A water-soluble vitamin is to be taken on as a daily supplement. The water-soluble vitamin is the C and some B.

Multivitamins will not harm you and are to be taken daily. When taking a multivitamin it helps to fight off illness and give you the vitamins that you aren’t getting in your food.

Your daily diet of food may not contain all vitamins a person needs daily. Many people just don’t eat the right food like the most popular fast foods. Some people want to lose five pounds by next week so they go on a fad quick weight loss diet that doesn’t contain the right and enough good vitamins.

The farmer that grows some of the food your eating can sometimes be the blame. The farmer is out to make money and wants his vegetable and fruits to be large, beautiful and attractive, most of all to grow fast and get a bigger crop. To make his crop grow for him he has to add chemicals to it by fertilizing, spraying, and even more water all of which can reduce the vitamins out of the crop. If the crop is being shipped it is sometimes wrapped tight, coated and sprayed to keep its color and help prevent spoiling while being transported to it’s destination.

Multivitamins are helpful if you are sick and stressed. Being sick or stressed it takes more vitamins to build you back up and repair the damage that has been caused to you body.

The lack of the right vitamin can put a person into high risk for some diseases and your general health will drop. Some Dr doesn’t like their patients to take vitamin supplements because they take to many or the wrong kinds. It is known that people who take a multivitamin on a daily basis is generally in better health than those who don’t.

There are so many different vitamins on the shelf now to choose from that it can be very confusing. First, understand you body and needs and even ask the Dr what might be the best ones to take. Your body will balance itself out naturally when taking the right vitamins.

It doesn’t matter what kind or brands of multivitamin you take just make sure it is a good one. After taking your new vitamin, for 30 days and you don’t feel better or see a change get a different one. Feeling better and taking, the right vitamin is good for everyone young and old.

Hypoallergenic skincare and parabens-free skincare are gaining a lot of popularity these days. But with the availability of a lot of brands, it is important to separate the grain from the chaff. Your vigilance is important if you want to avoid waking up to some rude shocks!

So what truly qualifies as the right hypoallergenic skincare? As a rule of thumb, a true hypoallergenic skincare is the one in which you can literally “eat” the product! Anything less than that cannot really be called hypoallergenic. It means that the ingredients so be 100% natural and safe enough that you can literally consume them without the fear of any side effects.

Even parabens-free skincare products might not be totally hypoallergenic. Even though they do not contain parabens, but they might contain other artificial and synthetic preservatives. Thus, they cannot be called 100% safe for our skin.

Parabens are the favourites of skincare product manufacturers. They are the cheapest preservatives available. Parabens help in giving them fatter profits as they improve the shelf life of their products. But parabens cause a lot of health problems for the consumers.

They interfere in the functioning of the endocrine system. They cause hormonal disruptions and are known to cause cancerous breast tumors! They are found in these forms: ethyl, butyl, methyl, propyl and isobutyl parabens. Avoid them by all means in any skincare products that you use.

The best thing to do for getting the right parabens-free skincare products is to look for those products which contain natural ingredients; as well as only natural preservatives, not synthetic ones. Grape seed oil and natural vitamin E are the best natural preservatives. Besides that, they are extraordinary antioxidants too and make the skin healthy, supple and radiant.

Another test for effective hypoallergenic skincare products is whether they are safe enough to apply on a wound. If the answer to this question is No, then it is not truly the best hypoallergenic skincare product.

Look for cutting edge natural ingredients such as Phytessence Wakame, active Manuka honey and macadamia oil.

Phytessence Wakame is a Japanese sea kelp which is rich in minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and calcium (its calcium content is 15 times more than milk). It revitalizes the skin and makes it young, smooth and creamy complexioned.

Active Manuka honey is sourced from the Manuka bushes in New Zealand. It is rich in active enzymes and is known for its extraordinary antibacterial, antioxidant and healing properties. It makes the skin soft, pliant and beautiful.

Macadamia oil is also called the luxurious oil. It has a composition very similar to the sebum (natural oils of our skin). It performs a deep skin moisturization and heals the skin naturally.

Unfortunately, the local drugstores and department stores do not have true hypoallergenic skincare products with such amazing natural ingredients. These are only manufactured by niche skincare companies which sell their products online.

Visit my website to find out more such amazing natural ingredients that you should look out for in the best hypoallergenic skincare and what harmful substances you should avoid, so that you can achieve a young, beautiful and naturally glowing skin.

Hypoallergenic skincare is a subject that everyone ought to take very seriously, but the problem is that we are not offered the kind of skin care products that are conducive with this kind of care. The need for paraben-free skincare products is great, but the major cosmetics companies do not seem at all willing to give up on using their low cost preservative agents.

To prove my point I will tell you that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which oversees the cosmetics industry in the United States, tried to force regulation on the industry in order to force them to produce hypoallergenic skincare products. The cosmetics industry would have none of this, and fought the FDA in court until the regulation was finally overturned.

The reasons that the FDA was so adamant about the need for paraben-free skincare products is that parabens, along with many other ingredients that are commonly used in mass produced cosmetics products, are known to cause cancer in humans. A study done almost a few years ago found parabens to be present in biopsied breast tumor tissue taken from a variety of women.

They suspect that the reason that they were found in this tissue was because of the parabens that can be found in underarm deodorant, but this theory was never fully proven. This the fact that they found these chemicals inside of the tumors at all make how they got there irrelevant, and only underscores the need for hypoallergenic skincare products.

The reason that producing paraben-free skincare products is such a big deal to the cosmetics companies is that producing all natural creams and lotions would cost each company considerably more money to make due to the processing that is necessary in order that the ingredients be usable as skin care ingredients. So for just a few dollars per product these companies would rather put you at risk of developing cancer.

There are some companies out there that do take hypoallergenic skincare seriously, but most of them are under the watchful eye of the European Union. The E.U. was successful in their bid to have the dangerous chemical agents removed from the products of the companies that are under its control. Buying your products exclusively from one of these countries is your best bet if you want to stay healthy.

One such company that stand strongly behind paraben-free skincare is base in New Zealand their products are of particular interest to people combating the signs of aging, because this company uses a pair of keratin proteins in conjunction with a Japanese kelp extract in order to increase the production of your collagen and elastin, and raise the level of hyaluronic acid that is in your skin.

If you want a truly hypoallergenic skincare product that will erase years from your face, then these are the products that you want to buy. The inclusion of Functional Keratin, and Phytessence Wakame have changed the way that all natural anti aging skin care products are going to be looked at from now on.

Few people have given any thought to what their nutritional needs are or how important nutrition is to their overall health. They do not know that, for example, if the human brain does not get enough protein, it will not develop correctly, or that if a female body does not get enough of certain nutritional substances like flax oil, the metabolism will be impaired, and the body will gain weight. This information highlights and emphasizes the critical importance of determining what our needs are and meeting our nutritional needs through good eating habits.

Experts in the media often remind us to take our vitamins and to eat fortified cereals and to drink out milk, but what we really need is information about how our eating habits and the foods we eat contribute to nutrition on a daily basis. We must learn how to provide our bodies with everything they need food, vitamins, minerals to maintain optimal health.

In order to determine our basic nutritional needs, we need to educate ourselves about what, exactly, our individual needs are. Then we can use that knowledge and apply it to buying, preparing, and eating appropriate foods. We need to recognize that our nutritional requirements change as we age; the nutritional needs of a teenager are different from those of a senior citizen.

In many cases, what we need in terms of vitamins and minerals is much more critical than our need for calories. If it is necessary, we can take vitamin and mineral supplements, which are manufactured by nutrition firms, to help us fill the gap that may exist if we do not get enough of these substances in our daily diet.

Nutrition is an extremely complicated subject because there are so many variables to consider. As mentioned before, it is a fact that our bodies change as we age, and we will need to adapt our eating habits and nutritional foods accordingly. Additionally, the nutritional needs of people with illnesses are different from those of healthy individuals. Few doctors recognize this fact, however, and may provide the same nutrition advice to health pregnant women as to an ailing cancer patient.

To remain healthy and to sustain the optimal health and functioning of our bodies, we must pay close attention to our unique nutritional needs. And we must pursue more knowledge concerning how nutrition, physical exercise, and mental and emotional factors influence our overall health status.

There are many types of skincare products from inexpensive to over $500.00 for jar less than a ounce. Does price really mean its better or is it just the packaging you are paying for?

Makeup and skincare counters for women are like videos stores to teenagers, we just can’t walk by without stopping and looking. With all the pretty packaging, well-dressed employees looking sharp in their white lab coats, how can we not stop and look? Skincare companies know we are always looking for something better, because we have been lead to believe higher prices have got to mean a better product than the drugstore skincare product you may be using right now.

If you are looking for new skincare products you need to give yourself a few ideas of what you are looking for and what you are willing to spend for it. Think carefully about purchasing any over the corner skincare product costing more $30.00. Remember that any skincare products that you may buy from your dermatologist are generally more potent. If you are not sure what type of skincare product you should be using because of your age, ask your dermatologist to recommend what she feels with work. The last thing you want is to buy a over-expensive skincare product only to find that you have wasted your money. Do you really want to spend $500.00 on a ounce of skincare, only to find that you are allergic to a ingredient?

Also a good tip in choosing a new skincare product is less ingredients is better. If you can’t read the fine print because there is so much of it, you may not what to try it. Also when deciding to try something new, do one skincare product at a time to make sure you don’t have a reaction to it. By trying a whole new skincare regiment at one time can make your face totally break out because of the mixing of the skincare products if you are not careful.

Avoid expensive “window dressing”. Meaning the upscale and more costly skincare creams may have perfume in them and they offer no benefits just higher price. There are some natural skincare products that can break your skin out as well, so be careful.

Just please remember that your aim to achieving good skincare is not directly proportion to the amount of time or how much you spend or how many items you are use.

We all have to understand that with all advertisements the idea is to make you think you need more than you do, that spending more money means better product and that they really do work. And buying the whole skincare system is better for you than buying a single item.

If at all possible try and get a sample before you buy, if not either walk away and think about it before jumping on the bandwagon of latest skincare craze. Don’t believe all the hype you see in all the books, magazines and ads. That’s their job. It is to make you want it even if your skincare regiment works just fine for you.

Just realize that any skincare regimen that you do at home is going to take time and patience, which means if you are going to start using something new, stick with for a few months. Because it may take that long to really see any true results. There is no real fix your wrinkles in a few days skincare cream, what you need to do is decide what you are willing to spend, how much time you want to take every morning and evening on your skincare regimen and go from there. Just because the packaging is all bright and shiny doesn’t mean what is in the box is going to be what you really need.

Remember that if you do find something that you feel may work, think about the cost over 3 to 4 months before deciding to buy. Spending $300.00 a month on one item can really add up, specially when it takes time to see any true results. In these times of less money to spend, we have to really think about the real costs. Your face is seen by everyone, you need to really take good care of it. And if that means buying drugstore skincare products because they work then do it. You know best not some fancy dressed woman behind the skincare counter.

 

By: Kim Snyder

About the Author:

Nowadays many people live in a fast paced world that leaves them reaching for a fast meal from convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Unhappily, these types of food include chemicals and food colors that are harmful to health.

Nutrition Supplement a Real Live Nutrition

The term “Nutrition supplement” is very well-known to most of us but do we understand why it is so essential? Nutrition, by phrase-book definition, is the summation of the processes by which someone takes in and utilizes food substances. The most important advantage of using food substances are the ingestion of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, herbs, etc. These are some of the stuff that keeps our body hale and hearty.

What is Nutrition Supplement?

When folks do not get sufficient nutrients through food and while diet does not work, people go around getting help from various types of nutrition supplements. A nutrition supplement is added to the diet to compensate the deficiency. The supplement increases the intake of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, etc. Without proper nutrition, you wont be healthy and fit. Health and fitness go hand-in-hand and it is truly possible for everyone to improve their lives through dietary changes and regular exercise.

How To Use Nutrition Supplement?

These days, lot of people use some type of nutrition supplement. In 1996 alone, people spent more than $6.5 billion on dietary supplements, according to Packaged Facts Inc., a market research firm in New York City. Nutrition supplements are found in several forms: nutrition bars, tablets, capsules, powders, liquids, etc. A lot of supplements do not need any recommendation. You can buy them in health food stores, grocery stores, drug stores, or through online shopping. But you should be very careful about buying because many supplements available on the market do not meet FDA standards.

Cheap quality and imitation supplements are quite common and there is hundreds of scammer lurking everywhere, especially online, to cheat gullible consumers. Always buy from renowned and trustworthy manufacturers and dealers to ensure that you are not gulping down some unwanted or even dangerous preparations.

The good news is that there is also plenty of information available to help you make a choice about the best nutritional supplement for you.

Nutrition Supplement as a Juice Powder.

One of the latest and most beneficial types of nutrition supplements currently available on the market is “nutrition supplement juice powders”. People have many queries about nutrition supplement juice powders. Are they good? What are you getting with them? According to the manufacturers, these powders contain high levels of protein and low levels of carbohydrates.

Even though conventional multivitamins and other dietary nutritional supplements are affordable and abound in drugstores and other retail, the “nutrition supplement juice powder” is very popular among many consumers all over the world.

The importance of diet and nutrition should be at the top of your to do list. Good nutrition is the start to optimum weight and good health that will last a lifetime.

By: Ranju Kumar

About the Author:

All Vitamins Are Not Created Equal…

(Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth?)

If you can answer the following questions correctly, you have a basic understanding of why all vitamins are not alike.

1) Which vitamin E is synthetic?

a) d-alpha tocopherol

b) dl-alpha tocopherol

2) Which of the following calcium label claims contains only 93 mg. of actual calcium?

a) Calcium (gluconate)………………………..1,000 mg.

b) Calcium gluconate…………………………..1,000 mg.

3) A quality control lab is not required in a vitamin manufacturing facility.

TRUE or FALSE

4) “Natural Vitamin E” on the label means the vitamin E is 100% natural.

TRUE or FALSE

5) By law, the vitamin potency listed on the label must be matched by the product in the bottle.

TRUE or FALSE

6) Do most vitamin companies manufacture their own products?

YES or NO

The standards under which a vitamin or mineral is manufactured vary greatly from one company to another. There are very few companies that actually manufacture their own products.

Quality standards greatly affect how and whether a supplement is absorbed and utilized by the body. A manufacturer can create a tablet that looks identical to a quality product but is nothing more than a replica. Replicas do not deliver the potency and results you desire.

DECEPTIVE LABELING

Reading a label carefully and understanding what the label actually means are important when purchasing any product. This is particularly true when comparing labels on vitamins.

Understanding Mineral Potency (Example: Calcium)

The elemental amount of calcium refers to the exact weight or potency of calcium a formula provides. (The same is true for all other minerals.)

Some labels clearly list the elemental weight and are therefore simple to understand.

Example A:

Elemental Calcium…………………………………………………….250 mg.

(Equivalent to 1,111 mg. Calcium Amino Acid Chelate)

In Example A, you are receiving 250 mg. of actual calcium, and 1,111 mg. refers to the combined weight of the calcium and amino acids.

If the label does not clearly list the elemental amount, you must then have a further understanding of interpreting the label information.

Example B:

Calcium (Gluconate)………………………………………………….1,000 mg.

Example C:

Calcium Gluconate………………………………………………….1,000 mg.

At first glance, Examples B & C appear to be the same formula, but they are not. When, the chelating agent (Example B, gluconate) appears in parentheses, it represents the “source” of the calcium supplied in the formula. The potency of 1,000 mg. listed is the actual amount of elemental calcium you are receiving. However, in Example C, when the chelating agent does not appear in parentheses, the 1,000 mg. represents the weight of the calcium together with gluconic acid, and the amount of calcium you are receiving is only a small percentage of the potency listed. In Example C, you would actually receive only 9.3% or 93 mg. of actual calcium.

Example B is an honest and intelligible label, as it clearly represents the actual amount of elemental calcium the tablet will provide. Example C, although technically not mislabeled, appears to offer much more calcium than is actually provided and is very often misunderstood by consumers.

Natural vs. Synthetic

(Example: Vitamin E)

The word natural can, unfortunately, sometimes be misleading. In the case of vitamin E, a manufacturer can use a blend of 10% natural vitamin E and 90% synthetic vitamin E and still label the product natural vitamin E. using synthetic vitamin E, which is 40% cheaper, a manufacturer can greatly reduce the quality of a product to reduce his manufacturing cost.

To protect the consumer, a manufacturer should properly list the chemical name in the contents description. Natural vitamin E begins with d; synthetic begins with dl.

“Natural vitamin E is officially recognized as having 36% greater potency than its synthetic counterpart…However, recent studies of human subjects indicate that natural vitamin E is probably twice as effective as synthetic vitamin E.”

These are just two examples of how to properly read a vitamin label. Your best source of educational support is your health care practitioner. Your practitioner should be able to provide you with even further information verifying why all vitamins are not created equal.

Government Standards

FACT: A consumer would assume that a vitamin contains the potency listed on the label.

GOVERNMENT STANDARD: Only 90% of the vitamin potency listed on the label has to be in a product at the time of shipping.

 

FACT: A vitamin starts losing its potency the minute it’s made. If not manufactured properly, a vitamin can be up to 50% weaker than the label claim by the time you purchase the product.

GOVERNMENT STANDARD: There are only minimal government guidelines, not requirements, regarding product storage (light, temperature, moisture, etc.), inventory rotation, particle granulation or product coating, all of which affect the potency and quality of a vitamin.

 

FACT: Even though vitamins are perishable items, manufacturers are not required to prove that their products last for an extended period of time. Remember, light, heat, moisture and oxidation rapidly destroy vitamin potency.

GOVERNMENT STANDARD: After a vitamin is manufactured, vitamin companies are not required to conduct shelf life testing to see how product potency is affected over time.

 

FACT: Even though vitamin supplements are essential to your health, there is no law requiring that vitamin supplements be tested during the manufacturing process.

GOVERNMENT STANDARD: A quality control laboratory is not required in a vitamin manufacturing facility.

(How do you manufacture quality vitamins without a quality control laboratory? Good question! Moreover, most vitamin companies do not even manufacture their own products.)

 

Here is how you can check if a company manufactures its own products. If a product is actually made by the company, the label should say “Manufactured by______________.” Manufacturing the product is the first step in quality control. Companies that have their products manufactured by a private label house and just market the products must use phrases such as “Manufactured for ________________,” “Distributed by _____________,” or any other wording that expresses these facts.

ARE YOU GETTING YOUR MONEY’S WORTH?

Several years ago, a visiting scholar at Rockefeller university in New York City and a noted author of many books on nutrition, Dr. Michael Colgan, had researched the effects of vitamins. The following is an excerpt from his findings as published in an Omni magazine article.

“…And the food-processing industry? Oh, they’re interested in my work,” Colgan smiles. “They offer me weekends, give me the stretch-limousine treatment. Actually, though, I’m more disillusioned by drug companies that make vitamins. Many are run by people who know nothing about nutrition, have not one qualified person on the executive staff. Or, if they have, these people spend all their time in other research and never come in contact with the vitamins that are being produced by the firm. There is so much rubbish on the market,” he adds abruptly. “The majority of vitamins in health-food stores are rubbish!”

WHAT IS A REPLICA?

A replica is a poor copy of an original, always reproduced by those who lack the creativity of the originator. unfortunately, since it is not their creation, they also lack the pride and know-how that go hand in hand with original creativity.

Since the very purpose of a replica is to mimic the outward appearance of the real thing and to make money by passing off a poor copy, corners are always cut to make a greater profit at the expense of quality. A replica is a sham, which attempts to make up in appearance what it lacks in substance.

Honest Representations

As long as the product you’ve purchased has been honestly represented as an imitation and you’ve paid a fraction of the cost of the original, you have not been taken advantage of. You have knowingly sacrificed quality for price by your own choice.

When A Replica Is Sold As The Real Thing…Look Out!

Whenever someone is passing off a replica as an original or attempting to say that the replica is equal in quality to the original, LOOK OuT, because a fraud is being committed at your expense. If the price you pay for a replica is half the price of the real thing but the quality is only 5% of the real thing, you have still paid 10 times too much. Since you’ve been promised quality and you did not get what you expected, you have been deceived and cheated. We’ve all had the experience of buying a copy of a product for less money and coming home to find that this replica lacked substance, lacked quality, and most importantly did not produce the results expected from the original, and we had in fact been taken advantage of.

Why Do companies Make Replicas?

Companies make replicas primarily for one reason…to make money. These companies have no investment and therefore take no pride in the product they sell, sacrificing quality for the greatest profit.

These dollar-oriented operators have no understanding of the health food industry, have no investment in the industry, and therefore have nothing to lose. They have no interest in you the consumer, but they do have a clear interest in making money at your expense.

When You Buy A Vitamin Replica, You Are Losing A Great Deal More Than Just Your Money

Those of us who are concerned enough about our families to pay the extra money for the added benefits of natural vitamins go into a health food store not just to purchase vitamins but also to seek the specific health benefits that those vitamins will produce for ourselves and our families. Some call this the “Feeling of Nutritional Well Being”.

“The Feeling of Nutritional Well Being” is the very quality of your life. It would be a tragedy to experiment with replicas at the expense of your most valuable treasures…the health and well-being of both you and your family.

Are Your Vitamins Releasing The Energy You Need?

Since most vitamins cannot be manufactured in the body, they must be supplied by our diet. Vitamins are essential to release energy in foods. But our food supply does not guarantee the potency of vitamins. Therefore, a guarantee of potency from the company that supplies your vitamins is essential. This guarantee of potency is vital for the increased energy and feeling of well-being you are seeking. “When a vitamin is in short supply, the lack of a functional coenzyme handicaps a reaction in the pathway. The overall effect of the deficiency is diminished energy production.”

The decrease in energy from the lack of proper nutrition sometimes surfaces in obvious forms such as scurvy or rickets. But often the symptoms of the lack of a vitamin are much more subtle. “Since nerve cells are particularly sensitive to a decreased energy supply, they reflect deficiencies rather rapidly. Irritability, lethargy, apathy, fatigue, and nervous disorders are typical B-vitamin deficiencies.”

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By: Willam Bradely

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(c) 2008 Jason Szova

Nutrition program can be defined as a process of taking in or consuming healthy and growth supporting food. With the changing lifestyle in urban areas every other person is surrounded with junk food or fast food temptation, but none of those unfit food stuff works the way a balanced diet does.

A good or balanced nutrition for healthy living is a benefit for every age type, especially for those spending hours in gym or other physical activities. It is a well known fact that nutritional diet intake is full of benefits for every category of people and supports growth in teenagers and kids, while helping in maintaining healthy and fit body in adults.

Before going to nutrition filled food and the important things in a nutrition program, you need to understand that nutrition does not only mean having lots of protein through the day or throwing calories away from your life or to skip a meal or to eat less. Nutrition or nutrition program is a process where a complete combination of all the nutrients should be present in day to day diet i.e. you can not just skip carbohydrates or fat from your food intake.

Mostly people involved in workouts tend to suffer from weakness and late post-workout recovery due to incomplete nutrition intake. You may be having protein supplements, but your body will still be lacking in nutrition for the absence of other vital ingredients of a perfect nutrition program. A human body needs a well balanced combination of the three main ingredients of a nutrition program .i.e. protein, carbohydrate and fat. Along with these three main components, a nutrition program also consists of vitamins, minerals and adequate amount of water intake.

A good nutrition program consist of vital steps or things to be taken care of, as it helps to ensure that the body is getting complete nutrition and does not lacks in any of the key ingredient. But, there are also things not to be done to balance and succeed in your nutritional intake. These ‘not to do’ things say – do not begin a nutrition program without a physical activity like exercising or cycling or brisk walking, do not skip your meals (breakfast or lunch or dinner), do not depend only on supplements and substitutes for losing weight or gaining muscle strength and do not skip or minus any of the three main ingredients mentioned.

Another big mistake people tend to make in the name of nutrition intake or nutritious diet is by eating less or staying on fast through the day (with nothing but fruits intake). Often, eating less or nothing works towards slowing down or destroying the metabolism of a body.

Some of the most important things in a complete nutrition program are small but 5-6 meals per day, little bit of everything, management of calories to a level or intake of good fat, lost of water intake through a day, addition of fiber rich food and inclusion of vegetables and fruits in daily intake.

Experts believe that for a good healthy and nutritional intake one need to eat more than 3 meals per day. These meals should be 5 to 6 in number and less in quantity; also these small meals should consist of a balanced ratio of all the vital ingredients. This step of a nutrition programs helps to put an end to extra hunger or need for food and puts an end to starvation, also this helps to boost up the body metabolism and supports digestion system too. Next step comes as a balanced ratio of all the ingredients or little bit of everything i.e. to manage your 5-6 meals with lots of protein, required amount of carbohydrates, 20 to 25 % of fat per day and desired amount of vitamins and minerals.

People in general are always afraid of fat intake and tend to shift towards fat free or low fat food products, but truth is that fat has its own vital role in a nutrition diet. Fat is required for providing energy, stamina and oil to the bones, muscles, tissues and cells in the body. Fat intake to a desired level (specially the essential fat or the good fat) is compulsory for not just those indulged in muscle building, but is also equally important for rowing children and ageing adults for lubrication of joints. There are three types of fats present in food, such as saturate fat, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Out of these three types, monounsaturated fats are the essential and good fats required by a body for growth, strong joints and bones, building of stamina and for maintaining a decent level of cholesterol in the body. It also is said to have good ‘antioxidant’ characteristics. Olive oil, canola oil and fish oil are some of the sources of monounsaturated fats; also this type of fat is present in both kinds of products (plant and animal).

Objective of a nutritious diet is not just to provide health and growth to a body, but to maintain its vital function like metabolism and digestion. Adequate intake of water in a day works towards helping the body in performing these functions successfully. Water does not just prevent a body from dehydrating, but also act as a cleanser for body toxins. Water is needed in a body to support the breakdown of valuable ingredients within the body.

Lastly, a balanced or perfect nutrition program can never exit without the intake of right amount of valuable fiber rich products like fruits and vegetables. To maintain a fiber level within a body is important enough to not to be ignored. You can always eat lots of salad or fruits between your main meals to fill your body with vital fibers required for performing digestive functions and to maintain the nutrition level of the body. Some of the source for fiber rich fruits and vegetables are: apples, pears, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, carrots, mushrooms and green beans.

Thus, a good nutritional diet program is essential to make your body perform its vital functions with an ease.

By: Jason Szova

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