Whole Food Vitamins

Why should I take a vitamin? Does it matter what kind of vitamin I take? Aren't they all the same? In the past two weeks I have started a journey to find the type of supplememt we want to carry in our chiropractic office. The reason the journey has started so early (a year early to be exact) is because I will not ever suggest or advise on anything that I haven't turned inside out and/or tried myself. We are pretty close to finding a winner and when we do I will let you all know. As for now to answer myself, a vitamin is a supplement of nutrition. We would be hard pressed to get all the vitamins and minerals we need each and every day just from the food we eat. One of the reasons behind this is because our fruits and vegetables don't contain as much as they used to (we can get into the science of this another day). It does matter what type of vitamin or supplement you take. They aren't all the same.

To narrow it down there are two catergories whole food and synthetic. A synthetic vitamin is made from isolated portions of the whole food. Your body is only able to use a portion of what is actually in the synthetic vitamin, and even that portion isn't absored to well. This should help you understand why your urine is a fluorscent yellow after taking a synthetic vitamin, that is where the majority of the nutrients end up, in the toilet. A whole food vitamin contains everything from the food. Thereby making it all available to your body. I have taken both, and am happy to report no fluorscent pee after the whole food vitamin.

Now there is an important thing to realize, if you are getting the whole food vitamin, you will be paying more. There is no gentle way to put it, quality products cost more. The cheaper the vitamin, the cheaper the processing that went into it. I am not saying the you need to find the most expensive whole food vitamin to have a quality product, I am saying that the bottle of Equate (Wal-Mart) brand where you get 240 capsules for $6.00, will provide you with flourscent yellow pee. Really you are beter off flushing your $6.00 down the toilet as that is where most of the "vitamins" end up! Here is an article that helps me explain what I am trying to say. ;)
Whole Food Vitamins ROCK!

If quality and natural matters to you, then make sure the source of your vitamins is whole foods. Is your supplement a synthetic (made up in lab) vitamin? If it is a whole food vitamin then the company will usually be proud to advertise as such and list the source of the vitamin. Here are the critical points you should know about whole food vitamins.

Don't ever select a vitamin based solely on price point. There are significant reasons why one vitamin is cheaper than the other. When you decide on what is an acceptable quality, then comparison shop for that similar quality vitamin so you are comparing oranges with oranges and apples with apples. Watch out for companies with well recognized names who have purchasing power. Read the label even more.

Your body prefers to absorb vitamins and other nutrients from natural or whole foods. In other words, these are foods in their natural, unprocessed or unpolished states. Therefore, most health and wellness experts agree that whole food sources of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients are superior. Synthetic may mimic but will not be superior as good as natural. Your body will absorb and utilize the whole food vitamins more than synthetic.

The fewer additives the better and the fewer opportunities there are for allergic reactions. Remember, avoid artificial flavoring and colors. The supplement market is very competitive; the better the quality the better and more prominent the labeling stating such. Vague labels with minimal information are strong indicators of lower quality.

Find out if your vitamin is made by a company with rigorous quality control standards that are validated by a third party certification provider such as the NSF or ISO. Your vitamin needs to be NSF or ISO certified. Why would you take any dietary or nutrition supplement made by a company without one of these certifications? NSF certification for example assures the consumer that the product has been tested and will continue to be tested through periodic audits. In other words, the certification of a product is continuous, not a one time process. The product should have the high quality ingredients and manufacturing process that a company claims.

Vitamins are supplements. Just as all dietary supplements, they are not cure alls for disease states. They supply what the body is missing to heal itself for perform natural physiologic functions. They are not medicines. However, if not used in an appropriate manner they can harm you. For example, if you are on a blood thinner such as coumadin for whatever reason, you would not want to take vitamin K supplementation. It will oppose the coumadin to try and thicken the blood.

The question is frequently asked, who should take vitamins? The answer is most people. Most do not get enough vitamins because of a deficiency of adequate fruits and vegetables and whole foods in the diet. Look at the plate of most people eating around you. Are those plates colorful with fruits and vegetables or are do they lack color because of all the starch and meat?

Use a vitamin that is from a whole food source and that is NSF or ISO certified. Choose a supplement based on quality not price.

Vinegar

Free Info Friday!
I remembered this song this morning as I was thinking about what enlightened piece of info to share with you this Friday. I learned it from Mrs. Cook in the third grade what a lovely little song. Onto the info! As you all can tell (or know) we have changed our lifestyle a bit and in an effort to become a little more "green" I started researching alternatives for cleaning. I found vinegar! Okay I didn't find it people all over have been using vinegar for the longest time to clean with, I just recently made the discovery. I must tell you I was a bit of a skeptic, but I gave it a try. People let me tell you what, even if I wasn't trying to be a little more "green" the results of cleaning my shower with vinegar has been AMAZING! I simply made a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water, put it in a spray bottle, sprayed the shower down, let soak for a minute wiped it down. It was so sparkly and white it made me want to clean the shower again (okay at least made me want to do it sooner than a month later). To have a little fun with it and make some bubbles the next time I made a paste of baking soda and water, slathered that onto the shower wall, then sprayed with the solution (vinegar and baking soda make such a nice fizzing sound together.) Even more sparkly this time. Having read that baking soda can be used to clean silver I thought I would give it a try. I have some tarnished silver that was almost black, I dumped a pile of baking soda into the sink was going to get it a little wet to make a paste but first just rubbed it into the silver, and wala tarnish gone, it rubbed right off. I feel a little "crunchy" handing out this au naturale cleaning advice, but I tell you what it is awesome! I found this awesome website that list all the things that you can do with white vinegar and baking soda, you've got to check it out, then try it and let me know what you think! Vinegar is for so much more than fish and chips!
I didn't know vinegar could do that! www.vinegartips.com

Top 17 Organic Foods

We are trying our hardest to eat as much organic food as we can, and I thought I would pass along some of the reasons why. Here is a list of the 17 foods that are best when eaten organic. To find out even more about organic foods and why they are better for you, as well as a wealth of other great info visit the site I borrowed this from at Organicfoods.com
17 Most Important Foods to Eat Organic


1. Baby Food. The very young are extraordinarily susceptible to pesticides. Here are some organic baby food brands, Earth's Best, Tender Harvest, and Healthy Times, which are available for your baby's safety and health. Or better yet, make your own baby food by cooking and pureeing organic produce. See "Make Your Own Baby Food".
2. Strawberries. Enjoy them while they are in season from local organic farms or buy frozen organic strawberries from your local whole market.
3. Rice. Domestic rice is splattered with mega-doses of pesticides, and now, the chemicals companies are producing "pharm" rice used to produce and store pharmaceuticals. Buy organic rice where you can find it and store it in an airtight container. It stores very well.
4. Green and Red Bell Peppers. Super sources of Vitamin C, but wrought with pesticides. Buy organic, or, better yet, grow your own. Seeds of Change has a plethora of organic seeds, and pepper plants prove to be a hardy bunch!
5. Got Milk? We hope not, at least, not from conventionally raised cows. Today's commercial brands are loaded with antibiotics and growth hormones. Make sure your milk and other dairy is from organically-fed cows without the extra rBST, rBGH and antibiotics.
If you are feeding your child goat milk, and/or goat products, be aware that our science community has now genetically mutated a goat to spin silk in her milk. See the New Scientist article.
6. Corn. Corn is typically not a scale tipper when it comes to pesticide residues. But, take into account that 75- 90% of all domestic corn has been genetically-modified, that the average American eats 11 pounds of it, that most cooking oils include corn oil, and that most everything is sweetened with corn syrup, and suddenly, buying organic corn and corn products, makes more than a little sense. Eat local organic corn in season and freeze some for later, or, leave some kernels to dry, and plant them in the spring.
7. Bananas. This tropical favorite has a short window of ripeness and a very long distance to market (quick, how many local banana farms does your town have?). All of which adds up to a lot of heavy chemical dousing along the way.
8. Green Beans. Over 60 different pesticides are used on green beans. Even beans used in baby food have been found to be contaminated.
9. Peaches. Nothing beats a peach. Until you realize that they often have the highest rates of illegally-applied pesticides. Isn't that just peachy . . .
10. Apples. A decade after the dangers of Alar were exposed, apples are still soaked in pesticides. Put only organic apples in your pie.
11. Cherries. Cherries, so expensive, so rich, so fabulous, . . . so heavily doused in poison. Make sure that the cherries in your Cherries Jubilee or Bing Cherry Ice Creams are as clean and wonderful as they were meant to be.
12. Celery. Why would anyone think of spraying the heck out of that innocuous little stem vegetable?! But they do. Stay organic, the taste of organic celery will amaze you and make you a celery-nibbler once again.
13. Apricots and Grapes. Apricots, Peaches and Grapes, what would summer be without them? Less toxic! Keep conventionally grown fruits and veggies, and their pesticide residuals, out of your system or minimize them with a vegetable rinse, such as the one by Healthy Harvest.
14. Soybeans.
If you are not yet a label-reader, it is time to start.
Everything you buy, from bread to cookies to crackers to margerine to dry mixes, has some sort of soy product in it. Most soybean in the USA is genetically-modified.
So, why the fuss over modified soy?
Monsanto, in an effort to increase the use (and profit potential) of Round-Up Ready, spliced the herbicide into soybean plant DNA. Two problems with this action.

1) No matter what you or I do, we can never wash RoundUp Ready herbicide off the soybean--ever. It is "permanently imbedded".
2) It appears that soy increases production of estrogen. High estrogen levels facilitate the potential for contracting various cancers and for hastening puberty in young children.

Although the jury is still out on whether soy consumption, in general, is beneficial, or whether only fermented soy should be consumed, never, we mean NEVER, consume foods laced with poisons.
15. Potatoes.
Mashed potatoes are delicious and worth the calories, unless they're laden with pesticides or have been genetically-modified.
When genetically modified, potatoes impair the immune system and shrink the brain, liver and heart.
So, mash a clean, real, organic potato and forgo the new-fangled monstrosity.
Got soft, green-sprouting organic potatoes? Don't toss them,bury them!
16. Raisins.Concentrated little grapes, concentrated levels of pesticides.
17. Cucumbers. Ever wonder why this delicious crisp vegetable was loosing its appeal on your palate? Yep! The answer is, once again, pesticides. The answer to pesticides, is, once again, go organic, or grow your own.

Coconut Oil

Thanks for your patience! Lucky for me since I started this on Friday it will still post that way, and not throw my rhythm off. Coconut oil, what? When Danny came home and first told me about it I was like okay sure. So I went to find information at my first source for all my questions, wikipedia. I readn and I thought, well it sounds like good stuff, but I will stick with Olive Oil and Butter. He brought home a jar, it looks like criso, smells like coconuts. I didn't want to cook with it because I didn't want everything to start tasting like coconut. So it sat in the cupboard, and the one or so days of the week that Danny would cook he would use it. I believed what I had read about it's health benefits, but I wasn't sold until... I was going to saute some zucchini squash, as a new food for us, I wanted the girls to like it. I thought to myself, well the sweet of the coconut may just be good. Well I was right about that! A little coconut oil, chopped up zucchini, and some sea salt was great! It is what we use now to do most all of our cooking EXCEPT potatoes. Those little buggers do a good job of holding onto the taste of coconut, so unless that is what you are going for I advise olive oil.
I also use it to make popcorn on the stove (that is one of the latest to get the boot at our house microwave popcorn. A couple of tablespoons coconut oil, 1/2 cup popcorn seeds med-high heat =really gooooood popcorn.

I use it after I shave on my legs. I usually have some itchy, burning after I shave, not after using the coconut oil. It has antioxidants in it so on my face it goes. It is the only "lotion" I use on Nathan, and Annika thinks it marvelous. Alison and Lisa associate it the smell with popcorn, but they think that makes it even better. We had the bottle about 4 months before I decided to really start using it. We had about 2/3 of the bottle left when I made the switch. In just under a month it is almost gone! Can I say I LOVE IT! Please keep reading to find all the goodness it has to offer.
What makes it so good for you? Among several things is that it contains Lauric Acid, the only other abundant supply of lauric acid is found in breastmilk. Well you ask, what is lauric acid? I found this information at Lauric Acid (this is were I copy/pasted from, the information showed up in several places.)

"Much research on the nutritional and medicinal benefits on coconut oil has surfaced in recent years. Much of that research has been done by Dr. Mary Enig. Dr. Enig has classified coconuts as a "functional food," which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. She has specifically identified lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut products:

"Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia. Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid."

Now if that isn't enough to make you want to run out and buy some here are 7 more reasons! Seven reasons coconut oil good:

Wait don't read on yet, I do want to point out before you buy any coconut oil that it MUST be RAW, Extra Virgin, and Pure White to receive the health benefits. The best places to find it would most likely be a health food store such as Whole Foods Store.

This is the brand we buy.

7 Reason to use coconut oil

1. Coconut oil doesn't turn to fat in your body.

Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn, coconut oil won't make you fat. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are an easy fuel for the body to burn, without turning to fat. Most other cooking oils and fats contain long-chain triglycerides (LCT). LCT's are usually stored as fat. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is more easily absorbed and converted to energy quicker.

People in the tropics have relied on coconuts as a traditional staple in their diet for centuries. They consume large amounts of coconut oil every day. Instead of getting fatter, it helps them stay healthy, lean and trim. When they switch from coconut oil to our modern oils, they develop obesity and the health problems that our modern society faces.

Some other people who have known this truth for a long time are people who are in the animal feed business. When livestock are fed vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. When they are fed coconut oil, they become very lean.

2. Coconut oil increases your metabolism.

Not only does coconut oil convert to energy quicker in your body, it increases your metabolism, which promotes weight loss. Because it boosts your metabolism, it helps your body burn fat more effectively.

Coconut oil may triple your calorie burn. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is converted to energy so quickly that it creates a lot of heat. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, MCT's burn three times more calories for six hours after a meal than LCT's.

The February 15, 2005 issue of Woman's World magazine stated that coconut oil is the "underground high-metabolism secret."

This is great news for people who have thyroid problems, since coconut oil improves sluggish thyroids by stimulating the production of extra thyroid hormones. Most other common oils, like vegetable (soy) and corn have been shown to inhibit thyroid function.

3. Coconut oil contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

Most cooking oils contain omega 6 fatty acids, something we get way too much of in the United States. Our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 1:1 but it is more like 50:1. We need to drastically cut back our omega 6 oils and consume much more omega 3 oils to be healthy. And coconut oil is filled with these healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

4. Coconut oil gives you energy.

Because of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the fact that it increases the metabolism, most people that switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily life.

This is because coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy.

This is because coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia have found that adding coconut and coconut oil to their diet was helpful to them.

5. Coconut oil is one of the best things you can use on your skin and hair.

One of the best things you can apply directly on your skin and hair is coconut oil. It gives temporary relief to skin problems like rashes. It aids in healing and restoring skin to a younger appearance. It has also been known to help with people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin, as well as many other skin problems.

Not only does is soften and smooth your skin, coconut oil has antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil makes excellent massage oil too.

6. Coconut oil has healthy benefits that most other oils do not.

Evidence is mounting that coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects when both consumed and used topically on the skin.

Most oils oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in our bodies. Coconut oil is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Free radical damage is thought to be responsible for many ailments in our body from arthritis to increased susceptibility to cancers.

Coconut oil also helps our bodies absorb other nutrients more effectively, such as Vitamin E.

7. Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use for cooking.

It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which means it can take higher temperatures better. There are several healthy omega 3 oils we can choose to consume, such as flax and olive oil, but they don't do well under the high heat we use for cooking. Coconut oil can be used in higher cooking temperatures.

It is harder for coconut oil to go rancid, unlike other cooking oils, which are usually rancid long before you even bring them home. Rancid oils cause free radical damage in the body, which is a leading cause of cancer. Coconut oil is stable for over a year at room temperature.