~ My-Wellness-Coach ~

Which Supplements Should You Take?

Dietary supplements, which include vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, hormones and herbs can be a powerful addition to a nutritious diet.  They come in pill, capsule, tablet, powder or liquid form and are generally, though not always, consumed after eating a meal. 

As much as possible, you should get your nutrients from food, however, used correctly, supplements facilitate your body’s natural defense mechanisms to function better and thereby resist diseases. 

There are hundreds of supplements and considerable conflicting information about their effectiveness. 

Drug companies have a vested interest in you getting sick and therefore they aren’t all that interested in supplements that might keep you well.  On the other hand, supplement companies have a vested interested in you putting too much faith in their products.

Supplement studies are sometimes designed to purposely mislead or create unnecessary confusion.  I could write a whole book on this topic. 

What is important, however, is finding the right supplements that can help your body reduce free radicals and inflammation, stimulate blood flow, increase production of good hormones, strengthen cell membranes and build your immunity system.

Based on my research including interviews with doctors and scientists and my own use of supplements, I have come up with following guidelines which apply in a broad, general sense first to everyone, then to male and female children, young men, young women, middle-aged men and middle-aged women.  Consider middle-age to be 50 and above. 

These guidelines reflect my own opinions and should not be the only information you rely on for deciding which supplements you should take.  I encourage you to read all you can about supplements, talk to your friends and your doctor.

Keep in mind that you can always make changes.  If a supplement doesn’t seem to be working for you, or you become concerned it might be detrimental, then quit taking it.  Conversely, you can always add a new one. 

Here are my recommendations:

Supplements Everyone Should Take

1. Multi-vitamin.  One a day.  
2. Vitamin D.  1000 units, daily.
3. Omega 3.  2,000 mg daily for Adults.  1,000 mg for children.

note:  Children getting one hour or more of sunlight a day may not need to take Vitamin D as a supplement, particularly in the summer.  If you eat three or more servings of fish a week, you can skip the Omega 3 supplement. 

Additional Supplements for Children

1. Calcium.  4-8 years old, 800 mg., daily.  8-18 years old, 1300 mg., daily.

note:  Children can get adequate calcium from milk, fortified orange juice, yogurt, cheese, leafy greens, etc., but most don’t and thus need a supplement.  Either way, adequate Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption. 

Additional Supplements for Young Women

1. Vitamin B Complex with 800 mcg folic acid.  One a day.
2. Vitamin E.  400 units, daily.
3. Selenium.  200 mcg, daily.
4. CoQ10.  30 mg, twice daily.
5. Calcium.  1000 mg, daily.
6. Vitamin K.  100 mcg, daily.
7. Lycopene.  15 mg, daily.

 Additional Supplements for Young Men

1. Vitamin B Complex with 800 mcg folic acid.  One a day.
2. Vitamin E.  400 units, daily.
3. Selenium.  200 mcg, daily.
4. CoQ10.  30 mg, twice daily.
5. Milk Thistle.  150 mg, once daily.
6. Saw Palmetto.  580 mg, once daily.

note:  Milk Thistle supports liver function.  If you don’t drink alcohol or drink very little alcohol, you can skip this. 

Additional Supplements for Middle-Aged Women

1. Vitamin B Complex with 800 mcg folic acid.  One a day.
2. Vitamin E.  400 units, daily.
3. Selenium.  200 mcg, daily.
4. Alpha Lipoic Acid.  200 mg, twice daily.
5. Acetyl-L-Carnitine.  500 mg, twice daily.
6. Cucumin.  500 mg, daily.
7. CoQ10.  30 mg, twice daily.
8. Calcium.  1000 mg, daily.
9. Vitamin K.  100 mcg, daily.
10. Lycopene.  15 mg, daily.
11. Magnesium.  400 mg, daily.
12. Potassium.  40 mg, daily.
13. Phosphatidyl serine (PS).  300 mg, daily.
14. Nattokinase.  100 mg, daily.
15. Lutein with Zeananthin.  20 mg/1mg, daily.
16. DHEA. 25 mg, daily.

note:  Ask your doctor before taking DHEA which is a powerful hormone. 

Additional Supplements for Middle-Aged Men

1. Vitamin B Complex with 800 mcg folic acid.  One a day.
2. Vitamin E.  400 units, daily.
3. Selenium.  200 mcg, daily.
4. CoQ10.  30 mg, twice daily.
5. Milk Thistle.  150 mg, once daily.
6. Saw Palmetto.  580 mg, once daily.
7. Alpha Lipoic Acid.  200 mg, twice daily.
8. Acetyl-L-Carnitine.  500 mg, twice daily.
9. Cucumin.  500 mg, daily.
10. Lycopene.  15 mg, daily.
11. Magnesium.  400 mg, daily.
12. Potassium.  40 mg, daily.
13. Phosphatidyl serine (PS).  300 mg, daily.
14. Nattokinase.  100 mg, daily.
15. Lutein with Zeananthin.  20 mg/1mg, daily.
16. DHEA. 25 mg, daily.

note:  If you have prostate cancer or have a high risk of prostate cancer you should not take DHEA unless it is prescribed by your doctor.

To learn more about supplements, download Coach Dave's FREE "Supplement Table--Benefits & Dosage."  It's the 3rd item under "DOWNLOAD FREE POSTERS" on the upper-upper column of My-Wellness-Coach's homepage.  

If you'd like Coach Dave to analyze your nutritional, fitness and healthy lifestyle needs, email him at: Dave@LongLifeClub.com

 

Some Dynamic Combinations--Nutrients that Work Well Together

No, I'm not talking about Macaroni and Cheese!

The guidelines for vitamins and minerals seem to have been written for one nutrient at a time.  However, there is a lot of interaction between nutrients, and often times taking a combination for a specific reason can have a multiplying effect. 

In other words, when it comes to supplements, one plus one is three and one plus one plus one is definitely more than three.  That is, if you know the right combinations.

What follows is far from a complete list, but from time-to-time I'll be adding to it.  And if you know of any combinations you'd like to see included please comment at the end of this article:

• Vitamin B₁₂ and folate.  Vitamin B₁₂ and folate work in tandem to support cell division and replication, and they also metabolize homocysteine together.  Because some people lack a protein called "intrinsic factor" B₁₂ isn't absorbed in their bodies as much as it should be.  Deficiency in either or both may cause marocytic anemia, a form of anemia that results in enlarged red blood cells.

B₁₂ deficiencies can also cause neurological problems including memory loss.  And lack of B₁₂ is associated with low energy. 
Getting enough folate is simply a matter of taking a folic acid supplement or an B vitamin complex that includes at least 800 mcg of folic acid.

Taking B₁₂ supplements may not be enough for some in which case you may need to take an injection every few months.  Next time you have a blood test ask your doctor to check your B₁₂ levels.

• Lutein and Zeaxanthin.  An unbeatable combination, these are the two carontenoids that protect the eyes.  If you regularly eat kale, collard greens, spinach and other leafy greens, you probably don't need to take the supplements.  An adequate amount of lutein and zeaxanthin in your system will ward off the possibility of cataracts and cut your risk of macular degeneration by more than 50%.
  

• Calcium, Vitamin K and Vitamin D.  A high intake of calcium through supplements or dairy products does not reduce the development of osteoporosis or incidents of fractures in older people.  Why?  Because it isn't absorbed and in fact, may do more harm than good.

Most people know that vitamin D encourages greater calcium absorption through the intestines, but few seem to know about vitamin K. 

Vitamin K regulates calcium, keeping it in your bones and out of your arteries, helping to prevent both osteoporosis and heart attacks.  Unless you eat dark leafy green vegetables twice a day, you would be wise to take this supplement. 

• Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl-L-Carnitine.  Alpha lipoic acid plays a central role in the body’s defense network, cellular energy, and prevention and repair of collagen damage (which is why you see it in “antioxidant skin creams”).   It helps control inflammation and converts dietary carbohydrates to energy in mitochondria (the energy producing component of cells).  Combined with acetyl-L-carnitine, it has been shown to repair mitochondria which may be the key to extending life. 
  

The magic combination is is 200 mg Alpha Lipoic acid and 500 mg acetyl-L-carnitine taken twice daily.

• Magnesium and Potassium.  High levels of magnesium in the diet are associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, including all components: high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, elevated blood fats and low levels of HDL cholesterol. 
  

As a supplement, it is often paired with potassium, another champion of the cardiovascular system.   Potassium helps maintain the correct fluid balance in the body; too much fluid increases blood pressure.  Many medications, including diuretics for high blood pressure, deplete the body of both magnesium and potassium. 

Superfoods - Anti-Aging Miracle Eating to Keep Young

Best selling doctors Bradley Willcox from Harvard, Barry Sears of the Zone Diet, and Julian Whitaker of the Whitake Wellness Institute tell us what foods can keep us young and healthy.

Pesticides in Produce: Clean 15, Dirty Dozen

One very good reason for eating organic produce is to avoid all the carcinogenic  pesticides that modern farming has brought us.  However, it turns out not all fruits and vegetables are equally toxic.

When it comes to onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, asparagus, cabbage and broccoli you don't need to worry much and can safely buy and consume the non-organic variety. 

However, if you are going to eat an non-organic peach, apple, bell pepper, or carrot, you'd best clean it thoroughly first.  This will eliminate some of the pesticide, but not all. 

For these foods, the best strategy is to eat only the organic variety.  

The Environmental Working Group has developed a guide to the "15 Cleanest" fruits and vegetables and the "Dirty Dozen" based on data from 87,000 tests for pesticide residues conducted between 2000 and 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The complete lists and more information can be found in the poster, Pesticides in Produce: Clean 15, Dirty Dozen, a pdf file that you can download.  Look for this file in the right-hand column on the top of this page under, "Download Free Posters."

Or, if you'd like to have this as an iPhone app, go to foodnews.org.

A Few Squirts of Lemon Juice in Your Green Tea Can Make All the Difference

One of the absolute best things you can do to maintain wellness, protect yourself against cancer and prevent the development of diseases like atherosclerosis and liver disease is drink green tea. 

But, can you drink enough of it?

While, there is little doubt that drinking green tea is good for you, there are conflicting reports about how much you need to drink.

For example, a Japanese study found that men who drank 10 cups per day stayed cancer-free for 3 years longer than men who drank less than 3 cups a day.

Another study concludes you can help prevent rheumatoid arthritis or reduce the symptoms (if you already have this condition) by drinking 4 or more cups of green tea a day. 

Several of my Asian-Americans friends drink green tea all day long.  10 cups or more to them is no big deal.

For me, however, and for my non-Asian friends, drinking more than two cups a day on a regular basis just isn't going to happen. 

It turns out, however, there is a simple solution.  All you have to do is add a little lemon juice to your green tea.  Suddenly you are boosting the level of antioxidant compounds in the tea that actually make it through your digestive system.

How much are you boosting them?  According to researchers at Purdue University, the increase is as much as 13-fold.

The reason for this is that the antioxidant compounds or to be more specific the "catechins" in tea aren't very stable in non-acidic environments, such as you stomach and intestines.  Most of value you'd expect to gain from green tea is lost through digestion.

By adding a little lemon juice you are making your tea acidic and as a result, a much higher percentage of catechins is digested and you get more benefits from drinking less. 

This includes the catechin EGCG which besides inhibiting the growth of cancers cells, kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.  EGCG also effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels and inhibiting the formation of blood clots.

So, I think it is a wise decision to make green tea part of your daily life.  And it is even wiser to drink it with lemon.  

10 Tricks for Eating Less

Our fast-food, food everywhere consumer society wants us to pig-out as much as possible.

We are constantly bombarded with TV, radio, billboard, newspaper, and magazine advertisements depicting slim happy people eating mostly bad food or drinking sodas and beer. You can't drive down a major street in any city without seeing dozens of fast food restaurants. Many popular restaurants serve gigantic portions of food and everywhere food has been super-sized.

The first step to eating less is to say no to the industrial food complex that is trying to fatten you up for the kill. Just say no to MacDonald's and every other fast food restaurant.  Say no to canned food and pre-packaged meals, no to soda pop and "sports" drinks, no to trans-fat and no to high fructose corn syrup and you'll consume fewer calories and extend your life.

The next step is to practice these 10 little tricks for eating less:

1. Learn that you are full before you stop eating. Left over from more primitive days, we all have a human survival gene called the "thrifty gene" which encourages us to keep on eating even when we are full. Stop eating before those last few bites of mash potatoes, wait and the desire to eat will go away.

2. Cut back on fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram as compared to 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein. You can eat the same amount of food while automatically cutting back on calories.

4. When you eat out, order two appetizers instead of one appetizer and a main dish, or simply order the main dish and no appetizers or share an appetizer. Skip the desert or if you must, share it. If you aren't too embarrassed, ask for a "doggy bag" before you start eating, and put a portion of your meal into the bag ahead of time. Don't eat the roll or bread and butter before the meal begins. If the waiter asks you if you want bread,stand up, throw your arms in the air, and yell, "Hell no!" (just kidding).

5. Have a light soup before your main meal, or better yet, have soup as the main meal. Soup makes you feel full on fewer calories.

6. Drink a large glass of water before you eat. You'll be less hungry.

7. For heaven's sake, slow down. Enjoy every single bite, chew it, and savor it. To slow things down even more, set your fork down between bites. Twenty minutes after your first bite of food there will be sugar in your blood stream; you'll feel full regardless of how much you've eaten.

8. Don't ever let yourself get extremely hungry. Another primitive instinct is to overeat when we are really hungry. Don't skip meals and learn to eat healthy, low calories snacks between meals.

9. Eat by Yourself! After 30 years of overeating and obesity research, psychologists at the University of Toronto have concluded that regardless of how hungry, social clues can dictate how much you eat--usually too much. In groups as small as two people, you will tend to eat 30% to 50% more than if you were alone. So eat alone or be more aware of how much you are eating when you are with others.

10. Notice when the flavor is gone and stop eating. You'll be amazed that after a bite or two of ice cream you really can't taste it anymore. Your taste buds are numb but your stomach is on autopilot. Stop eating for a moment, your desire will go numb as well. 

Pass the Kelp, Please!

The conventional wisdom is the vast majority of us get enough iodine in our diet so we don't have to worry about iodine deficiency.  A few years ago this might have been true because conventional table salt is fortified with about 40 mcg of iodine per gram and heavens knows, we all ate a lot of salt.

Today, however, people eat less salt and many of us don't use table salt.  Instead we use sea salts or kosher salts which are not fortified, plus many of us eat soy or soy products such as soy protein isolate which is found in processed foods.  Soy has been shown to actually inhibit thyroid synthesis.  If you eat soy, you need more iodine.

What does iodine do, you may wonder.  The answer is iodine stimulates the thyroid gland to manufacture a hormone called thyroxine.  This essential hormone regulates metabolism in the efficient burning of calories.  In children it regulates growth and development. 

A deficiency in iodine leads to a condition called hypothyroidism, the symptoms of which include fatigue, weakness, lethargy, weight gain, depression, memory problems, constipation, dry skin, intolerance to cold, coarse and thinning hair, brittle nails and sometimes a yellowish tint to the skin.

If you have some of these symptoms and are worried about having an iodine deficiency you can ask your doctor to test your iodine levels via a urinalysis test.  Or you can order a home testing kit from Medicalhometesting.com for $39.95.

Personally, I don't think I have an iodine deficiency, but hypothyroidism is a very slow developing disease and not one I want to ever deal with.  So, as a preventative measure, I take a "super kelp" supplement.  Available at most retail or online vitamin outlets, these pills are cheap.  I paid less than $5 for 250 daily tablets, which are small and contain 250 mcg of iodine (the RDA is 150 mcg). 

A few people report that kelp supplements can aggravate existing thyroid problems so you need to pay attention to any changes you feel if you follow my path by taking kelp supplements.  And if you have an immune deficiency you need to check with your doctor first. 

My only concern, though, is whether or not 250 mcg's is enough.  A Harvard thyroidologist, Dr. Robert Utiger, thinks the RDA should be increased to 300 to 400 mcg. 

Which Fast-Food Breakfast is Right for You? Answer: None.

One of my objections to mainstream health websites is in order to build maximum traffic they sometimes seem compelled to compromise good health principals. 

Knowing that many people in their audience have really bad eating habits, they counsel their readers to adopt less harmful substitutes.   Instead of drinking Coca-Cola, drink diet Coke; worried about fat, try 2% milk; not getting enough fiber, here’s a pill you can take instead of eating whole grains and broccoli.  

Just today, I happened on an amusing example of this approach at WebMD, concerning fast-food breakfasts, you know, the calorie laden fake food they serve in the morning at places like McDonald’s and Burger King.

To be fare, WebMD says it doesn’t endorse fast-food for breakfast, however, they then go about analyzing the content of various menu options, picking out the worst items and suggesting you try “healthier” substitutes.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve been to a fast-food “restaurant” so I found some of the breakfast choices to be even more horrible than I would have imagined.  My favorite example is Carl’s Junior Breakfast Burger (pictured above)—1/4 hamburger patty, processed cheese, scrambled egg, three strips of bacon, and hash brown nuggets topped with ketchup inside a warm, sesame-seed bun.  In terms of measurable nutrition, this two-fisted whopper (sorry, Burger King) weighs in at 830 calories, 47 grams fat, 15 grams saturated fat, 1,580 mg sodium, and a meager 3 grams of fiber. 

If these numbers don’t scare you into thinking you can get fat just by driving by, consider what other poisonous ingredients are in this “meal.”  I’m talking about high fructose corn syrup in the hamburger bun and in the ketchup, nitrate in the bacon, food colorings and emulsifiers in the “cheese,” added hormones and antibiotics in the “beef,” etc. 

A much better choice, according to WebMD, is Burger King’s Ham Omelet Sandwich.  Only 290 calories and 4.5 grams of saturated fat, this delicious breakfast consists of four or five layers of very thin “ham,” a microwaved egg, and a slice of processed cheese also between a sesame bun.  Ketchup optional, I guess.

What WebMD should be telling their readers is don’t ever eat breakfast at a fast-food restaurant no matter what.  Don’t have time to toast a slice of bread before walking out the door in the morning?  Grab a banana and eat it in the car.   Bananas are surprisingly filling, nutrious and they digest slowly.  This may not be the best breakfast, but at least you won’t be poisoning yourself.

You check this out the WebMD article and companion slideshow at: http://www.webmd.com/diet/slideshow-best-and-worst-fast-food-breakfasts

Do You Have to Eat a Fat Juicy Steak to get Enough Protein?

The other day I read that many nutritionists still think you cannot get enough protein without eating meat, fish, or chicken.  Can this really be true, I wonder.  I’m not a vegetarian myself but days go by when I don’t eat any animal flesh.  So, I decided to research this topic.  How much protein do you need?  Where can you get it if you are like me or if you are vegetarian or vegan.  I found some interesting answers and developed a list of non-animal flesh protein sources. 

How Much?

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has set the daily Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) of protein for males, 19 years old and older, at 56 grams and for females, 14 years old and older, at 46 grams.  Pregnant and lactating women require an additional 25 grams of protein per day for a total of 71 grams.  Though not proven, athletes who are doing strenuous aerobic exercises may need extra protein.  If you doing regular, strenuous resistant or weight-lifting exercises, your body is actually producing more of its own protein so you don't really need to be eating an extra amount. 

Many nutritionist disregard all this because their conventional theory is the amount of protein a person needs is proportional to his or her weight.   Their rule of thumb is the number of grams of protein you need is your body weight (in pounds) multiplied by 0.37.   Thus, if you tip the scales at 170 pounds, you need to eat 63 grams of protein a day (170 x 0.37 = 62.9). Just to keep you from rummaging around for your calculator, here’s a handy list to determine your protein needs based on your weight:

Body Weight   Proteins (Grams)

110            41
120            44
130            48
140            52
150            55
160            59
170            63
180            67
190            70
200            74
210            78
220            81
230            85
240            89

How Many Grams in a Pound?

Before we go much further with this little exercise, it is useful to know how many grams are in a pound and the answer is: 453.592—let’s just round this up to 454. 

Now then, your average steak (T-Bone, Filet, Porterhouse, etc.) is about 25% protein.  Thus, if you need 70 grams of protein a day, a 10-ounce steak will take care of all of this. (454/16=28 x 10 = 280 x 0.25 = 70)  The fact is, anyone who eats meat, chicken or fish on a daily basis is probably getting enough protein when you add all the other sources and there are many. 

However, if you were to rely solely on spinach, which is fairly high in protein for a vegetable,  you’d need to eat 13 cups to get your 70 gram requirement and I’m talking boiled spinach not raw.  Many vegetables contain protein, but just eating a variety of them as your only source will probably not add up to the minimum requirement.  Add in some beans, lentils, nuts, and whole grains though, and things start adding up.  Here’s a list of protein rich foods not including meat, chicken or fish but some dairy products:

Food                            Serving Size        Amount Protein
Cottage cheese               4 ounces                16 grams
Cheddar cheese               4 ounces                28 grams
Soybeans                         1 cup cooked         29 grams
Mozzarella cheese           4 ounces                26 grams
Cow’s milk                       1 cup                       8 grams
Goat’s milk                      1 cup                       9 grams
Shitake mushrooms         8 ounces                  5 grams
Black beans                     1 cup                      15 grams
Lima beans                      1 cup                      14 grams
Lentils                             1 cup                      17 grams
Kidney beans                   1 cup                      15 grams
Pinto beans                     1 cup                      14 grams
Navy beans                      1 cup                      15 grams
Yogurt                             1 cup                      12 grams
Tempeh                           4 ounces                 20 grams
Tofu                                4 ounces                   9 grams
Egg                                 1                              5 grams
Oats cooked                    1 cup                        6 grams
Tomato                           1                            1.5 grams
Pumpkin seeds                ¼ cup                     8.5 grams
Peanuts                           ¼ cup                    9.5 grams
Almonds                           ¼ cup                      7 grams
Mustard greens                1 cup                        3 grams
Spinach                           1 cup                        5 grams
Romaine lettuce              2 cups                       2 grams
Mushrooms                       5 ounces                  4 grams
Asparagus                         1 cup                    4.5 grams
Broccoli                            1 cup                    4.5 grams
Swiss chard                       1 cup                       3 grams
Collard greens                   1 cup                       4 grams
Cauliflower                       1 cup                       2 grams
Brussel sprouts                  1 cup                       4 grams
Miso                                  1 ounce                   4 grams
Turnip greens                    1 cup                    1.5 grams
Green beans                      1 cup                    2.5 grams
Cabbage                            1 cup                   1.5 grams
Squash                              1 cup                    1.5 grams
Garlic                               1 ounce                 1.5 grams

If you need 70 grams of protein and you’re a vegetarian you could easily get this amount by eating 4 ounces of cheddar cheese, 1 cup of blacks beans, a cup of yogurt, 2 eggs and 1 serving of broccoli.  If you’re a vegan, it’s a bit more complicated, but not entirely impossible—1 cup spinach, 4 ounces tofu, 1 cup lentils, 1 tomato, 1 cup oatmeal, ¼ cup almonds, 1 cup squash and 4 ounces of tempeh.  Without the tempeh, however, you’d need to add about 5 other sources!

Of course, it is all more complicated than what I've presented so far.  Protein is a complex molecule comprised of a combination of different amino acids, and not all proteins contain all of the amino acids.  Eight of these are refered to as "essential" because your body cannot manufacture them on its own.  The others are "nonessential" for the opposite reason.

You can get all of the essential amino acids by eating a variety of vegetables, beans, whole grains and nuts or by eating meat,chicken or fish. 

To read more on this topic, here's a good interview with a Tufts University nutrition scientist.