To Supplement or Not to Supplement?……That Is The Question!

Do you really need to take vitamin, mineral and antioxidant supplements if your eating healthy? You may not realize food’s nutritional value has decreased while toxins and Chemicals have increased.


In recent times, we’ve all heard about the need to eat food high in omega 3s. Salmon has some of the highest concentrations of this good fat. When you order grilled salmon at your favorite restaurant (or purchase at it at the grocery store), chances are you are actually getting “farm raise” (also known as “ocean raised”) fish. Farm raised salmon are inferior to wild in nutritional value and high exposure to antibiotics and pesticides.


In a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) comparing the nutrient profiles of wild versus farm raised fish and shellfish, it was determined that:

  • Despite being much fattier, farmed fish provided less usable beneficial omega 3 fats than wild fish.
  • Due to the feedlot conditions of aqua farming, farm-raised fish are doused with antibiotics and exposed to more concentrated pesticides than their wild counter parts. Farmed salmon, in addition, are given a salmon colored dye in their feed to turn their flesh pink so they look like their wild kin.
  • Aquafarming also raises a number of environmental concerns, the most concerning is the negative impact on wild salmon. It has now been established that sea lice from farms kill up to 95% of juvenile wild salmon that migrate past them. (krkosek M, Lewis MA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.)

After you’ve finished your salmon, you turn your plate to enjoy a vegetable medley and dessert of berries full of nutrients-but is it? How do vegetables and fruits acquire their nutrients?….from the soil. But current commercial farming methods based on maximizing revenues aren’t always concerned with crop rotating, ph balance of soil or the other many requirements to produce highly nutritious produce. Most large commercial farms are heavy on pesticides and are open to the use of genetically modified plant DNA in order to produce fast growing, low maintenance foods. The result of all our “modern” technology is a decrease in the nutrient profiles of our produce over the last 40 years. If your interested in viewing the charts that showcase the nutrient decline from 1951 to 1999 click here.


Our food supply has been stripped of nutritional value yet our toxic load has increased. Vitamins and minerals are foundational to good health while antioxidants help to rid the body of free radicals and cells with DNA damage caused by chemicals and toxins. Taking supplements provides your body with needed nutrients you may not be getting from your diet and improve your health, In what is being called a landmark study conducted by the University of California Berkeley, concluded that long-termed dietary supplement users had markedly better overall health than non-supplement users. View additional information on this study here.




Disclaimer: I am a Shaklee distributor. Their products are one of the few that aren’t manufactured in China and shipped for sale in the U.S.. 95% of all supplements are made in China.
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Struggling with Weight-loss?...Part 3 with Photos


Here I am on the right about 45 lbs lighter. I feel better than ever, mentally and physically.

Although, I'm a proponent of exercise, I didn't do any to lose my weight. I chose not to exercise for two reasons:
1. To prove that weight can still be shed even if you can not exercise due to your weight or pain (many times caused by one's weight).

2. To prove that not all calories are created equally. It's not as simple as calories in, calories out as my previous weight-loss attempt confirmed. Food causes a chain reaction of processes in our bodies that can put our health in a state of vitality; ready to defend and resist, or susceptibility.


There are many “low carb diets” to choose from including Atkins, South Beach, The Zone Diet and Protein Power. I didn’t follow any one specific diet but instead used them all as a reference. My eating, I would say, is more of a hunter/gatherer, Paleolithic lifestyle that consists of leaner proteins (preferable non-grain fed for obvious reason), vegetables, nuts and berries (a list can be seen here). My daily total carb count was never over 20 grams due to being extremely insulin resistant but you may find that to be too high or low. In either case it’s important to eat only carbs that are healthy; that means no grains or starchy vegetables (usually anything that grows below ground).


QUICK TIPS ON HOW I DID IT:
  • Kept daily carb intake to 20 or below.
  • List of foods I ate can be found here.
  • Never counted calories-just ate till I felt full.
  • I ate the recommended daily protein which can be calculated here.
  • If possible don’t have high carb foods available at home.
  • Always have low carb snacks available so you don’t reach for the high carb items.
  • Used FitDay to see the protein and carb content of different foods.
  • Referenced the book “Protein Power” and companion website for encouragement and information; life changing information!
  • First 2 weeks I felt sluggish (my body was switching over to a different fuel) but after that I lost all cravings for carbohydrates.


My husband and dad both decided to follow my lead and lost 60 lbs and 55 lbs without any exercise. My husband stands all day for his job and was having debilitating knee pain which disappeared as the pounds fell off. Once my husband reached 199 lbs he went in for a physical which he passed with flying colors. His cholesterol panel reflected his low-carb eating habits; raised HDL and super low triglycerides. Yes low carb eating directly lowers your triglycerides! Eating correctly isn’t just about weight-loss, it’s about reclaiming your health.


As Joseph Brasco, MD points out, “whenever cereal-based diets were first adopted as a staple food replacing the primarily animal-based diets of hunter-gatherers, there was a characteristic reduction in stature, a reduction in life span, an increase in infant mortality, an increased incidence of infectious disease, an increase in diseases of nutritional deficiencies (i.e., iron deficiency, pellagra), and an increase in the number of dental caries and enamel defects.”

Micheal Eades, MD agrees, “Attending conferences and studing anthropology, where we learned what paleopathologists and anthropologists have known for years: the agricultural revolution and the increased consumption of carbohydrates it brought along with it played havoc with the health of early man.”

Carbohydrates and an overabundance of Insulin can lead to many conditions and diseases. Here are a few to get you started on your own research.


I am currently reading "Life Without Bread-How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life". I can barely put this book down and highly recommend it. Scientifically researched but easy to understand, this book explains how Low Carb eating improves your health.

It is imperative to seek your doctors advice before changing your diet. I cannot stress this enough! Low Carb eating can lower insulin requirements which in turn would require less insulin medication if you are a diabetic. The same is true if you have high blood pressure; your medication requirement may be less. Just the fact of losing weight will require a lower dose of most medications.



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List of Lower Carbohydrate Foods


This is not a complete list but some basics. The items that I used quite often are in red. Please keep in mind that I kept my daily carbohydrate intake at 20 grams (or less) but your body may be efficient at a little higher or lower than mine. For additional information about the carbohydrate content of these and other foods, please visit FitDay. If you'd like to calculate your recomended daily protein intake, please visit here.
FRUITS:
Lowest in Sugar:
Low to Medium in Sugar
VEGETABLES:
Low-Carb from Lowest to Highest:
MEATS, SEAFOOD, EGGS, TOFU
  • Avoid all breaded meats including Meatloaf unless breadcrumbs are substituted with a low-carb alternative. Also watch out for high carb Sauces served with meats
  • Mussels and Oysters have carbs
  • Some organ meats contain carbs
  • Hams, Luncheon Meats and Bacon often have added sugars
  • Best to eat leaner less processed meats
  • Half a cup of tofu has 10 grams of protein and 1 gram of effective carbohydrate (w/ 1 gram of fiber)
  • Eggs are high in protein and low in carbs
  • TOFU is a over processed soy and I would not recommend it
  • PROTEINS THAT I ATE: Chicken, Salmon, Eggs, Protein Shake (sweetened with stevia), Shrimp, Steak, Hamburger, Bacon, Sausage
CONDIMENTS & OTHER ITEMS:
  • Mustard (except sweetened mustards like honey mustard)
  • Cider and Wine Vinegars
  • Most bottled Hot Sauces
  • Most Salsas
  • Soy Sauce or Tamari
  • Mayonnaise
  • Sugar-free salad dressings (my favorite is Blue Cheese Dressing)
  • Capers
  • Horseradish
  • Pesto
  • Herbs and Spices (without added sugar)
  • Lemon or Lime Juice
  • Extracts (Vanilla, Lemon, Almond, etc)
  • Broth or Bouillon
  • Sour Cream
  • Cream Cheese
  • Olive Oil
  • Coconut Oil
  • Almond Milk (unsweetened Chocolate or Vanilla)
  • Almonds
  • Macadamia Nuts
  • Unsweetened Cocoa
  • Sugar Alternatives (Stevia, Xylitol)
  • Low Sugar Balsamic Vinegar
  • Low Sugar Rice Wine Vinegar
  • Low Sugar Worcester Sauce
  • Red Wines
  • Low-Carb Beers
  • Hard Cheeses (tend to have Lower Carbs)
  • Half n Half Creamer
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Butter



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Struggling with Weight-loss?…Part 2


Insulin was the culprit, blockading my weight-loss progress. My doctor knew this from studying my FitDay journal. Although my overall calories were low, my carbohydrate consumption was high.


How are insulin and carbohydrates connected to weight? Carbohydrates are turned into glucose thru the digestion process. The glucose is absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. The pancreas is signaled to release the hormone insulin which helps move the glucose from the blood stream into the cells for energy use, thus prevents blood sugar levels from remaining too high.


This is where the “text book answer” ends. In reality, myself , along with millions of other people are finding that instead of glucose being converted to energy, it’s being converted to fat. This happens as a result of long-term carb consumption burning out the receptors that recognize the insulin. The pancreas then puts out more insulin to get the receptors moving the sugar into the cells. This process snowballs until a person has to continually overproduce insulin to stabilize blood sugar.


Eventually, no amount of insulin is enough to lower blood sugar levels and the person is labeled Insulin Resistant. When too much glucose is circulating in the bloodstream, the liver converts the excess to FATTY ACIDS -> TRIGLYCERIDES -> BODY FAT.


Dr. Gerald Reaven began research at Stanford University in the 1960s into the mechanism of balancing blood sugar and coined the phrase “Syndrome X” (insulin resistance). Reaven approximated 50% of all overweight people in the U.S. (not already diagnosed with diabetes or glucose intolerance) are Insulin Resistant. Additionally, 25% non-overweight people (haven’t put on the weight yet) are Insulin Resistant.


In Part 3 you'll see:


  • Before and After Photos
  • What Foods I Ate
  • Books with Additional Information
  • How Lowering Carbohydrates Improves Health and Lowers Risk Factors for Other Diseases
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