Vitamins, minerals, the women's or men's formulas, high protein mixtures, anti-aging, with or with extra anti-oxidants, herbal extracts! Where to start? If this wasn't confusing enough a trip to the health stores reveals even more choices and more questions.
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<br>Do you get the supplements in a capsule or tablet form, what about the liquid form or the spray for under the tongue? What dosage do you take? Does paying more mean better quality? What does chelated mean or time released?
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<br>Some step by step tips for a general health supplement program that is not meant to be advice on how to improve a particular condition that you might have. But first I would just like to remind you, taking supplements is just what the name suggests, supplements to a good healthy diet, as insurance.
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<br>The first consideration would be a multi vitamin and mineral as the foundation to your program. It is considered a broad-spectrum supplement providing many different nutrients but in small doses. The advantage is that you can take a big variety of nutrients without running the danger of causing any imbalances.
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<br>Your choices are further complicated by, do you choose the one-a-day capsule or the one three times a day vitamins and minerals. This totally dependent on your life style and how disciplined you are. If you are the sort of person who basically only remembers at breakfast to take their supplements, then the one-a-day would be a better choice. However, it is generally better to taker lower doses more often, especially if you are good at remembering. They are often cheaper than the time released one-a-day variety. A general rule of thumb would be to always take your supplements with food. Always store you supplements way from direct sunlight in a cool place.
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<br>Reading the labels is important, compare a few and look to see if the label reveals the form of the individual vitamin or mineral? For instance if the label says Vitamin E and nothing to indicate what type of vitamin E, don't buy the product, you need to bear in mind this a generalization. It should tell you if the vitamin E is in a natural (d-alpha-tocopherol) or synthetic (dl-alpha-tocopherol) form. The natural form is easier to absorb. Or is the calcium in the form of carbonate, which is more difficult to absorb or in a form like citrate which is easier to absorb.
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<br>At the end of the ingredients list you might see compounds you may never have heard of before, these are substances added to the tablet or capsule as binding agents, and/or fillers, and for the most part are nothing to worry about. This leads us to the question about tablets or capsules, again I am generalizing capsules tend to be better. Considerable heat and pressure can be used to produce a tablet form which can affect the nutrients.
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<br>It has been well established that pregnant women should take a multi-vitamin and mineral, the choice here has been made easy for you. Check out the brands that recommend their product for pregnancy. Folic acid (one of the B vitamins) has been considered crucial for women during childbearing years, that they should take 400mcg as a preventative measure.
<br>Many women decide to take calcium supplements to treat or prevent osteoporosis. It is thought that pre-menopause women should take 1,000mg a day of calcium, and post menopause women should take 1,500mg of calcium a day. If you look at the amount of calcium in a multi-vitamin and mineral it is nothing like that amount. So if you want to prevent osteoporosis with supplements you will need to take an additional supplement of calcium any form other than carbonate. To ensure good absorption and utilization of calcium take a separate magnesium supplement of 400mg with your calcium supplement and muti vitamin and mineral.
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<br>Anti-oxidants have been well documented, helping to slow down deterioration and protecting us from pollutants in our water, air and food. They protect against heart disease, cancer, cataracts, strokes, memory loss, even wrinkles.
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<br>Anti-oxidants help deactivate free-radicals before they do much harm in the body. Inflammation is another big enemy to the body causing destruction and encouraging diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis even wrinkles. A good anti-oxidant that is also a good anti-inflammatory is Vitamin C. It is worth considering taking 500mg to 1000mg of vitamin C with your multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Finding a vitamin C supplement with biofavonoids (plant compounds) adds extra protection and encourages better absorption of vitamin C.
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<br>Taking supplements at night can be a problem for some people, for instance Vitamin B supplement in multi-vitamin and mineral formulas or in a B complete has disturbed their sleep. B vitamins encourage energy levels and this is one of the reasons.
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<br>Vitamins come in two main categories water soluble which are Vitamin C, the Vitamin Bs and fat soluble vitamins are Vitamin A, E, D and K. Water soluble vitamins are removed from the body quickly, whereas fat soluble vitamins are a different matter they are stored in the liver and fatty tissues, and eliminated from the body much more slowly. Taking large doses or more than is recommended of the fat soluble vitamins can cause a problem with toxicity.
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<br>Finally, to this foundation you could add a particular supplement to suit your individual need, for instance gingko capsules to help increase the circulation especially to the brain, a good anti-aging measure. Or you might want to consider adding garlic capsules to protect your heart and maintain cholesterol levels. Or maybe omega-3 capsules as an anti-inflammatory to reduce aches and pains.
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<br>About the Author: Sonia Jones - I am a Brit living and working in Panama for the last five years. A naturopath, nutritional therapist and reflexologist with 20 years experience. A published author of three books. Owns her own spas and clinic, and launched her own natural organic skin care range. Married for 34 years - husband and business partner who is also an acupuncturist. www.arthritisalternativetreatment.com www.naturalweightlossmethods.com
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วันเสาร์ที่ 14 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2552
Legal Ways to Enhance Your Athletic Performance
There you are again. Sitting in a locker room, having maxed out your squat at 525lbs, firmly in the middle of a plateau. Feeling dispirited, defeated, worthless, useless. A chlorine blue hypodermic needle on the bench before you, fat as your finger ad loaded up with choice horse steroids. It's the only way to go. Juice up, get ripped, and enhance your performance. It's the only way-or is it?!? Perhaps there are other, more natural means to achieving your goal, to breaking through plateau's and realizing your full potential. So for now, hold off on the horse steroids, and read on. Maybe the next few words on Vitamin D and latte's could change your life.
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<br>Common wisdom and our mothers tell us to avoid the sun, that it will age us, give us cancer, bleach our hair and blind our eyes. However, a review of studies from the 1950's to today show that a surprisingly large number of people-including athletes-are suffering from Vitamin D deficiency, which we humans derive from the sun. Why should you care? Because if you are Vitamin D deficient, then boosting your Vitamin D levels could in turn boost your athletic performance. And that means no need for horse tranquilizers.
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<br>What does Vitamin D do for you? A lot. Research suggests that athletic performance peaks seasonally, that they're doing well when sunrays are strong, and down when they're weak. A few research trials found that vitamin D improved neuromuscular functioning, including balance, reaction time muscle strength and bone density in those lacking vitamin D. Also, some research suggests that vitamin D can improve the number of fast twitch muscle fibers. The benefits continue: vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium and helps form strong bones, whereas a vitamin D deficiency can weaken bones and muscles.
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<br>So what can you do about it? If you're a dark skinned individual, live up north or an indoor athlete, the best thing you can do is get a little sun. While you can get vitamin D through your diet via fish, eggs, fortified milk and cod liver oil, the best way to acquire it is through 10 to 15 minutes of non-sunblocked sun exposure from between 10am and 3pm twice a week. That's it! Just get your face outside, smile at the sun, and bask in its warmth for a quarter of an hour.
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<br>Coffee. This dark drink does wonders. The University of Illinois found that consuming coffee before a work-out may lessen muscle pains in moderate to high intensity workouts. They had college aged men who drank and didn't drink coffee take caffeine one hour before a cycling exercise, and discovered that those who did had a 48% reduction in pain in their quad muscles, compared to those in the placebo group. This was regardless of whether the subject drank or did not drink coffee, suggesting that there's no tolerance effect.
<br>
<br>So coffee, yes! Less pain, faster recovery, plus that caffeine high can help you perform better while actually in the throes of working out. Should you replace water with coffee? No way, you need to stay hydrated, but a little cup of joe before a workout can make a world of difference.
<br>
<br>So cheer up, and cast aside all thoughts of horse steroids. With just a little Vitamin D and a latte you can experience significant benefits, and all of it 100% legal. With that kind of information, what's not to like?
<br>
<br>About the Author: Phil Tucker is a product review specialist for Miami based Get Moving Catalog, and is coo-coo for cocopuffs about the <a href="http://www.getmovingcatalog.com/rev-abs-workout.html" rel="nofollow">RevAbs workout</a>, and frequently wonders, <a href="http://www.getmovingcatalog.com/slim-in-6-debbie-siebers.html" rel="nofollow">Does Slim in 6 work</a>?
<br>
<br>
<br>Common wisdom and our mothers tell us to avoid the sun, that it will age us, give us cancer, bleach our hair and blind our eyes. However, a review of studies from the 1950's to today show that a surprisingly large number of people-including athletes-are suffering from Vitamin D deficiency, which we humans derive from the sun. Why should you care? Because if you are Vitamin D deficient, then boosting your Vitamin D levels could in turn boost your athletic performance. And that means no need for horse tranquilizers.
<br>
<br>What does Vitamin D do for you? A lot. Research suggests that athletic performance peaks seasonally, that they're doing well when sunrays are strong, and down when they're weak. A few research trials found that vitamin D improved neuromuscular functioning, including balance, reaction time muscle strength and bone density in those lacking vitamin D. Also, some research suggests that vitamin D can improve the number of fast twitch muscle fibers. The benefits continue: vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium and helps form strong bones, whereas a vitamin D deficiency can weaken bones and muscles.
<br>
<br>So what can you do about it? If you're a dark skinned individual, live up north or an indoor athlete, the best thing you can do is get a little sun. While you can get vitamin D through your diet via fish, eggs, fortified milk and cod liver oil, the best way to acquire it is through 10 to 15 minutes of non-sunblocked sun exposure from between 10am and 3pm twice a week. That's it! Just get your face outside, smile at the sun, and bask in its warmth for a quarter of an hour.
<br>
<br>Coffee. This dark drink does wonders. The University of Illinois found that consuming coffee before a work-out may lessen muscle pains in moderate to high intensity workouts. They had college aged men who drank and didn't drink coffee take caffeine one hour before a cycling exercise, and discovered that those who did had a 48% reduction in pain in their quad muscles, compared to those in the placebo group. This was regardless of whether the subject drank or did not drink coffee, suggesting that there's no tolerance effect.
<br>
<br>So coffee, yes! Less pain, faster recovery, plus that caffeine high can help you perform better while actually in the throes of working out. Should you replace water with coffee? No way, you need to stay hydrated, but a little cup of joe before a workout can make a world of difference.
<br>
<br>So cheer up, and cast aside all thoughts of horse steroids. With just a little Vitamin D and a latte you can experience significant benefits, and all of it 100% legal. With that kind of information, what's not to like?
<br>
<br>About the Author: Phil Tucker is a product review specialist for Miami based Get Moving Catalog, and is coo-coo for cocopuffs about the <a href="http://www.getmovingcatalog.com/rev-abs-workout.html" rel="nofollow">RevAbs workout</a>, and frequently wonders, <a href="http://www.getmovingcatalog.com/slim-in-6-debbie-siebers.html" rel="nofollow">Does Slim in 6 work</a>?
<br>
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