Category Archives: Vitamins

Vitamin D

Is Your Health Suffering From a Lack of Vitamin D?

A lack of Vitamin D may be behind many common, serious medical problems faced by Americans Though this important vitamin plays a part in many facets of healthy body function, most people dont get enough vitamin D in their diet, and this puts them at increased risk for many health issues. American Longevity Center recommends using Earth Rx Vitamin supplements to help ensure good health.


Vitamin D is contained in some fish and eggs, as well as in fortified dairy and grain products. It can also be picked up through time spent in the sun. However, many people get an insufficient amount of Vitamin D and their health suffers as a result.


A lack of Vitamin D can cause bone pain and muscle weakness, because the nutrient plays a part in how the body utilizes calcium. Other health problems that can be caused whole or in part by low levels of Vitamin D include cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma in children, and cognitive problems in adults as they grow older. Having enough Vitamin D in the system, meanwhile, can help prevent diabetes, hypertension, and multiple sclerosis.


Recent studies have even found possible links between Vitamin D and mood. A report presented at this years annual meeting of The Endocrine Society found that women who suffered from depression saw an improvement in their condition when their Vitamin D deficiencies were addressed.


There is a growing demand for safe, effective, and natural options for conditions that may be brought on, in part, by a vitamin deficiency. Earth Rx has the scientific research and clinical studies to meet that demand. Earth Rx supplements are scientifically formulated based on proprietary and published studies in nutrigenomics how nutrition influences genetic expression for good health.


The worlds leading medical professionals and scientists have put more than 25 years of research into the Earth Rx product line available exclusively at American Longevity Center and through their network of affiliated physicians throughout the United States.


To learn more about problems associated with a vitamin D deficiency and about the Earth Rx product line, please call American Longevity Center at 800-640-4950.

Avocado

Get More Vitamins From Your Salad With Heart Healthy Fats

Trying to shed pounds by eating no fat or fat free foods? While many of us try to keep healthy by piling on the fresh greens and veggies to our salads, those non-fat dressings most dieters tend to use can actually be preventing them from absorbing all of the great minerals and vitamins these heart healthy salads can offer.


Last week, researchers from Purdue University released a new study that demonstrated why some fat is an important ingredient in any salad. The study found that salads rich with healthy, monounsaturated fats, provide the most nutritional value for you. The reason being is that many vegetables contain health-promoting carotenoids that are best absorbed by the body when paired with a healthy fat. Carotenoids aid in cancer prevention, protect us from heart disease and have potent anti-oxidant and anti-aging properties. They also help keep our immune systems healthy.

Sources of Monounsaturated Fat

Monounsaturated fats can be found in many foods that are derived from plant sources such as peanut, canola and olive oil. Monounsaturated fats, especially when they take the place of saturated fats in food, can bring your LDL or bad cholesterol number down without hurting your HDL or good cholesterol number.


Additional sources of monounsaturated fats include:

  • Hazelnuts
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Pecans
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Avocados
  • Olives
  • Halibut
  • Mackerel

Adding Monounsaturated Fats to Your Meals


It’s especially easy to add sources of monounsaturated fats to salad. Choose all natural salad dressings made with olive oil, sunflower or safflower oil, sprinkle almonds or chopped pecans on your greens or slice up some fresh avocado. The same foods can be added to veggie wraps or rice dishes.


Adding monounsaturated, healthy fats to your salads and other meals will help you maximize vitamin absorption while benefiting from the incredible anti-oxidant power they offer.


Vitamins, carotenoids and anti-oxidants are all key ingredients in healthy aging as well as looking and feeling your best. All natural foods tend to use higher quality ingredients, which is where you can find monounsaturated fats. Visit the all natural section of your grocery store or the organic health store nearest you.

 

We Need it To Live But Most of Us Don’t Get Enough

It’s a fact, most of us will not get enough Vitamin D from the foods we eat to support a healthy, active life. Although we need Vitamin D to survive, experts say getting adequate amounts is almost never accomplished through diet alone. The most common source of Vitamin D is in milk but hardly any of us consume enough of it to support our body’s needs. In fact, up to 80% of Americans are deficient.


When we think about a Vitamin D deficiency, most of us automatically think of osteoporosis, but studies indicate that the effects of a vitamin D deficiency include an elevated risk of much more serious conditions and diseases. The include developing (and dying from) cancers of the colon, breast and prostate; high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease; osteoarthritis; and immune-system abnormalities that can result in infections and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.


Take a look a this excerpt from a NYTimes.com article:

Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University, a leading expert on vitamin D and author of “The Vitamin D Solution(Hudson Street Press, 2010), said in an interview, We want everyone to be above 30 nanograms per milliliter, but currently in the United States, Caucasians average 18 to 22 nanograms and African-Americans average 13 to 15 nanograms.African-American women are 10 times as likely to have levels at or below 15 nanograms as white women, the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found.


Such low levels could account for the high incidence of several chronic diseases in this country, Dr. Holick maintains. For example, he said, in the Northeast, where sun exposure is reduced and vitamin D levels consequently are lower, cancer rates are higher than in the South. Likewise, rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, and prostate cancer are higher among dark-skinned Americans than among whites.


Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency

Some symptoms of low vitamin D levels are high blood pressure, depression, fatigue and weakness, rickets, bone pain, muscle cramps, psoriasis, dental disease, depression and others.


Be Proactive, Be Preventative


Taking a vitamin D supplement like Earth D3 5000 from EarthRx is the best way to ensure your body gets the required levels of vitamin D. The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D depends on your age. Below is a basic guideline:

Table 2: Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin D [1]
Age Male Female Pregnancy Lactation
0“12 months* 400 IU
(10 mcg)		 400 IU
(10 mcg)
1“13 years 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)
14“18 years 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)
19“50 years 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)
51“70 years 600 IU
(15 mcg)		 600 IU
(15 mcg)
>70 years 800 IU
(20 mcg)		 800 IU
(20 mcg)