Ocean Vegetables For Health

You may be more familiar with the term seaweeds (and the first thought following that may be ugh!), yet the history of these beautiful ocean plants tells a different tale.

Incredibly mineral-rich, they have been harvested for centuries and used as an important part of daily food and ceremony in many cultures around the world. In fact, at one time sea vegetable gardens were maintained in Hawaii specifically for royalty, and in Japan, kombu and nori were available to nobility only!

Because they use the sun’s energy for photosynthesis, sea vegetables are considered plants. However, they do not have a land-plant’s conducting tissues or root system; instead they absorb everything they need directly from the ocean around them.

Probably the most ancient of foods, the composition of sea vegetables is like a mirror of the blood and body fluids of a person in good health. Our blood contains all one hundred or so minerals and trace elements that exist in the ocean. Seaweeds contain these in the most assimilable form because their minerals and elements are integrated into living plant tissue.

As a result of chemical usage and depletion of our soil by modern agricultural methods, food grown today contains fewer minerals and nutrients. Seaweeds can supply many of these missing nutrients. In fact, as a group they contain the greatest amount and broadest range of minerals of any organism and hence make superb mineral-rich foods.

On account of this unusual mineral content, they are effective in relatively small, supplementary amounts. Normally, the ideal way to use seaweed is regularly as an ingredient in meals. They have a remarkable ability to combine with other vegetables, grains and legumes to provide better utilization of protein and all other nutrients. In addition to a wealth of minerals, vitamins and amino acids, seaweeds are especially excellent sources of iodine, calcium and iron. So… Still not so sure you’re ready to try them?

Take a look at just a few of the incredible benefits you can expect to get from these gifts from the sea. When compared to plants that grow on land, sea vegetables are 10 to 20 times higher in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Hijiki (also known as hiziki), arame and wakame contain 10 times the calcium of milk; when compared to the iron available in beef, sea lettuce has 25 times more, hijiki 8 times more, wakame and other kelps four times more. Nori, familiar to most as the dark green sea vegetable sheet used at sushi bars, can pack a walloping protein content as high as 25-50% of its dry weight-the highest of any ocean vegetable, and it is also high in vitamin A.

Dulse (so commonly eaten in the Canadian coastal area that you can find it next to the fruits and vegetables of any grocery store!) is also rich in vitamin A, as well as iron.

This should get your attention: After the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia, sea vegetable companies’ sales shot up. Why? Studies have proven that the sodium alginate found in sea plants in the kelp family (kombu, sea palm, wakame, and others) can bind with radioactive strontium to pass it out of our intestinal tracts with the stool.

After the Nagasaki bombing occurred, people who ate a strict macrobiotic diet—including brown rice and miso soup with sea vegetables—did not suffer from radiation poisoning, even though some were within a mile of the explosion!

The high iodine content was helpful here as well: If proper amounts of natural iodine already exist in the thyroid gland, then it cannot absorb any other forms of iodine, such as radioactive iodine, a toxic pollutant. The natural iodine in seaweeds is an easy, nontoxic way to meet the requirement of iodine in your diet.

The symptoms of iodine deficiency include: chronic fatigue, apathy, dry skin, intolerance to cold, weight gain and enlargement of the thyroid (goiter). These symptoms are the same as those of thyroid hormone deficiency. Just two tablespoons of a kelp seaweed taken daily (kombu and digitata kelp are especially high in this nutrient), or a few kelp tablets, can supply all the iodine you need. And while iodine supplements can be toxic if taken in excess, there is no need to be concerned when eating your sea vegetables. Have as much as you like!

Truthfully though, bringing sea vegetables into your diet can be a bit daunting at first. The newness of texture, taste and smell even stopped a few of us veteran ocean plant chompers in the beginning! Don’t be afraid to start with the one to which you are the most attracted. We veterans can tell you from experience that some of the “sea-weeds” we initially found the most difficult to make friends with, we now find the most delicious!

No matter how you choose to bring these wonderful plants into your diet, you will be glad you did… and your body will certainly be blessed with the addition of this ancient, nutritious food.

The Body Balance supplement I write about is a blend of 9 wild harvested sea vegetables in organic Aloe Vera juice. This is the easiest way to enjoy the nutritional power of these wonderful sea plants. Just take 4- 8 ounces of Body Balance a day and your body will thank you for the rest of your life.

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Life Force International – An Inside Look

I am very proud to represent the company and the product line of Life Force International. LFI’s product line helped me and continues to help me with my ongoing health issues. Their business compensation plan is one of the most generous plans in our industry, paying out almost 60 cents back from every dollar to business members like myself, enabling us the opportunity to build a life changing income for ourselves and our families.In these tough economic times with unemployment skyrocketing, my Life Force business is the financial lifeboat that is keeping me afloat in these tough times.

Click here to watch this informative video

For more information you can contact me at:

805.646.1999 or

Email:healthy_lifestyle@roadrunner.com

Empowering Human Potential

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Marine Source Nutraceuticals…Sea vegetables offer untapped health benefits

The New England Journal of Medicine dropped  a bombshell Monday when it reported  that a study has revealed that less is more when it comes to certain drugs used to lower cholesterol. The study finds niacin, an inexpensive vitamin is more effective in helping to unclog arteries in people already taking statins than the widely prescribed drugs Zetia and Vytorin. These drugs are much more expensive than niacin and were prescribed more than 29 million times in the U.S. last year.

I became a believer in natural supplementation through whole food a few years ago when I had an eye opening health response from just such a whole food supplement. I began consuming a liquid whole food vitamin/mineral supplement made from organic aloe vera and sea vegetables after 4 back surgeries left me with a fused lumbar and severe chronic pain. After suffering for over 2 years without any improvement from physical therapy and numerous pain medications which made me very unpleasant to be around, I was referred to this whole food supplement by a friend. 3 months later, the pain/inflammation in my back had been reduced over 70 percent. It was then I started looking into the power of whole food nutrition.

I took a look at the Asian diet, which appears to contain a wealth of protective health-promoting compounds. An examination of the Asian diet reveals that it is rich in sea vegetables. It surprised me that the recognized traditional health benefits of certain sea vegetables long known in Asian cultures, which are being confirmed by modern scientific research today, where not known by my Western trained medical doctor. I began to wonder what other health benefits these sea vegetables held that my doctors did not know about.

In the West, seaweed is largely regarded as a health food and, although there has been an upsurge of interest in the last 20 years, it is unlikely that sea vegetable consumption will ever be more than a fraction of what it is in Japan.

Sea Vegetables and Cholesterol
The Japanese have believed for many years that eating seaweed prolongs life. Since many deaths are due to heart disease, which may be linked with high plasma cholesterol levels and hypertension, the effect of seaweed on these physiological values have been investigated. Again, sea vegetables such as Ascophyllum, (Cystoseira and Fucus have been shown to lower significantly plasma cholesterol levels (Krotkiewski M., European Patent #90850263.6) and the active compounds have been identified: Fucosterol/Fucoidan and the unsaturated fatty acids show hypocholesterolemic activity. This ability to reduce plasma cholesterol levels and to increase serum lipolytic activity may explain their use in the prevention of atherosclerosis. An antihypertensive activity of substances with sodium-binding properties, e.g. a polysaccharide, is obtained from brown seaweed fibers.

OK…in English…sea vegetable consumption helps the body reduce cholesterol levels naturally.

Sea Vegetables and Cancer
Certain sea vegetables have long been used in traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine in the treatment of cancer. Oxidative processes are involved in both the initiation of carcinogenesis and the promotion of tumor development(Pryor, 1987)
Research of recent years provides strong evidence that the sea vegetables Ascophyllum, Cystoseira and Fucus showed antitumoral activity against leukemia
Based on epidemiological and biological data, consumption of sea vegetables are proposed as an important factor contributing to the relatively low breast cancer rates reported in Japan.

The New England Journal of Medicine report earlier this week stated that Niacin, Vitamin B3, reduced cholesterol better than the statin drugs mentioned in the report. Since sea vegetables contain one of the highest  NATURAL plant sources of B vitamins, including Vitamin B12, it would be logical to draw the conclusion that a diet rich in these sea plant based B vitamins, is a very healthy lifestyle choice indeed.

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What Makes Body Balance So Good For Us?

Here’s a list of the ingredients in each bottle of Body Balance…

Alaria esculenta

The brown alga name Maria esculenta is translated to mean “edible wings.” Alaria sea vegetables have a nice flavor, and they are popular as a food item in some cultures. Like other brown sea vegetation, Alaria esculenta contains fucans—carbohydrate-related nutrients that are often described as the “slimy stuff” found on the outside of the skin of the plant.

Alaria esculenta is made up of 42 percent alginate. In addition, it contains fucoidan, and a number of amino acids (or protein building blocks) . Lastly, Alaria escuienta is relatively high in potassium  which helps promotes a healthy nervous system.

Aloe Vera A Sumerian clay tablet, found in the city of Nippu written around 2200 BC, is the first document to include Aloe vera among plants of great healing power. Egyptian writings record Aloe as being used medicinally 1,500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Hebrews in the Bible’s Old Testament carried Aloe with them in the wilderness for 40 years to be sure they would have it in their new land. Greek physician Dioscorides wrote of using Aloe for constipation, burns, and kidney ailments.

Life Force’s aloe plant is grown in fertile fields at the base of a volcanic mountain in Mexico near the equator.  This is significant for several reasons. Fields are fed with water rich in volcanic trace minerals.  Sunlight and rain is ideal for aloe, and even the wind plays a part.  Certified “organic” under the protocols set by QAI (Quality Assurance International). Aloe is hand-farmed from preparing the soil, to planting, to cultivating, to artfully cutting the leaves.

Ascophyllum nodosum Ascophyllum nodosum is a slow growing sea vegetable found in the northern Atlantic ocean. It grows by attaching itself to rocks and boulders and can live to be several decades old.

It contains high amounts of fucoidan—a specialized polysaccharide. Fucoidan molecules tend to bond with sulphate groups. While this may not say much to the rest of us, scientists know that the higher the sulphate group count in a plant, the higher the plant’s medicinal potential.

It is believed its high fucoidan count may be why in studies an extract from the sea plant helped prevent blood coagulation.  This could be beneficial for those at risk for heart disease and stroke. Additionally, fuicoidan has been shown to have significant cancer-fighting properties.

Black Cherry Body Balance is a tastier drink because it has black cherry flavoring, all natural and of course being a botanical, it also contributes its share of phytonutrients.  Black cherry contributes to supporting healthy uric acids
levels, which supports health

 

 

 

Chondus cripus

Chondus cripus grows in thick patches and has leaf tips that are iridescent. Once the sea plant is removed from the water, however, it loses its color. This plant is rich in iodine, which is known to promote a healthy thyroid. Chondus cripus is a powerful antioxidant that has a unique genetic structure.

Scientific literature reports that one single gene isolated from Chondus cripus contained a polypeptide of 825 amino acids.  The role of antioxidants is important to health. Sickness, particularly chronic illness, has been attributed to the high presence of free radicals in our modern society.

Fucus vesiculosus The common name for Fucus vesiculosus is bladder wrack. It is grown on the coastline of colder regions including the northwestern United States and northern Europe. The plant has receptacles that are usually swollen at the ends, which has everything the plant needs to reproduce (both eggs and sperms).  When it’s about to die, the seaweed’s swollen ends will burst.  This way the plant manages to reproduce itself.

The plant has a thick skin that secretes a sticky substance that helps keep it moist. It contains fucoidan and myostatin, which have been reported to have varying health benefits such as being an anti-coagulant (blood thinning and anti-clotting), anti-inflammatory, and anti-viral. There will be more about fucoidan and it benefits in the section about the brown sea plant Ascophyllum nodosum.

Fucus vesicuiosus also contains alginate. Besides helping to excrete toxins from the body, alginate may also positively affect the immune system T-cells and support the endocrine system (or hormonesystem) in the body. Lastly, alginate from Fucus has been used to help control gastroesophageal reflux disease (also known as GERD). GERD is a type of chronic heartburn. Statistics show that more than 60 million Americans experience heartburn once a month. The alginate from Eucus may help control the reflux problem and reduce the acidity content of the stomach.

Gigartina chamissoi Gigartina chamissoi is a leafy, red seaweed. There has been quite a bit of research done on the natural carrageenans found within Gigartina. arrageenans are a special kind of polysaccharide. Originally, carrageenans from red seaweed were extracted and used for gelling and thickening agents in the food industry. Then it was discovered that some of these carrageenans worked well in skin products and cosmetics.

Within the last few years, scientists have discovered that the carrageenans in Gigartina also possess some unique medicinal properties. Among other things, they have found them to be antibacterial as well as antiviral. In fact, one study showed that an extract of Gigartina could kill the bacteria Streptococcus. In addition, in 1997 scientists from Argentina found carrageenans in Gigartina to be anti-herpetic (able to kill the herpes viruses) and anti-coagulant (able to prevent blood from clotting).

Honey The types of flowers the bees pollinate determine flavor and color of honey.  The darker shades of honey are believed to have more antioxidants.  The study showed no weight gain in participants for the month they were consuming honey.  And, some claimed that eating honey for breakfast actually made them feel full and satisfied.

Eating honey along with supplemental calcium appeared to enhance calcium absorption in rats, according to a study from Purdue University.  In addition, the researches suggested that the absorption of calcium increased as the amount of honey taken was upped.  Sugar is a crystalline carbohydrate extracted from sugar cane and sugar beets. It is a non-nutritive empty calorie that robs the body of vitamins and minerals. Sugar is addicting. The biggest culprit?  Soft drinks, which account for one-third of our total sugar intake.  Honey contains vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, and is a wonderful beauty aid that nourishes the skin and the hair.  Honey acts as an antibacterial and antifungal agent and helps disinfect and speed the healing process in wounds, scrapes and burns.

Laminaria Laminaria is a perennial type of sea plant, meaning that it grows back year after year. As with the some of the other brown sea vegetables, Laminaria digitata contains potassium, iodine, and calcium, which may promote health of the nervous system, thyroid gland, and bone structure. There has been quite a bit of research done on Laminaria digitata because of its apparent health benefits. We will discuss just a few studies.

A couple of recent studies (in 2003 and 2004), demonstrated that in a laboratory setting Laminaria digitata displayed strong anti-cancer properties. For example, in the first study a solution extracted from Laminaria digitata had a strong inhibitory activity against the spreading of human leukemia cells. The second study looked specifically at tumor cells. In this experiment the extract from Laminaria digitata killed tumor cells in both in vitro and invivo tests.  In vivo means the extract was able to kill the tumor cells within a living biological organism (such as rats), whereas in vitro means the experiment was done in a test tube or some similar medium.

Another study, completed as recently as 2005, showed that a preparation made from Laminaria digitata acted as an effective vaccine against several disease-causing fungi in the human body such as Candida albicans, which is involved in various gastrointestinal as well as vaginal infections.

Palmaria palmate High in potassium and calcium, the red sea plant Palmaria palmata is named for its resemblance to the palm of the human hand. Like other red sea vegetables, it is also known for its high levels of healthy antioxidants.  One scientific journal reports that Palmaria palmate has anti-cancer properties.  Extracts from the sea plant were tested on human cervical cancer cells.  It was found that chemicals in the sea plant stopped the cells from reproducing and spreading.

Another health benefit of Palmaria palmate may be to those with irregular blood sugar and even those with diabetes. Scientists found that the polysaccharides in Palmaria palmate affect the intestinal absorption of glucose and insulin response.

Porphyra yezoensis Nori, a sea plant known to scientists as Porphyrayezoensis, is one of the most widely used sea vegetables in Japan. It has been grown in Japan as a food source for hundreds of years. As a plant, it is highly nutritious. It contains minerals such as zinc and copper, as well as various vitamins and provitamins.

As of late, Porphyra yezoensis has also become the subject of a number of health-related studies. It has been shown to help healthy liver activity, prevent the occurrence of gallstone disease, and control blood cholesterol levels. It also contains sulfated polysaccharides, which may inhibit the growth of certain tumors and help prevent ulcer activity in shay ulcers.

Porphyra yezoensis is a potent source of vitamin B. Diseases aggravated by low levels of vitamin B in the body are dermatitis (skin inflammation), depression, and anemia (low iron). One recent study, published in 2001, showed that Porphyra yezoensis has high amounts of bioavailable vitamin B

Stevia Stevia is a genus of about 150 species of herbs and shrubs in the sunflower family (Asteraceae), native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America.  As a sweetener, stevia’s sweet taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, although some of its extracts may have a bitter or liquorice-like after taste at high concentrations.

With its extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, stevia has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives.  Stevia also has shown promise in medical research for treating such conditions as obesity and high blood pressure. Stevia has negligible effect on blood glucose, therefore it is attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate controlled diets.

Ulva Iactuca Ulva Iactuca is often called sea lettuce. It grows in many areas around the world but especially in the northern hemisphere. Ulva Iactuca has a long history of being used in different cultures medicinally. In Cuba, sea lettuce was boiled and then drunk as a juice to kill intestinal worms. In Bretagne, the plant was applied directly on wounds to help stop infection.

The main elements within Ulva lactuca are bioactive substances as well as fiber, iron, calcium, and magnesium. It contains polysaccharide fibers that cannot be dissolved or degraded by digestive enzymes.

This aids in digestion.  One particular polysaccharide within Ulva iactuca is called ulvan. Ulvan is asulfated polysaccharide that has been shown to kill cancerous colon cells. Researchers from France reported ulvan proved to be useful in killing various human cancer cells.  The iron content in sea lettuce is high, 15 times higher than the iron found in an egg yolk or spinach.  Iron is known to stimulate the immune system and improve overall strength and physical performance.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.   These products are not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.

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Sea Vegetables—Nature’s Healthy Gifts From The Sea

Here is a great article by Linda Page about the nutritional power of sea vegetables and Aloe Vera…Enjoy

Sea Vegetables-Nature’s Healthy Gifts From The Sea

By Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D./HealthyHealing.com

http://healthyhealing.com/

In Western countries, land vegetables are the traditional sources of greens, but vegetables from the sea are nutritious foods and powerful healers that have been used by European and Asian cultures for centuries. I eat sea vegetables every day. I recommend them as a critical part of many healing programs-detoxification, illness recovery, heart healthy, hormone balancing for women (and men), and much more! Sea Vegetables can literally transform your health. When you drink sea vegetables, or take seaweed baths, you’re tapping into the ancestral and restorative source of all life-the ocean. Just a few of the miraculous health benefits of sea vegetables:

Super Nutrition

Ounce for ounce, along with herbs, sea vegetables are higher in vitamins and minerals than any other food. Sea vegetables are really the ocean’s deep greens, rich in vegetable protein, and full-spectrum concentrations of important carotenes, chlorophyll, enzymes, amino acids and fiber. They are the only vegetarian source of B-12 for cell health, containing amounts that rival beef liver (the leading animal source). They are an excellent source of body building minerals like calcium, iron, iodine, and potassium. Sea vegetables contain trace minerals like boron, chromium and selenium that are vital to health, but that modern farming techniques have leached from the soil.

Our body fluids have the same chemical composition as seawater. The same trace elements than run through the oceans run through the human body. Seaplant chemical composition is so close to human plasma that perhaps the greatest benefit from sea vegetables is promoting our internal rebalance. Sea vegetables act as the ocean’s purifiers, and they perform many of the same functions for our bodies.

Detoxification

Sea vegetables offer superior protection from radiation and heavy poisoning. Studies done a McGill University reveal algin, a component of sea greens like kelp and alaria, binds to heavy metals and chemical pollutants in the intestinal tract, allowing them to be safely eliminated from the body. Seaplant algin even binds to radioactive strontium (one of the most hazardous atomic pollutants), radioactive iodine-131, barium, zinc, and cadmium, flushing them out of the body before they can even poison us. Sea vegetables are so effective that the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission recommends that people consume two to three ounces of sea vegetables a day for maximum protection against radiation poisoning.

Major Disease Protection

Sea Vegetables are an excellent addition to you natural arsenal against cancer and heart disease. Further, sea vegetables help dissolve fatty deposits in the cardiovascular system that lead to heart disease, and relieve tension in the blood vessels caused by over-consumption of table salt. Japanese studies from the 1960’s show sea vegetables extracts control high blood pressure and atherosclerosis in animals fed in a high cholesterol diet. The same studies show that sea vegetables lower blood pressure in people, too.

Hormone Balancing For Women

Sea vegetables can ease the discomforts of menopause. They are a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins D and K that assist with production of steroidal hormones like estrogen and DHEA in adrenal glands play a key role in shoring up hormone production when estrogen production slows down during menopause. Vitamin K in sea vegetables especially boosts adrenal activity; ingesting them can help maintain female hormone balance for a more youthful body for years to come. Sea plants also nourish an under active thyroid to trigger increased libido in women after menopause.

Sea vegetables are especially good for stimulating metabolism in overweight pets. Dosage: about 1 to 2 tbls. for dogs and 1tsp. for cats.

Copyright 200 Traditional Wisdom Inc. For more information about Linda Page, free healing programs, free recipes, please visit:

http://www.healthyhealing.com

Website Resources

Resources for Sea Vegetables

Phytonutrients http://www.ars.usda.gov

They are constantly updating their website with new information and articles. All of these can be found in the Nutrition section of the website.

Trace Substances.

Sea Water and Blood Ratio’s are the same.

Chloride 48%

Sodium 44%

Sulfate 3.3%

Potassium 2.4%

Calcium 1.3%

Magnesium .03%

Sea greens = vitamins, B12, A,C,D,E,B, minerals, amino acids, protein, chlorophyll, enzymes, fiber, fatty acids, antioxidants, immune system, anti HIV.

http://www.4source.com/technical/nutraceuticals_world.shtml

http://www.seaveg.com/bibliography.html

Resources for Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera stimulates cell growth and tissue healing. It aids in detoxifying, cleanses liver, cleanses kidney, helps breakdown and eliminate trapped matter in colon and a gentle laxative. Powerful aid with digestion. Great for skin conditions such as boils, burns, hemorrhoids and anti-inflammatory. Wonderful antiperspirant. It has 20 of 22 amino acids including 8 essential nutrients. It is an excellent vitamin B12 source.

http://www.wholeleaf.com/aloeverainformation.html

Body Balance...Nutrition as Mother Nature Intended

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Product Testimonial About Fibromyalgia

Dr. Tonnie J. Wulff, Network Spinal Analysis Practitioner: Here are my observations on the use of Body Balance and OsteOmegaCare in conjunction with Network Spinal Analysis.

I opened my Network Spinal Analysis practice January 2004. Initially, I attracted clients with basic complaints of headaches, low back pain, and various musculoskeletal aches and pains. My practice has been steadily growing and I am now starting to attract more complicated cases including two fibromyalgia clients. My initial treatment protocol with these clients included 3 Network Spinal Analysis entrainments (treatments) per week, for 8-12 weeks.

Under this treatment protocol alone, both of my fibromyalgia clients found improvements in their ability to adapt to weather changes, atmospheric pressure changes, and regular daily life stressors which include physical, chemical and mental/emotional stress. Around week #6 of care, I suggested we add Body Balance and OsteOmegaCare to their treatment regimens.

One of my clients received such an immediate boost of energy with the addition of Body Balance that we actually needed to reduce her serving and gradually increase her up to a standard serving. After several weeks of using both Body Balance and OsteOmegaCare, this client has felt better than she has in years. Her massage therapist that she’s been seeing for years called me to express how impressed she is with the positive changes she’s seen in this client.

My other fibromyalgia client also noted a marked increase in energy levels after a few weeks of utilizing Body Balance. With the addition of OsteOmegaCare, she no longer complains of knee and ankle joint pain. During a re-exam/consultation with this particular client, she shared with me that she had been noticing an increase in overall body aches and pains and a decrease in energy during the last couple of weeks. After my inquiring what had changed, she confessed that she had gotten out of the habit of taking her Body Balance and OsteOmegaCare. After re-introducing these products to her daily regimen, her aches and pains have subsided and her energy levels are improving.

Discontinuing the products was a great way for both her and me to note the difference they were actually making in her overall sense of health and wellness.

I have since attracted a few more Fibromyalgia clients into my practice and feel confident that the combination of Network Spinal Analysis, Body Balance, and OsteOmegaCare will assist these clients in experiencing the sense of health and wellness that they are looking for.

Body Balance

OsteOmegaCare

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Common Product Question About Body Balance

Question: My doctor and nutritionist both say that too much Vitamin A is toxic. As there is a lot of Vitamin A in Body Balance, is it still OK to use?
Answer: Both the doctor and the nutritionist are correct in the assumption that too much Vitamin A is toxic to the liver.
However, the FORM of Vitamin A is what will make the difference…….and the Vitamin A in Body Balance is in the form of natural carotenoids. Vitamin A in pill or isolated form is very different to Vitamin A in this natural, food-based form. The carotenoids are a class of compounds that act as precursors to Vitamin A. When food or supplements containing carotenoids are consumed, the carotenoids are converted into Vitamin A by the liver, and the liver will ONLY convert the amount of Vitamin A that it can deal with at the time and that the body actually needs. No overdose can occur with carotenoids, unlike a Vitamin A isolate.

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Some Simple Golden Rules for Nutrition and Health

The closest thing to a “magic bullet” for maintaining youth and optimal health is a well-balanced combination of proper nutrition and eating habits and regular exercise. Health for me is the ability to lead a happy and creative life. Dis-ease is a limitation on that freedom. Here are some simple “golden rules” to follow to maximize your chances of a healthy and productive life.
1. Don’t overeat. Leave the table before you are feeling really full. It is better for the food to rot and be composted in the earth than to rot and be composted in your body.
2. Chew your food properly. 20-30 times is a good average. By chewing your food properly, you are allowing the proper breakdown of the food so that your body has the nutrients available to assimilate. It is also a really good discipline to prevent overeating.
3. Be relaxed when eating, as much as possible. If you are stressed or eating when you don’t really feel like it, you compromise your parasympathetic nervous system.
4. Eat whole foods and eliminate as much processed food as possible.
5. Whenever possible eat uncontaminated and organically grown food.
6. Eat simply. It is a treat to really get to taste the food itself and enjoy it.
7. Eat a varied diet with as many different fruits and vegetables as you can, as each one has a different set of phytonutrients in it.
8. Eat as much locally grown food as possible.
9. Eat a large percentage of your food raw, and remember to chew it well.
10. Don’t eat right before going to sleep. One of the things that happens right after we fall asleep is that the anterior pituitary gland produces human growth hormone that burns fat tissue, promotes lean muscle, and stimulates immune function. If you eat right before going to sleep, insulin is produced that blocks the growth hormone release.

11. Exercise on a regular basis…..even if it is just walking around the block each day. Regular exercise improves digestion and elimination, increases endurance and energy levels, and lowers overall blood cholesterol. It also reduces stress and anxiety which are contributing factors to many illnesses and conditions.

12. Take a high quality liquid vitamin/mineral supplement, preferably from organic whole food sources. Our land based food sources are severely depleted of essential vitamins, minerals and trace minerals. Without these minerals the body cannot utilize the vitamins you do take in.

Body Balance~a whole food liquid vitamin/mineral supplement

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What Is A Mineral?

Q. WHAT IS A MINERAL?

A. An inorganic element, such as calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, or zinc, that is
essential to the nutrition of humans, animals, and plants.

Q. What is the difference between inorganic vs. organic minerals?

A. Please understand these facts:

1. Minerals are inorganic, as they exist naturally in the soil and water.
2. Minerals are organic, as they exist in plants and animals.
3. Only plants can transform inorganic minerals into organic minerals.
4. Animals must eat plants or plant-eating animals to obtain their organic minerals.
5. Inorganic minerals are useless and injurious to the animal organism. (That’s us!)

How the Confusion Began:

Because inorganic minerals and organic minerals have the same chemical compositions, the early nutritionists confused them. The mineral, iron, in the bloodstream has the same chemical composition as the mineral, iron, in a nail—iron is iron, after all. However, these nutritionists incorrectly reasoned that there were no other differences between these two forms of iron. As a consequence, there actually were iron mineral supplements that consisted of surplus powdered nails.

Perhaps you have heard the expression, “mad enough to chew nails.” In this case, mad or unbalanced is certainly the correct word.

Chemically, it is true that iron in the bloodstream and iron in nails are the same and that calcium in rocks (known as dolomite) is identical to calcium in the bones.

However, it is a grave error to believe that the body can digest and assimilate and utilize powdered nails and crushed rocks.

This is why you must be very careful about any mineral supplement you take. Calcium supplements come mostly in pill form and largely consist of an inorganic form of  Calcium.

Eating leafy green vegetables such as collard greens, spinach and broccoli are considered a good source of plant based Calcium but, due to the mineral deficiency of our farm soils the average person falls well short of getting enough Calcium through their diet.

Why are minerals important?

Minerals are the spark plugs of life because they are required to activate thousands of enzyme reactions within the body. In a way they are more important than vitamins since plants manufacture vitamins but minerals must be obtained from the soil. If the mineral is not in the soil, it cannot possibly be in the plant. Since our very existence is dependent upon the body’s ability to utilize minerals because minerals activate enzymes and enzymes control all the chemical reactions that take place in a living system, i.e. our bodies.

Health Problems From Lack Of Minerals

According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans typically lack a sufficient amount of the minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and the vitamins A, C, D and E needed to maintain good health.

Mild calcium deficiencies can cause heart palpitations, insomnia, and irritabil-ity.

Without adequate minerals, research has shown that people de-velop chronic life threatening diseases like; diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, bone loss, and dementia.

Key Minerals We Need Daily

List of Minerals Believed to be Essential to Humans and Their Roles in the Body:

Mineral            Roles in the Body

Boron: promotes healthy bones, teeth; metabolism of other minerals

Calcium: blood clotting, intracellular signaling, muscle contraction

Chromium: insulin and glucose tolerance responses

Cobalt: contained in vitamin B12

Copper: formation of hemoglobin; absorption and use of iron; skin, hair pigmentation
Fluoride: prevents dental carries; crystalline structure of bones and teeth

Iodine: contained in hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).

Iron: contained in cytochromes , myoglobin, haemoglobin.

Magnesium: mineral present mainly in the bones; maintains electrical potential in nerve and muscle cells

Phosphorus: contained in bones, teeth; role in energy metabolism

Potassium: role in fluid and electrolyte balance; heart muscle activity; metabolism and protein synthesis

Selenium: proper heart function; possibly prevents certain cancers

Sodium: present in extracellular fluid

Sulphur: energy metabolism, enzyme function, and detoxification

Zinc: contained in enzymes, transcription factors

Through the process of photosynthesis,  sea vegetables  take in the inorganic minerals in the ocean and made them organic, thus they are the highest source of organic minerals on the planet.

Another way to get minerals absorbed by the body is to chelate an inorganic Calcium source like calcium carbonate into a highly absorbable organic form of Calcium. (see below)

“Chelated” minerals, those bonded with food acids, are known to be better absorbed in the human body as they are recognized as food substances.

Organic Calcium Forms:
-Calcium amino acid chelates has 65-80% absorption rates. They are fairly expensive and not as easily found.

-Calcium ascorbate gives you the benefit of Vitamin C as the other part of the molecule sans the acidity of the vitamin. It’s both expensive and hard to find.

-Calcium aspartate is the second best absorbed – 85% – of the commercially available types of calcium. Along with calcium orotate, it is the hardest to find.

-Calcium citrate is the most recommended by doctors, because it is the most easily absorbed. Unfortunately, it contains only about 21% of elemental calcium – you have to take more tablets to get enough calcium.

-Calcium gluconate and calcium lactate contain about 15% elemental calcium, similar to citrate in terms of absorbability and lack of side effects. But these cost more – as much as 3 to 10 more than the cost of calcium citrate

-Calcium orotate is the best absorbed of the commercially available types of calcium with 90-95% absorbent rate.

Bottom line: educate yourself about the supplements you take…don’t fall for the hype and slick marketing you see in the media today.

The two mineral supplements I take utilize both these processes. The sea vegetables in Body Balance use photosynthesis to metabolize inorganic minerals into an organic mineral form and OsteOmegaCare uses Orotic Acid as a chelating agent which forms Calcium Orotate, the highest absorbable form of Calcium available.

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Whole Vitamins And Supplements Are Critical For Maintaining Good Health

After reading this, you will be shocked at how damaging synthetic vitamins can be to your body! Please take the time to read this entire blog. If you do, you will never look at supplements or your body the same way ever again!

According to Taber’s Medical Dictionary, vitamins are essential for normal metabolism, growth and life of the body.(1)

They are indispensable for the maintenance of health. Up until now there has been some controversy regarding the necessity to supplement vitamins back into the diet. The Journal of American
Medical Association concluded from a study that every individual should supplement everyday, thus ending that controversy.(2)

Research has proven that your body begins to pay the price as it tries to compensate for nutrient deficiencies. Eventually, poor nutrition can lead to devastating consequences. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that your body is invincible. Your health is worth a billion dollars and it doesn’t take much to give the body what it needs and deserves. Bottom line, getting the proper nutrients and micronutrients each day is critical to maintaining good health.

So, now hundreds of supplement companies have looked to chemical derivatives and synthetic vitamins as a solution. Vitamins are found in food, and just because current growing and processing methods have depleted the vitamins available from our foods, it does not mean that we should come up with newfangled ways to get these micronutrients from some other source. Instead, we should look for a way to get more of the safe, effective supplements that are available only from whole foods.

For instance, look at the use of vitamin C as an example. Ascorbic acid is often sold as vitamin C, and yet it is only a chemically derived fraction of the whole food vitamin. As it is found in food, vitamin C is a complete complex which is actually made up of ascorbic acid plus rutin, bioflavonoids, K factor and J factors
– as well as other substances that no human experiment has been able to replicate. You must have all of these fractions in order for the Vitamin to be complete.

Taking the synthetic form of vitamin C, for example, can actually thicken the arterial walls of the heart by as much as 2.5 times which can harm the body! Ascorbic acid (synthetic vitamin C) is the word that you need to watch out for! Large doses of this material have been found to cause collagen disease, rebound scurvy, kidney stones and impaired mineral metabolism.

In order for the body to absorb and use a supplement, all of the parts of the complex must be present. That means that in order to use the fractionated form of the supplement, the body must first supply the other parts of the whole food complex. If ascorbic acid alone is ingested, the body must complete the complex by robbing its own collagen tissue of the elements that are missing in the “vitamin C” you supplied.

This process is rarely complete and can even cause-increased deficiencies. A published study by Doctors Vinson and Bose showed this to be the case. They found that vitamin C from citrus extract was absorbed 35 percent more than ascorbic acid. Their conclusion was that; “Although natural and synthetic ascorbic acids are chemically identical, citrus fruits contain bioflavonoids such as
naringin and hesperidin as well as carbohydrates and proteins that might affect the bioavailability.”(3)

Likewise, other supplements have been shown in study after study to be more effective in their whole food form. One study by J.A. Vinson and C. Hsu, published in Medical Science Research, found whole food vitamin E and vitamin A to be more bioavailable than isolated, synthetic forms of these vitamins. In the case of vitamin A, results showed the food base product were retained 9.4 times more than the synthetic form. (4)

Synthetic vitamins only give you 50% of biological activity as compared to whole supplements. In fact, research studies show that synthetic vitamins can be dangerous to your health! Synthetic stripped down processed vitamins are currently being sold in almost every brand name supplement today.
Most Vitamin nutrients on the market today use stripped down synthetic vitamins rather than whole vitamins straight from vegetables and fruits.

Synthetic vitamins are much cheaper to produce.

Taking the synthetic form of Vitamin E is proven to actually suck vitamins and minerals right out of the bones, which can do more harm than good to the body! Once again, most vitamin supplements today are using all the synthetic vitamins because they are cheap to manufacture.

Synthetic vitamins simply cannot measure up to the real thing. As of 1996, over 3,800 different compounds have been identified in foods as having nutritional significance. (5)

However, in a laboratory, twenty nutrients are about all that modern science can reproduce and put into a vitamin product.

Even more of a concern than the ineffectiveness of these synthetic vitamins is the harm that they can cause. Fat-soluble isolated/synthetic vitamins are significantly more toxic, and isolated/synthetic minerals can settle out in the tissues without being utilized, causing similar toxicities and serious problems (isolated/synthetic iron found in supplements contributes to heart disease in adults and is a cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6, for example).

With all this evidence to support whole food supplements, why do you think companies continue to make and market the “cheap imitations”?
The answer: Because they are cheap.
However, while these companies may save money and make more profit, there is no way the synthetic forms can match the effectiveness and health promoting qualities of a whole food supplement.

The best supplements and vitamins for you are those that are made from natural, organic foods.

The human cell recognizes and can use for fuel, repair and function, only natural, whole food complexes.

Whole food supplements do not rob precious nutrients from the body, but supply the individual cells with the nutrients they need to flourish. For greatest gains in terms of health, take only whole food supplements. When evaluating a supplement, you can simply read the label. Rather than multi-syllable, unpronounceable chemical names, you should find the names of foods listed as the vitamin sources. This is your way of knowing that you are getting the best possible absorption and retention of your supplements.

Remember, next to the name of any vitamin or supplement, if you don’t see a name of a food or an asterisk leading you to a place on the label that tells you the food source of the supplements, you are more than likely looking at an inexpensive, processed vitamin that is stripped of all other compounds that are normally present with supplements that are found in fruits and vegetables. If you see the name of a food referenced to the supplement, be excited to know that you are getting vitamins direct from the whole food and, therefore, you are also getting the essential precursors, enzymes, activators, antioxidants, and micronutrients (essential compounds) that are natural. These essential compounds make it much easier for the body to absorb and utilize the supplements you are taking! Your body deserves to be given the right supplements that are essential for your good health!

Eating healthy, getting the proper nutrients, annual medical checkups, and exercise are all critical in keeping the body strong and healthy.

In addition to taking our whole food based supplement, please feed your body less processed foods and more raw fruits and vegetables. The difference could be amazing!

Years ago we thought nothing of our children riding in a car with just a seat belt to protect them. Today, since we are far more educated, most of us would never consider having a baby ride in a car unless properly secured in a car seat.

Educating yourself regarding the facts about your body and the nutrients that are essential for good health, is as important as brushing your teeth daily for good dental health.

Your body is worth a billion dollars and yet most of us abuse our body as though it has the ability to handle major abuse year after year without paying any price.

It’s often many years later when we discover all that abuse comes at a major price. Let’s educate ourselves and others about nutrition and our body so we can all live a longer and healthier life.

1. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, Edition 16. F.A. Davis Company: Philadelphia ,1989, p.
2000.
2. JAMA 2002; 287:3116.
3. Vinson, J.A., Bose P. Comparative Bioavailability to Humans of Ascorbic Acid Alone or in a
Citrus Extract. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1998, Vol 38, No 3, p. 601-604.
4. Vinson, J.A., and Hsu. Effect of Vitamin A,E, and a citrus extract on in vitro and in vivo Lipid
Peroxidation.” Medical Science Research, 1992, 20, 145-146.
5. Duke, James. Handbook of Chemical Constituents of Grasses, Herbs, and other Economical
Plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton . 19

For information about where you can find the best liquid whole food supplement available, please contact John @ 805.646.1999 or E mail me @ healthy_lifestyle@roadrunner.com

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