TriVita Article: Are You Getting Enough Nutrients in Your Diet?

by Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

As you review your diet of the past week, ask yourself, “Did I eat the right amount of fruits and vegetables every day?” The recommended amounts are five servings for children, seven servings for women and nine servings for men. If you can say “yes” – congratulations! If you are like most people you did not reach that goal. And, if you are like most of us, you did not eat all of your fruits and vegetables from an organic source; so, the fruits and vegetables may have been lacking in nutritional value.Supplements
The word supplement means in addition to something – to make up for a deficiency. Vitamin and mineral supplements should be taken in addition to a healthy diet. They make up for the deficiency we face due to the poor nutrient density in our foods. Supplements also help out when our diet is less than perfect.

Staying on top of our nutrient reserve is important. Our bodies make millions of new cells every day: heart cells, brain cells, bone and blood cells. Every time a cell dies it should be replaced. If you do not have the right amount of nutrients to construct a new cell you will either make an incomplete cell or none at all. The outcome is bad in either case, so we really need to keep all nutrients on board at all times. This is why we suggest a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement.

 

The simplest way to help support your nutrition is to take a general multi-vitamin and mineral supplement that provides a broad range of nutrients at standard nutritional levels. However, please keep the following points in mind:

1. Some supplements contain very high doses of certain nutrients. When you take nutrients in extremely high doses, you are no longer in the world of nutritional supplementation and have passed into the riskier world of megadose treatment.
2. Calcium and magnesium minerals are very bulky, and few multi-vitamin/mineral supplements provide the daily requirement. These minerals generally must be taken in the form of additional pills. Note: It isn’t possible for your body to absorb a day’s worth of calcium in a single dose. At least two doses are necessary.

The most common nutritional deficiencies

Calcium	Helps with bone density, muscle contraction and digestion
Chromium	Helps with blood sugar control
Folate	Helps protect against birth defects, heart disease and depression
Magnesium	Helps protect against high blood pressure, kidney stones and migraine headaches
Vitamin B-6	Helps protect against heart disease, depression and arthritis
Vitamin C	Helps with detoxification, immune system health and connective tissue
Vitamin B-12	Helps protect against anemia and fatigue. Helps with nerve health and energy
Vitamin D	Involved in bone and skin health and helps protect against diabetes and obesity
Vitamin E	Helps improve circulation
Zinc	Helps protect against acne, ADD/ADHD, the common cold and macular degeneration

Very few of us are so deficient in these nutrients as to show symptoms of outright malnutrition. However, subtle deficiencies may increase the risk of a number of conditions. For example, insufficient intake of calcium and Vitamin D may increase your chances of developing osteoporosis, and inadequate folate and Vitamin B-6 may speed the development of heart disease.

Besides vitamins and minerals, intake of essential omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids is often inadequate.

A strategy for everyone
Finally, note that food contains many substances other than vitamins and minerals that may enhance your health.

Supplements won’t make up for bad dietary choices. We simply must commit ourselves to eating more fruits and vegetables. Still, the reality of life is that we don’t always attend to our diet perfectly. So, appropriate nutrient supplementation can help make up for the deficiency we face because of poor nutrient density in our foods and an imperfect diet.

Take Control of Your Health Eat the appropriate amount of fruits/vegetables daily: Children: 5 servings Women: 7 servings Men: 9 servings Focus on organic whenever possible Eat high quality protein daily (34 to 71 grams) Eat Omega-3 fats every day (flax, walnuts & some fish) Take a balanced multiple vitamin/mineral supplement TriVita VitaDaily AM/PM (what I take!) Take an EFA supplement like TriVita OmegaPrime Take TriVita Vitamin B-12 every morning Take TriVita Vitamin C every morning and at bedtime

Source: TriVita Weekly Wellness Report March 7, 2009

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New Hope For Diabetes Sufferers

Proper nutrition, exercise and vitamin supplementation can help people with diabetes enjoy a healthy, productive life By Dr. Samuel N. Grief, M.D., CCFP, FCFP

Diabetes is a silent enemy

Every year, millions of Americans live their lives not noticing that they have subtle warning signs of diabetes. These less obvious signs, such as change in vision, fatigue, sleepiness and trouble fighting off infections, may not necessarily make you think of diabetes… but they should! It is usually the more obvious symptoms, such as unintentional weight loss, excess thirst and urination and fainting that signal the onset of diabetes and spur people to action.

Remember, if you are diagnosed with diabetes, life does not end! However, change is required in order to correct some of the imbalances that led to the development of diabetes in the first place.

First, take stock of your weight

Obesity causes approximately 60% of all cases of type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes. Losing weight is very likely to lessen the need for prescription medicine to control diabetes. Second, learning to count carbohydrates is necessary for all people with diabetes in order to keep the blood sugar relatively stable and free of any wild fluctuations. Limiting carbohydrate intake may also minimize the need for insulin.

Third, exercise will help improve your body’s natural sensitivity to its own or to any injected insulin you provide. Many people are not sure why they end up with diabetes. For most, a combination of genetic predisposition and lifestyle habits sets off a slow and steady decline in pancreatic function. This decline is inevitable unless the above lifestyle modifications are introduced. Taking supplements to help keep diabetes away is tempting. But do they really work?

Good news from the scientific world regarding vitamins and diabetes prevention

A recent study of middle-aged and older men and women was undertaken to see whether the rate of developing diabetes would be affected by how much Vitamin C was circulating in the blood among the study population’s participants. Vitamin C is a known antioxidant and promotes the well-being of several organ systems, including the heart, blood vessels, skin, gums, teeth and the immune system. This particular study concluded that those individuals with the highest blood levels of Vitamin C were significantly less likely to develop diabetes over the 12-year study than those with the lowest levels.

This is outstanding news! Translating this news into real-world practical advice, if you or any member of your family would like to lessen the risk for developing diabetes, consider eating more Vitamin C-rich foods. Specific Vitamin C-rich foods include:
• Oranges and other citrus fruits
• Sweet and hot peppers
• Cantaloupe
• Potatoes (baked, not fried)
• Cherries.

Vitamin C can also be obtained through supplements

If you choose to supplement, be sure you take a high-quality one that contains the appropriate amount to boost your blood level. Healthcare professionals recommend anywhere from several hundreds to several thousands of miligrams of Vitamin C per day.

Finally, diabetes is a known risk factor for heart disease, eye disease, skin infections and kidney disease. Fortunately, Vitamin C is known to help improve blood flow and as an antioxidant protects against sun damage to the eyes and skin, as well. The bottom line is this: eat a healthy and balanced diet, stay active and supplement with the right combination of vitamins and minerals to help stave off or keep your medical conditions under control, especially diabetes.

Source VitaJournal November 2008 pg 10.

TriVita’s Vitamin C supplements

Women, Make Health Your Top Priority

Summary
Taking care of yourself is essential to living a longer, healthier life
By Dr. Tammy Pon, M.D.

Only a few short years ago the life expectancy for women reached a peak in modern history, with most women living to an average 79 years of age! In honor of this very special issue that addresses women’s health, I’d like to discuss a few of these issues and the strategies needed to meet this new future of longevity and vitality.

Heart disease

Heart attacks and heart disease kill more women than any other cause. Women have a death rate from heart attacks that is 70% higher than men. There are two reasons for this: One is that a heart attack in a man does not look like a heart attack in a woman. The second is that women’s heart attack symptoms are often misdiagnosed in the emergency room (ER).

A heart attack in a woman is not always the “elephant sitting on my chest” feeling that accompanies a heart attack in men. Instead, there may be an “impending sense of doom” accompanied by shortness of breath, fatigue and low back pain, jaw pain and shoulder pain. Also, if a man comes into the emergency room sweating, with shortness of breath and chest pain the ER staff will automatically assume “heart attack.” When a woman enters the ER with similar symptoms, many in the ER staff will assume “panic attack!” The delay in treatment to differentiate these two conditions may cost a woman her life.

A woman is not a man. Yet, medicine assumes that the heart attack symptoms commonly presented by men are the standard for measuring ER reactions. With aging women outnumbering aging men by more than 2:1, it’s time for emergency room staff to be more aware of women’s unique health needs.

How women keep healthy hearts

The key to heart health is to recognize our need for nutrients and nurturing. Women of average size should eat seven servings of fruit and vegetables every day and sleep from 7 ½ to 9 hours every night. And women need exercise, too. Weight-bearing exercises are important, too because they strengthen your bones and prevent osteoporosis.

Talk about your anxieties with another woman. Why? In one study, talking with a woman reduced the blood pressure of both men and women, while talking with men did not. Stress management along with consistent exercise, proper rest and plenty of fruits and vegetables holds the promise of a healthy heart. Be diligent about testing risk factors as well: blood pressure, triglycerides, blood sugar, body composition, homocysteine, C-Reactive protein and lipids.

Bone health

Another risk that comes with the blessing of a longer life is osteoporosis: thinning bones. Take Vitamin D supplements as well. Eat calcium-rich foods – especially fruits and vegetables. Remember, cows get the calcium for their own bones from vegetation. I’ve already mentioned exercise for heart health. Weight-bearing exercise becomes critical now for bone health. The extra weight increases bone metabolism and draws nutrients to the weakest areas of bone to strengthen them. Don’t rely on medications alone to promote healthy bones. Take charge of your bone health now to protect against osteoporosis.

Dealing with menopausal symptoms

At a certain age, a woman ceases to be fertile and her periods stop. Menopause is a new experience this century for women in our culture. A hundred years ago most women simply did not live long enough to experience menopause. Find expert healthcare providers who can guide you through these changes with a maximum focus on nutrients and nurturing and a minimum focus on medications. With proper care, heart health and bone health can be improved and menopausal symptoms may be reduced or even eliminated. Taking the appropriate supplements can help us face our increased longevity with enthusiasm and vitality.

Source: VitaJournal October 2008 pg 6.

For more information on menopause, visit trivita.com, click on health articles and then the VitaJournal archive.