Why Vitamin D is Crucial for Overall Health
Research supporting vitamin D continues to mount, and we have no choice but to recognize its cruciality for health. Mandatory fortification of food with vitamin D is beginning to see some serious discussion in Europe, a reflection of the current mood surrounding the nutrient. With healthcare costs rising worldwide, could incorporating such a necessary (and inexpensive) nutrient be helpful? Many experts believe so, but it comes down to the quality of the fortification that will make sense and will provide the most benefit. Read more
Are Multivitamins a Waste of Money?
Making the rounds in the news again is the idea that multivitamin supplements are unnecessary for most people. Indeed, most studies have not shown any consistent benefit of taking multivitamin and mineral supplements for preventing chronic diseases, so this new research comes as no surprise. Similar to the previous analyses, no consistent evidence was found that vitamin and mineral supplements reduced the risk of cardiovascular events, cancer or premature death.1-3 However, micronutrient deficiencies are certainly detrimental to health, and it makes sense to avoid them. Insufficient intake of some vitamins is a risk factor for chronic diseases and can be quite common, especially in elderly people.4 Read more
Vitamin D deficiencies at epidemic levels, says new study
Vitamin D is an amazing nutrient that protect the body from all sorts of diseases and problems. Researchers continually uncover new links between lack of vitamin D and disease, illustrating the fact that it is vital to good health. However recent studies have also found that most people are deficient in vitamin D.
A team of doctors from the McGill University Health Centre in Canada was surprised to find that about 59 percent of people evaluated were deficient in vitamin D and about 25 percent were severely deficient. Published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the study is allegedly the first to illustrate a definitive link between vitamin D deficiency and an accumulation of fat in muscle tissue.
"Because it [vitamin D deficiency] is linked to increased body fat, it may affect many different parts of the body. Abnormal levels of vitamin D are associated with a whole spectrum of diseases, including cancer, osteoporosis, and diabetes, as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disorders," explained Dr. Richard Kremer, lead investigator of the study. Read more
Principles That Identify Orthormolecular Medicine: A Unique Medical Specialty
Richard A. Kunin, M.D.
In 1969 Linus Pauling coined the word "Orthomolecular" to denote the use of naturally occurring substances, particularly nutrients, in maintaining health and treating disease. At that time megadose niacin therapy for schizophrenia and dietary treatment of "hypoglycemia 7 were the major focus of the movement. Since then Orthomolecular psychiatry and medicine have emerged as a distinct and important specialty area in medical practice.
In the meantime, other medical movements have sprung up out of the public demand for Hope in the face of a worsening epidemic of cancer, heart attacks and mental illness and in response to the outcry against adverse effects of modern medical treatments and invasive diagnostic and intensive care procedures. Alternative therapies have come forward to fill the vacuum left by modern Medicine, which failed to provide effective treatments for the major epidemic diseases and in protest against Medicine's over-reliance on pharmacology, for the drug treatments seem to have fostered the epidemic of drug-dependence which is the major epidemic of our time. The public majority were ready for a new medicine based on nontoxic, non-invasive, "natural" medicines to go with the re-discovered "natural foods". Read more
Just when you thought that the health benefits of blueberries couldn't be any more plentiful, new research has found that freezing the superfood actually increases the berry's nutritional content.Graduate student Marin Plumb, a food science major at South Dakota State University, found that frozen blueberries are equally nutritious as fresh blueberries, even after six months of freezing.Plumb's experiment involved observing antioxidant levels in blueberries frozen for one, three and five months. After comparing the antioxidant content of frozen berries to fresh berries, she found no decrease in the nutritional value of the frozen berries. Read more
Don't be brainwashed into believing these common healthy eating myths
Formulating a healthy eating plan that is both balanced and nutritious can be difficult in today's world, especially when the guidelines pertaining to what constitutes healthy food vary dramatically depending on who you ask. Consequently, there are several healthy eating myths of which you will want to be aware, particularly if you are in the process of trying to reformulate your dietary habits. These myths include:
1) 'Low-fat' is good for you. Modern society has largely been indoctrinated into the mindset that fat clogs your arteries and makes you fat, and should thus be avoided. But nothing could be further from the truth. Tropical oils like coconut and palm, as well as grass-fed butter and meat fat is actually quite healthy for you. These saturated fats help promote healthy brain function and regulate proper hormone production. Popular vegetable oils, on the other hand, which oftentimes are hydrogenated and morphed into trans fats, are a primary cause of heart disease and other illness, and should be avoided. Read more
