Saturday, December 31, 2016

Are You Vitamin B12 Deficient?

(And Does it Matter?)

Vitamin B 12 deficiency has links to an array of health problems, and many Americans fall short on this critical vitamin.

Vegans are probably pretty familiar with vitamin B12. It’s the only vitamin that you can’t get from unfortified plant-based sources, so if you’re eating a vegan diet, you most likely are either eating B 12 fortified foods or taking a supplement. For vegetarians and omnivores, though, B12 might not be a vitamin you think about on a regular basis.

As you’ll see in the graphic below, animal products contain vitamin B12, and you can also get it through supplements. The only source the graphic below misses is fortified foods. From nutritional yeast to fortified vegan milks and cereals, there are lots of ways to get B12 into your diet without eating animal foods, if that’s your goal.

B12 is a hot button issue in the vegan community. Because so many vegans consider ourselves advocates for a vegan lifestyle, too, there’s a hesitation to admit that there are any nutrients that this diet can’t meet. The thing is, it’s pretty tough to find any diet that meets 100 percent of your nutritional needs. I think Ginny Messina, a vegan registered dietician, spells it out best:

“Taking a B12 supplement is the easiest thing in the world. It doesn’t make sense to wait until stores diminish or you are approaching deficiency before you start to supplement. And it certainly is not good vegan advocacy to promote inadequate advice about vitamin B12.”

It turns out that it’s not just vegans who have a hard time meeting vitamin B12 requirements, though. About 2/3 of Americans have low B12 levels, and the effects on your health can be quite serious. Check out this infographic that spells out the signs and symptoms of B12 deficiency:

How to tell if your deficient in vitamin B-12

When I was pregnant my blood work started showing low levels of B12 during my third trimester, even though there was B12 in my prenatal vitamin. Adding a separate B12 supplement on top of my prenatal fixed things up in a matter of weeks. If you think you might be B12 deficient, your best next move is talking to your doctor who can do blood work and let you know what dosage is best for you.

Looking for a vegan B12 supplement? They’re out there! Vegan B12 supplements are made from microorganisms instead of animal products. Brands like Deva make vegan B12 supplements. You can find vegan B12 online and often at brick and mortar stores, too.

Friday, December 30, 2016

Politika 101.....

Politika 101...

The Healthiest Foods For Your Money:

A Shopping Guide

Eating healthy on a budget isn’t difficult… as long as you know the best stuff to buy! The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently published a first-of-its-kind guide to eating healthy on a budget. And that’s not all — they’ve also factored in food safety concerns, like the levels of pollutants, pesticides and artificial ingredients. After analyzing a list of 1,200 foods from government surveys and tests, they narrowed it down the top 100. Click through to explore the best fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, dairy and more. You should also check out the EWG’s website, where you’ll find even more tips, tools and useful information.

Fruits & Vegetables

Fruits

Best Buys: banana, nectarines*, pear, watermelon
Good Deals: apricot, avocado, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, kiwi, papaya, starfruit, tangerines

Veggies

Best Buys: alfalfa sprouts, cabbage, calabasa, carrots, collards, green onions, lettuce*, mustard greens, onions, parsley, potatoes*
Good Deals: brussels sprouts, corn, eggplant, kale, lima beans, okra, pumpkin, spinach*, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnip greens, zucchini

*** These fruits & veggies have higher levels pesticides than the others, so they are best to buy organic; check out the price tags before purchasing!

Grains, Nuts, Seeds & Beans

Grains

Best Buys: barley, toasted oat cereal
Good Deals: brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, shredded wheat

Beans & Lentils

Best Buys: black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, lentils, pinto beans, red kidney beans
Good Deals: lima beans, mungo beans, pink beans, white beans

Nuts & Seeds

Best Buys: hazelnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts
Good Deals: almonds, pecans

Dairy, Eggs & Oils

Dairy & Eggs

Best Buys: cottage cheese, eggs, low-fat & non-fat dry milk, non-fat plain yogurt, queso fresco, ricotta cheese
Good Deals: 1% milk, skim milk, soy milk

Oils

Best Buys: canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil
Good Deals: olive oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil

ENJOY.......

Politika 101....

14 Surprising Uses for Onions

Rich in antioxidants, thought to prevent cancer, diabetes, and even the common cold, onions are nothing if not a superfood. But that’s not all they are — the same properties that make onions a great food to eat also make them great for other things, from healing your skin to cleaning metal. Click through to check out some surprising uses for onions, and leave your own tips in the comments section!

Health & Body

1. Repel Insects. Rubbing an onion on your skin is a simple way to repel bugs.

2. Soothe Insect Bites & Stings. Forgot to follow tip #1? Rubbing onion onto bug bites will help to ease the pain.

3. Soothe a Sore Throat. Making onion tea is a great remedy for soothing sore throats. On the stovetop, boil water with onion peels in it (about 1 cup of water for the peels of 1/2 an onion.) Bring to a boil, remove onion and serve.

4. Use in Place of Smelling Salts. Overwork yourself? Feeling light-headed? Onions are a great natural remedy to use instead of smelling salts.

5. Ease the Pain of Burns. Rubbing onions onto burns helps soothe the pain.

6. Remove Splinters. Have a splinter that just won’t budge? Try taping (yes, with tape, or a adhesive bandage) a piece of raw onion to it. Hold tight for about an hour before removing the onion.

7. Polish Metal. Slice onion and then crush it. Combine crushed onion with water. With a cloth, dab it on the metal surface. Rub until clean.

8. Get Rid of that Paint Smell. The same mixture described for polishing metal works great for combating the unpleasant, and sometimes unhealthy, odors of paints and varnishes.

9. Clean Sponges. Okay, so this particular use is actually for the mesh packaging that onions are often sold in, but hey — a way to re-use unnecessary packaging, right?! The mesh is a perfect tool to clean all that gunk that builds up on sponges. Cut it up into smaller pieces for best results.

10. Clean Your Grill. Chop an onion in half, and turn on your grill. Using a fork, glide the onion on the grill to scrub it clean.

11. Make a DIY Dye. Onion skins make great dyes! Place the skins in nylon panty hose, tie top shut, and boil in a pot for about 20 minutes.

12. Make Burned Rice Edible Again. Neglected your rice, and now some of it has burned? No need to toss it! Simply place half of an onion on top of the rice. It will absorb the burned taste.

13. Preserve Avocados. Prevent your avocados from browning by storing them in a plastic airtight container with red onions. Place half of an onion in the container first, skin side up, and then place the avocado. You can use red onion to store guacamole, too: Place some slices on top of the guac’ in a plastic container.

Enjoy.....

8 Benefits of Spinach: The First Superfood

Spinach was a powerfood even before there was the term powerfood.

We’re referring of course to Popeye the Sailor Man. “TOOT TOOT!” One can of the green stuff and he turned into muscle popping tornado of energy.

Even without Popeye’s recommendation, spinach contains more nutrients per calorie than any other food on the earth.

8 Benefits of Spinach:

1. Loaded with Vitamins: like A, K, D, and E and a host of trace minerals.

2. Good Source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids: the kind most of us need in North America.

3. Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants: Researchers have identified more than a dozen different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agents. In a recent study on the relationship between risk of prostate cancer and vegetable intake (including such healthy vegetables as broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts) only spinach showed evidence of significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer.

4. Alkalizes the Body: All those minerals helps to balance off the highly acid diet which most of us subject our bodies to and which drains our energy, increases obesity and a creates host of other health problems.

5. Nourishes the Eyes: The carotenoids found in spinach protect against eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

6. Strengthens the Bones: One cup of fresh spinach (or 1/6 cup of cooked spinach) contains TWICE your daily vitamin K needs. This along with the calcium and magnesium in spinach is essential to maintain healthy bones.

7. Perfect for Green Smoothies and Salads: Organic pre-washed spinach is now readily available in most grocery stores. If you haven’t yet tried a green smoothie yet and think they might taste yucky then try one with the main ingredient as spinach. Spinach is so sweet, we guarantee you will be impressed. To see Diana make her own special brand of green smoothie click here: Diana’s Green Smoothie

8. Spinach is FRESH! Studies have shown that even the artificial light in the grocery store shining on those plastic tubs of spinach can actually help keep the leaves from spoiling. This indicates the spinach is still metabolically active and fresh.

Next: Tips and Cautions

Tips and Cautions:

Tip #1: Make sure you only choose organic spinach. Non-organic spinach is on the list of top foods with lots of chemical pesticides. You can assume that canned spinach is NOT organic. I can’t imagine anyone eating canned spinach anyway but since we mentioned Popeye I thought I had better mentions that.

Tip #2: Choose the GREENEST looking spinach you can find. Probably you would have anyway, but studies have shown that the greenest spinach has the most vitamin C.

Tip #3: Because spinach contains high levels of so many nutrients it also has significant levels of oxalic acid. This has been associated with kidney problems and interference with absorption of other minerals.

There is much debate whether the oxalates in spinach would have this kind of effect but just to be sure, if you have a pre-existing kidney problem, it’s better to consult your doctor before eating too much.

At Real Food For Life, we recommend that a person balance their body enough so that they can use their own bodies as a gauge on how much or little to eat of a particular food.

For example, I usually crave spinach but sometimes I just don’t want it in my body. I suspect that perhaps I have reached my limit for something, (like the oxalates) within the food.

This personalized approach to your nutrition is the easiest and ultimately the most powerful approach to nutritional choices. We explain this more in our “Three Secrets” report.

Power Spinach Salad

Greens are the highest alkaline forming foods and they are full of vitamins A, K, and D. Adding spinach to your meal is an excellent way to alkalize your diet.

This is very simple and tasty salad is full of powerfoods ; everyone I have served it to enjoys it very much.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh Spinach
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup Olive Oil
few drops of Stevia
Tamari or Braggs to taste
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup chopped Walnuts, roasted till golden
2 mandarin orange sections

Directions:

1.   Wash and trim spinach; pat dry with paper towels.
2.   Combine lemon juice, oil, stevia and Tamari or Braggs in large bowl; add avocado cubes, coating well with the dressing.
3.   Toss spinach and walnuts with avocado and dressing.
4.   Add mandarin orange sections and toss spinach salad again.

Enjoy....

This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Meditate

Meditation, long considered to be a ”frou-frou” thing only hippies and Buddhists bothered with, has now become a worldwide relaxation and health trend.

Multiple scientific studies have shown that meditation can have a rapid and profound effect on our physical health, as well as mental. In many cases, meditation can trigger physical change in our bodies almost immediately!

Keep reading to learn more about why meditation is so vital for total health as well as what actually happens to your body when you meditate.

Meditation Is Medicine

The world is a big, complicated place that hurls challenges in our path faster than a pitching machine at the batting cages. Fragile beings that we are, the constant grind of work, relationships, political chaos and worry about the future can takes its toll.

We self-medicate with stimulants (coffee, energy drinks, sugar) during the day and depressants (alcohol, prescription drugs) at night when we’re desperate to relax, despite their terrible side effects.

Meditation, on the other hand, is a completely safe, completely FREE “medication” that’s often more effective than both.

Things That Happen When You Meditate

1. Your Brainwaves Change

Research has shown that after a few minutes, medication can actually increase alpha and theta brainwave activity, which is linked to relaxation.

2. Your Breathing Changes

Meditation stimulates your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn causes your lungs to draw in slower, deeper breaths and may result in lower blood pressure.

3. Your Adrenal Glands Change

During meditation, your adrenal glands reduce their production of the stress hormone cortisol, helping you to feel less anxious.

4. Your Immune System Changes

In addition to boosting positivity, which is thought to support a healthy immune system, recent research suggests that regular meditation may increase antibody production, helping the body neutralize foreign threats that make us sick, like viruses and bacteria.

5. Your Brain Changes

In 2011, a study out of Harvard found that regular meditation can change the actual mass of your brain. After eight weeks of analysis, meditation “was found to increase cortical thickness in the hippocampus, which governs learning and memory, and in certain areas of the brain that play roles in emotion regulation and self-referential processing. There were also decreases in brain cell volume in the amygdala, which is responsible for fear, anxiety, and stress,” reported Forbes.

So what are you waiting for? To de-stress, improve your blood pressure, and grow a bigger brain, start meditating today!

A Beginner’s Guide to Hot Yoga

You may have heard of hot yoga before, and perhaps you’re interested in trying it, but going to your first class can feel intimidating. It may seem like everyone knows what they’re doing. It may seem like everyone is fitter than you. But it isn’t a competition and you shouldn’t feel intimidated. Yoga is for everyone, and everyone is a beginner at some point.

If you are unfamiliar, hot yoga is a vigorous form of yoga practiced in a room heated anywhere between 80 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Bikram is one type that you may be familiar with, but there are also heated Vinyassa classes as well. You can easily imagine the benefits of adding therapeutic heat to an already therapeutic yoga practice—improved flexibility, balance, mood, fitness and stamina. Of course, with the addition of heat, you need to practice with caution. Here are a few things you should be aware of before beginning a hot yoga practice.

You’ll need towels. Yes, you’re going to sweat… a lot. Things are going to get pretty warm. Just expect it. Don’t fight the poses and the heat, embrace them by breathing. Focusing on how hot and uncomfortable you are can only make everything more challenging. Let yourself become enveloped by your sweaty practice and reap the benefits later on.

Muscle and joint strain is possible. Yes, you may feel like you suddenly have superhuman flexibility due to the addition of heat, but you still have limitations. There is a human tendency to overdo it and push yourself a little too far in hot yoga classes, so try to keep yourself on the cusp of comfortable. If you feel any small pinching, burning or straining sensations, ease out of the pose and take a moment to assess. It’s better to play it safe and hand out in savasana than to wind up on the sidelines for a month with a muscle or joint injury.

Dehydration can undo everything. Hot yoga should make you feel amazing. However, if you aren’t hydrated, you may be greeted with dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea and dehydration post-class rather than a relaxed sense of calm and balance. To reap the benefits of hot yoga, make sure to properly hydrate yourself—bring at least a liter of water to class and don’t guzzle a large iced coffee before or after class. Also, avoid heavy foods. Actually, it’s probably best to avoid eating for at least an hour before class in case you develop some nausea. And during class, listen to the needs of your own body. Rest or drink water if you need to, even if no one else is. (Just make sure you remain quiet and polite.) You want to feel amazing after a yoga class, not strained, lightheaded, dizzy and dehydrated.

Be gentle with yourself. Be nice to yourself before and after class. Hit up savasana or child’s pose anytime you feel like things are getting too intense. Allow your practice to serve your needs. And always inform your teacher of any injuries or conditions you have ahead of time. If you have low blood pressure, are on prescription medication, or have a cardiovascular condition, always consult a trusted professional before starting hot yoga. Give yourself plenty of time to cool down. Treat yourself to a refreshing salad, smoothie or juice afterward.

If you’re new to yoga, I would recommend trying unheated yoga before moving into the heat in order to familiarize yourself with the postures and flow of a class. Yoga, heated or not, is excellent for the body. If you are looking to adopt a regular yoga practice in 2017, good for you! Pat yourself on the back for making a change in your life and taking time for yourself. Hot yoga is worth a try, but anything that brings you into balance and happiness is worth your time.