Do you know which whole foods are dangerous and should be completely avoided? At:
http://healthfood-guide.com/wholehealthfoods.aspx we reveal the answer and show you how to gain optimum nutrition from whole health foods.
Archive for Consumer Guides
Nov
29
Whole Health Foods and You – What you need to know!
Posted by: | CommentsLooking to improve your quality of life? Switching to whole health foods will cause your body to do back flips, eliminate that tired sluggish feeling and improve your quality of life.
There are plenty of benefits to eating whole foods and the sooner you start the better you’ll feel. Eating whole foods leaves plenty of immediate health benefits as well as the obvious ideological ones.
One of the most important reasons to eat whole health foods is simply to see the difference that this diet will impart.
In today’s world, if you’re anything like me, you run around from morning until night, and the food that is readily available to you is no where near as good for you as you would like.
The overly processed food that saturates our supermarkets results in us eating more and still not getting the same nutritional benefits or satisfaction that we would get from a smaller amount of whole health food.
Do you remember food tasting better when you were younger? Over the last few decades, food processing has increased a great deal, leaving us with food that is poorer in tastes and nutritional benefit.
Do you know that it would take 38 cans of todays spinach to equal the nutritional value of just one 1954 can of spinach. That is a big difference!
Your whole family will reap the benefits of your shopping for whole health foods. If you have young children, an increase in whole foods will improve their memory and their attention span, something that is essential during their early developmental year.
With older family members, a diet of whole health foods provides a boost in energy. With more energy to spare, I’ve found that people have a good deal more patience for each other, something that any family can use!
Buying whole health foods is also a great way to introduce environmental responsibility to your family.
Did you know that the normal processing that goes into regular foodstuffs contributes heavily to air pollutants? With this in mind, even a small thing like switching your household over to whole foods can make an important difference.
Eating whole foods is a way to be eco friendly while integrating this theme into your family’s regular life.
When we talk about leaving a legacy to our descendants, we’re usually talking about property or money or trust funds, but what about things like their planet and their bodies?
Through eating whole foods, your family is making an investment in the future and ensuring that the planet your grandchildren receive is as clean and as unspoiled as possible.
Likewise, kids who grow up on a healthy diet pass this on to their children, so you are helping untold generations to lead healthy, fulfilled lifestyles! Insure that you leave an inheritance of environmental concern to you family beside the heirlooms.
Take a look at your diet and then take a look at the world around you. If you’re looking for a way to make a difference in both your own health and that of a planet take a look at whole health foods!
Nov
29
Health Food Supplements – Consumer Guide
Posted by: | CommentsHealth food supplements are one of the hottest selling products in the market these days. Their total consumption values billions of dollars in the U.S. alone. Recent surveys show that more than half of the adults in the U.S. consume health food supplements in different forms, such as tablets, capsules, powders, soft gels, gel caps and liquids.
The increased consumption of health food supplements can be attributed to public awareness of health issues and improved standard of living in our society. Many studies have shown that there is a close correlation between health and nutrition. Insufficient supply of nutrients can weaken our body defense mechanism, causing medical problems from common ailments to more severe illnesses in the long term.
There are different types of health food supplements, including macronutrients (amino acids, proteins, essential fatty acids), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), enzymes (digestive enzymes and antioxidant enzymes), probiotics (beneficial bacteria in the gut), and herbal supplements. These supplements have unique functions in our body. They are either essential for life and good health, modulate our immune system or help with liver detoxification, digestion, mental clarity, etc.
Many people argue that there is no need to consume health food supplements as long as you have a healthy lifestyle and eat a balanced diet. While this may be true, the fact is maintaining a healthy lifestyle and proper diet is difficult to achieve by many people.
Over the past few decades, the green revolution has changed the farming practices over the world. We use more chemical fertilizers, more pesticides to grow the food produce in order to increase harvest and shorten the growth period. As a result, soil nutrients and the population of beneficial soil bacteria are depleted rapidly, and the produce we grow today contain less micronutrient than before.
A stressful lifestyle, improper eating habits, imbalanced diet and increased exposure to chemicals such as environmental pollutants (air, water) and pesticides, drugs, hormones, heavy metals in foods also weaken our body gradually.
Although health food supplements can be beneficial to our health, consumers should still choose the products carefully. Currently, there is little regulation on the quality of health food supplements. Composition of some health food products may not match the label claims and the quality of raw materials and finished products is not guaranteed. Therefore, consumers should only buy from reputable health food manufacturers, read the labels carefully and read more related literatures.
Here are some general rules for buying health food supplements:
1: Supplements made from whole foods, natural sources are better than the synthetic ones. They are more bioactive, can be absorbed readily, and less likely to be contaminated by chemicals such as coal tars used in chemical synthesis.
2: Protein-bonded vitamins and minerals (vitamins and minerals in organic form, binding to amino acids) are more bioactive than the inorganic forms.
3: Buy supplements using safe extraction methods, such as cold pressed extraction or supercritical extraction. This can avoid the harmful residue from chemical extraction.
4: Herbal concentrate and extract are usually more effective than the raw herbs.
5: Organically grown or wild crafted herbs are less likely to be contaminated by heavy metals, pesticides and other chemicals.
6: Read the labels, do not consume more than the recommended dose.
7: Be careful when consuming certain herbal supplements, such as Ma Huang / ephedra, Kava Kava, comfrey, etc. Some studies have shown that these herbs may cause severe side effects to some people. Stop use if unusual signs appear after consumption.
8: Some health food supplements may interact with drugs, either by decreasing or increasing their effects. Consult your doctor if you are currently taking medications.
9: Pregnant and nursing women, people with specific medical conditions such consult the doctors when consuming health food supplements.
10: If in doubt, contact the supplement manufacturers or distributors for more information of their products.
11: Health food supplements are available in many places, such as grocery stores, health food stores, drug stores, pharmacies, supermarkets, department stores, online stores, etc. Be a smart consumer, compare the price and service before purchase.
To learn more about health food supplements, please visit http://vitaminstores.4reviews.net.
Kwan H Lo holds a Ph.D. in Biology and is the owner of a review site which provides information on discount health food supplements, common ailments and online vitamin stores.
