Acai Berry Supplements: True, False or Scam?

Much of today’s quest for health involves drinking juices from supposed super anti-oxidant fruits. The latest anti-oxidant fruit to enjoy hype for anti-aging is the Acai berry.

The Acai berry is a small grape-like fruit and is a native fruit of Central America and South America, and can be found in swamps and floodplains from Belize to Brazil and Peru.

Acai berry products have recently become popular thanks to the marketing of Acai berry products. For the most part, Acai products are touted to do the following:  increases energy levels, improves sexual performance, improves digestion, helps you sleep better, detoxifies the body, makes skin look younger, alleviates chronic illnesses like diabetes, and reduces cholesterol levels.

Acai Berry: Should You…?

So, should you drink Acai berry products? There is nothing inherently wrong in drinking Acai berry juice. However, it becomes a problem when you drink it to cure the myriad of diseases that the Acai berry is supposed to heal, and which you may be suffering from.

None in the long list of Acai’s supposed health benefits have ever been supported by clinical studies. It is true that the Acai berry has around ten times more antioxidants than grapes and twice the antioxidants in blueberries. Acai berries also contain a good amount of vitamins and Omega-3. A study by the University of Florida showed that Acai berry extract slows the growth of leukemia cells, but it was done in a laboratory and did not involve leukemia patients.

All told, there really is nothing that the Acai berry can do that a balanced diet (and a healthy lifestyle) cannot do for you. Claims of Acai berry of being practically a panacea for all illnesses have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Acai berry, at best, is a refreshingly potent juice, like fresh orange juice is. However, if you are really keen on consuming Acai berry juice, do the math on how much it will cost you. The typical Acai berry product being sold by network marketing companies cost $40 per week. It might be cheaper to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Calcium Supplements

Calcium is usually associated with strong bones, but did you know that calcium is also vital for regulating your heartbeat, conducting nerve impulses, stimulating the secretion of hormones and blood clotting?

Even when you are already fully grown you will still need calcium in order to survive, and EVERYDAY the body is losing this precious mineral through the skin, nails, hair, sweat urine and feces

The U.S. recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium is 1,000 to 1,200 mg (milligrams). Aside from milk and other dairy products, calcium can be taken from soybean products, sardines, blackstrap molasses, spinach, Chinese cabbage and clams. Most Americans, however, do not get enough calcium from their diets, thus making calcium supplements necessary.

If you do not replace your lost calcium, your body will take this nutrient from your bones, thus making them weaker over time.

Calcium Supplements 101

Calcium can only exist as a compound, or if it is combined with other substances. In calcium supplements, the calcium can come in different compounds including: calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate or calcium citrate.

Since each of these compounds contain different amounts of calcium, it is important to read the label and carefully determine how much elemental calcium is actually in the supplement, and how many pills to take. Taking in high doses of calcium can cause side effects.

In choosing a calcium supplement, there are some things to consider, including:

* Purity

Choose only familiar brands of calcium supplements, and look for labels that have the purified or USP symbol (with USP standing for U.S. Pharmacopeia). Avoid supplements without the USP level because they might contain high levels of lead and/or other toxic metals.

* Absorbability

Most brand names in calcium supplements are easily absorbed by the body. If you’re not sure your calcium supplement is easily absorbable, place a small amount of the supplement in warm water for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. If the supplement is not dissolved within 30 minutes, then it probably won’t be dissolved in your body. Your best bet for absorbability is the chewable or liquid calcium supplements. Calcium is best absorbed by the body when taken several times in a day in dosages 500 mg or less. The calcium in calcium carbonate is absorbed best with meals.

Vitamin D is necessary for absorbing calcium. Not surprisingly, many calcium supplements are prepared with Vitamin D.

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Since calcium supplements interact with other supplements, you should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about taking calcium supplements. For example, you shouldn’t take calcium at the same time as iron, unless if the iron supplement is taken with Vitamin C.

Kolostrum For Naturally Boosting The Immune System

Kaire’s colostrum product Kolostrum gives ordinary consumers a chance to take in all the goodness of cow’s milk at its best. Kolostrum is actually pasteurized reduced fat cow colostrum collected from the first and second milking taken within the first 16 hours after a cow gives birth. It comes in two delivery systems: capsules and spray.

As a naturally occurring product, colostrum is important for enhancing the body’s immune system. Its most important component is Proline-Rich Polypeptides (PRP’s), which naturally enhances immune activity by promoting cytokine production. Colostrum is good even for lactose-intolerant people, as Colostrum contains almost no lactose.

Kolostrum 40%IgG capsules

The Kolostrum capsules are made from the first and second milk taken from a cow 16 hours after giving birth. The colostrum is processed at low temperatures and pressured. It is then spray dried using indirect steam to maintain maximum bioavailability or maximum absorption by the body. The company claims their Kolostrum capsules are guaranteed to contain a minimum 40% immunoglobulin content. The recommended dosage for this product is two capsules per day.

Kolostrum PRP Spray

Kolostrum PRP spray is ideal for health buffs who want a more absorbable colostrum product. The recommended dosage for this product is twice a day, three times spraying to the back of the throat, one in the morning and evening.

Supplement Benefits:
* Affect the brain’s mood-regulating chemicals to brighten you mood
* Assist in regenerating and improving normal growth of aged or injured muscle, bone, cartilage, skin collagen and nerve tissue
* Help burn fat for fuel instead of muscle tissue
* Help regulate blood glucose levels and “brain chemicals”, promoting better mental alertness and concentration
* Repair our body’s precious RNA and DNA
* Supports skin healing when applied topically

Comment:

In some very uncommon cases, some people who take colostrum supplements experience a healing incident. Symptoms of this occurrence can include mild digestive problems or flu like symptoms. These are really just signs that the body is healing.

Kamangi: The Ultimate Anti-Oxidant Drink?

Kamangi is a superpower drink supplement. Unlike other anti-oxidant drinks that extract only from one fruit, Kamangi blends the powerful anti-oxidant properties of at least NINE fruits and tea extracts, including grape seed, mangosteen, acai, pomegranate, noni, wolfberry, berries (blueberry, strawberry, cranberry, blackberry and raspberry), bilberry, and green tea. On its own, each component has strong anti-oxidant properties.

Kaire touts the Kamangi as a “full spectrum” anti-oxidant that delivers different types of anti-oxidants to the body. The Kamangi works on a known anti-oxidant fact: that each type of antioxidant works, uniquely unto itself, via a mechanism in different parts of the body’s cells and fluids. But this individual working of each anti-oxidant is actually complementary to one another. Some antioxidants have been found able to regenerate or recycle other weakened antioxidants by donating electrons to them.
Free radicals are molecules within the body that have been damaged so that their electrons, which normally exist in pairs, are separated from one another. With only one electrons, free radicals scavenge the surrounding environment within the body for a replacement electron and in the process create a chain-reaction of damaged and unbalanced molecules. Within the human body, this is evident in the appearance of wrinkles on the skin, graying hair, and diseases.

Supplement Benefits:

* Retards free radicals in the body that cause premature aging
* Boosts the body’s immune system
* Prevents cancer or inhibits cancer growth
* Prevents Alzheimer’s disease with its Anthocyanins content
* Prevents the build up of plaque in the arteries with its Polyphenol content
* Strengthens the capillaries of the eyes with its Anthrocyanidin content
* Cleanses toxins from the kidney and promotes urinary tract health
* Normalizes the blood sugar in diabetics
* Eases constipation
* Reduces stress
* Hastens recovery from illnesses

Comment:

Our bodies can actually produce anti-oxidants. However, because of pollution and an imbalanced diet, our bodies are not able to produce enough anti-oxidants to combat the trillions of free radicals that are produced in our body everyday. Although there is no known scientific study to prove or disprove its health benefits, drinking Kamangi gives your body a boost in anti-oxidants. The doctors did say maintain a diet rich in anti-oxidants.

What are Food Supplements?

Food supplements should be construed in its proper place to mean substances which give nutrients to be added to food to enhance some nutritional benefits to the receiving consumer. It may be a nutrient not found in the food or deficient in the food, or a certain substance that may enhance the nutritional benefits of the food.

In this context, food supplements are categorized or classed as: food supplements taken in addition to the normal diet; food supplements which repair a nutritional deficit in the food to raise it to its normal level; and food supplements which would enhance the nutritional level of the food.

While some physicians disagree with the use of food supplements however all agree to the beneficial effects of giving food supplements to patients, like the giving of calcium to elderlies to prevent osteoporesis or folic acid to pregnant women.

For the purpose of enhancing some human natural hormones, some food supplements are produced specifically designed to increase muscle mass and reduce fats, such as amino acids, vitamins and phytochemicals.

Usually vitamins and minerals are given as food supplements to booster whatever nutritional deficiency there is in food.

Another type of food supplements is the so-called nutraceuticals. These are food supplements used as medicine in treating disorders like those affecting the immune system including cancers.

For a thorough understanding, allow us to define for you the term vitamin. It is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism and must be obtained from diet. Thus the term is quite conditional both in circumstances and the particular organism. As an example, ascorbic acid functions as vitamin C for some animals but not to others, and vitamin D and K are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances.

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid functions as vitamin C for some animals but not others, and vitamins D and K are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances.

Some essential nutrients are not included as vitamins and these are the dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or amino acids. It is noteworthy to mention that vitamins have diverse biochemical functions, including functions like hormones such as vitamin D, or antioxidants like vitamin E, or cell function mediators for cell and tissue growth like vitamin A. B-complex vitamins act as catalysts and substrates in metabolism. Biotin is involved in making fatty acids.

Vitamins are very essential in the growth and development of any multicellular organism, like human beings. But before the 1900s, vitamins were obtained from food intake and changes in the diet. After such time, vitamins are produced as commodity chemicals and widely available as inexpensive pills making it as food supplements in its dietary intake.

It is well to remember that these nutrients facilitate the chemical reactions that produce among others, skin, bones and muscles. Any deficiency therewith would result to deficiency diseases.  It is equally important to note that to maintain healthy cells, tissues, and organs, vitamins remain as essential nutrients.

Some very common vitamin deficiencies must be remembered for its usual occurrence- a deficiency in thiamine (B1) would result to beriberi, a deficiency in niacin to pellagra, vitamin C to scurvy and vitamin D to rickets. Hence, food supplementation is a must especially for infants and growing children.

Some evidence also suggests that there is a link between vitamin deficiency and mental disorders.

Vitamins taken in large quantities may produce toxicity and it is therefore prudent to use it in its proper dosage. Patients may complain of vomiting, diarrhea, and vomiting. Others may complain of unsteady gait, confusion or nerve symptoms.

When side effects emerge, recovery is often accomplished by reducing the dosage. The concentrations of vitamins an individual can tolerate vary widely, and appear to be related to age and state of health.

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Smart Moves for a Healthy Life

An organic food supplement is a great way to aide your holistic lifestyle. Today with the ever-increasing belief put in holistic and organic food, an improved way to support your holistic lifestyle would be to take an organic whole food supplement according to some researchers. As with taking any food supplements, it is preeminent to discuss one’s choices with a physician, and to remember that food supplements are not meant to substitute for natural vitamins found in healthy fruits and vegetables. Only if you feel that you’re not getting enough nutrients from you’re already- healthy diet, then a food supplement would be a great way to augment your healthy, natural lifestyle. 

The dietary supplement trend has created a cottage industry that can be confusing and daunting for someone just starting to watch their food intake. There are good tips on deciding what kind of organic whole food supplement is good for you. There are some important things to remember: for one, just because something’s billed as “natural” it does not mean it is healthy; marijuana, after all is healthy. Another thing to remember is that there are lots of companies that are willing to push any kind of promises in hopes of turning a profit at the expense of the consumer and the truth. There have been many study conducted as of today just to find out  exactly what kind of organic whole food supplement is right and safe, talk to a dietitian, nutritionist or physician.

Always consult a person who is well trained and educated in understanding what is healthy and what works and lastly how it works. An additional benefit of talking to a medical professional such as a nutritionist or physician is that he or she can also let you know what is safe and what can be harmful because something is touted as natural or organic food supplement often fools a lot of people into thinking that it has to be good for them, by definition. A dietitian, nutritionist or physician will also know your medical history and if you have any allergies he or she will also know of any side effects that arise from taking that certain food supplement.

Due to the existence of internet, it is not the best way to find what’s best and what’s awful, because the internet infested with sites trying to bilk people out of money and will promise you anything for a dollar or two. Still, going to a library and researching diet books and medical journals is an excellent way to find out what the medical community feels about whatever brand you’re looking into taking. Along with speaking with professionals about the intake of an organic whole food supplement, another thing to do is to decide if you take a proactive approach, meaning what and how to do correct and smart research. Every time dealing with something concerning your diet, such as looking into an organic whole food supplement, it is always best to be prepared with all the information. However, when it comes to boosting antioxidant intake, this study indicates there is little benefit from ingesting food supplements. A better way, according to few nutritionists is eating a diet rich in antioxidant-containing foods.

Antioxidants such as vitamins C and vitamin E, and many other substances may play a role in helping to prevent diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration, and Alzheimer’s disease. Antioxidants are thought to help because they have the ability to neutralize free radicals, which are toxic by-products of natural cell metabolism.

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