Category Archives: Healthy Eating

4 Essential Supplements Everyone Should Take

4 Essential Supplements Everyone Should Take

One of the most common questions I’m asked is “should I be taking daily supplements and if so, which ones?” If you have heard me speak you know I always say, “ it’s not what you eat, it’s what you can digest and absorb.” In an ideal world, your diet would be pristine and your gut would be in perfect shape to digest and absorb all of the micro and macro nutrients you need to stay healthy. Unfortunately, the modern world looks very little like that anymore.

Our Western diet is filled with nutrient-poor and calorie-dense processed foods, GMOs, and pesticides. Even our soil has become devoid of nutrients, which means that the food that’s grown in it has declined in nutritional value. We are constantly exposed to toxins in our food, water, air, and even personal care and cleaning products. Our stress levels have skyrocketed and many people are dealing with gut issues, such as Candida and SIBO, which interfere with proper nutrient absorption.

This combination of a decrease in nutrients in our food and an increase in stress, toxins, and gut issues like leaky gut is why we can no longer get all of the vitamins and minerals we need from food alone, and I believe everyone should use a few key supplements to maintain optimal levels of nutrients.

Because we are all unique individuals and biochemically different, the answer to which supplements should you take is not so black and white. In today’s world, I do believe that everyone should be taking supplements of some sort, but the best supplement regimen for you may be different than what’s best for your mother or sister or brother. That being said, there are some essential supplements that I recommend for everyone to take.

 

1. High-Quality Multivitamin

Since there is no way to know exactly which nutrients you’re deficient in without proper testing, I recommend a high-quality multivitamin to all my patients and their families.

The multivitamin I recommend should be high-potency and designed for optimal absorption and bio-availability, because like I said before, it’s what you can digest and absorb that counts. It should provide a wide range of vitamins and minerals, as well HCL to help with digestion and powerful carotenoids.

 

2. Omega 3

The benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are widely publicized. They reduce inflammation and may help lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. And, because they are highly-concentrated in the brain, omega-3 fatty acids are also important for memory, cognition, and behavior.

In addition to maintaining sufficient levels of Omega 3, it’s also important to ensure you have a proper omega-3 to omega-6 ratio in your body. You need both of these fatty acids to stay healthy, but problems arise when your intake of omega-6 fatty acids (which are often inflammatory) outweighs your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (which are anti-inflammatory).

Research suggests that humans evolved on a diet consisting of an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 1:1. The modern diet, which is full of processed foods, refined oils, and not enough fruits and vegetables, supplies an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 15:1 to 17:1. This ratio is highly inflammatory and a recipe for disease. This is where Omega 3 supplements come in.

You want to be particularly careful about the source of your omega 3 supplements because they are extracted from fish, so many of them contain mercury. The ones you use should be tested and certified mercury-free by a third-party. It should contain EPA and DHA – two omega-3 fatty acids that help balance your fatty acid ratio, reduce inflammation, and improve brain function. Those with rheumatoid arthritis or any other chronic pain condition can take up to 4 grams (8 softgels) a day to reduce inflammation and pain.

 

3. Probiotics

The future of medicine is turning toward your microbiome, the ecosystem of bacteria and other microbes that live in your gut, to prevent and reverse many diseases. We now know that nearly 80% of your immune system is located in your gut, and up to 95% of your serotonin (the neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood) is produced in your gut.

This means that if the balance of bacteria in your gut is thrown off, it can lead to a whole host of problems, including autoimmunity, depression, anxiety, and leaky gut, to name a few. Taking a probiotic every day can help keep your microbiome in balance, which promotes a healthy GI tract, relieves digestive discomfort, promotes a normal bowel pattern, and supports overall wellness.

Not all probiotics are created equal, though. Many probiotics contain a mixed bag of bacteria strains, are often grown using dairy, soy, or yeast, and usually need to be refrigerated, making them difficult to travel with. It’s best to take a broad-spectrum probiotic that includes bacteria strains that are naturally found in your gut, and have been researched and proven to boost gut health and immune response.

I recommend 100 billion units daily for healing gut damage, infections, and imbalances, and 30-60 billion units daily for maintenance.

 

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is unique in a couple of important ways. First, your body can make its own vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight. Second, vitamin D is converted into a hormone in your body. Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers, they travel through your blood to your tissues and organs activating chemical reactions that control everything from metabolism to growth and development to mood. Over 50,000 of the chemical reactions in your body require the presence of adequate amounts of vitamin D in your blood. The vitamin contributes to bone strength, heart health, and cancer prevention. Vitamin D also plays an important role in your immune system, and can be a determining factor in whether or not you develop an autoimmune disease.

Conventional medicine defines vitamin D3 levels of 30 to 100 ng/mL as normal, but I always recommend keeping your vitamin D3 levels around 60 to 90 ng/mL for optimal health. If your vitamin D3 levels are low, you can take 5,000 to 10,000 IU per day until you reach your ideal level.

Never take more than 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day without a physician’s supervision and regular blood testing.

It is wise to accept that supplementation, with the best quality ingredients, is essential to Stay Healthy.

 

Why choose good quality supplements : A Doctor Explains

Maybe your doctor recommended you start taking a supplement. Maybe you stumbled across an article somewhere that suggested a certain variety would cure what ails you. Or maybe you heard that everyone over a certain age should be taking a daily multivitamin.

There are any number of reasons to take a nutritional supplement. And in today’s world, where our internal detoxification systems are running at capacity, our diets tend to be less than ideal, and our lifestyles can be hectic and stressful, I find that taking the appropriate supplement can be a critical part of a healthy life.

In my medical practice, I’ve seen again and again that the right supplements in the right doses can help patients reverse complex symptoms and regain energy and vitality.

You might have heard common multivitamins referred to as “bedpan bullets.” Do you know why? Because they are often so full of binders and fillers that the tablets make it all the way through the digestive system perfectly intact. Meaning: You’re not even absorbing the vitamins and minerals.

I view drugs and supplements as the same thing — both should be produced under exacting standards.  A supplement needs to contain exactly the ingredient your body needs in pharmaceutical quality. If it doesn’t, you’re not getting the medicine you need.

The second problem is that the supplements that can be bought in grocery stores and health food stores might contain ingredients that are actually harmful to consume.

A few recent examples illustrate how supplement businesses are abusing this lack of oversight. Just this fall, the Oregon Attorney General accused supplement giant GNC of selling products labeled “all-natural” that were actually laced with Picamilon, a synthetic drug prescribed in Russia to treat neurological conditions. Earlier this year, a similar debacle happened in New York that resulted in entire product lines being pulled from shelves after the attorney general’s office found major retailers were selling supplements that were inaccurately labeled and even potentially dangerous.

And a 2013 study into herbal supplement quality that looked at 44 herbal products from 12 different companies concluded:

“Most of the herbal products tested were of poor quality, including considerable product substitution, contamination and use of fillers. These activities dilute the effectiveness of otherwise useful remedies, lowering the perceived value of all related products because of a lack of consumer confidence in them.”

As a functional medicine physician who builds treatments based on an individual’s precise biochemistry, I prescribe supplements daily.

Unfortunately, I feel I can’t just send my patients to any store to buy the supplements. For example, I recommended melatonin to one of my first clients who was complaining of sleep problems. She bought some from a grocery store and it didn’t work. She came back and complained, so I gave her high-quality melatonin instead. She slept like a baby.

It does me little good to be a physician with four board certifications and dual masters’ degrees if my patients end up with low-quality supplements to try my treatments. The treatments will simply not be effective.

So how are the right supplements made? Quality, pharmaceutical-grade supplements have extensive control measures. They assay the raw ingredients for impurities and heavy metals and test to be sure it’s the exact genus and species that is effective. Then, after the supplements are made, they batch test it all again to be sure they’re pure and contain the right amount of active product. They reject batches of raw materials due to impurities or lack of active ingredient. It raises the question: Isn’t this the way all supplements should be made?

But for now, you can’t assume that all supplements and multivitamins are of the same quality, or even that the tablets are safe to take.

That’s why I recommend buying only “pharmaceutical grade” supplements, the highest level of quality.

And if you go to your grocery store pharmacy and don’t see anything of quality available, look for pharmaceutical-grade supplements. You’ll be doing yourself, and the industry, some good.

Stay Healthy.

Food Habits That Age You

Food-Habits-that-Age-You

These unhealthy eating patterns don’t just trigger weight gain and undermine your energy. They age you from the inside out.

If the only edible indiscretions you worry about are those that make you gain weight, you may have your priorities mixed up. The worst dietary demons — including many sugary, fatty, refined, and highly processed foods — do more than add unwanted pounds. They subtract years from your life.

Nutrition, not age, determines the body’s internal chemistry, which in turn affects the quality and resilience of virtually every organ, cell, and system in the body.

“Aging is not the passive process we once thought,” says Henry S. Lodge, MD, coauthor of Younger Next Year. “How gracefully you age is reflected by the food you eat.”

The condition of your skin and the quality of your bones, brain, and connective tissue are all influenced by diet. Your eating habits, therefore, play a big role in determining how quickly you see and feel the effects of aging.

The human body is a perpetual construction zone, replacing most of its cells every few months. The secret to aging well is to give your body the best tools for the job: whole, healthy food.

Of course, no one makes perfect choices all the time. But if weekly transgressions morph into daily habits, your body’s repair system will be undermined, says Lodge. “Bad food habits are like calling in the demolition team every day, but never calling the construction crew.”

Here’s how to identify and fix some age-accelerating food habits.

BODY-AGING HABIT NO. 1: A WEAKNESS FOR CONVENIENCE FOODS

Big Offender: Partially hydrogenated oils (a source of trans fats), which manufacturers manipulate to increase stability and shelf life.

How It Ages You: Lurking in many processed convenience foods, partially hydrogenated oils take their aging toll by promoting inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a low-grade, systemic irritation that smolders deep inside the body. Like rust that spreads through a car, inflammation erodes the body’s basic mechanics.

Specifically, chronic inflammation ages the body by nibbling away at telomeres — the caps on the ends of your chromosomes that are key to protecting your genes. Telomeres shorten naturally with each cell division, and eventually telomeres are used up and cells become inactive or die. Cell death is natural, but lifestyle factors — such as eating a lot of hydrogenated oils — can shorten telomeres prematurely and accelerate aging.

“Inflammation is the No. 1 enemy of telomeres,” says Shawn Talbott, PhD, CNS, a nutritional biochemist and author of The Secret of Vigor. He explains that prematurely shortened telomeres are linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.

Partially hydrogenated oils are full of trans fat. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently made moves to ban its use in human food products, a legal loophole allows small amounts of trans fats to go into processed foods while still permitting those foods to be labeled as trans-fat-free.

A new report by the consumer-advocate Environmental Working Group noted that while “trans fat” appears on only 2 percent of Nutrition Facts labels, the fat is used in an estimated 37 percent of all supermarket foods.

“People think the war on trans fat has been won, but sleeper cells were left behind,” says Lodge. “Remember, food labeling is not completely honest.”

Bottom line: If your go-to meals are processed or if you snack on packaged cookies or crackers without paying close attention to serving size, you may be ingesting several grams of trans fats each day.

The Fix
Eat fewer processed foods. Shop the perimeter of grocery stores, where produce and fresh foods are displayed.

Eat more high-quality fats and get the omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, halibut, anchovies, grouper, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and sesame seeds. These fats boost brain and nervous-system health by nourishing cell membranes, says Kathie Madonna Swift, MS, RDN, LDN, cofounder of the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy and coauthor of The Swift Diet.

A diet high in phytonutrients and antioxidants is also linked to longer telomeres, so eat plenty of leafy greens, berries, cruciferous veggies, and other brightly colored produce, and drink lots of green tea.

BODY-AGING HABIT NO. 2: GIVING IN TO A SERIOUS SWEET TOOTH

Big Offender: Sugar, whether sucrose (the refined, highly processed and crystalized version of plant sugars), glucose, dextrose, fructose, or other types of added sweeteners.

How It Ages You: Excess sugar in your diet loiters in the blood and causes trouble by glomming on to protein molecules. This process, called glycation, causes cellular aging in several ways.

First, it slows the body’s repair mechanism. Although glycation’s effects are mostly internal, aging skin is a prime external sign. “Sugar molecules gum up the collagen in your skin,” says Talbott, making skin less elastic and causing it to wrinkle faster.

Glycation also ages the body by creating oxidative stress. Oxidation eventually leads to a buildup of toxins called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. The accumulation of some AGEs is normal, but eating poorly is like hitting the fast-forward button on aging.

That’s because AGEs build up in the body and damage our cellular engines:mitochondria. The loss of cellular energy gives rise to such age-related complaints as loss of memory, hearing, vision, and stamina.

Some findings show AGEs build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s (increasingly referred to as “type 3 diabetes”). AGEs are also linked to the more rapid development of arterial plaque in people with heart disease, and appear to be associated with Parkinson’s disease as well.

The Fix
If you can go cold turkey on processed sugar, great. If not, cut back as far as you can. For the sweets you do eat, choose foods made with less heavily processed natural sweeteners, such as honey or maple syrup, instead of refined (white) sugar.

“Although natural sugars aren’t much better for your health, foods sweetened naturally tend to be less refined and contain other whole-food  ingredients, and that is beneficial for reducing sugar load,” says Talbott.

Cut back on the sugar you use in recipes at home, and try adding less sugar to your coffee, tea, and other frequently consumed beverages.

One more tip: Don’t swap your sugar for artificial sweeteners. There’s evidence that they can do as much or more damage to your health in other ways (see “Secret Ingredients“).

BODY-AGING HABIT NO. 3: WAITING TO EAT UNTIL YOU’RE FAMISHED

Big Offender: Crashing and spiking blood sugar, which wreaks hormonal havoc, promotes inflammation, and drives unhealthy food cravings.

How It Ages You: When the stomach is empty, its secretion of ghrelin, also called the “hunger hormone,” doubles. When the stomach is full, secretion of ghrelin slows and its hormonal opposite, leptin, signals that the body is satiated. But it can take 20 minutes for this process to unfold. During this time, it’s easy to overeat.

“Going for a long period without food and then gorging is the textbook way to gain weight,” says Talbott. “When you gorge, you eat more, your blood sugar spikes higher, and your body stores more calories for later because it’s in feast-or-famine mode.”

Significantly, frequent blood-sugar spikes are linked to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and to bodywide inflammation.

“As we get older, we get metabolically less flexible, meaning our bodies have difficulty using insulin to shift micronutrients from the bloodstream into cells,” says Deanna Minich, PhD, FACN, CNS, author of The Complete Handbook of Quantum Healing. “An inability to use insulin effectively hastens aging by zapping a person’s vitality, strength, and sex drive.”

The Fix
Don’t wait until you’re voracious to eat. Tune in to your body and get to know what it feels like to be moderately hungry, says Swift: “This is the sweet spot.”

To satisfy moderate hunger, eat a healthy mix of macronutrients — proteins, fats, and nonstarchy carbs. This trifecta offers high-quality, long-lasting energy. Swift recommends hummus and veggies, nut butter and apple slices, or nuts and seeds mixed with a little dried fruit.

BODY-AGING HABIT NO. 4: EATING TOO MANY REFINED CARBS

Big Offender: Refined, starchy carbohydrates (healthy carbs stripped of all the good stuff).

How It Ages You: Refined carbs are simply sugars in disguise. “Starch turns into sugar the minute it hits your bloodstream,” says Lodge. Beyond causing glycation (see Habit No. 2), refined carbs set the stage for insulin resistance.

Lodge notes that the human body evolved with a limited ability to break down sugars (and limited exposure to sugar in concentrated forms), so it hasn’t kept pace with the modern diet.

After a meal laden with refined carbohydrates, the body’s blood-sugar levels soar, and the pancreas sprays insulin into the bloodstream to help cells convert the food’s energy (glucose) into fuel. It often miscalculates and releases too much insulin.

As a result of this excess insulin, blood-sugar levels drop, and 30 minutes later you’re hungry again. “The body wasn’t designed for this yo-yo effect,” says Lodge. The technical term for this effect is “insulin resistance”; it’s a precursor to such age-related diseases as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease.

In addition, because simple carbohydrates burn quickly, they leave nothing to nourish the health-promoting microbes that reside in our large intestines.

“We’ve learned a lot lately about the importance of carbohydrates to our gut ecosystem,” says Swift, who explains that healthy gut flora feed on fermentable fibers and resistant starches found in many complex carbohydrates.

These so-called indigestible carbs produce short-chain fatty acids that in turn affect glucose regulation, blood-sugar regulation, and insulin resistance. “Eating the right type of carbs is critical to supporting this milieu,” she says.

The Fix

Stick to whole-food carbohydrates, such as vegetables, legumes, and whole-kernel grains. Because whole-kernel grains are left intact (versus being pulverized into flour or stripped of their germ and bran), they take longer for the body to digest, and the sugar is released in a slow, steady stream.

The resistant starches and fermentable fibers in complex carbs also feed your hungry gut flora and influence signaling molecules that help moderate insulin release.

“These foods provide critical information for your body,” says Swift. “They’re our primary currency for aging well — one of the best investments we can make.”

BODY-AGING HABIT NO. 5: EATING WHEN YOU’RE STRESSED

Big Offender: Cortisol, the stress hormone secreted by your adrenal glands.

How It Ages You: Stress hormones (automatically released by the body under all kinds of stressful circumstances) are antithetical to digestion in a couple of ways.

First, the release of adrenaline and cortisol — fight-or-flight chemicals — diverts blood toward your limbs and away from your stomach and intestines. As a result, food may ferment in the intestines, upsetting the balance of good and bad bacteria, says Lodge, and hindering the intestines’ ability to break down and absorb key nutrients like vitamin B12.

“Eating when you’re stressed damages your body and locks out the repair crew,” says Lodge.

Stressed or distracted eating can also lead to unconscious eating. You may eat more than you intended or eat foods you wouldn’t have chosen under better circumstances.

The Fix

If you are stressed and tempted to raid the cupboard, Lodge says, drink a glass of water and go for a five-minute walk instead.

Whenever possible, eat in places where you feel calm and happy. At home, create a relaxing atmosphere: Set the table and light a candle, suggests Kevin Spelman, PhD, an adjunct professor at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Ore. “Just as your senses assimilate that environment in a pleasant way, your body will assimilate food in a more efficient way.”

BODY-AGING HABIT NO. 6: YOU EAT A LOT OF ROASTED, GRILLED, OR DEEP-FRIED FOOD

Big Offender: Advanced glycation end products, known as AGEs.

How It Ages You: AGEs are toxins that speed aging by causing oxidative stress and inflammation. You make some AGEs naturally, but most enter your body via food. The biggest culprits are foods that are deep-fried, broiled, roasted, or grilled. Those sear marks on a grilled steak, the crispy skin on a piece of fried chicken, even the browned edges of roasted vegetables are all signs of AGEs in your food.

“Most people don’t realize aging well is not just about choosing healthy foods, but about preparing them in healthy ways,” says Deanna Minich, PhD, FACN, CNS, and author of The Complete Handbook of Quantum Healing.

Your skin is a good place to see AGEs at work. As you age, AGEs accumulate in the skin’s tissue and break down collagen proteins, resulting in wrinkles. But the skin is just the beginning.

High AGE levels in the body are linked to neurodegeneration, tendon dysfunction, and blood-vessel stiffness. Indeed, most age-related illnesses — including Alzheimer’s, heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis — are connected to high amounts of AGEs.

The Fix: Reduce AGEs in your diet by eating more raw fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Cook meat and veggies at lower temperatures, utilizing techniques that rely on moisture, which keeps AGEs at bay. For example, steam or blanch vegetables, or sauté lightly with a little olive oil. Seafood can be steamed, chicken can be poached, and red meat can be stewed or braised. “Go low and go slow,” says Swift.

If loss of flavor is a concern, Swift recommends marinades: “Not only do marinades — particularly those made with vinegars or lemon juice — add flavor, they also help lower your body’s levels of AGEs.”

9 Surprising Relationships Between Food & Mood

shutterstock_86731981Is a Mediterranean diet protective against depression?

We already know that a Mediterranean diet full of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, and olive oil reduces inflammation and may be beneficial for heart health. A large study with 10,094 healthy Spanish people showed that eating a Mediterranean diet was protective for the prevention of depressive disorders (Sanchez-Villegas et al., Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2009).  If you aren’t going to Spain or Greece on over the holidays, pretend you are there by copying their diet. Add more veggies to your holiday potlucks, or shake on the herbs and spices to reduce inflammation caused by your meal!

Will eating fast foods lead to an increased risk for depression?

Eating fast foods like hamburgers, sausages, and pizza, as well as commercial baked goods such as muffins, doughnuts, and croissants has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of depression (Sanchez-Villegas et al., Public Health Nutr. 2012).  Do your best to balance out your food choices with some healthy, fresh options whenever available.

shutterstock_274989101Will being in a positive mood lead to eating more?

It’s not just a bad mood that can lead to eating more food. Researchers at the King’s College in London Institute of Psychiatry recently showed that negative mood and positive mood BOTH lead to more food intake (Cardi et al., Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2015).  This research doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be in a good mood! Try to find balance in your moods, keeping steady and stable without the extreme peaks and valleys that could cause you to overeat.

Can you eat yourself into a bad mood in just two days?

A study with 44 college students at Penn State University revealed that the more calories, saturated fat, and sodium they ate, the more negative mood they reported two days later. The researchers suggest that the food causes mood shifts (Hendy, Appetite, 2012).  If you find yourself in a bad mood, look at what you are eating. You can make some immediate changes that will translate into quick lifts in your mood.

shutterstock_59055922Can snacks impact your well-being?

100 students at Cardiff University were asked to complete an online questionnaire about how they were feeling emotionally and physically. They were then randomly assigned to one of two snacking conditions – chocolate/crisps or fruit – which they ate daily in the mid-afternoon for 10 days.  At the end of the 10 days, they completed the questionnaire again. The results showed that consumption of fruit was associated with lower anxiety, depression, and emotional distress than consumption of crisps/chocolate. Similarly, scores for somatic symptoms, cognitive difficulties, and fatigue were greater in the crisps/chocolate condition (Smith and Rogers,Front Nutr. 2014).  Take note of your snacking behaviors during the holidays! If you find yourself eating too many cookies or indulging in lots of chocolate, shake up your snacking routine by getting some fresh fruit. Your mood will thank you for it (and those around you will, too!).

Can your emotions change how you taste?

A study came out this month that assessed taste and emotions of 550 people who attended hockey games. There were a total of 8 games, 4 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie. The researchers found that positive emotions during the winning games correlated with enhanced sweet and diminished sour intensities while negative emotions lead to heightened sour and decreased sweet tastes (Noel and Dando, Appetite, 2015).  Take time to taste your food and have awareness that the emotions you are feeling are not only influencing what you are eating, but how things taste. If you take your time to eat mindfully, you’ll be more in the moment, and, as the studies suggest, you’ll likely eat less and feel more satisfied.

shutterstock_65835514Can being bored drive you to eat?

Researchers at the North Dakota State University would say “yes”! In a sample of 552 college students, they discovered that those prone to being bored and lacking emotional coping skills led to inappropriate eating behavior, like eating when bored or in response to negative emotions (Crockett et al., J Health Psychol. 2015).  Being bored is probably the least of your worries during the holidays; however, you may have more down time which means that you could be looking for things to do. Fill your time with healthy communities and physical activity to keep you pleasantly busy!

Does your personality drive your eating habits?

An interesting publication in the journal Appetite earlier this year brought to light many findings about one’s personality and eating: (1) “…high openness to experience were associated with higher fruit, vegetable and salad and lower meat and soft drink consumption”; (2) “High agreeableness was associated with low meat consumption.” (3) Conscientiousness mainly promoted fruit consumption, prevented meat consumption and intake of sweet and savory foods and of sugar-sweetened soft drinks. (4) Neuroticism promoted consumption of sweet and savory foods by promoting emotional and external eating.   Well, perhaps we can’t change who we are, but we can become more aware of our actions! If you find that you are always on edge and feeling neurotic, try to put yourself in the space of agreeableness and openness, which will contribute positively to your eating habits.

shutterstock_138284549Does being a ‘morning person’ make you less apt to eat emotionally?

If you like mornings more than evenings and you find yourself more alert in the early hours, researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, would tell you that you probably have lower depressive symptoms and emotional eating based on their study with 2325 men and 2699 women  (Konttinen et al., Chronobiol Int, 2014).  Make sure you are getting sufficient sleep during the holidays so you do not crave foods. If possible, try to mirror your rhythm with that of nature: waking up early with the sun and going to bed early when it is dark. You’ll be more in balance on the inside through the cues on the outside!

 

Superfood: 8 Powerful Alfalfa Benefits

Alfalfa benefits our health in some amazing ways.

What is Alfalfa?

Alfalfa is an extraordinary superfood and has been prized for its healing properties for centuries.

The ancient literature on this incredible plant—the edible parts look like tufts of bean sprouts—dates back to 1300 B.C., and it was used in Iran as fodder for horses. It would find later use in traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurveda as a treatment for a plethora of ailments.

Alfalfa is a perennial plant that grows in a temperate climates and sends its roots up to 20-30 feet deep into the ground.

This allows it to extract essential minerals from the earth that make it such a wonderfully nutritious source of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

It belongs to the Fabaceae family, which also includes the humble pea. Although alfalfa is not always thought of as a green, the name itself derives from the arabic term for “green fodder”. That’s good enough for me!

Nutritional Benefits of Alfalfa

Alfalfa benefits milk-producing livestock because of its high protein content and digestible fiber, and is primarily used as both a fresh and dried fodder for horses and livestock.

Besides being a rich source of protein and fiber, alfalfa is also rich in most of the vitamins and some essential minerals like zinc, manganese, magnesium, iron and calcium.

Eventually, the health benefits of alfalfa came to made use of by humans as well.

In its grassy (cellulose) form, it’s problematic for our digestion, but used as seed sprouts, juice, or as dried leaves in powder, tablet or tea form, it’s a wonderful addition to our diet.

I personally love alfalfa sprouts in my salads and lettuce wraps.

How the Superfood Alfalfa Benefits Your Health 

With it being a virtual nutritional powerhouse, it is not surprising that alfalfa benefits us in so many varied ways. I’ve listed some of its most important benefits here:

1. Reduction of Serum Cholesterol

Alfalfa is rich in saponins, phytoestrogen, antioxidants and digestible fiber, all of which prevent fat from clogging up our arteries. Though the sprouts are not very rich in saponins, the dried leaf powder does manage to control serum cholesterol significantly.

2. Control of Diabetes and Obesity

Its high digestible fiber content ensures a feeling of satiety which can reduce our hunger and also our obesity. All of this indirectly benefits patients suffering from diabetes and obesity.

3. Relief from Constipation

The presence of digestive fiber and digestive enzymes in alfalfa is of humongous benefit to our digestion.

4. A Great Source of Protein

Alfalfa sprouts and dried leaf powder are rich sources of easily digestible protein and are therefore a great source of protein for vegans and vegetarians.

5. A Source of Essential Vitamins

Alfalfa is perhaps one of the few foods that can take care of most of your body’s vitamin requirements.

The phytonutrients in the plant include phytoestrogens, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins, phytosterols, amino acids, vitamins, terpenes and digestive enzymes.

That’s a mouthful, but that’s not all!

It’s also a rich source of Vitamins C and K and caters to the daily requirements of the B complex family of vitamins.

In addition to the vitamins, the daily requirements of some essential minerals like magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, and calcium are adequately fulfilled by eating alfalfa.

Zinc and magnesium are essential ingredients required for the production of testosterone, which makes them an essential requirement for reproductive health, especially in the males.

Adequate testosterone levels are essential for physically active people—especially athletes.Considering this, it’s clear that consumption of alfalfa is a good way to build your body for high performance. I wish I ate more of it when I was a professional football player!

6. Cardiovascular Health

Alfalfa contains certain compounds that prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and clots.

Alfalfa also provides the body with flavonoids, which help in the relaxation of the vascular smooth muscles, thereby rendering them more pliant and thus less susceptible to clogging.

This directly decreases the chances of a cerebrovascular accident and myocardial infarction. In short, it does wonders for your cardiovascular health.

7. Alleviating Kidney Problems and Relieving Fluid Retention

Sluggish kidneys are known to improve with regular use of alfalfa. In fact, it has been traditionally used as a diuretic and many herbalists prescribe it in kidney and prostate ailments.

The thinking is that it reduces the blood urea levels and improves creatinine clearance. This has a cascading effect in relieving fluid retention in patients, which in turn improves overall health.

8. Hormonal Benefits for Women

Alfalfa benefits women deeply as it’s an extremely rich source of phytoestrogens.

Regular use of alfalfa provides for a hormonal balance in premenopausal and menopausal women.

These are just a few scientifically proven benefits of alfalfa. If you take a look at the history of its use in the realm of folk healing, there are so many more to consider.

Alfalfa tea has been traditionally prescribed to people suffering from various respiratory conditions, everything from bronchitis and whooping cough to allergies and hay fever.

It has also been known as a folk remedy for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Finally, alfalfa acts as an adaptogen, which helps your body restore itself to a general state of balance.

YURI ELKAIM