Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Multivitamin Myth



The Nutrition in the Bottles Above are Nothing Like the Nutrition Conveniently Packaged in Fruits and Vegetables...
When it comes to health, don't believe everything you hear on TV!  This is especially true when it comes to multivitamin supplements or cereals that are "fortified" with vitamins and minerals.  As it turns out, research would suggest that these things may do more harm to your body than good...

Despite massive amounts of vitamins consumed by first world societies, overall health is declining everywhere except in countries that still rely mostly n farm-fresh foods.  Whereas vitamins in food are balanced bio-chemically, vitamin pills lack such balance and taking them outside of their 'food packages' perturb the body's balance of antioxidants and pro-oxidants.  Disturbing this balance can lead to many and varied negative side effects.

Real vitamin C, for example, present in foods like goji berries or oranges, has a much different biochemical effect than vitamin C made in a laboratory.  A 2004 study appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that women with diabetes who took high doses of synthetic vitamin C were more than twice as likely to die of heart disease or stroke compared with women who took no supplements or ate a diet high in vitamin C rich foods.  Every isolated vitamin has a similar story with different side-effects in the long term.  Read Supplements Exposed by Dr. Brian Clement for more information on this subject.


Vitamin B3 supplementation, which is commonly known as niacin, has been linked to hepatitis and other liver problems.  And, it's commonly added to processed foods, like breakfast cereals.  Among other symptoms that occur with niacin poisoning are hot flashes, itching skin, arrhythmia and nervousness.  (Meats like hamburger, by the way, are sometimes illegally colored red with niacin.  If you experience hot flashes after eating meat, you have likely eaten niacin-treated meat.)


Multimineral supplements, as well, are most often formulated with inorganic minerals that are different in structure than the organic minerals (structured by plants) that our bodies actually require.  Subsequently, calcium pills, which are made of the 'wrong' kind of calcium for our bodies, have been linked to arthritis- also known by some natural health professionals as calcification occurring in the joints. 

According to some of the world's most successful natural health professionals, vitamin deficiencies and health problems in general are in actuality NOT caused by insufficient intake.  They actually occur due to a congested capillary network that is unable to diffuse sufficient amounts of the vitamins to each cell.  How do these networks become clogged?  A diet rich in protein foods such as meat and pasteurized milk and processed foods of all types.  This would explain very well why Americans on the whole are not thriving, despite grocery shelves filled with enriched foods and 'megavitamins'! 

Source:  Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Mortiz
Simple Steps to Total Health by Andreas Moritz and John Hornecker
















An additional note...   Instead of taking conventional multivitamins, take whole food nutritional supplements OR superfood powders instead.  As a result of pollution and modern agriculture, it is true that our normal daily meals (even if we eat organic) supply much, much less in the way of vitamins and minerals than they did even 50 years ago:  And, as a result, most benefit from taking extra nutrients, provided that they are in a BALANCED, whole food form! 

Some suggestions for whole food supplementation are below:






Saturday, January 8, 2011

Raw Vegan Jumbleberry Upside Down Cake

Pictured above is the final course of a raw meal I made this summer with the help of my dad in Wisconsin... called "Jumble berry upside-down cake."  A delightful dessert, I highly recommend it to anyone as a wholesome way to satisfy a sweet tooth!   Because the recipe is based on almonds, honey, and fruit, it is very nutrient-dense and has many cancer-protective properties.

From the book Raw for Dessert by Jennifer Cornbleet.  Jennifer's recipes are delicious, simple, and approachable.   There are a lot of raw 'cook'books on the market with raw recipes too time consuming for most peoples' preferences: This is not one of them.  

Some of my other favorites from the book are banana cream pie, strawberries 'n cream ice cream, and key lime pots de creme.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Watching TV Before Age 3 May Negatively Impact Children's Normal Brain Development, Leading to ADD, Autism, Antisocial Behavior and Slowed Linguistic Development

In 2007, a British publication, The Guardian Unlimited reported new research linking mental and physical problems in children to television viewing while under the age of 3.   The research indicated that early childhood TV viewing slowed linguistic and social development and led to higher risk rates of attention-deficit disorder, autism, and obesity. 

Before the age of 3, children's brains go through rapid development and are being physically shaped in response to whatever they are exposed to, says the report.  It further explains that exposing chidren to fast-moving images for sustained periods at this particular developmental stage can inhibit their ability to sustain attention, also hindering their development of social skills. 

It is not the quality of the content of the programs themselves that children are watching that causes the problem.  Rather, it is how the brain processes television.

Another study, in The World Federation of Neurology, outlined concerns about the impact of visual electronic media (including television) on children because of stunted frontal lobe development which led to anti-social behavior.  (When children watch television, the frontal lobe is not doing anything with the result that over a period of time this part of the brain doesn't develop fully or develops more slowly than normal.) 

What can you do to encourage healthy brain development in children?
Playing and interacting with others is recommended to encourage the fibers in the frontal lobe to develop and thicken and to make stronger connections to neurons.

Sources: "Television may be doing your thinking," by Lynn Berry, www.naturalnews.com.

Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Moritz.