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 How do you choose a good multivitamin, and for that matter, do you even need one? Healthfood store shelves are filled with row after row of multivitamins aimed at ‘him’, ‘her’ and ‘they’ all with claims of ‘whole-food’, ‘energizing’ and ‘complete’.
The whole process can be a bit confusing and overwhelming.
Today’s podcast helps to make sense of it all. We’ll discuss the three basic forms of multivitamins (USP isolate, food-base and whole-food) as well as some recent changes made by one company to address recent research and our ever changing nutritional needs. Guest: Jen Luse.
 Believe if or not, I am pretty conservative with the supplements I take. I try to get what I can from my diet, but there are a few that I do take daily. One of which is a probiotic, the friendly bacteria that we are most familiar with from yogurt. Though most have heard of probiotics helping with the digestive tract and fighting against infection, I actually take them for allergies.
If you are considering trying a probiotic for allergies there’s a little trick to it. Instead of swallowing the capsule, I open it up and just swallow the powder. I have also found it only works on an empty stomach. For whatever reason, it has completely saved me from my chronic allergies and sinus infections. I use MegaFood’s Megaflora and it works so well I haven’t tried any other brands. I’ve also had several customers try it and have the great results with their allergies, sinus infections and even colds.
However, it only works when I remember to take it and one particular day last week I forgot. When I got to work I had watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose – the whole spectrum of allergy symptoms. Yes, I even got the “you don’t look so good” comments from coworkers. One of the many benefits of working in a health store is having several natural remedies right at your fingertips.
So, I decided to try New Chapter’s Histamine Take Care, a fast acting, herbal therapeutic that helps to balance natural histamine levels and maintain open nasal passages. I never tried it before, but I’ve had such great results with other New Chapter products that I had high hopes. However, I had no idea that it would work as well, or as fast as it did. I’m not exaggerating when I say it started to work before I even finished the lozenge!
It actually uses a special extract of the herb Nettle, containing over 500 botanical chemistries including 33 bioactives found in nettle that have been shown in laboratory testing to inhibit pathways associated with allergies. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t experience such amazing results for myself!
I don’t mean to sound like an ad, I just know how hard it can be to carry out normal activities of daily living while battling allergies. If you struggle with allergies, give Megaflora or Histamine Take Care a try, and hopefully they work as well for you as they did for me.
–Nicole Elias, RD LD
 Feelings of stress, exhaustion, weakened muscles, sleepiness and lack of mental alertness can all be a part of fatigue. Fatigue is a common enemy many of us are fighting against, but with the stress and demands of our hectic lifestyle, it often feels like an uphill battle. I recently read a great article in Today’s Dietitian Magazine, and wanted to share some of the tips to help fight fatigue and increase energy through the diet.
The obvious offender – lack of sleep
A case of chronic fatigue may simply be due to the fact that you aren’t sleeping enough, or aren’t sleeping well. If this is the case, I think it’s important to find out the reason for it. Are you too stressed and can’t fall asleep? Are you waking up in the middle of the night due to pain? Are you having too much caffeine during the day? Once you figure out the cause of your sleepless nights, it’s a lot easier to find a solution. Stress management, diet corrections, or supplementation may be just the thing to give you the sleep you need to better function through the day. Chamomile, Valerian, Magnesium, 5-HTP and Melatonin are just a few of the common supplements that can aid in sleep.
Nutrient deficiencies may be the culprit
Lacking certain nutrients such as Iron, Vitamin D, B-vitamins, and essential fatty acids can often result in fatigue. These deficiencies can easily be corrected through diet changes or proper supplementation. In fact, I’ve seen many cases where a good quality multivitamin or Omega-3 supplement is really all that is needed to bring energy back.
If you are concerned that you are lacking vitamins, minerals or other nutrients, ask your doctor to test for possible deficiencies. One tool I’ve used with several clients is a Micronutrient Test from Spectracell Laboratories. Not only does this blood test measure your status of several vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, it also goes beyond traditional tests by assessing the history of your micronutrient status. In other words, it’s not simply looking at your vitamin status at the time you get the test, but obtains a history that assesses your status over several months.
Improving mood can increase energy
According to the article, improved mood is related to feeling energized, so following guidelines known to improve mood could help many people. Animal studies have shown that diets high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids improve memory and cognition scores, and nutrition status is a predictor of mood, cognition, and memory in human studies. Eating a well balanced diet rich in antioxidants (think fruits and vegetables) and omega-3s (wild salmon or other fatty fish) can likely contribute to better energy.
If you can’t eat it, consider supplementing with it. Fish oil supplements typically contain 1000mg of omega-3 which is all most people need to get enough of this essential fatty acid. One of my favorite brands is New Chapter’s Wholemega, because it’s minimally processed wild salmon, and the next best thing to eating it.
Continue reading Diet Tips to Increase Energy and Fight Fatigue
 Astaxanthin is an extremely powerful antioxidant that is mainly found in red algae. Because this algae is a favorite food of salmon, it is responsible for providing wild salmon’s signature dark pink color. Farm raised salmon are naturally much lighter in color because they don’t get the benefit of eating this important nutrient. Astaxanthin is also found in yeast, trout, krill, shrimp and other crustaceans.
Astaxanthin supplements are widely available and can be found in minimally processed fish oils such as Wholemega. Whenever fish oil is purified or processed, it takes away the naturally occurring antioxidants that you would get if you ate the fish itself. Some fish oils such as Oceans 3 actually add extra astaxanthin back to the product to boost its benefits.
So what exactly does astaxanthin do for us?
Due to it’s antioxidant properties, this carotenoid can help fight off free radical damage and according to a new study, it even appears to decrease inflammation and boost the immune system.
Healthy females (averaged 21.5 yr) received 0, 2, or 8 mg astaxanthin per day for 8 weeks in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Immune response was assessed on wk 0, 4 and 8, and tuberculin test performed on wk 8. Results show an increase in the activity of their immune response and a decrease in specific markers of inflammation including plasma C-reactive protein.
Astaxanthin has also been shown to decrease acid reflux, aid in prostate health, inhibit cancer cell growth and prevent fatty acid oxidation in animal studies. So far research is very promising, but as always, more long term human trials are needed to understand its full range of benefits.
–Nicole Elias, RD LD
 This is yet another of my family’s favorite healthy recipes!
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp Canola oil
- 1 lg. can fat free refried beans or black beans
- 2 breasts of chicken, boneless
- Salsa; 1 jar (I prefer fresh and you can even find it ready made in the deli section of the supermarket)
- 1 large tomato, diced
- Lettuce, cut
- Green onions, diced
- Sour cream
- Cheese, grated Cheddar or white cheese
- Whole wheat tortillas (they will have no idea these are whole wheat once they’re topped with cheese!)
- Taco seasoning
Sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning. Spray pan with cooking spray and fry chicken in pan. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Spread beans on a tortilla. Place chicken and salsa on tortilla and roll up. Put into rectangular Pyrex. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Place in 350 degree oven or microwave until cheese is melted and the burritos “bubbly”.
Top each burrito with tomatoes, onion, lettuce and sour cream and serve.
Recipe yields 6-8 servings
–Nicole Elias, RD LD
 Achieving healthy cholesterol levels through diet and supplementation is a major goal for many people. I don’t think a day goes by that we don’t get questions on this topic. The good news is there are quite a few research validated foods as well as dietary supplements that can help.
On today’s podcast I’m joined by registered dietitian Nicole Elias to discuss how foods like oat bran and olive oil, and supplements like plant-sterols, red-yeast rice and policosanol can help us achieve healthy cholesterol levels without medications.
 Postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 76 who took fish oil were 32 percent less likely to develop certain types of breast cancer than women who didn’t, according to a recent study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
The study used surveys and included roughly 35,000 women without breast cancer living in Washington state. The participants completed surveys between 2000 and 2002, answering questions about their past and present supplement use, medical history, and lifestyle. Over the next six years, 880 of the study participants (roughly 2.5 percent) were diagnosed breast cancer. The women who were taking fish oil when the study began had a lower risk of developing the most common form of breast cancer called invasive ductal carcinoma.
While the researchers noted this was simply observational research, and that more is necessary before we can assume a causal relationship, it’s an important first step. From cnn.com:
Still, it’s plausible that fish oil could lower breast cancer risk. The unsaturated fatty acids in the oil are believed to tamp down inflammation, which plays a role in some cancers as well as heart disease. Fish oil supplements, which have been shown to lower blood pressure and triglycerides (a type of blood fat), are most commonly taken to improve heart health.
The new findings “reinforce something that most of us feel in our hearts but are struggling to prove,” says Dr. David Pearlstone, M.D., chief of the division of breast surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, in New Jersey. “Fish oil probably is really good for you in a lot of ways, but the data has been [slow] in coming.”
If you are a fan of fish, then this yet another reason to continue eating your wild caught fatty fish like salmon. And note – the “wild caught” part is absolutely necessary. If you’re eating farm raised fish, you’re likely getting higher levels of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids instead of the anti-inflammatory omega-3 in the wild caught variety. If you’re not a big fatty fish fan, I recommenced Wholemega from New Chapter. I’ve blogged and podcasted about it in the past. Basically, when you take a softgel of Wholemega you’re getting the closest thing to wild-caught Alaskan salmon.
–Michael Ventresca
 Here’s another of my favorite healthy meals the whole family will enjoy. This recipe uses just a few simple ingredients, it’s quick and easy, and it tastes wonderful.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Tilapia (or any other mild white fish fillets)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp butter
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, oil, lemon rind and garlic. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter in the skillet. Pat the fish fillets dry. Place them in the skillet. Brush the lemon mixture over the fish.
Cook for 5-10 minutes (or more) on each side, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. I usually serve it with a side or fast cook brown rice and a salad. It really is that simple!
–Nicole Elias, RD LD
 Picture yourself walking along on a nice summer day. All of a sudden, a cool breeze turns into a stiff wind, the skies darken and it starts to pour! This unexpected rainy moment is one way I think of stress – it never seems to come at a good time.
Now, stress in itself is not harmful. In fact, without it, life would be very dull. Stress levels, on the other and, and the way in which a person interprets and copes, can have a profound effect on physical and emotional health.
One of the main reasons stress can produce such damage is due to the hormone cortisol. Whenever we experience stress the brain triggers a chain reaction that ultimately causes the release of this hormone. Too much cortisol has been linked to weight gain, high blood sugar and diabetes, bone loss, immune shutdown, and high blood pressure. Excessive cortisol can frequently lead to increased fatigue, irritability, impaired memory, decreased libido and insomnia.
Clearly, stress management is not a health luxury; it’s a basic minimum requirement. So what can we do? One of my favorite products to reduce stress is called Holy Basil. Holy Basil, also known in Ayurvedic medicine as tulsi) works like an umbrella in our rainy day example – stress may be pouring down but you’re able to keep strolling along.
According to studies, Holy Basil can promote a positive stress response by elevating mood. It has also been found to balance blood sugar, reduce stress eating and weight gain and provide numerous natural anti-inflammatory effects. See 15 Benefits of the Holy Basil (Tulsi).
 While there are many good Holy Basil products available my favorite is Super Critical Holy Basil by New Chapter. It is a highly concentrated super-critically extracted full-spectrum extract in an easy-to-swallow softgel. Most people who try Holy Basil tell me they start feeling results within the first few days of trying it.
–Michael Ventresca
As always, please note this information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a healthcare professional.
 Well it’s about time – I think. It looks like stevia, an intensely sweet herb with no calories, and thus in my mind perfect sugar-substitute, may finally begin appearing in a broader range of foods.
The FDA issued a GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) ‘no objection’ letter for use of SG95, a stevia blend that contains rebaudioside D and rebaudioside F in food and beverages, according to an article on FoodBev.com.
This is a pretty major deal because for years the FDA has questioned the safety record of stevia as a food ingredient and thus, continued to only allow its sale as a dietary supplement. So while stevia has been around for you and me to add to teas, smoothies or baking, it has not been available in foods as other artifical sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose (Splenda) have.
To me, this is a good thing. I’m not a huge fan of Splenda and I avoid Nutrasweet like the plague. I’m looking forward to a new batch of foods, bars and shakes that I can look to when in a rush that are low in sugar.
In the meantime, stevia is available in packets, liquids, and bulk from a variety of manufacturers.
–Michael Ventresca
Stevia, an intensely sweet herb with no calories, is a tasty option that is available in powder packets or liquid drops
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How do you choose a good multivitamin, and for that matter, do you even need one? Healthfood store shelves are filled with row after row of multivitamins aimed at ‘him’, ‘her’ and ‘they’ all with claims of ‘whole-food’, ‘energizing’ and ‘complete’.
