Are You Lacking These Crucial Nutrients?

Feeding your body and brain the proper nutrients are essential in facilitating good health and your healing process. The following information is going to help you further understand the importance of how what you put into your body affects your brain and all the other cells that define your overall health, physically, emotionally and mentally.

Dr Terry Wahls explains it very simply:

• Your body is made up of many different types of cells
• Nutritious foods provide energy to the cells so they can do their specific jobs
• Cells need food for energy so they can:

–   Work properly

–   Get rid of the toxins and waste that builds up in them throughout the years

–   Repair your body

–   Protect your body

–   And talk to other cells in your body

Evidence shows that just taking supplements doesn’t work as well as the naturally occurring nutrients found in foods. So, a good rule to follow (whether it’s the Paleo diet or specific food combining), is making your meals rich in vegetables and fruits from a variety of rich colors. And include fresh organic grass fed meats or wild fish daily. Either way, the following is critical: According to the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Counsel), avoid or minimize consumption of fish that contain high levels of mercury.

Listed below are some of the popular market fish to avoid. For a more detailed list please visit NRDC website

High Mercury

Minimize 3 servings or less per month:
–  Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
–  Sea Bass (Chilean)
–  Tuna (Canned Albacore)
–  Tuna (Yellowfin)

HIGHEST MERCURY

Avoid eating:
–  Shark
–  Swordfish
–  Tilefish
–  Tuna (Bigeye, Ahi)

Eliminate fast foods…period! Eliminate the following:

–    Starches containing gluten such as breads, and pastas,

–   Processed sugars

–   Sodas

–   Dairy

–   Soy

All of these are known to cause inflammation.

A couple of key items to add to your diet…

A lack of D3 is thought to be a factor in many health problems, from increased cancer risk to inflammation to osteoporosis and various chronic autoimmune illnesses like MS. Our bodies make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight. But most of us don’t get enough sun. Since our level of vitamin D decreases with age, and very few foods in nature contain vitamin D. Here are some suggestions ~ fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel) and fish liver oils are among the best sources. Small amounts of vitamin D are found in beef liver and egg yolks.

Conversely, excess vitamin D can cause the body to absorb too much calcium, leading to increased risk of heart attack and kidney stones. The current U.S. DV for vitamin D is 600 IU (international units) and the toxicity threshold for vitamin D is thought to be 10,000 to 40,000 IU/day. Vitamin D is oil soluble, which means you need to eat fat to absorb it, like fatty fish listed above.

Top Five benefits of Vitamin D (According to the US Department of Health and Human Services)

1. Maintains healthy bones
2. Promotes brain health ~ cognitive function
3. Helps reduce inflammation
4. Lowers risk of developing cancer
5. Reduces cardiovascular disease

We also tend to become deficient in B vitamins, especially B6, as we age. This vitamin is one you can easily get through food. Choose chicken and other meats, and cod, salmon, halibut and tuna among fish. Vegetables such as bell peppers, spinach, yams, broccoli, potatoes with the skin on, asparagus, and green peas are also excellent sources of this essential vitamin. And snacks like sunflower seeds, peanuts, cashews (preferably unsalted) to get a good dose of vitamin B6.

 Top Five Benefits of Vitamin B6:

1. Vitamin B6 helps maintain healthy brain function.
2. It plays a key role in synthesizing antibodies that are needed to fight various diseases.
3. Vitamin B6 helps in maintaining normal nerve function. It plays a crucial role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters.
4. It also assists normal nerve cell communication.
5. It helps in breaking down and digesting proteins. So, the higher the protein intake, the greater is the requirement of vitamin B6.

Ask your doctor to arrange for a simple blood test that will determine your vitamin D and B6 level.

Stay tuned for “Keeping the Healthy in Food”

In Gratitude,

Sónia