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Posts Tagged ‘Supplements’

Arthritis, whether it is osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout, have the common symptoms of inflammation of one or more joints. This is accompanied by pain, swelling and sometimes joint deformity. Traditionally, with herbal medicine, anti-inflammatory herbs such as black cohosh, feverfew, yucca and wild yam were recommended. And a naturopath might prescribe vitamins like vitamin A, the B complex, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Plus a host of minerals like chelated zinc, chelated calcium and magnesium, copper salicylate, selenium and bromelain. And supplements like evening primrose and fish oils, glucosmaine, and superoxide dismutase, which is found in good quality dehydrated (but not juiced) green barley powder.

But scientists have found some very effective anti-inflammatory agents in our own kitchen. Some of them, like ginger, can be bought as a supplement. And due to ginger’s strong taste, this might be a preferable way of taking it to get the quantities you need for a significant anti-inflammatory effect. But others, like olive oil, can easily be integrated into the daily diet. Cinnamon is not commonly used as a supplement here, but in India it has a rich traditional use and may be available as part of an Ayurvedic supplement.

Ginger

One of the active constituents in ginger is a phenolic compound known as gingerols. These have been found to have a strong anti-inflammatory effect. In a study reported in the Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Journal, the participants who took the ginger compound had significantly less pain during movement than those who took the placebo. This study followed 29 people over 12 months, and also found that swelling in the knees was also reduced.
However, if you are taking blood thinning medication like warfarin, you may need to be careful about the amount of ginger you take, as ginger can thin the blood also. (Australian Healthy Food)
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It’s no wonder we are pretty confused when shopping for vitamins. We’ve been told, for example, that a good vitamin supplement would boost our energy level. In fact, we’re told this constantly: in magazine arti- cles, television media, the plethora of vitamin- promoting infomercials, web sites, and pop-up ads on the Internet.

So when you arrive at the vitamin shop, you’re already at a complete loss (and may have forgotten altogether) why you’re even there, and end up like many of us, just not taking any vitamins at all because it’s all so…so…confusing!

Vitamin World, Vitamin Gallery, The Vitamin Patch, Vitamins for Vegeterians — the vast array of shops, whether online or in your neighborhood, all beckon, promising renewed everything. If you have any health problem or complaint known to man, you’ll find a good vitamin supplement (or 12 to 15 of them) to straight- en out your suffering right away.

The good thing about vitamins (just one of many) is that they’re really largely “natural,” with very few containing harmful or otherwise irritating, toxic chemicals.

To put it plainly, vitamins are good for us because they are derived largely from natural plants and min- erals. That’s the basic fact. And the benfits are many; it’s difficult to take the “wrong” vitamin, and it certainly can’t hurt you, so why not give it a swing? But remember: Take everything in moderation.
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If you are serious about building muscle mass or sculpting your body you most likely supplement your diet with commercially available whey or soy protein powders (and possibly other supplements). No doubt within a short period of time you discovered the protein shakes whey powders produce may not be the best tasting drinks you’ve ever had. Despite this you try to stick with them because your goal is a better body and a supplement shake that doesn’t taste so great is simply a sacrifice you make.

People find that the flavor of the protein shake powder they paid a good money for quickly gets boring. If you are taking your protein shakes two or even three times a day it can become a real chore. This is when people start to experiment a little by adding other ingredients to make their protein shakes taste a little better.

You can soon turn your boring, often tasteless, protein shakes into mouth-watering bodybuilding or dieting delights. All you need to have to get started is a blender and a little imagination.

Choosing What to Put in Your Protein Shakes

Before rushing off to your refrigerator to blend everything in site, let’s go through some basic principles you will want to consider first. Not only do you want to create the best tasting shakes but you should also aim to make the most effective protein shakes for your dieting requirements. This is important because there is no point throwing full fat ice cream, chocolate sauce, peanut butter and full fat milk all together to create a wonderful tasting fat gaining shake. You need to be a little wise when choosing your ingredients.

So what kinds of ingredients make good choices for your shakes? I recommend using the following tips when getting your ingredients from the supermarket or refrigerator:

• Try to keep as many of your ingredients as natural as possible. A good example of this is using natural peanut butter instead of regular peanut butter. The natural version has better protein content and also natural fats that are important in your diet.
• Fresh fruit should be used whenever possible. Fruit contains the carbohydrates that will fuel your workouts and your day. The complex sugars in fruit are important to any diet (unlike the simple sugars in sweets, sodas, etc).
• Think about ingredients that will boost your shake’s protein content. For example, you could throw a handful of nuts into the blender for a little extra protein without making the shake much thicker. You could add a few raw egg whites (if you are worried about eating raw eggs you may be able to find treated egg whites in cartons at your supermarket). You could always simply dump an extra scoop of whey powder in there as well.
• Make sure you have enough liquids. If you get a little too carried away you may discover your shake is easier to eat with a spoon then drink from a glass. When you first start creating your shakes it is a good idea to add your liquids (water, fat-free milk, fruit juices, etc.) in stages so that you get your desired consistency.

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Travelers visiting many tropical, sub-tropical and developing countries run an increased risk of suffering a gastrointestinal illness. These are usually caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses. The microscopic bugs at the top of these rather gut wrenching (for all the wrong reasons…) charts are E Coli, the staphylococci, shigella and salmonella species, campylobacter jejuni, cryptosporidiosis, and hepatitis A.

Infected food is the biggest culprit, with water coming in second. Ice cream, cocktails served in re-used coconut shells, raw seafood, ice, and food from street vendors are potential risks that can interrupt your adventure with less salacious memories to pass on to family and friends.

The nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhea from such acute infections usually sorts itself out after a few days (unless of course you have contracted hepatitis A, or something like giardia). Certainly, if you are unlucky enough to be sick after a few days, you should see a doctor.

Fortunately, there are remedies you can take that will strengthen your immune and digestive system and hopefully give your body a better chance at dealing with its new environment. The herbs I describe below would make an excellent travelers mix. The best form to take them in would be as a tincture, which can be made up by going to a local herbal dispensary if you have one in your area, or alternatively, a local herbalist.

Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)

Astragalus is a good anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial. The polysaccharides in it support the immune system. Astragalus increases the activity of phagocytes, natural killer cells, and the levels of antibodies in the blood.

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