There’s a lot of supplements out there these days. It seems like every time you turn around there’s another big finding, another big health claim and another new supplement you should be taking. This article looks at some popular supplements and how effective they really are. 1. Antioxidants Although the evidence behind them isn’t conclusive, it’s generally accepted that antioxidants can’t hurt. We know that oxidative stress is a big part of the aging process, so it’s quite possible that antioxidants can help out. Where we run into problems is when we disregard other aspects of our food or supplements as long as we’re getting antioxidants. For example, we might pick up a Sobe Green Tea for the antioxidants, but ignore the fact that the second ingredient (the first is water) is high fructose corn syrup. 2. Fiber In food fiber is great stuff. There’s research suggesting that fiber for weight loss might actually work, and that fiber might interfere with some harmful processes like rapid absorption of sugar. Fiber supplements, however, are yet to be proven to be as effective as fiber within your food. Think of fiber in food vs fiber in supplement form like a basketball with air in it vs one with air around it. It just doesn’t work the same way. 3. Vitamin C Vitamin C is important, but its effects have been blown out of proportion. With popular supplements like Emergen-C we’ve been lead to believe that high doses of vitamin C will stop sickness in its tracks and keep us healthy. Unfortunately that’s not the case. In fact, you may want to worry more about taking too much (if you’re supplementing it), as highlighted in the article Can You Overdose on Vitamin C? 4. Calcium Since we were kids we were brought up thinking that calcium equals strong bones. While calcium does play a role, it’s far from the whole picture. A 2010 study found that people supplementing calcium saw no decrease in bone fractures. This is most likely because vitamin D regulates calcium absorption so additional calcium can’t be utilized without vitamin D. It is recommended to take vitamin D and magnesium if you supplement calcium. 5. Omega 3s Much like antioxidants, Omega-3s get thrown into everything so manufacturers can claim health benefits. In general, higher omega-3 intake is most likely a good thing, but low quality sources won’t do you much good and most products lead more damage than benefit because of all the other junk that goes along with it. Stick to whole food and high-quality fish oils for your Omega-3 intake. Health and wellness resources: Diets that work – Clean eating – Fat burning foods – Weight loss tips – How to lose belly fat – Reduce weight naturally – Quickest way to lose weight – Low calorie recipes – Lose weight in 2 weeks – Best exercise to lose weight – Tips to lose weight Business and insurance resources: Over 50 life insurance – Commercial insurance – Redundancy insurance – Building insurance – No exam life insurance – Life insurance over 50 – Private medical insurance   Travel resources: A2B transfers – Cancellation holidays – Vacation packages – Broadway travel – Travel insurance over 70 – Global late deals – Holiday insurance – Holiday villas – Travel insurance for pre existing medical ... Read More

In this article we set up four points that you should consider when purchasing a probiotic supplement. There is a great deal of variance between products availability on the market so it’s important to be careful. Otherwise you may end up with a product that doesn’t provide you with the right strains of bacteria in the right quantities to confirm a positive health benefit. So let’s get started on the four points drawn from information provided by www.whatisthebestprobiotic.com It makes sense to choose a multiple strain probiotic. This is because different strains of bacteria reside in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Look in particular for products that contain Lactobacillus and the Bifidobacterium species as these are the most widely researched and also occur naturally in the gut. Ideally you will find information about the particular strain of bacteria being provided on the label and not just the species.  So for example Lactobacillus Acidophilus LAT11.  This is important because specific health benefits can only be linked to particular strains (as identified by the LAT11 in the previous example). In other words not all strains of a particular bacterial species (such as Acidophilus) will improve intestinal health and digestive function, only certain ones will. You should make sure that you are getting a high culture count. Unlike other nutritional supplements this isn’t measured in milligrams but as Colony Forming Units or CFU’s. As we have trillions of bacteria in our body you’ll need at least 1 billion CFU’s per dose.  This should be measured at the time of expiry and not at the time of manufacture. Look for an effective delivery system – see this probiotic pearl review for more details. In order to get to the lower gastrointestinal tract the probiotic bacteria have to pass through the stomach. Here they can become easily damaged by stomach acids and pancreatic bile so look for products where the probiotic is protected by a special capsule or “pearl”. Health and wellness resources: Diets that work – Clean eating – Fat burning foods – Weight loss tips – How to lose belly fat – Reduce weight naturally – Quickest way to lose weight – Low calorie recipes – Lose weight in 2 weeks – Best exercise to lose weight – Tips to lose weight Business and insurance resources: Over 50 life insurance – Commercial insurance – Redundancy insurance – Building insurance – No exam life insurance – Life insurance over 50 – Private medical insurance Travel resources: A2B transfers – Cancellation holidays – Vacation packages – Broadway travel – Travel insurance over 70 – Global late deals – Holiday insurance – Holiday villas – Travel insurance for pre existing medical ... Read More

There is much hype about taking a memory supplement to boost one’s memory. Before taking a plunge and making that decision, it is best to make an informed choice and read up on it first.  Any drug, supplement, nutraceutical or medicinal food is classified as a nootropic.  When ingested regularly and used properly, they are said to optimize certain mental processes like memory, concentration and intelligence to enhance learning and recall.  They do this by improving the flow of highly oxygenated blood through the vessels ensuring that the brain has a steady and adequate blood supply.  This simple process ensures brain efficiency on cognitive processes. Ask any health expert and the first thing that comes to mind to recommend is the intake of a substance known as ginkgo biloba.  Extracts or concentrates of this are derived from a tree known as the maidenhair tree.  They are valued not only for their culinary and medicinal properties but also for their effect in enhancing the memory.  These properties have been isolated as effects of flavonoids, terpenoids and 40 other elements that are found to be contained by ginkgo biloba. Another such cognitive enhancer is gotu kola.  They help facilitate improved mental function much in the same way as ginkgo biloba.  They assist in ensuring smooth circulation of the blood to the brain.  They have also been proven to delay the deterioration of memory and optimize mental acuity. Drinking green tea help improve brain function because they contain antioxidants that break down free radicals.  There are also vitamins for memory enhancement that duplicate this effect.  These include vitamins C and E found in certain fruits and vegetables.  The B vitamins like folic acid, B6 and B12, along with beta carotene also contain these same natural antioxidants. For more in depth information about nootropics, consult a medical professional. Health and wellness resources: Diets that work – Clean eating – Fat burning foods – Weight loss tips – How to lose belly fat – Reduce weight naturally – Quickest way to lose weight – Low calorie recipes – Lose weight in 2 weeks – Best exercise to lose weight – Tips to lose weight Business and insurance resources: Over 50 life insurance – Commercial insurance – Redundancy insurance – Building insurance – No exam life insurance – Life insurance over 50 – Private medical insurance Travel resources: A2B transfers – Cancellation holidays – Vacation packages – Broadway travel – Travel insurance over 70 – Global late deals – Holiday insurance – Holiday villas – Travel insurance for pre existing medical ... Read More

Ancient Chinese people were aware of the benefits of green tea before the whole modern world even discovered them. As a matter of fact, green tea is used in ancient China for various medical purposes. It was especially used for depression and headache. Green tea is produced from the leaves of Camellia Sinensis through a special process. Green tea is very much different from black tea. It has less amount of caffeine and that is why it does not cause any nausea, frequent urination and insomnia. For some people, the best thing green tea’s weight loss capabilities. Extensive research shows that green tea has a lot of other benefits aside from weight loss. Green tea is used by the medical community as an alternative medication for people who have multiple sclerosis. It is also widely used on women to combat breast cancer and other forms and types of cancer. Green tea has also been proven as a very effective treatment for lung cancer. Just take the Japanese for example. They have the highest smoking rate in the world and yet they have the lowest rate of lung cancer. Why is that so? Because they drink a lot of green tea and green tea extract protects the against lung cancer. It inhibits the growth of cancer cells. As mentioned earlier, green tea is used for weight loss. How do does green tea do it? Green tea does it by raising the body’s metabolism and by increasing the body’s ability to oxidize fat.  If you have high levels of cholesterol in your body, you should drink green tea. It will reduce the cholesterol levels in your blood and it will improve the ratio of good cholesterol in your blood. Green tea is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and also cardiovascular diseases. It is also used as a treatment for impaired immune function. Not only does it do your body a lot of good, it can also give you better teeth. It kills the bacteria which causes dental plaque. Health and wellness resources: Diets that work – Clean eating – Fat burning foods – Weight loss tips – How to lose belly fat – Reduce weight naturally – Quickest way to lose weight – Low calorie recipes – Lose weight in 2 weeks – Best exercise to lose weight – Tips to lose weight Business and insurance resources: Over 50 life insurance – Commercial insurance – Redundancy insurance – Building insurance – No exam life insurance – Life insurance over 50 – Private medical insurance Travel resources: A2B transfers – Cancellation holidays – Vacation packages – Broadway travel – Travel insurance over 70 – Global late deals – Holiday insurance – Holiday villas – Travel insurance for pre existing medical ... Read More