Topic 1: To Supplement or Not to Supplement

I believe everyone in this country would benefit from supplements in their dietary lifestyle. Not because we are vitamin or mineral deficient country, but we are not getting enough for several reasons:

• Our food supply doesn’t contain the levels of nutrients that it used to
• Absorption levels decrease as we age
• Type of foods we are eating are less healthy

The large, traditional mainstream medical organizations are even in agreement on this, as seen from these statements:

JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) – “Insufficient vitamin intake is apparently the cause of multiple chronic illnesses. Suboptimal levels of vitamins (at levels higher than levels considered to be deficient) are a definite risk factor for diseases such as heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis. A large proportion of the general pop is apparently at risk for these reasons. Most people do not receive optimal levels of nutrients through diet, and would benefit from a daily nutritional supplement.”

AMA (American Medical Association) – “We recommend that all adults take one multivitamin daily. This practice is justified mainly by the known and suspected benefits of supplemental folate and vitamins B12, B6, and Vitamin D in preventing cancer, CVD, osteoporosis and because multivitamins at the proper dose are safe and inexpensive. The evidence base is increasing rapidly and physicians need to keep up with this area.”

FDA – “Supplements can be useful when they fulfill a specific identified nutrients need that can’t be met through the normal diet, or are not being met through their food intake.” (And as stated above, most people are not.)

But you can’t just take vitamins or nutrients by themselves, or even in simple multi-vitamin/mineral that contain a limited amount of nutrients. In fact, taking certain vitamins/minerals in isolation can actually cause harm by creating imbalances.

And while you can get high levels of certain nutrients from individual foods, you often can’t eat the volumes of food that it would take to get the adequate amount of each nutrient. It is very difficult to create a diet that contains enough of all the necessary nutrients without an excessive caloric intake.

We are now able to more carefully duplicate the right balance or the many nutrients that are found in foods. Ideal supplements consist of seven different complexes that interact together:

1. Vitamins and basic antioxidants
2. Minerals
3. Cell and nervous system complex (specific nutrients for brain and nerve cells)
4. Fruit and vegetable complex (extracts from many fruits and vegetables)
5. Digestive complex (to aid in digestion, absorption, assimilation of nutrients)
6. Super antioxidants complex (additional potent antioxidants)
7. Essential fatty acid complex (containing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids)

We developed a supplement (Basic Nutrient Support) that has these seven complexes in it to get all the ingredients you need in a convenient, twice-daily packet.

This is all part of the philosophy of integrative medicine, combining the natural with the traditional.

Topic 2: Allergies (minute 41)

This includes hay fever and seasonal allergies, food allergies, and is often tied into sinus problems and even asthma. In keeping with our philosophy of integrated medicine, there are natural things you can take to help you manage allergies:

• Quercitin – a flavonoid found in apples, onions, tea and purple grape juice that helps block histamine, which is the cause of the runny nose, watery eyes and other allergy symptoms
• Nettle leaf extract – can significantly reduce hay fever symptoms, and is
• Green tea – useful in stopping the effects of allergies
• Vitamin C – a natural antihistamine

Our purpose is to help you walk down that pathway to healing and integrate the best that nature has, and hopefully use as little in the way of prescriptions as necessary.

Topic 3: Linda Cherry on the Benefits of Cauliflower (minute 50)

• Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable that enhances the immune system to help fight cancer.
• High in vitamin C, folate, potassium, fiber and phytochemicals
• Healthy diet food – one cup of florets has only 25 calories

For the recipe: Cauliflower Wheat Germ Bake