Four Types of Fat in Diet

• Monounsaturated Fat
• Polyunsaturated Fat
• Saturated Fat
• Trans Fat

Monounsaturated Fat

• The ‘best’ one to have.  (The difference in mono and poly unsaturated fats has to do with their chemical formation. Basically, poly has more double bonds; don’t worry about it, it’s a chemistry thing).
• Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases good cholesterol (HDL)
• Found in fish,  nuts, seeds, avocados, vegetable oils

Polyunsaturated Fat

• Lowers LDL but also lowers HDL
• Helps control heart function and blood clotting
• Generally found in non meat sources, liquid vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, fish, eggs

Saturated Fat

• Not one of the better ones , should limit intake to <7% of calories
• Raises bad cholesterol (LDL), good cholesterol (HDL), and total cholesterol
• Main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol
• Found in food from animals, meats, butter fat, also in coconut oil and cocoa butter

Trans-Fat

• This the BAD one, avoid entirely if possible but no more than 2 grams a day
• Made from hydrogenation process.
• Partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils raise blood cholesterol
• Raises LDL, and lowers HDL
• Increases inflammation, increase risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• Found in fast foods, foods with shortening, crackers, candies, cookies, fried foods, processed foods with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
• Used by the food industry to increase shelf life of products and to enhance flavors

Food Labelling “Rules” You May Not Be Aware Of

• FDA allows foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans-fat to be labeled as zero grams of trans-fat.  In other words ‘zero’ does not necessarily mean you’re getting none.  This can add up by the end of the day.
• According the the American Heart Association there are NO labeling regulations for fast food outlets.  This means they can advertise ‘no cholesterol’ while they actually use trans-fats in their cooking oils.
• One donut may contain 3.2 grams trans-fat and one large fast food order of fries may have 6.8 grams of trans-fat!  That’s nearly 10 grams of trans-fat before the day’s half over!

Quick Tip!

Concerned about eating too much fish?   Get the seven essential fatty acids found in fish by daily supplementing with Omega-Guard ™ by Shaklee. It contains ultra-pure pharmaceutical grade fish oil with low odor and no after taste made by triple molecular distillation.

Good Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

Many people are very concerned about the outbreaks of  health care acquired infections that have recently been widely reported in hospitals and other settings.   These infections have been traced to the bacteria Clostridium difficile,  also known as C. difficile.  This is a highly infectious pathogen that is very resistant to many front line commonly utilized antibiotics.

In order to increase your ability to live longer and live healthier you  must do what you can to enhance your  immune system and become as resistant as possible to infections caused by these type bacteria.

In order to live longer and live healthier you need to do whatever you can to increase your resistance to this highly infectious pathogen and decrease your chance of infection.

And remember: Optimal Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

What is it anyway?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin (primarily Vitamin D2 or Vitamin D3) that is naturally present in only a few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement.  It is also synthesized by our skin during sun exposure but then must be converted by the liver and then the kidneys before utilization by the body.   Because of this mechanism it acts more like a hormone than a typical vitamin. Regardless of how we get it, it is essential for ongoing optimal health.

Why is it important?

Vitamin D is important in several ways:

• Essential for promoting calcium absorption in the intestines
• Necessary for bone growth.  Without sufficient vitamin D,   bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen
• Prevents rickets in children
• Helps prevent osteoporosis in adults
• Important in immune function
• Helps reduce inflammation

Sources of Vitamin D

• Very few foods in nature contain it
• Fish such as salmon (360 IU/3.5 oz), tuna(200 IU/3.5 oz),  mackerel (345 IU/3.5oz), and fish liver oils (1360 IU/tbls) are best sources
• Small amounts are found in beef liver (15 IU/3.5oz), cheese (12 IU/oz), and egg yolks (20 IU/oz)
• Fortified foods like milk (100 IU/cup), orange juice, breakfast cereals, yogurt, and margarine have varying amounts
• Sun exposure is certainly a source but that is dependent upon the season, geographic latitude, time of day, cloud cover, smog, skin melanin content, and sunscreen.
• Interestingly, you cannot get too much vitamin D from sun exposure, but there may be risk of skin cancer from too much sun exposure.
• Dietary supplements, especially ones containing Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is apparently 3x as effective as supplements with Vitamin D2 in raising serum levels of vitamin D

Groups at risk of Vitamin D Deficiency

• Breastfed Infants
• Older adults
• People with limited sun exposure
• People with dark skin
• People that are obese
• Those with fat absorption problems
• Those with poor diets and lacking supplements

Latest Research

A growing body of research indicates Vitamin D may play a key role

• In the prevention and treatment of type I and type II diabetes,
• Hypertension
• Glucose intolerance
• Multiple sclerosis
• Metabolic syndrome

For more information check out this link to the National Institute of Health or sign up for the Free Report on Vitamin D on the right side of this page.

Remember,

Optimal Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

Is this intended to scare you? Well, let’s hope so!  It would be great if you get concerned enough to actually take actions that can help protect you and your family from plastic ‘pollution’ as much as possible and perhaps allow you to live longer and healthier lives. Many of us have been complacent for far too long assuming that ‘business’ and government agencies have been looking out for our best health interests.  Unfortunately, that is just not always the case.

Who cares, what’s the big deal anyway? The big deal is that there are components in plastic containers that break down and leach into the liquid and food they contain. One of major concern is BPA or bis-Phenol A.  BPA is a building block of plastics and has long been known to be an endocrine disruptor. That means the human body ’sees’ this man-made substance as a hormone that can be taken up by our endocrine system and used in place of one of our many human hormones that are essential for so many of our proper body functions. 

Our endocrine system includes our gonads,  hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal, and pineal glands. These are all critical components of our endocrine system and their proper functioning is essential for good health. Imagine what could happen if a little piece of BPA is mistakenly taken up by your body to be used in place of a human produced hormone.  It certainly could ‘disrupt’ your endocrine system and cause untold havoc in your body.

Bisphenol A is found in hundreds of household products, including plastic bottles, as well as, baby bottles and food containers.  It is also present in the linings of canned goods such as sodas,  soup, baby formula and canned fruits and vegetables.

According to a recent The Washington Post article a growing body of scientific studies has linked BPA to breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, low sperm count, miscarriage and other reproductive problems in laboratory animals. More recent studies using human data have linked BPA to heart disease and diabetes. And it has been found to interfere with the effects of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

Furthermore, researchers have found that BPA leaches from containers into food and beverages, even at cold temperatures. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health published recently found that subjects who drank liquids from plastic bottles containing BPA had a 69 percent increase in the BPA in their urine.

Things you can do to minimize your exposure to BPA from your food and water:

1.  DON’T buy or use plastic water bottles!  Remember – The longer they’re stored and the higher their temperatures get the more BPA will leach into the liquid.
2. Buy a non-plastic bottle instead of using plastic and REUSE it (on average every American uses about 150 disposable water bottles a year)
3. Refill your non-plastic water bottle from home  (tap water is better regulated than bottled water anyway)
4. Use a filter like Shaklee’s BestWater® pitcher to filter your tap water
5. DO NOT store foods in plastic
6. DO NOT microwave anything in plastic. Microwaving will drive BPA from the plastic container or plastic wrap into your food.
7. DO buy foods in glass instead of plastic whenever possible.  Most Canned foods and sodas are lined with plastic containing BPA.
8. Purchase only BPA free toys and other consumer products

Plastics are not only detrimental to your health but to our environment also. Eight out of ten plastic water bottles end up in landfills and take centuries to breakdown.  So anything you can do to minimize using plastic bottles will not only help your health but will help the health of our planet also.  For more everyday solutions to health challenges you may not even be aware of check out more information at  Environmental Working Group.

Good Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

This is especially true in choosing the foods we eat which are greatly impacted by the farming methods used to produce them.   Is it worth buying organically grown foods instead of conventionally grown ones? Foods produced from conventional farming methods usually contain numerous chemical residues from the many pesticides and herbicides such farming utilizes.  Organically grown foods should be free of pesticides and herbicides in order to be ‘certified organic’.   It is certainly up to you to decide but a couple things to keep in mind regarding our food products and pesticide exposure in children.

• Shoppers Guide To Pesticides indicates that 96% of some fruits and 82% of some vegetables contain pesticide residue

• According to a report in Environmental Health Perspectives , blood samples of children aged 2 to 4, concentrations of pesticide residues are six times higher in children eating conventionally farmed fruits and vegetables compared with those eating organic foods.

Additional information regarding children and  health can be found at the US EPA website America’s Children and The Environment.

Still not convinced that organic may be the way to go for you and your family in order to minimize pesticide exposure from the foods you eat?  Then at the very least be sure to thoroughly clean your fruits and vegetables with a non-toxic, biodegradable cleaner prior to eating. This can help to remove at least some of the pesticide residue present on nearly all conventionally produced fruits and vegetables.   Be aware and be proactive in helping to protect yourself  and your family from the many environmental pollutants we face each day.  It can certainly make a difference in your health and longevity.

Your Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

There is lots of good information at the Center for Disease Control website that you might want to check out.  Here’s an excerpt from their site:

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?
There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

The most effective thing one can do is to stay as healthy as you possible can and to take measures to enhance your immune system.  Shaklee® has a natural approach to doing that with Nutriferon™:

Enhance Immune System Naturally

Remember to always practice the basics of good health; eat nutritious meals, take supplements to ensure you have adequate nutrients, drink plenty of water, get 7 – 8 hours of sleep daily, exercise regularly, and maintain a loving and positive attitude.

Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

Next, check out a short video from the Rachael Ray show about ‘Green Cleaners’ and see how you can help save the environment and save money too.

Here are some facts to consider:

• Women that work at home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women that work outside the home
• More than 9 out of every 10 suspected poison exposures occur at home with household products.
• Chlorine is the chemical most frequently involved in household poisonings in the U.S. and may cause reproductive, endocrine and immune disorders.
• Degreasers may contain petroleum distillates, which can damage lung tissues and dissolve fatty tissues around nerve cells
• Glass cleaners may contain ammonia. The fumes from ammonia can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory system.
• Oven cleaners are one of the most dangerous toxic cleaners and can cause severe damage to the eyes, skin, mouth, and throat.
• Toilet bowl cleaners are an extremely dangerous cleaning product, which can be harmful just be breathing the fumes and fatal if swallowed.

Are you ready to stop inadvertently poisoning yourself and your loved ones ? You CAN replace your toxic household cleaners with ones that are high performance, sustainably sourced natural ingredients, nontoxic, biodegradable, free of harsh chemicals, no volatile organic compounds, Earth friendly, hypoallergenic, highly concentrated, and never tested on animals. Do it today in recognition of Earth Day!

Celebrate Earth Day everyday by helping make a difference for your loved ones and the environment by using Earth friendly products throughout the year.   Make your home a safe haven free of dangerous chemicals from toxic household cleaners.  This is an important step in helping you and your family live longer and live healthier.

Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!

Ever even think about it?

Well, here are 10 very powerful factors that contribute to a healthy lifestyle and optimal health:

1. Having a well balanced and nutritious diet

2. Augmenting that diet with high quality vitamins and mineral supplements to ensure you’re getting all your essential nutrients

3. Exercising regularly …… that means doing something everyday to help keep your body in shape.  Whatever it is you enjoy doing as exercise, do it for at least 30 minutes each day without fail.

4. Maintaining a weight that’s appropriate for your height. Being overweight is the leading cause of declining health in America today.

5. Eliminating or reducing stress on a day to day basis. It’s not what happens to you as much as how you react to a particular circumstance that creates stress…..practice patience and acceptance.

6. Being grateful and content with your current situation regardless of what it is.  Find things to be grateful for daily.

7. Being loving and kind towards others……. Smile and laugh often, it can be contagious and brighten someones day

8. Living with purpose. Have a reason for getting up everyday and doing what you can to make this world a better place today and for tomorrow. Remember, everything you do counts and IS important.

9. Being the example for what you would like to see in the world.  If you’d like it to be a kind and peaceful place, then you be kind and peaceful.

10. Lastly, and perhaps the most important factor in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is  Loving Yourself.   No matter where you go, there you are ….. so enjoy being You!

Remember, Health IS Your Greatest Wealth, so why not do everything you can to make it as good as you possibly can?  Practice these 10 factors of a healthy lifestyle and plan to live longer and live healthier.

Many scientists are concerned that genetically engineered foods may affect you in many ways such as:

• Aggravate allergies
• Increase cancer risks
• Result in antibiotic resistant pathogens
• Decrease food quality
• Produce dangerous toxins
• Spread to non genetically altered plants and change them forever,
• Permanently alter the gene pool of many plants
• Increase toxic pesticide use since genetically engineered foods can withstand them
• Increase pollution
• Result in super pests and superweeds

Also,  do you realize that the Federal Government does not require safety testing or labeling for genetically engineered foods?  Does that concern you at all?  Don’t you think they should at least warn you with proper labeling and let you make the decision on whether or not you want to subject your family to genetically engineered foods?

Like to know what you can do about it?

• Do your research on the subject and get informed
• Tell your local grocer to stop buying genetically modified foods
• Boycott companies that continue to sell such products
• Organize people in your neighborhood and city to get the word out about the dangers of genetically engineered foods
• Buy only certified organic foods
• Write your congress-person and insist on legislation to require labeling that identifies genetically engineering foods and to require safety testing
• Better yet let’s outlaw genetically engineered food crops

Take action, get informed, and get involved!

Health IS Your Greatest Wealth …..spend wisely!