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!

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!

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!

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!

There are many factors that may influence the vitamin and mineral content we receive from the foods we eat daily;

SOIL

• One of the most important factors is the soil in which it is grown. That soil is probably alot more important than most people realize. Various studies by the US Department of Agriculture has shown declining nutrient content in several foods over the last 30 years because the nutrients are no longer in the soil for the plants to absorb.
• Paul Bergner shows in his book The Healing Power of Minerals …..’ that between 1963 and 1997 several fuits and vegetables studied by the USDA were found to have their calcium content down nearly 30%, iron down 32%, magnesium down 21%, phosphorus down 11%, and potassium down 6.5%.
• Similarly, a 50 year British study from the UK Ministry of Agriculture shows that from 20 different fruits and vegetables considered there was a decline in vegetables of 81% in calcium content, 65% for magnesium, and 86% for potassium, just to name a few.
• Modern farming practices use massive amounts of fertilizers (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus) to prepare the soil for further planting but this doesn’t replace other needed nutrients. Also, phosphorus actually interacts with iron, sodium, calcium, boron, and aluminum and may keep those nutrients from being available to the plants, thus lessening their availability
• Plants take about a dozen nutrients from the soil but typical large scale farming practices only add three (nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus) ….. ever wonder why that is?

GLOBAL WARMING ?

• A recent study by Southwestern University has shown rising CO2 levels correlates with a decline in protein content of certain grain products, barley has declined 15.3%, rice 9.9%, and wheat 9.8%. Soybeans protein is down 1.4%. Current atmospheric CO2 levels are around 380 parts per million (ppm) compared to 280 ppm in the late 18th century.
• Keep in mind that over 40% of the world gets their dietary protein from grains and root crops

CONVENIENCE FOODS

• A diet of highly refined carbohydrates with sugar, white flour, and fatty foods puts a great strain and demand on minerals and B group vitamins needed for proper food processing and assimilation. Such a refined diet contributes to major nutrient deficiencies and is often related to such conditions as irritability, lethargy, and sleep disorders

OTHER FACTORS

• Transport, storage, processing, packaging, and preparation also result in nutrient loss and the addition of toxins to our foods
• Food processing significantly reduces vitamin E, B1, and C. Foods frozen once defrosted lose considerable vitamin E
• According to Dr. Richard Brouse’s book, Build A Better You, more than 80 million pounds of antibiotics are consumed each year in America with the majority being fed to food animals. Residues of antibiotics are being found in eggs, pork, chicken, turkey, farm fed fish, and beef. Some antibiotics kill friendly bacteria in the intestines which normally help process B group vitamins to be absorbed through the intestinal wall. B vitamin deficiency can result in a number of nerve related conditions.
• Overcooking and reheating can oxidize and destroy vitamins such as B group, C, and E.
• Poor digestion and lack of proper absorption robs the body of needed nutrients
• Laxative overuse can result in poor absorption by quickening the intestinal transit time. Your intestines are where most of the vitamin and mineral are absorped into the body, not in your stomach as many people believe.

Okay, so what to do if you believe that supplementation is necessary? How do you know what are the best products on the market? Well, as a Shaklee Distributor I can absolutely guarantee you that there are vitamins and minerals that are natural safe, toxin free, and proven effective and have a 50+ year track record to back it up. Try us out and see for yourself.

The bottom line is that no matter how hard you try the average person simply cannot get all the nutrients their body really needs everyday only through the foods that are eaten. For optimal health one simply must eat high quality nutritious foods, take daily supplements, cut back on convenience foods, buy organic whenever possible or grow your own, and be careful how you prepare and process foods at home. The old adage that ‘you are what you eat’ is becoming more and more clear as evidence mounts that more and more of todays ills can be traced to inadequate diets that lack in complete and proper nutrients. Please consider using high quality all natural supplements daily if you’re not already! Your life really does depend on it.

Health IS Your Greatest Wealth!