Supplements That Keep Me From Throat Punching People

I take 25 pills a day to supplement my diet.  Yep, you read that right, 25.  Carly Jo teases me that I take my supplements to keep me “balanced”.  I think there is a lot of truth to that observation.  I take them for a few different reasons.   They keep me moving so that I can run, jump and lift.  Others help me to have more energy.  Others help me to not kill people.  Finally, some of them help me to not catch on fire due to hot flashes and these crazy cray hormone surges.  I take some in the morning and the rest at lunch.  Maybe you could look over the list and see if any of them might help you out.  If some of them seem weird I would encourage you to google them and read about them.  Also, be mindful that natural supplements take time to work.  If you decide to start using them you must give them a chance to kick in and work.  Some take about 3 months to get to a level in your system that will help with whatever you’re needing.  Talk to your doctor, too.

Supplements for energy, to reduce inflammation and just make me feel like a Rock Star most days.

Advocare Thermoplus-fat burner and for energy 1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

Osteo Bi Flex-helps reduce inflammation so that I can run like the wind and lift like I am strong like helm. 1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

Omega 3’s (fish oil)-helps to reduce inflammation so that I can actually get out of bed and move, which is a good thing.  Also, heart health.  I take 3 at breakfast and 3 at lunch.

B12-energy 1 at breakfast.

Triple Strength Gluocosamine Sulfate-reduces inflammation so my old knees will actually move.  1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

Supplements that help me to actually be a nice person and not thunder punch people in the throat.  They also have helped me to not catch on fire due to these hot flashes from hell that I have been experiencing.  Getting old ain’t for sissies peeps.

Theanine Serene-mood stabilizer 1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

DHEA-aids my adrenal gland and hormone balance 15mg at breakfast.

Black Cohosh-helps reduce hot flashes 1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

Vitamin E-helps reduce hot flashes 1 at breakfast.

DIM-helps body with Estrogen absorption and helps me not catch on fire 1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

Emerita Progesterone cream-hormone balance 1 tsp rubbed into the skin a day.

Women’s 50 Plus-multi vitamin-1 at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

Again, if you need advocare just click on the link above and they will ship it to you.

Boom, you are now balanced.

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Cindy

2012 Goals

The post today was inspired by my friend Laura. I posted on facebook yesterday that I was already setting goals for 2012 and she commented "share". So here it goes Laura.

I feel as though I have a million goals, but I will try to keep it doable.

1. I want to get to my goal weight with chubby girl (weight watchers) once again. The past 2 or so years have been a roller coaster of hormones, but I think I just about have them whipped. I am 3 pounds from where I need to be. I will make this happen.


2. I want to be a substitute leader for chubby girl (weight watchers) meetings. I have the best leader named Annie, but I am certain she could use a day off. I would like to be her substitute when she wants to take off and go see her grand babies.


3. I want to share Advocare with as many folks as possible. I know I have been blabbing about Advocare alot lately, but I truly believe in their products. They have changed my life. I thought after using them for over 5 years I should start sharing the love. I challenge each and every one of you to at least hear me out about their products. At least try one product. You have to give it a chance. Let me know as I have plenty of samples.


4. I want to net at least $1000.00 a month sharing Advocare with others. This extra money would allow me to hire a pool boy, have someone come and clean my home just once a month, pay for Carly's volleyball dues, pay for Alex's band (OK maybe 2 grand a month), and hand Alex the keys to my new Mini Cooper when she is ready to drive so that I can go and get another one. Lofty I know, but I believe it can happen.


5. I want to grow my fitness business. I love training people. My hope is that peeps will give it a try and not be so afraid of fitness. We do make it fun over here at my house. You can go as hard core as you like or ease into fitness. We accept all levels. I would also like to offer phone support for those that live far away. It is amazing what a 20 minute phone call as week will do to keep you on track.


6. Finally, I want to be the best mom and wife that I can possibly be. I am the luckiest girl to have such a sweet hubby and wonderful girls. My time with my girls is ticking away quickly. They will be out of here and on their own before I know it. I want to enjoy every second with them.

Well Laura that is it in a nutshell. Seems pretty simple when you write it all down. I hope each of you will sit down and set some goals for 2012.

One more thing...why wait until 2012. I have already started.

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Vitamin C is Cool

OK so I have been a big slacker with my vitamin blogging, but I am going to redeem myself.

The next one on the list is Vitamin C. Vitamin C is like totally cool man as it is one of the most important vitamins of the whole vitamin world. Why you ask is Vitamin C so important? Well let me tell you. It is like a turbo antioxidant which will keep the air off your apple and the free radicals stabilized in your body. If you don't know what I am talking about then go back through this blog and read up my friend.

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin so you must consume it daily. The RDA is around 60 mg which is just enough to keep us from getting the dreaded scurvy. Many experts believe that 500 mg a day is a more optimum dosage split 250 mg in the morning and 250 mg in the afternoon. The body can only absorb so much at a time and hey you don't want to just tinkle it all out so split up the dosage people. Some wonderful food sources of Vitamin C are oranges, cantaloupe, mangoes, grapefruit, raspberries, tangerines, strawberries, lemons, kohlrabi (what?) and cauliflower.

Vitamin C has so many benefits that I thought I would split them up over several blog posts.

I will start with its anti-oxidant power. You know how you can rub an orange across the top of a sliced apple and the apple stays nice and doesn't get brown from the air hitting it. The same thing happens within the body. Vitamin C protects your innards the same way. My understanding is that it defends your body from oxidative stress and keeps the air off your internal apple. This oxidative stress or free radicals are caused by irritants such as cigarette smoke, pesticides (on our food), air pollution (in our air), ultraviolet light (no sun bathing?) and basic daily stress! Free radicals are just a part of our daily life my friends. Growing evidence states that free radical damage is an underlying cause of aging. Vitamin C will go in and kick some free radical butt.

There will be more to come on Vitamin C so keep checking back.

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Keep your air off my apple!

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about anti-oxidants and free radicals and thought I might do a quick lesson on just what all of this means. As you read this post you will better understand the title of this blog.

You know when you cut an apple and you leave it sitting on the counter for a few minutes it immediately starts to turn brown. The air/oxygen attack the apple and start to break it down. If you left that apple on the counter for several days it would start to rot. The air or oxygen acts as free radicals to the apple. The apple has no way to preserve its freshness once it is cut and open to the oxygen. The neat thing is that if you take that same apple slice and rub the juice of an orange across the exposed surface it will stay nice and fresh for some time. The citrus juice of the orange acts as an anti-oxidant to the apple. It serves as a protector or an anti-oxidant of the free radicals of the air.

Stay with me here...your body has the same thing going on inside of it. If you eat overly processed food, smoke, drink heavily or breath unclean air you are taking in tons of potential free radicals. They are having a party in your body and unfortunately you are not invited.

The good thing here is that you can control the number of free radicals roaming around in your body by taking in good healthy food that contains plenty of anti-oxidants. That same orange that kept your apple from turning brown can also help your body from turning brown on the inside as well.

There are many anti-oxidants and it just so happens that one of the most well known is Vitamin C. I will be blogging about it next.

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No more B's I promise...Pantothenic Acid

B5 also known as pantothenic acid is the last of the b vitas. It gets its name from the greek word "panto" which means "everywhere". This is because pantothenic acid is found in a wide variety of foods.

These food groups include such things as YES, YES, YES, beef liver! I am so thrilled that it is found in beef liver. I never ever in a million years would have guessed that it would be in beef liver! Thank you baby Jesus! It is also in avocado, chicken, mushrooms, trout, peanuts, pink salmon, lima beans, milk, tomato sauce, almonds and oranges.

The daily amount of pantothenic acid is 5mg per day. It is available in oral supplements as calcium pantothenate.

Pantothenic acid supports adrenal function, can alleviate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, to promote weight loss, to boost immunity and to speed up wound healing. To all of you sportos out there it has also been reported to enhance athletic performance by improving endurance and aerobic capacity. And we thought acid just made us see a purple haze! No sir!

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One more b in Biotin

Back to the vitamins today and it is biotin. Biotin is essential for protein metabolism, the release of energy from food, to manufacture genetic material and for a healthy immune system and healthy hair.

The recommended dose of Biotin is 30 mcg per day and 35 mcg per day if breastfeeding.

Biotin is absorbed from food and from intestinal bacteria. An interesting thing about Biotin is that it is absorbed in the small intestines. Any excess is excreted in the urine. The amount of Biotin excreted in your urine and poop is 6 times greater than what is taken in by food. Why you ask? Well let me tell you! Large quantities of biotin are produced by our gut bacteria. Gut bacteria isn't that just a neat sounding combo of words. I can just hear the conversation now.

"Hey Billy Bob what you been up to lately?" "Well Beau Don I just been producin' Biotin with my gut bacteria!" Yee haw!!!

Anyway, you guessed it Biotin can be found in beef liver, peanuts, eggs, chocolate, molasses, corn, milk and chicken.

I am cutting it short tonight as my broken finger is screaming from typing.

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B12

The next B vitamin on the list is B12. Guess what? It helps release the energy from our food and the metabolism of amino acids and fatty acids. It promotes healthy growth and development of our bodies and helps to give us healthy nerves, blood cells, skin and hair. These B vitamins B good to us!

This B vitamin is water soluble. It also requires a compound known as intrinsic factor which is secreted from the cells in the lining of the stomach to enable it to achieve proper absorption.

B12 is found guess where? It is found in liver and organ meats. No way! Yes way! Liver once again! It is also is shellfish, milk, most dairy products and eggs.

The recommended dietary allowance for B12 is about 2.4 mcg per day. One fillet of haddock and you almost have your B12 for the day.

B12 is used therapeutically with those with HIV/AIDS as it helps increase their immune system effectiveness. It also is used to help individuals achieve better sleep. B12 injections are also used by some folks as a general tonic of sorts. After the B12 injection these individuals report feelings of increased energy and overall feelings of improved health. Bring on the B12!

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Folate or Folic Acid or Foliage

Any compound that has vitamin like activity similar to folic acid may be referred to as folate as well. Folic acid is from the latin word foliage as folic acid was originally found in green leafy veggies.

Folic acid is essential for DNA and RNA synthesis. DNA and RNA are the genetic material in cells of the body. Folic acid or folate is vital in the growth and reproduction of all body cells, maintenance of the genetic code and regulating the division of cells in the body. It also contributes in the transferring of inherited characteristics from one cell to another.

Most mother's are familiar with folic acid and folate as it is drilled in to our heads from day one of pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy to take those big giant horse pill pre-natal vitamins. There is nothing better than trying to swallow one of those beasts when all you really want to do is hurl from morning sickness! UGH!! Just the same though folic acid helps support a healthy pregnancy. It also helps prevent birth defects such as spina bifida (failure of the spinal column to close) and anencephaly (failure of the brain to develop). I say bring on the horse pills!

Folate and/or folic acid can be found in chicken, those damned ol' black eyed peas (inside joke), beef liver, spinach, navy beans, lima beans, peas, cos lettuce , OJ and papaya.

The recommended daily allowances are 400 mcg and 600 mcg for pregos! Folic acid is the type of folate usually found in supplement form and fortified foods. The most active form of folate is folinic acid and is also found is some supplements.

One other thing of interest is folic acid is best absorbed in the area of the intestine just beyond the stomach. If your multi-vitamin doesn't dissolve in about an hour after you take it the folic acid absorbed may be inadequate as it might just pass on through!

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Skipping to B6

The next vitamin on our journey of learning is B6. What happened to B4 and B5 you ask? I am not sure. I guess these scientist people just forgot those two. Anyway, on with B6. Vitamin B6 is also a water soluble vitamin so you must take it daily as any extra is excreted in your tinkle once again!

B6 is also needed to help release energy from food we consume. Peeps if you only get one thing out of the B vitamin set it is this: Take these vitamins as they help you burn what you eat. This is no scientific statement just an observation from Cindy Lou Who. Let me repeat myself here. If these B vitamins are doing one thing for you it is releasing the energy from your food. We need that to happen so get your B's in daily! You will thank me for it later.

Also, B6 helps us maintain a healthy cardiovascular, nervous and immune system. It helps with protein metabolism and hormone production as well. There are many, many other things that B6 will do for you as well.

The sources of B6 are meat, fish, eggs, milk and whole grains. Things like wheatgerm, bananas, ham, avocado, raisins, mackerel and brown rice. B6 is a little like Vitamin A as it is part of a family of chemically related compounds. The pyridoxamine and pyridoxal compounds of B6 are found in animal food sources. The pyridoxine compounds are found in plant sources.

The daily recommended intake of B6 is 1.3 to 1.7 mg daily. If you are looking for a supplement for B6 you may find it in Advocare's Coreplex.

B3 is next

The third vitamin of the B's is B3 or Niacin. Niacin is used therapeutically to treat diabetes, mental problems, high cholesterol, digestive problems, headaches, skin ailments and fatigue. I got tired just typing all of that information. I guess I need some niacin!

It also is essential for the release of energy from food. There seems to be a pattern with these B's and their releasing of energy. I would say make sure and get your B's in daily as B3 is again water soluble. Niacin is a white powder and is more resistant to destruction in the body than other B complex vitamins. The body is also able to convert the amino acid tryptophan into niacin. Cool! It also plays a role in keeping our skin, blood cells and digestive systems healthy as well as our brain and nervous system. It assists in hormone production and the repair of genetic material. Again this B vitamin helps with normal growth and development of our bodies. This niacin is good stuff man!

Niacin can be found in food sources such as tuna, salmon, Special K cereal, lamb liver (liver again), peanuts, pork sausage, corn and spaghetti.

The recommended daily allowances for Niacin are around 14 to 16 mg. And guess what? You can find Niacin in Advocare's Coreplex. I would say that Coreplex is some good stuff too man!

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What in the Sam Hill is Riboflavin?

In honor of my friend Runner Susan and her new favorite word "Sam Hill" we will learn about Riboflavin today. Riboflavin or Vitamin B2 was the second B vitamin to be discovered. It is water soluble as well and when the excess is excreted from your body your tinkle will be really yellow! For some reason that sentence just makes me laugh. It must be all of this collecting I have been doing for the "Science Project".


Stay with me here...Riboflavin is part of 2 coenzymes called flavin adenine dinucleotide or FAD and flavin mononucleotide or FMN. These are essential for tissue respiration and to generate energy from carbohydrates, amino acids and fats. Again we need this to keep our systems running. It is also important for reproduction, growth, repair and development of our body tissues. These tissues include our skin, hair, nails, connective tissue and immune systems.


Riboflavin has also been used to effectively treat migraine headaches. A 1998 study done in Belgium on 55 people showed that 59% of those given the Riboflavin instead of the placebo reported less headache pain. Interesting!


Riboflavin can be found in organ meats such as liver, kidney and heart. That just seems wrong peeps! It can also be found in almonds, spinach, pink salmon, boiled eggs, oats and soy milk. The best source for a girl like me is milk chocolate. Now that beats kidney and heart anyday!


The recommended dietary intakes is around 1.2 mg. Again you may find this in Advocare's Coreplex and Advocare's Spark.


Now go and eat that milk chocolate and be glad you did it!


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B comes after A

The next vitamin on the list is Vitamin B. I have learned there are many B vitamins. Vitamin B is a complex of 8 water soluble vitamins. Water soluble vitamins must be replaced daily as any extra is excreted in your urine. Here we go potty talking again! Anyway, we will start with B1 otherwise known as Thiamine.

Thiamine and the other B vitamins are necessary to help metabolize carbohydrates, fats and protein so that the body may grow. They maintain the health of our hair, skin, nerves, blood cells, immune system, hormone-producing glands and our digestive system.


Thiamine is found in oatmeal, whole grains, pork, fish, poultry, nuts, dried peas and beans and avocado. Also in veggies such as spinach and cauliflower. Magnesium is necessary to convert Thiamine to its active form. A shot of Vitamin C helps improve its absorption as well.


Coreplex from Advocare provides 4.5 mg in caplet form if you are looking for a supplement. The recommended daily allowance of Thiamine is around 1.1 to 1.2 mg a day.


See this whole time you thought bees just made honey! Duh!

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Tami's Special Request

I have received my first special request from my dear friend Tami. She would like to know more about Fenugreek and Thistle and/or Milk Thistle.

I will start with Fenugreek. It is a culinary herb which has been used as a medicine. It has been known to lower blood pressure and act as a anti-inflammatory and an anti-spasmodic. Since Tami is a new mother it might come in handy to her since it is known to increase the flow of mother's milk.

It is used to treat sore throats, bronchitis and to improve digestion. For all you hormonal women out there it is also recommended for menopausal women. It is NOT recommended for use by pregnant women.

Tami's next request was Thistle and/or Milk Thistle. It is native to Europe and some parts of the USA and has liver-protecting properties. It is also called its botanical name Silybum marianum. It is used to treat liver disease caused from both cirrhosis and hepatitis. It is used to treat gallstones and psoriasis as well.


There you go Tami...you learn something new everyday! Thanks for the request!

Vitamin A is A OK

Here we go on our journey starting from the top with Vitamin A. It was first identified in 1913 by two American scientists and they called this substance "fat soluble A." So we now know that Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin. This means that fat from our food is necessary for this vitamin to be absorbed in the body.

So just what have you done for me lately Mr. Vitamin A? We need Vitamin A for many reasons. It is essential for healthy eyes and vision, the growth and repair of our cells and protection against infection. These are just a few of things it will do.

What types of Vitamin A are there? There are two types of Vitamin A. The first being Pre-formed Vitamin A which is often in the form of retinol or retinal. The second form of Vitamin A is Provitamin A which is the name given to some 50 compounds in a group of plant pigments known as carotenes or carotenoids. You might have heard of beta carotene most often.

What types of food have this Vitamin A in them? Well now we are getting to the good stuff! Food! Preformed Vitamin A is found in foods of animal origin such as liver (yum!), eggs and butter. Provitamin A is found in yellow, orange and dark green fruits and veggies such as sweet tators, carrots and broccoli.

Just how much Vitamin A do I need to be super turbo healthy? The recommended daily intake for Preformed Vitamin A is around 3ooo IU. Although Provitamin A doesn't have a recommended daily allowance some experts agree that 10 to 30 mg is a great start.

Where might I locate this wonderful Vitamin A in supplement form? I currently use Advocare's CorePlex caplets and it provides 5000 IU of Vitamin A as beta-carotene. You may check out CorePlex here.

Well there you go! One down and like 10 million vitamins and minerals to go. I hope you learned something.

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A to Zinc to TWU

I might have mentioned to some of you peeps that I am planning on going back to school in the fall. I have applied to TWU and I am hopeful that they will let me in just because I am old. I am hoping they will accept my application out of pure sympathy or that they just need my cold hard cash bad enough and will take me. Either way the application has been submitted and I am waiting to hear from them.

My plan is to study nutrition and become a registered dietitian. I love this stuff so I got to thinking. My brain is realllllly old and my dendrites just don't hold on to information like they used to so I need to write about what I will be learning. Something about writing makes it stick in my brain. So peeps I am going to be writing about the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. I hope to cover them all. A little ambitious I know, but hey as I always say...set your goals lofty and you just might reach them.

I will start at the beginning with Vitamin A and move on down the line to Zinc. If you have an unusual vitamin, mineral or herb that you are interested in knowing more about just send me the name and I am on it.

I will give you the goods on why we need these things, how much of it we need, what type of foods will provide it, and what type of supplement will provide it and some ideas on Advocare products you might want to try. Check back daily as my goal is to add a new vitamin or mineral every day in May!

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