| Step 7—Reduce Mind-Numbing Stress
Get your stress level under control by slowing down, eating right, avoiding caffeine, and replenishing vitamins and minerals. (Stress is a known vitamin and mineral depleter.) Physical exercise is a powerful stress reducer, as are listening to music and practicing slow breathing and relaxation exercises. I also recommend the antistress herb ginseng—either 75 to 150 milligrams per day of Panax ginseng (standardized for 7-percent ginsenosides), or 75 to 150 milligrams per day of Siberian ginseng (standardized for 0.8-percent eleutherosides). |
| In fact, because the vitamins and minerals, herbs, targeted supplements, and nootropics address a variety of degenerative mechanisms, they work well together to cover all the bases. Taking more than one nootropic is also acceptable.
Table 4.5. |
| Furthermore, unlike vitamins and minerals, all herbal preparations are not taken in the same manner. Some are appropriate for daily use, while others require periodic breaks. A few herbs interact with prescription drugs, and some are not advisable if you have certain health problems. Before taking any herbal treatments, do your homework. Make sure you take herbs as recommended, carefully considering possible allergic reactions and interactions with drugs you may be taking. Never exceed the recommended doses. Pregnant or nursing women should approach all herbs with caution. |
| Nutritional supplementation is good for kids (I give my young children vitamins and minerals every day). It is important for young adults. But it is absolutely vital for anyone over fifty.
SUPPLEMENTATION AND OPTIMAL NUTRITION
A food plan to enhance brain function and overall health was presented in Step 1, but the best of food plans will benefit you only if you follow it. Unfortunately, very few Americans come even close to eating a decent diet. Only 9 percent of Americans eat the recommended five daily servings of plant foods. And according to a U.S. |
Carol Simontacchi
See book keywords and concepts |
 Protein requirements during this period are also high, as are the needs for vitamins and minerals. The requirements are high and are constant, starting at the moment of conception and continuing all the way through the period of formation. These needs are met only through an adequate diet.
Considering how important nutrition is for proper brain and central nervous system development, how are we doing? Do our diets supply what we need? How have our foods changed over the years and how have these changes influenced brain development? |
| The fluids of the cranial cavity are composed of proteins and sugars, as well as vitamins and minerals that activate the proteins and sugars. We will learn something of the balance of these nutrients later.
This labyrinthine structure of nerve cells is composed of proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and water, supplied by the maternal diet. |
| Children need vitamins and minerals to fuel their enzymes and energy production; essential amino acids to build tissue and synthesize more than three hundred thousand different functional proteins; and water to keep their bodies clean on the inside and provide a moist environment for the enzymes to work. Kids need everything adults need, but in higher amounts in proportion to their body size. We'll look at the typical diet of a child and see what it is comprised of and what its ingredients are.
WHAT GOES INTO A CHILD'S FOOD? |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
See book keywords and concepts |
 Both are risky attitudes when it comes to vitamins and minerals. If 200 international units of vitamin E helps prevent heart disease, the thinking goes, I'll take 2,000 units and get even more protection. It doesn't work that way. Vitamin E, like anything else in nature, has a mechanism of action. One action is its significant antioxidant capacity. However, another is to inhibit platelets (i.e., clotting), so that blood becomes thinner—good for preventing heart attacks because thin blood flows through arteries better. |
Carol Simontacchi
See book keywords and concepts |
| If the B-complex vitamins and minerals are busy handling the onslaught of sugar, they aren't available to the brain for its functions, leading to a functional deficiency that can show up as learning and behavior disorders.
Does sugar affect the brain? Definitely. Just ask Miss Redman or any schoolteacher. Ask Mom.
CHILDREN'S DIVISION/FOURTH PLACE:
"Packaged" food producers, for producing the worst possible "food" products and marketing them directly to children. |
Annemarie Colbin
See book keywords and concepts |
 However, in the final instance, single-element substances such as vitamins and minerals cannot truly heal, because they themselves are not whole. Furthermore, because they lack the life energy of plants, they cannot stimulate our system to extract what it needs from foods. More often than not, in fact, a nutritional deficiency simply means that the body cannot assimilate or synthesize certain nutrients. |
Zorba Paster, M.D. and Susan Meltsner
See book keywords and concepts |
 By the early 1900s we were able to synthesize vitamins and minerals and fortify foods with them to wipe out a number of other diseases caused by dietary deficiencies.
As the twentieth century progressed, so did our knowledge of how our bodies metabolized foods and which ones were best for which functions. This gave birth to the notion of four basic food groups and the advice to have something from each food group at every meal.
These guidelines proved to be a work in progress when the results from Dr. Ancel Keyess' Seven Countries Study started coming in. |
| Once considered so expendable—and inedible—that we started processing foods to get rid of it, fiber is now believed to be at least as important as most vitamins and minerals when it comes to maintaining good health. Found only in food from plants, dietary fiber comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble.
Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, is valuable for keeping diabetics'blood sugar levels stable and reducing the risk of heart disease by lowering serum cholesterol. The best sources are peas, beans of all kinds, oats, barley, apples, oranges, and carrots. |
| Better still, whole-grain breads, brown rice, and other fiber-rich foods are packed with more vitamins and minerals than even nutrient-fortified refined or processed plant products such as white bread and white rice can provide.
Clearly, getting enough fiber—the American Dietetic Association recommends 20 to 35 g a day—is a good deal all around. I highly recommend that you gradually increase your daily intake to that level. Most of us are not there yet. The gradual part is important, because adding too much fiber too quickly can cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea. |
| It fairly hums when it gets just the right mixture of macronu-trients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) and micronutrients (mainly vitamins and minerals). Under ideal conditions we would get all of these in the proper proportions from the foods we eat. Trouble is, few of us consume an ideal diet. Even when we stick pretty closely to the recommendations illustrated by the food pyramid, our individual food choices (eschewing citrus fruits, for example, or avoiding animal protein) can leave us deficient in certain areas. |
| Take a Multivitamin Impact
Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates keep our engines running. vitamins and minerals do the fine-tuning. They play a crucial role in growth and digestion, healing wounds and fighting infection, as well as helping us avoid deadly or disabling conditions from heart disease to dementia.
With the exception of vitamin D, which we cand make when our skin is exposed to sunlight, our bodies don't produce these micronutri-ents.We obtain them from the food we eat. However, most of us don't have enough of them in our daily diets. |
| And that's just the vitamins and minerals. There are several other substances that can be taken on a daily basis to promote wellness and/or prevent specific medical conditions. Aspirin (325 mg) wine (one glass for women, two for men), and estrogen for women after menopause (to replace what the body no longer makes), although not traditionally thought of as supplements, are administered in the same way and taken for the same purpose. They get an essential component of health into our systems every day. And their impact can be dramatic.
31. Add an Aspirin Every Day Impact ???? |
Lesley Tierra
See book keywords and concepts |
 They aid in the digestion of grains and give important vitamins and minerals. Raw vegetables are colder in energy and take strong digestive power to break them down, whereas slightly cooked ones are much easier to digest and so more of their nutrients are assimilated.
A large controversy exists around raw versus cooked foods. Raw food proponents believe that cooking vegetables kills their live vital energy and renders them useless to health in the body. Frankly, I have seen just as many sick raw vegetarians as I have meat eaters, and generally it is more difficult to bring them to health. |
| It leeches important vitamins and minerals from the body, such as calcium. It is also well known as a leading cause for a diseased body. Heavy meat eaters often crave sugar because its emptiness offsets the fullness of meat. Sugar also causes salt cravings, and the heavy eating of salty foods conversely causes sugar cravings. Whole sugars such as maple sugar, honey, barley and rice malts and raw sugar cane are much better for the body, though they should be used sparingly as they are empty.
Alcohol, caffeine and tobacco all cause heat and irritation in the body. |
| The leaves are very high in iron, vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamin A and potassium, and are useful for treating anemia. Eaten when young in the spring, they help clear out any excesses from winter, aiding in the prevention of spring colds. The root can be roasted and made into a strong tea which Europeans call Dandelion Coffee. It actually is an excellent coffee substitute, since its full-bodied bitter flavor is satisfying and counteracts the effects of previous caffeine by cleansing the injured liver. It combines well with chicory and burdock roots for a closer coffee flavor. |
Bradley J. Willcox, D. Craig Willcox, and Makoto Suzuki
See book keywords and concepts |
| Eat More Soy Products
Replacing animal protein with vegetable protein will not only lower the overall protein content of a meal but also keep the protein quality high and give you the bonus of extra flavonoids, antioxidants, and vitamins and minerals. (Check out the recipes for East-West Tofu Croquettes, page 355, and Baked Tofu Mediterranean Style, page 352.) Consider vegetarian meat substitutes such as veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, soy cheese, and vegetarian chili. All these products are made with soy protein and are excellent sources of healthy protein and flavonoids. |
| We advocate unrefined complex carbohydrates made from whole grains, since the fiber is the healthiest part of the carbohydrate, containing most of the vitamins and minerals and other disease-fighting antioxidants.
Carbohydrates form the preferred fuel for the body and are clean burning, like propane, in contrast to fats and proteins, which are much dirtier and much less efficient fuels, more like burning coal. Carbs provide direct fuel—for the brain, the central nervous system, and the muscles—in the form of glucose, also called blood sugar. |
Carol Simontacchi
See book keywords and concepts |
| Though it boasts of fortification with vitamins and minerals, his cereal contains over fifteen grams (about five teaspoons) of sugar per serving. His toast is covered with strawberry jam, which contains more sugar and other sweeteners than acrual fruit. Another five teaspoons of sugar. Even if his orange juice does not contain added sugars, it is still pure carbohydrate, which rapidly digests down into simple sugar. Within minutes, his entire "power breakfast" surges into the bloodstream in the form of glucose, unimpeded by slower-digesting protein or fat. |
Doug Dollemore, Mark Giuliucci and the Editors of Men's Health Magazine
See book keywords and concepts |
 Four to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day should easily provide you with most, if not all, of the RDAs for the antioxidants as well as other important vitamins and minerals," says Diane Grabowski, R.D., nutrition educator at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Santa Monica, California.
That's fine for basic health, but to get the same disease-fighting results seen in scientific studies, you need to surpass the RDAs. Even the most healthful diets fall short in equaling the same amount of antioxidants used in research.
That's where vitamin supplements can play a role. |
Annemarie Colbin
See book keywords and concepts |
| Supplementary vitamins and minerals that have a positive effect because there is a definite deficiency state in the body.
While the use of supplements as medicine to treat specific conditions is eminently rational, "the shotgun approach"13 of general nutritional supplementation is not^jf aking sixteen or twenty nutrients in pill form "just in case" there aren't enough in the wholesome foods also eaten indicates fear and mistrust of food, and of nature itself. As long as the fear of not having enough motivates our choices, we will always be deficient, and nothing will ever be enough. |
William Evans, Ph.D., and Irwin H. Rosenberg, M.D., with Jacqueline Thompson
See book keywords and concepts |
 Protein
Dried beans and peas (also poultry considered complex lean red meats carbohydrates) low-fat dairy products fish eggs
223
This is all well and good, but many of you may not be that familiar with which foods are high in carbohydrate, protein, and fat—or the essential vitamins and minerals you need in your diet. We devised the following Food Group lists and Daily Calorie Goal charts with several purposes in mind. First, they give you a game plan for deciding what you should eat every day in a way that apportions calories properly among the three major classes of nutrients. |
Larry Trivieri, Jr.
See book keywords and concepts |
 The chart later in this chapter indicates the adult RDA standards for vitamins and minerals, as well as adult maintenance and therapeutic ranges recommended by many nutritional experts.
^||^ See Diet, Orthomolecular Medicine. |
| Broad segments of the American population have been proven to be deficient in specific vitamins and minerals, that are critical to immune system function. For example, persons with AIDS are often deficient in folic acid, selenium, zinc, and iron.
—Laurence Badgley, M.D.
People who are HIV-positive or diagnosed with AIDS are most commonly deficient in the following essential nutrients: vitamin A,3" vitamin Be,'1 folate, vitamin b12,32 selenium,53 and zinc. |
| You can eat pounds and pounds of vitamins and minerals, but if you don't have the proper enzymes, they won't work."
Many women subject to osteoporosis benefit from taking extra protease and/or lipase enzymes, states Dr. Lee. Protease, the enzyme that digests protein, is required to carry calcium in the blood. |
| Frequently the milder forms of chemical sensitivity will improve with adequate intake of antioxidant vitamins and minerals (vitamins C and E, zinc, and selenium) and adjustments in diet, along with treatment for airborne allergens like pollen, mold, and dust mites. The more severe forms of allergies or sensitivity can be extremely complicated to treat. It takes persistence on the part of both the doctor and the patient to produce improvement.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis has long confounded physicians. |
| Instead of being concerned with getting all the "right" vitamins and minerals in perfect ratios, Dr. Berkson suggests focusing on eating a colorful diet. By making an effort to get at least three different-colored vegetables or fruits at both lunch and dinner, you will insure the best exposure to appropriate nutrients.
In the Kitchen
By its very nature, food has limitations—it needs to be stored and prepared with care. Overcooking vegetables can cut their vitamin Bi content in half and destroy their enzymes; exposing milk to light can do the same thing to its vitamin b2 content. |
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