Since the 1990s, medical science has observed that women with osteoporosis have a reduced risk of breast cancer. This is because of the effect of estrogens on bone and breast tissue. Breast cancer is a horrible disease, yet more women die of osteoporosis than breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer combined!

Inflammatory estrogens from our environment as well as those produced by our body stimulate bones to become denser. But many women can't take estrogens because they trigger inflammation in the tissues of the breast and reproductive system that may lead to cancer. Fortunately, Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of osteoporosis as well as the risk of breast and reproductive cancer.

Functions of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone. It acts as a vitamin when it binds with calcium for proper absorption. (Humans cannot use calcium without adequate amounts of Vitamin D.) It acts as a hormone when it participates in creating and regulating estrogen and other hormones.  

Your body creates Vitamin D in response to sunlight on your skin. It participates with Essential Fatty Acids (such as Omega-3) and cholesterol in regulating estrogen for denser bones and lower cancer risk. Vitamin D also supports healthy weight loss, improves the function of your immune system and improves blood sugar regulation. Vitamin D is a messenger hormone that directs cells and organs – as well as muscle and bone – in daily activity.

Signs of deficiency

With your thumb, press on your sternum (breastbone). Is it tender or painful? Now, press on the tibia (shin bone) of both your legs. Is it sore or tender? If the answer is "yes" to both of these tests then you have a 93% chance of being Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D may be the most prevalent vitamin deficiency in our culture.

The test above is one way of checking for low levels of Vitamin D. If you are deficient in Vitamin D, the bone matrix in these areas will revert to gelatin near the surface of the bone. Tenderness and bone pain will result.

Eventually, Vitamin D deficiency may lead to estrogen imbalance. Deficiency in Vitamin D has been strongly linked to cancer (especially breast cancer and prostate cancer) and osteoporosis.

What to do?

If your bones are tender or if you have a low blood level of Vitamin D, the solution may be as simple as increasing your sun exposure (see the Weekly Wellness Report, "Summer Sun: The Benefits and the Risks"

• Spend 20 minutes per day in the sun with 40% of your skin surface exposed. Morning and evening sunshine is best. Never allow yourself to sunburn.

• When supplementing with Vitamin D, always choose D-3. It is also good to remember that this is a "fat-soluble" vitamin. That means your body can store the nutrient for many days.

• It is good to get a blood test for appropriate blood levels of Vitamin D twice a year and a DEXA scan of your bones at least every two years to help you structure a supplement program.

Eventually, health comes down to healthy habits practiced every day. Every day we should nourish our body and nurture our spirit for sustained health.

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Take Control of Your Health

• Spend time in the sun daily
• 20 minutes in the morning or evening sun (10 minutes both in the morning and evening also works)
• Expose 40% of your skin surface to sunshine
• Never allow yourself to sunburn!
• Eat foods high in Vitamin D (cold-water fish such as wild salmon, mackerel and sardines are good food sources of Vitamin D)
• Take Vitamin D supplements
• Make sure to select D-3 as found in:
• Bone Growth Factor™
• VitaCal-Mag D™
• Take Vitamin D supplements with food – especially foods high in Vitamin D

Learn More!

• Eat a Diet Rich in Vitamin D
• Test Your Risk for Osteoporosis and Breast Cancer
1. Click here to access online osteoporosis and breast cancer risk assessment tools.
2. Once on the page, scroll down to "Health Risk Assessors" and click on osteoporosis or breast cancer.
3. Answer a series of questions and the calculator will display your risk. Remember, this is just a tool; consult your healthcare provider to determine a diagnosis. 

What an amazing organ our heart is! It beats for an entire lifetime without stopping for a break. With every heartbeat, about a third of a cup of oxygen-rich blood is pumped out to your body. This means that between 1,500 and 2,000 gallons of blood are pumped through your heart every day. The average heartbeat is 72 times per minute. In the course of one day it beats over 100,000 times. In one year the heart beats almost 38 million times, and by the time you are 70 years old, on average, it beats 2.5 billion times! That makes me tired just thinking about it.

The heart has a lot of work to do, so how can we help it stay healthy throughout life?

Heart Health Top 10

1. Eat a high-fiber diet

 

Dietary fiber is often classified into two categories: soluble and insoluble.

• Soluble fiber draws water into the bowel and can help slow digestion. Soluble fiber can help reduce bad cholesterol, triglycerides and elevated glucose (blood sugar). Examples include:
• Oatmeal
• Oat bran
• Beans
• Peas
• Rice bran
• Barley
• Citrus
• Strawberries
• Apple pulp

 

• Insoluble fiber speeds digestion and can add bulk to the stool. Examples include:
• Whole wheat breads
• Wheat cereal
• Wheat bran
• Rye

2. Eat healthy fats

 

Most of us have heard about how fats are bad for us – but this isn't always the case. Some fats are very good for our ongoing well-being. Two of these fats are Omega-3 and Omega-6. Not only are they good for us, they're actually indispensible, which is why they are also called Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).

There are two reasons why these omega fatty acids are considered essential:

• By nourishing our heart, brain, skin, glands and joints and by helping the process that produces our hormones, these two EFAs play crucial roles in helping us sustain vibrant good health – from early adulthood development on up through healthy aging in the senior years.
• Because our bodies cannot make them internally, we have to get omega fatty acids from outside sources, such as diet and supplements.

3. Reduce salt

 

If you have high blood pressure or are at risk of developing it, cutting back on salt could reduce your risk of a heart attack by 25% or more. Your goal should be less than 2,300 mg of sodium a day, which is about a teaspoon of salt.

4. Lose the gut

 

Even if you are not significantly overweight, carrying extra fat around your middle is bad for your heart. It raises blood pressure, adversely affects blood lipids, causes insulin resistance and produces inflammation. No amount of crunches can reduce belly fat. The only way to get rid of it is to lose weight overall.

5. Increase activity

 

Updated recommendations from the American Heart Association call for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity most days of the week. Strength training, in addition to improving overall fitness, improves fat-burning capacity by increasing muscle mass. If you're over 45, already have some kind of cardiovascular problem, or haven't exercised regularly for years, see a doctor before lacing up your workout shoes.

6. Calm down

 

Stress triggers the release of hormones that can threaten your heart. Curbing negative emotions is almost as good for your heart as proper diet and exercise. For stress, try deep breathing and regular aerobic exercise.

7. Drink a little, if at all

 

Drinking a little bit of alcohol can raise HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce inflammation and blood clots. But too much can cause heart problems.

8. Don't smoke

 

As for smoking, don't. Cigarette smokers have twice the heart attack risk of nonsmokers. If you can't quit on your own, get help. It is essential for heart health that you don't smoke!

9.  Know your numbers

 

Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, LDL cholesterol, homocysteine, glucose (blood sugar) and triglycerides are associated with poor heart health. Know your numbers and work to keep them under control. 

10. Stay in touch with family and friends

 

Love and gratitude are the emotions most closely connected with the heart, and science has shown that people who experience and express love have healthier hearts. Conversely, people that never form heartfelt attachments with others – those who never make room for love – have the shortest life spans and highest death rates from all causes.

So, take care of your heart through nutrients and nourishment. Learn to love and accept love from others and be grateful. Be grateful for all the wonders in your life – large and small – and be grateful for your heart:  a small organ with a huge impact on your health and happiness.

 

Take Control of Your Health

• Learn and live the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness
• Take healthy foundation supplements
• Achieve an optimum body weight
• Consider Adaptogen 10 Plus® for stress management
• Consider Nopalea™ to help your body reduce inflammation
• Try HCY Guard® to help reduce elevated homocysteine
• Get your essential fatty acids from OmegaPrime®

Learn More!

• High Fiber Diet
• Low-Salt Diet
• Tips to Help You Stop Smoking

Wellness Talks With Brazos Minshew

Listen to TriVita's Chief Science Officer, Brazos Minshew, speak on a range of vital health topics. These talks will help you learn more about the science behind different TriVita products, as well as how they can help you and others with different health problems.

Date

Topic

9/14/2010

Medication Interaction with Your Nutrients

Join the live call, it's easy, just dial in!
Date: Tuesdays
Start Time: 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m. ET
Length of Call: Approximately 15 minutes
Call Number: 1-866-739-2952
Call Passcode: 219192#

 

Have you heard of hypoglycemia? Hopefully, you have only read about it. However, if you have the unfortunate experience of a hypoglycemic event you will know firsthand the dizzying array of bizarre symptoms associated with this poorly-understood condition.

 

The term "hypoglycemia" means "low blood sugar." It is characterized by a period of time when your blood sugar drops too far, too fast and symptoms occur. That doesn't sound too scary, right? However, if the blood sugar drops too low you will die. Since this is a potentially life-threatening condition, we need to treat it with the respect it deserves!

 

Symptoms of hypoglycemia
Low blood sugar has been called "the great mimicker." That's because it can mimic almost any other condition within the human illness experience. For example, it can look like a heart attack, panic attack, migraine or MS. It can look like depression, Lupus, tinnitus/Meniere's disease or indigestion. Hypoglycemia can look like almost anything. It can affect almost any body system, but it seems to show up in symptoms related to the liver and brain.

 

Low blood sugar triggers the "fight-or-flight" emergency response. During fight-or-flight, your body shuts down non-emergency systems and pours stress hormones into your bloodstream. Any sugar remaining in your liver is mobilized as fuel (glucose) and this quickly brings your sugar levels back to normal. (If your liver is exhausted and cannot mobilize sugar, your body will rip it from your muscles and kill the muscle cells.) Once the sugar levels return to normal, the fight-or-flight stress response is turned off and normalcy eventually returns.

 

Causes of hypoglycemia
There are four causes to all illness: trauma (injury), toxins, deficiency and stress. Prolonged stress was proven to cause diabetes as long ago as 1865 by Claude Bernard, M.D. ("Today's hypoglycemic are tomorrow's diabetics"). Short-term changes in blood sugar can be brought on by simply holding your breath (oxygen deficiency) and longer-term deprivation of oxygen from pollution (toxins) can keep you on a hypoglycemic roller coaster!

 

Other deficiencies can cause hypoglycemia as well. For example, dehydration, a sleep deficit and nutrient deficiency can create an imbalance in blood sugar metabolism. Since people low in Vitamin D quickly become hypoglycemic, and since Vitamin D is associated with healthy sun exposure, a sunshine deficiency can cause hypoglycemia.

 

Other nutrient deficiencies can also foster hypoglycemia. Deficiencies of B vitamins such as pantothenic acid and minerals such as chromium and magnesium are implicated in low blood sugar. An essential fatty acid imbalance such as Omega-3 deficiency can cause recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia.

 

Toxins such as mercury and lead can trigger hypoglycemia. Allergies can trigger hypoglycemia. In fact, many times allergy will be confused with hypoglycemia and vice versa. For example, many people wake in the middle of the night with an "empty" feeling in the pit of their stomach. This is often a flash of histamines associated with allergy, not a direct symptom of hypoglycemia. (Low blood sugar can mimic these same symptoms during the daytime.) Super Sublingual B-12 can often turn off these distressing symptoms.

 

Even injuries can cause hypoglycemia as your body activates inflammation in the repair process. Low-intensity trauma caused by a sedentary lifestyle causes chronic blood sugar swings. Exercise – especially in morning or evening sunlight – can activate Vitamin D and reduce the blood sugar swings associated with hypoglycemia.

 

Can you fix it?
Hypoglycemia is not a disease in itself; it is more of a reaction to the four causes of all imbalances (trauma, toxins, deficiency and stress). Hypoglycemia is a major trigger for distressing symptoms. As mentioned, it can be fatal in rare instances if the blood sugar dips too low, such as in insulin shock. Find the cause and hypoglycemia can often be resolved.

 

Many supplements can help, especially those that focus on filling nutrient deficiencies, draining away toxins, allaying emotional distress and repairing tissue traumatized by injury. By using these recommendations as a blueprint, you may be able to get off the roller coaster and find balance from imbalanced blood sugar and hypoglycemia.

 

 

 

Learn More!

• More on Hypoglycemia
• Hypoglycemia and Type 1 Diabetes
• Exercise and Hypoglycemia

Wellness Talks With Brazos Minshew

Listen to TriVita's Chief Science Officer, Brazos Minshew, speak on a range of vital health topics. These talks will help you learn more about the science behind different TriVita products, as well as how they can help you and others with different health problems.

Date

Topic

8/17/2010

GlucoManage

Join the live call, it's easy, just dial in!
Date: Tuesdays
Start Time: 7:00 a.m. PT / 10:00 a.m. ET
Length of Call: Approximately 15 minutes
Call Number: 1-866-739-2952
Call Passcode: 219192#

 

 

Heart disease is still the #1 killer in North America. "Atherosclerosis" is the medical term we use to describe heart disease. Literally, sclerosis means "hardening" and athero describes the nature of the debris that clogs and hardens arteries (typically the arteries of the heart). Our risk for getting this disease increases slowly over time as we age. Certain risk factors can tell us if we are in danger of developing this disease 10 years from now. These risk factors include:

• Age
• Blood pressure
• HDL ("good") cholesterol
• Total cholesterol

Test your risk

Follow these steps to calculate your risk.

• Have the following numbers available: your blood pressure, total cholesterol and HDL.
• Click here to access an online risk calculator.
• Once on the page, scroll down and click on "Health Risk Assessors – Coronary Heart Disease."
• Read the instructions and enter your data. The program will automatically display your risk.

Your risk of developing atherosclerosis is a combination of several factors over time. Please understand what this assessment does not mean: It does not tell you if you are going to have a heart attack. Markers in your bloodstream that signal an imminent heart attack include Total Plasma Homocysteine (tHCY) and C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP). 

Heart disease warning signs

Let's review some of the factors that can act as warning signs of heart disease:

• High blood pressure
  Blood pressure measurements are read as two numbers. The higher number, called the systolic pressure, represents the pressure in the artery when the heart beats. The lower number, called the diastolic pressure, represents the pressure when the heart is at rest.
  
  A normal systolic number is 115. If your arteries are stiff, inflexible, inflamed or too narrow, your heart will have to beat harder and this will create a higher systolic number.
  
  A normal diastolic number is 75 or lower. When the diastolic number is too high it can mean that your lungs, kidneys and liver are not properly detoxifying your body.
  
  Some people find that their blood pressure will not go down no matter what they do. This often happens because of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). With OSA, a person stops breathing during sleep. Sensing the shortage of oxygen, your brain increases blood pressure to compensate.
• High total cholesterol
  Increased levels of cholesterol in the blood can contribute to atherosclerosis, which is the gradual build-up of cholesterol, fat and fibrous debris along the walls of your arteries. This build-up, called plaque, can accumulate enough to narrow the artery and stiffen the arterial wall. If the plaque is severe enough, it can impair blood flow past the blockage. A normal, healthy cholesterol level is 170 mg/dL or lower.
• Low HDL "good" cholesterol
  High density lipoproteins (HDL) absorb cholesterol and take it back to the liver for disposal. A normal, healthy HDL level is over 60 mg/dL. HDL cholesterol rises with moderate to intense exercise. We simply must make peace with daily exercise if we are to increase our HDL and reduce our risk of heart disease.

Heart attack warning signs

As mentioned earlier, cholesterol levels and blood pressure alone do not serve us very well as determinants of heart attack risk. Homocysteine levels are much more accurate in predicting who is at risk and C-Reactive protein (CRP) is the best predictor for heart attack (as well as many other really bad conditions!).

Elevated homocysteine levels can be reduced with certain nutrients called "methyl donors." TriVita's HCY Guard® is rich in methyl donors and proven to reduce elevated HCY. C-Reactive protein has been reduced quite consistently with Essential Fatty Acid supplements and Quercetin-like Betalain bioflavonoids such as OmegaPrime® (one to six grams daily) and Nopalea™.

Learning to listen

High blood pressure as well as high cholesterol levels and low HDL levels should be viewed as warning signs from our body. Elevated homocysteine sounds a louder alarm and high C-Reactive protein levels sound the loudest siren of all. We can translate these alarms into valid communication by learning what each lab value means and how to address them in terms of nutrients and nurturing.

 

 

Take Control of Your Health

• Regularly check your blood pressure
• Have an annual medical check-up
• Test cholesterol, HDL and LDL
• Test homocysteine and C-Reactive protein
• Reduce stress and increase nutrients
• Increase methyl-donors for HCY reduction
• Increase Omega-3 and Betalains for CRP reduction
• Exercise 30 minutes most days of the week

Learn more!

• Blood Pressure
• Cholesterol
• Reducing LDL with Chocolate?
• Diagnosing Sleep Apnea

Have you ever heard an orchestra playing a symphony? Every instrument has a unique sound. Each plays a unique part in the masterpiece. The conductor brings out the best in every musician. Even the acoustics of the surroundings enhance or detract from the performance.

This is an accurate description of the way we harmonize with our world. From the instant of conception, tiny cells are a symphony of activity and this harmony continues throughout our life. Cells join with the rest of the orchestra – the body – in harmonious music, always changing to meet new and varied circumstances.

We need harmony between our mind, body and environment. Our immune system usually provides it. But what happens when things go wrong? What happens if we are exposed to "bad" bacteria, viruses or other pathogens?

Disease and our immune system
Sometimes we ask the wrong questions when we start to experience disharmony in our body. Sometimes we seem to be asking, "What makes sick people sick?" As pertinent as that question is to a sick person, it is usually more productive to ask, "What keeps healthy people well – and how can I be one of them?"

Wellness is created in the way our immune system interacts with our environment based on our genetics, and modified by our behavior or lifestyle. In order to prevent disease and achieve wellness, we must experience harmony between our world and our immune system.

A good example of harmony with our world occurs with viruses. In medicine we know that viruses exist all around us just as they have always existed. During an epidemic there will be people who never get sick, people that get sick and recover and, unfortunately, people that get sick and die. The difference between these groups has little to do with the nature of the virus – it remains virtually the same in all three cases. The different responses are based on the harmony of each individual’s immune system.

Causes of disharmony – and disease
Four imbalances create disharmony in our immune system. They are:

1. Trauma or injury – Injured tissues limit circulation by blood and lymph. Poor circulation allows waste created by the cells to accumulate and become a cesspool. Toxic waste becomes the target for infection and disease. Fortunately, appropriate exercise can help increase healthy circulation and intense antioxidant nutrition can help restore function to an injured area.
2. Toxins from inside or outside the body – Toxins and poisons from our environment may also accumulate in our tissues and smolder for decades. These toxins become inflamed; inflammation creates the matrix for disharmony in the immune system, which may result in disease.
3. Deficiencies in elements critical for life – Many people are deficient in oxygen though there is an abundance of air surrounding them. Oxygen deficiency causes acidic tissues; acid foments disease. Deficiencies in air, water, sunlight, sleep and nutrients are the most common causes of immune system disharmony. We can restore balance by attending to these basic needs.
4. Immune-suppressing scourge of emotional distress – Emotional distress is an immediate trigger for immune system discord. As soon as a thought arises in the mind, it is already translated into a posture of the immune system. Fortunately, we can – through an act of will – change our thoughts to positive ones and have a harmonizing effect on our immune system.

 

Conclusion
We participate in this symphony along with the individual members of the orchestra within our immune system. We are not merely passive observers. Address the four causes of disharmony that result in disease. Take time to learn how to apply the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness to harmonize your immune system so it works smarter, not harder.

 

 

Take Control of Your Health

• Enjoy activity daily to reduce the effect of trauma
• Insulate yourself against toxins with Healthy Aging nutrients
• Remove toxins passively with Nopalea
• Fill up deficiencies:
• Breathe deeply
• Drink pure water
• Sleep peacefully
• Eat nutritiously
• Take Healthy Aging supplements
• Reduce the impact of stress through healthy emotional/spiritual harmony and adaptogens

 

Learn more!

• Starting an Exercise Program
• Ten Tips for Healthy Aging

As people, we love to eat. All of our most cherished and joyous celebrations surround food somehow. And, judging from the expanding waistline of most folks in North America, we must be the happiest people on Earth!

Digestion really begins with anticipation as our brain triggers the feeling of hunger. Hunger is associated with a family of hormones that "turn on" when our blood sugar drops and "turn off" when our stomachs expand – especially when what we take in has viscosity or thickness to it.

For proper digestion we need water, fiber, proteins, fats and carbohydrates – including starches.

The first step to healthy digestion

The most important recommendation for digestive health is to chew your food thoroughly. Starches and other carbohydrates begin their digestive journey as we chew. Take a small bite, put your fork down and focus on slowing down and chewing your food until it is only water.

Food that is not properly chewed will not properly digest, and large, undigested particles of food will inflame your intestines. Inflammation is at the heart of most chronic illnesses. Inflammation triggers the release of antibodies from your immune system that are designed to remove damaging proteins and protect us. They "remember" the threat – in this case from improperly-chewed food – and treat any similar food as an enemy. This is often the source of food allergy: improperly chewed food!

So remember, poorly chewed food creates inflammation in the digestive tract, which may create food allergies. Chronic inflammation also kills healthy tissue, which provides fertile ground for breeding infection – especially bacteria and yeast infection (many Candida infections result from chronic digestive tract inflammation).

Digestion basics

When we swallow, our stomach is already prepared to receive the food. A hormone called pepsinogen is waiting to bond with hydrochloric acid and produce an enzyme called pepsin. Cinnamon and glucomanan fiber (Leanology capsules) support healthy digestion in the stomach.

After about half an hour, the food begins to pass through the stomach into your small intestine. At the same time, your pancreas secretes enzymes into your small intestine to meet this bolus of food. The starch has been neutralized by chewing and the protein has been prepared by your stomach. Now, the special enzymes from the pancreas convert these nutrients for transport. Most of the magic of digestion occurs in the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Again, fiber and aromatic herbs like cinnamon aid digestion in the small intestine. Also, aloe vera can benefit digestion as an anti-inflammatory.

Most vitamins are absorbed in the stomach and first part of the small intestine. Proteins, fats and other nutrients are absorbed throughout the intestinal tract. Minerals, especially iron and calcium, are absorbed in the large intestine as the last drops of water are taken out of your food.

Stress and digestion

Have you ever experienced butterflies in your stomach? Most of us have. A nervous stomach will not properly digest or absorb food. Stress impairs digestion. Adaptogen 10 Plus has specific botanical extracts that have been used for thousands of years to settle a nervous stomach (it also contains robust levels of aloe vera).

A little help from our friends

Our intestines are teeming with trillions of bacteria – most of them friendly! These bacteria are called "probiotics" and are needed to help us utilize our vitamins and minerals. Healthy bacteria can grow in your digestive system if we have enough water and fiber in our diet and supplements. Eating the right amount of high water-content fruits and vegetables and drinking the right amount of water will give us the best environment for growing our own probiotics.

Take care of your digestion by eating nutritiously and chewing slowly. Include water, fiber, proteins, healthy carbohydrates and healthy fats. Remember, your digestion is impaired by stress. So, consider ways to reduce your stress and supplement your diet with adaptogens to protect digestive health from stress. And don’t forget the joy of eating. Joy is really a sign of acceptance. Acceptance is essential for physical and emotional health!

 

 

 

Learn more!

• Do You Suffer from Food Allergies?
• GERD and Acid Reflux

OK, I will admit it if you will: I have forgotten the names of people while I was talking to them! I have lost my car keys, misplaced my glasses and turned the wrong way on my drive home.

How about you? Does it seem like your memory is playing tricks on you as you age? Well, there are reasons for that and very few of these reasons are related to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

How to make a memory

Your memory is an amazing miracle. Every second your brain processes billions of bits of information from your five senses.  You may consciously perceive only a very small percentage of this information because one function of your brain is to filter out unimportant information. The things you remember will usually be advantageous to you. For instance, remembering your wedding anniversary date or remembering where the speed trap is on your drive home.

Memory is classed into two basic groups:

1. Short-term: Short term memories are quickly forgotten when they are no longer important.
2. Long-term: Long-term memories may be divided into recent and distant.

Practicing or rehearsing can improve your memory by moving more information into long-term. For instance, when I am distracted by stress I will not be able to remember where I left my car keys. That information was deleted from my short-term memory. However, if I consciously say, "I am hanging my car keys on the hook," I am far more likely to remember where they are.

How to keep a memory

Reduce stress

Stress kills your memory. The stress system is designed to ensure survival. It helps us fight off a snarling dog or flee from a snarling bear. As important as that is, humans do more every day than merely survive. If you want to have a good, healthy memory, do all you can to reduce the need for fight or flight stress responses.

Learn something new

As mentioned, practicing or rehearsing something enhances memory. So does learning something new. You see, memory is facilitated through the billions of neurons and synapses in your brain by patterns: retracing old patterns as well as creating new patterns. The more new things we master and the more connections we create, the better our overall memory will be.

If you want to remember your anniversary, start learning a foreign language. If you want to remember important names, learn a musical instrument. The more you learn – and the more you connect the old with the new – the better your overall memory will be.

How to nourish a memory

Certain nutrients help the memory to remain sharp. These nutrients fall into two basic categories: those that create brain structure and those that nourish brain function.

Your brain is made mostly of fat. And the majority of that fat is an Omega-3 called DHA. So, to have a healthy brain we need healthy fats like OmegaPrime®. Your nerve cells convert some fats into functional nerve proteins called myelin. Formation of myelin requires dietary protein and Vitamin B-12. So, for healthy brain structure and function we need Omega-3 fats, healthy dietary protein and Vitamin B-12.

When the memory is activated, it creates heat in the brain. To fuel the memory, quench the heat and repair the daily wear-and-tear on your brain, you need antioxidants. Certain antioxidants target brain function specifically. An excellent antioxidant formula that is also anti-inflammatory is Nopalea™. The Betalain bioflavonoids in Nopalea also help improve circulation by fortifying healthy arteries.

What do you remember?

To recap: Occasional memory lapses usually indicate you are distracted by stress. Rehearsing things you want to remember and practicing new things you have learned can help you avoid stress-induced memory lapses. Because new behaviors create new pathways in your brain, learning something new such as a new language or musical instrument can improve your overall memory.

Stress kills your memory. Nutrients such as Omega-3, Vitamin B-12 and anti-inflammatory antioxidants such as those found in Nopalea can help rebuild and restore your ability to remember. With all of these tools at your disposal, you have access to the power of a healthy memory.

Learn more!

• Keeping your memory sharp

The shocking statistics – according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation:

• 10 million people in North America have osteoporosis.
• 80% of those affected by osteoporosis are women.
• 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men over the age of 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture as they age.
• Following a hip fracture from osteoporosis, 1 in 4 people will die within a year (the death rate is twice as high for men as for women). Also, 1 in 4 will become complete invalids requiring long-term care.
• Only one-third of the people suffering an osteoporosis-related hip fracture will heal and return to a normal life.

A childhood disease?

To understand the process of premature bone loss we must first understand the nature of bone. Your bones are alive. But every cell in your skeleton has a lifespan. It is "born" from stem cells, it lives for many years and then it dies. When it reaches the end of its lifespan, a new bone cell replaces it.

During our youth, there are more new bone cells being born than there are old bone cells dying. As a result, our bones get longer, bigger, denser and healthier. By our teen years our bones reach PMD (peak mineral density). Therefore, the healthier our bones are as children, the longer they will last as we age. Good nutrition during childhood is so important because we are building a healthy bone foundation for our senior years.

At about age 30 the rates of bone cells being born and those dying are about equal. By age 40 the pendulum definitely swings to the other side and the amount of bone cells dying every day exceeds the amount being born. Over time, your bones become thinner, less active and are more challenged to support your body.

Bones that thin too fast are called osteopenic. About 45 million people in North America suffer from bones that are too thin. When thinning continues to the point where a bone resembles Swiss cheese (full of holes and pores), the condition is said to be osteoporosis. The bone at this stage is diseased and can fracture with the slightest stress.

Reversing premature bone loss

The best way to reverse a problem is to help prevent it in the first place.

Children and adults up to age 30 should:

• Take a calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D supplement every day.
• Focus on leafy green vegetables as a dietary source of calcium and magnesium.
• Get at least 20 minutes of direct sunshine on 40% of their body every day as a natural source of Vitamin D.
• Perform weight-bearing exercises most days of the week.

Adults over 30 should do the same things. However, bone-building requirements for adults (including supplements) need to be more rigorous. This is especially true if they have any risk factors for osteoporosis.

Growing new bone

Regardless of your age or bone density, you can help slow or stop the process of bone loss and you can start producing new, healthy bone cells. All it requires is a little time every day for exercise and sunshine, plus the right nutrients. The nutrition you need is found in whole foods – especially leafy green vegetables. Supplements can also play a critical role by providing the intense, specific nutrients needed for restoring healthy bones.

• TriVita's VitaCal-Mag D™ is designed for people under age 30 as well as those over that age who have no risk factors for bone loss.

• TriVita's Bone Growth Factor™ is designed for people over 30 who have risk factors for osteoporosis. This disease is characterized by the decrease in bone mass and density; i.e., the bones thin and become more porous. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, there are many different risk factors for this disease, including genetics, age, gender, menopause, certain medications and others. (For a full list of risk factors, see the National Osteoporosis Foundation link listed under the Learn More! section below). Because Bone Growth Factor has been clinically proven to re-grow bone, it is an ideal supplement for those that have Osteopathic risks.

The good news is that you can add more new, healthy bone mass every year you follow these steps – no matter how old you are or how thin your bones are. Help turn back the clock on bone loss with proper lifestyle choices and intense nutrition.

 

Learn More!

Osteoporosis
Vitamin D Deficiency
Is the Sun Our Enemy?
Homocysteine
National Osteoporosis Foundation — Risks

This is the perfect time for an encouraging article on keeping your weight loss goals. Nearly half of all people in North America make a New Year's Resolution to change something in their life. The most common commitment is to lose weight. Second is to exercise more. Third is to stop smoking.

Within a few weeks the number of people sticking to their resolve declines dramatically. Given the importance of improving our behavior, an encouraging word from an ally may be just the thing we all need to keep our resolve!

Mechanics of weight loss
Let's review the best advice for weight loss that we have gathered from expert sources over the last several years.

• How: Reduce your calorie intake to match your BMR (basal metabolic rate). BMR represents the number of calories your body needs at rest; in other words, your body burns these calories through basic functions. Click here for a BMR calculator (labeled Basal Metabolism). So, BMR represents the ideal number of calories you should eat in a day. Additionally, increase your activity to burn 1–2 pounds of fat per week.

• When: Never eat within two hours of bedtime. Morning exercise is a bit better than evening exercise. Never consume more than 400 calories in an hour.

• What: Eat according to an organized plan. For example, South Beach, Ornish, Mediterranean, etc. Do both aerobic and resistance exercises most days of the week.

• Why: Your sense of purpose will dictate your actions step by step.

Speed bumps
Somewhere along the way you are going to experience discouragement, disappointment or despondency. It may be when you hit a weight loss plateau. It may be when you see others doing what you used to do and the old habits pull at your heart. It may be when those inner voices – I call them my "counsel of critics" – start to tell you lies about failure and success. What do you do when you hit a speed bump?

The answer to this question does not lie in the "how – when – what" of weight loss. The answer lies in the "why." Your personal "why" gives you energy. It inspires you, motivates you and drives you to complete your goal.

Remember to let your desire fuel your action; let your actions harmonize with your sense of purpose. Simply be resolved to live a life of purpose and you will have the energy to get beyond the speed bumps.

Common setbacks

• Lack of support – Losing weight with an uncooperative family is very difficult. In fact, diet failure is far more common with kids at home than among empty-nesters. A great solution is to turn those sources of distraction into cheerleaders. Recruit your family into your support group. Ask them for help and you may be surprised how helpful a supportive family can be.

• Social functions – Parties and family gatherings are another trigger for setbacks. Food and a festive environment are catalysts for overeating and skipping exercise. Careful planning in advance can really help with food selection and an exercise schedule. And if you do overindulge, remember the "calories in, calories out" rule and increase your exercise for a week or two to burn off the extra calories.

• Emotional issues – Depression, discouragement and despondency are also common triggers for diet failure. Remembering the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness can be a good antidote. For instance, Essential #6 teaches us that we need to Give and Receive Love for excellent health. Love moves us to make commitments, committing ourselves to a life of purpose. Purpose is the reason for action. Therefore, love can help us balance autonomy, commitment and purpose with fear, shame and doubt.

Conclusion
When we commit ourselves to such noble pursuits, they deserve our very best attention. We need to define our purpose as the foundation for success. Purpose is an important motivation to help us reshape our thinking. Purpose is the antidote to self-sabotage.

Ponder over each of these life-changing rules for healthy living. You will soon see that each of these gems reflect the light you need to see beliefs that no longer serve your best interests. You can confront self-sabotage and slay the dragons that keep you from reaching your goals. Also, learning and living the 10 Essentials provides you with powerful tools to reshape your attitudes into the very ones that can help you to reach your goals, live the life you want and fulfill your purpose.