Vitamins and Minerals - Product guide

Multivitamins

Multivitamins are the most popular product for general health as dietary supplements with wide range of choice for selection.  All varieties/brands are clearly labeled with RDI and may also offer special formula for age, gender, and special needs (i.e., pregnancy, pediatric).  For your information, click here https://labdoor.com/rankings/multivitamins for a recent multivitamin product report/review.

Practical Considerations

• For multivitamin formula with iron, may cause constipation.
• Multivitamin formulas often contain minerals in small amount; however, additional dose may be needed for deficiency correction.
• When buying once daily formula for large bottle size, pay close attention for expiration or best use by date.
• The chewy gummy Vitamins contain high sugar and diabetic patients should avoid.
• Take the daily dose in the morning shall be better utilized during the day.

Calcium/Vitamin D

Calcium and Vitamin D are for strong bones and with other health benefits. They are essential for all ages. Clink here https://labdoor.com/rankings/calcium for product report/review for Calcium/Vitamin D supplements.

Practical Considerations

• Calcium carbonate and calcium citrate are the two main types of calcium supplements, but they could be equally effective.
• Gas, bloating, and constipation are more common with calcium carbonate, which is also harder to digest.  Take calcium carbonate with food is advised.   http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what_you_need_to_know_about_calcium
• To retain maximum supplement absorption, take about 500 mg or less at one time
• The chewy gummy calcium contain high sugar and diabetic patients should avoid.
• Overdose may increase risk for kidney stones.
• As your body needs vitamin D to use calcium, it makes sense to select the calcium + Vitamin D formula. Vitamin deficiency is common and asymptomatic; often discovered by lab results.

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Making Selections for Health Improvements

Shop Amazon is one click away, for your convenience, in Three Easy Steps -
1. Click on Amazon eGift Card (or any product) link, which opens up Amazon the store
2. Search and find the product of your choice from the full on-line selections
3. Place order and check out



 

New Year’s Resolutions 2016

Happy New Year!  

As 2016 has begun, you may already have your list of New Year’s resolutions and ready to go. Just hold off a second – if you still have your 2015 list, please take a look to see how well you did, what’s done and what’s new.

Congratulations for your 2015 goals achieved. For under achieved items, to find out the causes/reasons will help you for 2016 goal setting.

As most people are interested in three things - health, wealth, and happiness, the short list below may cover a common scope. You will finish with your personal touch and commitment.

Health

·       Personal fitness regimen

·       Individual weight management

·       Reduce health risks (i.e., stress, smoking, alcohol, high fat/salt/sugar diet)

·       Maintain a regular daily life routine (including sufficient sleep hours and eat healthy)

 

Wealth

·       Set specific financial target with a plan

·       Define investment strategy

·       Ways to cut cost and saving money

 

 

Happiness

·       Social interactions/building healthy relationships

·       Giving - money, goods, or time (volunteering) to help others in needs

·       Learning new knowledge and skills

·       Travel plans

Tips:

• Set goals specific and measurable; be realistic and do not commit too much/too fast
•  Keep it real; schedule your calendar for to do list and the time to do it
• Start small short term goals, don’t give up after the first week and don’t expect immediate results. 
• Reinforce self-discipline and be persistent for success.
• Keep tracking and set check point 
• Identify reasons for fail short and not repeat past mistakes
• Reward accomplishment/progress made
• Do it for your quality of life; trust and love yourself.

At this special time, my heart goes to individuals who are coping with illness and their families. Illness can limit one’s mobility and independence, which changes personal and family life in many ways.  In facing upcoming new challenges, it will take a great deal of effort to be resilient and mentally strong.  To share three resolutions, that research shows will make you happier, for adding on your list –

1. 1Spend more time with friends – break the withdrawal mentality and walk out from isolation. Join support groups, share your feelings, and keep in touch with your friends nearby and far away. 
2. Find a way to give something to somebody; beside goods and money, give thanks, helps, and compliments. When you are receiving care, let your family and caregiver know that you are thankful for their help. If you are taking care of your love ones, be happy for what you are doing. Happiness is contagious; what goes around comes around.
3. Get more sleep, keep up nutrition and exercise – these are your best defense for maintain a strong immune system.  You’ll be less stressed and less sick with good nutrition and beauty rest.   If you are feeling tied, or you frequently feel somewhat depressed, try adding more activities into your life in a way that feels fun or enjoyable. It is use or loose, for your available brain power and body energy. Your power will continue to flow with renewed energy. Your efforts will pay off with enhanced sense of satisfaction and quality of life.

Tips:

•  Be willing and adaptable for changes
• Be alert for body condition changes and take actions; do not procrastinate
• Let go of defensive denial and resist toxic thoughts
• Focus on things you can control, stay informed and take charge
• Be cautious and not over aggressive, take calculated treatment risks, for the benefit of long term health outcome
• Empower yourself and connect with your resources for support (don’t fear; you are not alone)
• Openly share your emotions and show your love, compassion, and gratitude
• Enjoy life to the fullest and optimal quality

The take home message here - Happiness is a choice, and the choice is yours

Suggested readings –

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do

In addition, reading a good book is a pleasure. Just to suggest few from the best sellers in below and hope it will guide you in pursuing your happiness.  Best wishes for a happy new year to all and visit www.qualitylifeforum.net for more health related topics through the year.


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Holiday Edition 2015

 

It’s the holiday season and time for giving now. According to positive psychology, gift giving brings more happiness than gift receiving. Each person is unique and each Christmas is special. Watching the gift open with nice surprise and happy smiles shall be memorable moments to treasure for life.

Gift shopping can be fun and stressful. This holiday edition brings you few tips and ideas for gift shopping/selection to reduce holiday stress – 

1. Make a list and get organized, start as early as you can. 
2. Determine a total budget and divide per person.
3.  Think of each person’s characteristics; be creative and personal; or make it simple, asking what the gift receiver needs/wants.
4. Making it special by Do It Yourself (DIY) - handmade and homemade gifts may worth more than any market value.
5. Go online for product research for cost comparisons and quality reviews; don’t get ripped off and be sure to read both the 5 star and 1 star rating comments. 
6. Buy online with one larger order if possible, for the benefit of volume discount or free shipping and avoid over crowed stores.
7. If going store shopping, take a day off and avoid traffic hours.
8. Don’t buy useless items just for “mission completed”; consider the return hassle or money wasting on unused new items.
9. If not sure what to give, the best idea is go for health and to show your good heart -

A body composition monitor analyzer/scale is a good choice, as it would be suitable for most health conscious people and it is gender neutral. In addition to body weight, other key measuring functions including %of body fat, %water, %muscle mass, bone mass and some with BMI. It stores data for multiple users, which will be a great gift motivating the whole family for their new year’s resolutions and tracking results! Both brands (Withings and EatSmart Precision GetFit) below are highly rated and offer different price range. 

Or, if you would like to give a valuable gift for someone special, may consider a smart watch, which signifies traditional time treasure and also go modern with fitness tracker and more features.

1        10 If you are really undecided, don’t panic! Get a gift card - as Amazon has everything    under the sun and the gift card will not expire, it cannot go wrong!

Trust your smart decisions in holiday gift selection and experience the joy of giving without stress. Happy holidays to all!

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The Value of Vitamin and Dietary Supplements

Healthy eating is the best source for vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for human body needs.  Multivitamins are not to substitute for a balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle, but it can provide a nutritional back-up for a less-than-ideal diet, as the best eating plans can still fall short of meeting all of the nutrients per recommended daily intake (RDI).  You may fail to meet dietary recommendations for many reasons, including appetite, diet restrictions, less than healthy food choices, poor dental or health conditions, etc. Taking a once-daily multivitamin may benefit you to fill in small nutritional gaps in an easy way.

Although the benefit and risk of vitamin supplement debates are ongoing, as newer research findings become available, expert opinion remains consistent as the best advice for the public - “stick to a varied diet, if you want to take supplements, take a multivitamin-multimineral that has RDA amounts. In order to get RDI amounts of calcium and vitamin D, a single nutrient supplement may be necessary for some people. ”

In fact, daily multivitamins are the most commonly used supplement for maintain health. For different gender and stages of life, special formulas are made available (i.e., for man, woman, prenatal, silver, etc). As calcium and vitamin D deficiencies are common, additional supplement are often recommended. It is also essential to get some sun outdoor for vitamin D deficiency prevention.

Please be aware that dietary supplements are not approved by the government for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. The manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements are responsible for making sure their products are safe BEFORE they go to market. Manufacturers are required to produce dietary supplements to minimum quality standards and ensure that they do not contain contaminants or impurities, and are accurately labeled. Therefore, it will be wise to choose trusted brands for more reliable consumer safety protection. Pick products with the seal of the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), to ensure they’ve been tested for purity and potency. Please read product labels carefully for amount per serving and take amount from other sources, including diet, for consideration. Few basic formulas in trusted brands with economical packaging are provided below.

Note: liquid forms of these supplements are available, mainly for individuals having difficulties swallowing; not proven for better absorption.

For individual specific conditions, check ahead with your physician for your personal vitamin and mineral supplement needs. Review your medication list with all supplements at your well visit and make sure your clinical laboratory results are within normal range. Bone density test (DXA) is also recommended for osteoporosis diagnostics in higher age group or as necessary every 1 – 2 years.

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Recommended readings:

1. How to Choose a Multivitamin http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/nutrition-vitamins-11/choose-multivitamin
2. Do Supplements Help, or Harm? http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/
3. Reference Daily Intake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_Daily_Intake
4. Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know   http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/

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What's Good to Eat?

Today, people are health conscious and become more selective in food choices for healthy eating. The difficulty is, however, to figure out what’s good to eat.

I have seen a list of “14 foods you should never eat” from media news as follows –

1.    Swordfish
2.    Nonorganic Strawberries
3.    Diet Soda
4.    Anything from McDonald's
5.    Canned Tomatoes
6.    Bread
7.    Industrially Produced Hamburgers
8.    Corn
9.    White Chocolate
10.Artificial Sweeteners
11.Sprouts
12.Butter-Flavored Microwave Popcorn
13.Food Dyes
14.Chain-Restaurant Ice Cream Sundaes

This is s a little scary. I confess, I ate all of those listed above; more or less, but I am OK. I trust everyone ate them too. If not, what else is there to eat practically?

Never say “never.” To be health conscious is good, but not in a strict manner.  Eating habits and diet is not a quick change; if did, it will not sustain. To make this change, be practical and start with small steps -  

• When food shopping, pay more attention to food labels and make healthier choices, knowing what you buy is what you will eat. Keep the unhealthy food out of your home is the first guard for self-control.

• Balance meals – eat colorfully; green for vegetables, red/yellow mix for fruits, brown for meats, white for carbs. Go for more green is always better. Eat slowly, allow about 20 minutes to sensation the fullness. Do not skip meals. Take a small snack in the mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon, so you will not be too hungry for the meals.

• Practice portion control and stop eating when satisfied (about 80%, but not completely full). You may allow occasional indulgence to keep cravings, this will actually help you to stick with it in the long run rather than give it up after a short trial.

• Watch calories from beverages. Drink more water and green tea; less (or none for) soda and alcohol. A recent study suggested that drinking water before meals will benefit weight loss.

• Create accountability for your own behavior and keep a journal tracking daily food and beverage consumption. Review it the next day and make improvements toward your realistic goal.    

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How Much Water to Drink in a Day?

You may have heard that “you should drink 8 glasses of water a day”, as this has been talked for some time.  However, this is not true and there is no science to support it, according to recent health information update.

Water is the best beverage recommended to consume by health and nutritional professionals; but it’s certainly not the only source of hydration. Water is present in food, fruits and vegetables. It’s in juice, in beer, in tea and coffee as well. Human body naturally balances the hydration from food and beverages during usual intake and activities. That’s why people may not feel thirsty or the need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. At times of certain circumstances, such as during intense physical activities or under extreme heat, the body will increase its needs for more water and trigger the brain for action command.

To share my personal experience, I found that 8 glasses of water a day is too much. With all beverages combined, a total of 6 – 7 glasses of liquid consumption a day are quite sufficient. This amount is inclusive of 350 mL green tea for a two-hour workout session at the gym.

Contrary to some stories you may have heard, there’s actually no real scientific proof that, for otherwise healthy people, drinking extra water has any health benefits. For instance, no evidence was found that drinking more water keeps skin better hydrated or wrinkle free. To note, for people with renal or cardiac malfunctions, large water intake may burden kidney function or increase cardiac work load.

Conclusion statement: There is no formal recommendation for a daily amount of water people need, as individual threshold varies based on diet, geological location and climate, body surface area and activities. Therefore, drinking 8 glasses of water a day should not be a universal standard.
                                
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