Of the calcium, 99% is stored in the bones with the balance being stored in the body fluids.  In the bones, it not only acts to maintain a strong skeletal structure but also serves as attachment points for the tendons of the muscles.  The calcium in the body fluids circulates as iodized calcium which helps to regulate muscle contraction, blood clotting, transmission of nerve impulses, the secretion of hormones and the activation of some enzyme reactions.

 Calcium by itself cannot be absorbed by the body.  It needs other nutrients to enable that to happen.  Those nutrients include magnesium, phosphorus, vitamins A, C and D.  An example of this is magnesium.  Magnesium stimulates the production of a hormone called calcitonin.  This hormone is what keeps the calcium in the bones and out of the soft tissue.  It is believed that many forms of arthritis are due to an increase of calcium in the body fluids and a lack of calcium in the bones[i].  Another example is the need for Vitamin D.  Typically we absorb about 25% of the calcium we ingest.  Vitamin D helps to make the calcium-binding protein which is needed in order for us to absorb that 25%.  So as you can see, it is a bit more complex than we think.

To take this a step further, the 1% of calcium in the body fluids always remains the same.  If we are not consuming enough calcium through our diet, the body will actually take the calcium out of the bones to maintain that appropriate level in the fluids.  This process is silent, meaning we might actually not know this is happening.  Unfortunately as we age however, this can show up as osteoporosis. 

With all of this said, it is important to make sure we are getting an adequate amount of calcium and its carriers in our diet.  The average adult should consume between 1,000 – 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily[ii].  This may sound like a lot but it really isn’t!  Let us take a look at what foods actually contain high amounts of calcium.

Of course the dairy industry wants you to believe that their source of calcium is the best.  Although cheese and milk do contain a high amount of calcium, often people are intolerant to dairy.  This can be due to being lactose intolerant, a deficiency in the enzyme that breaks down the lactose in the milk, or because high dairy diets can cause heavy congestion in some people.

Personally I do ingest dairy but try to focus on the use of goat or sheep products rather than cow.  Goat and sheep tend to graze rather than be grain fed.  Grazing increases the nutrient value of the milk as the animals are ingesting more nutrients from the plants.  In addition, the fat molecules of the milk from these types of animals are smaller, thus easier to digest.  They are also lower in fat.

In addition to dairy there are some fantastic sources of calcium.  Below is a list of some of the best:

• Dried seaweeds such as wakame, kombu, kelp, hijiki, and arame
• Beans such as soy, garbanzo, mung, aduki, black and lima
• Nuts and seeds such as almonds, sesame, cashew, and filbert
• Whole grains such as buckwheat, millet, amaranth, and rye

Of course my favorite source is GREEN VEGETABLES!  Leafy green vegetables not only contain a good amount of calcium but they also contain lots of chlorophyll.  In the center of the chlorophyll molecule is found magnesium.  In addition, chlorophyll is a great source of phosphorus, vitamins A and C.  How can there be a better way of getting your calcium and all its carriers than eating green vegetables? 

Having said all that, let us look at some of the best sources of vegetables for calcium:

• Mustard greens
• Turnip greens
• Bok Choy
• Kale
• Parsley
• Watercress
• Broccoli

We tend to think of spinach and chard as great sources of calcium as well but surprisingly they are not.  Although they contain a lot of calcium, they also contain oxalic acid.  This substance binds chemically with the calcium thus preventing it from being absorbed.  Now this is not to say that these vegetables are not chocked full of other nutrients, they are!  Just don’t use them as a source of calcium.

So start playing around with ways in which you can increase the amount of calcium in your diet.  Chances are you might be able to take in much more than you think.  This month’s recipe offers you a tasty salad that is high in calcium.  Check it out!

 

 

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[i] Paul Pitchford, Healing With Whole Foods

[ii] Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition, Seventh Edition

“Fiber.  A lot has been written about fiber.  It keeps our digestive tract from getting clogged with mucus, toxic materials, and metabolic wastes.  It keeps our colon swept and moving.  Fiber is necessary for intestine and colon health.  It feeds and maintains a healthy intestinal flora made up of friendly little bacteria and yeasts that make some of our vitamins and protect us from unfriendly intestinal ‘bugs’.  A healthy colon minimizes release of toxins back into our blood.  Healthy blood means that we may live long enough to reach a wise (or foolish) old age.

 

Fiber also lowers blood cholesterol, because it prevents cholesterol and bile acids from being reabsorbed into our body from our intestine.  Cholesterol and bile acids attach to fiber, and are carried out of our body into the toilet with solid wastes.  Fiber also softens stools, prevents constipation, and maintains regularity.  Flax is an excellent source of fiber.”

 

                        Excerpt from Fats that Heal Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus

 

 

Not only is flax an excellent source of fiber but it also has many additional benefits.  Let’s start by looking at the nutrients it contains.  Flax:

 

·         Is a rich source of magnesium and potassium.

·         Is a good source of zinc.

·         Is a good source of easily digestible protein. 

·         This protein actually contains all the essential amino acids therefore it is the richest in the vegetable sources. 

 Note it is low on lysine and methionine so supplementing with other sources of these would be beneficial.

·         Contains the richest source of vegetal Omega-3’s, linolenic acid (LNA)

Note:  According to Paul Pitchford’s book Healing with Whole Foods, “It is estimated that modern Westerners consume only 1/5^th the amount of omega-3’s found in traditional diets.”

·         Seeds have the highest concentration of the phyto-estrogen lignans of any other food.  (Note these are removed during conversion to oil.)  “Lignans are building blocks of plant cell walls that, when eaten, break down into enterolactones and  enterodiol, which have potent anticancer and estrogenic effects,” according to Christine Northrup, M.D.

 

 

All this equates to the following benefits:

 

·         The fiber in the seeds and meal lubricate the intestines and are therefore helpful for people that suffer from constipation.

·         Ground flax seeds, with its’ mucilaginous properties, which allow it to become soft and jellylike, sooths and therefore acts as an intestinal cleanser and bowel regulator.

·         The seeds also help people with sluggish digestion.

·         Due to the Omega-3’s, flax helps to strengthen the immune system.

·         Can aid in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

·         Can help to stabilize blood glucose levels.

·         Can be beneficial for cardiovascular health.

 

So what is it like, how do you purchase it, and how do you consume it?

 

Flax tends to be quite volatile, meaning it has the potential to become rancid easily.  Only purchase flax that has been out of the light and refrigerated at all times.  If purchasing the oil, make sure the method of production is cold pressed and without exposure to oxygen and light and (again) has been refrigerated at all times.  Commercial linseed (denatured flax seed) is highly refined and may actually do more harm than good so really check your sources!  Last, always look for organic sources.

 

I prefer to purchase the seeds themselves, keep them in the refrigerator, and grind them in a coffee grinder when I am going to use them.  (Small coffee grinders are less than $20 so it is worth purchasing a separate one just for your flax.)  I find the oil, even when processed properly, tends to go rancid easily.  Good flax seed or oil has a nice sweet nutty taste.  If you find otherwise, chances are your product has already started to spoil!

 

One of the nice advantages is that flax is cheap!  I can purchase a 16 ounce bag of seeds for about $2.00.  How great is that?

 

As for how you use it, here are the general guidelines.  If you are healthy and just wanting to enhance your diet, take about three tablespoons of the seeds daily.  Remember the seeds have a very hard shell which will not digest so you must grind the seeds to get their benefits.  It mixes easily with either water or juice.  I add the ground seeds to my protein drink or mix it with the Greens First.  Since part of its’ intestinal benefit is to clean the intestines, it will absorb five times its weight in water so make sure you consume plenty of water when you take it. 

 

If using the oil, it is suggested for healthy people to consume about two teaspoons per day.  With its’ nutty flavor, it is a great source of oil for your salads.  You can also add this to any protein drink or greens.  Just remember that heat is bad for it so never cook with it.

 

If you are using it for specific medical purposes, I suggest you do your research.  The aforementioned  information comes from the following list of books; all of which offer more specific quantities for specific health conditions.

 

Resources:

Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC

Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, by Udo Erasmus

The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia, by Rebecca Wood

Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford

 

If you would like additional information on the benefits of Omega-3’s, you might like to read this article.

I am excited to bring you this news… there is a new independent nutritional guidance program developed to help you determine the nutritional value of foods that you purchase.  The program, called NuVal, will be showing up as shelf tags and aisle signage on products throughout supermarkets.  NuVal gives a value number to each and every food from 1 to 100 with the higher number indicating the greater nutritional value of the product.  The great thing is that you can easily compare two like products by not only their price but now by how healthy they are!  It is fantastic. 

 

NuVal’s goal is to provide the information on almost every product in the supermarket.  Currently this program has already gone into effect in some chain stores in the Midwest with an aggressive marketing plan to bring the scoring system throughout the US between 2009 and 2010.  If you would like to learn more about this fantastic program, visit their website!

 

 

It is that time of year when allergies start coming on.  The air is dry, at least here in Colorado, and there is a fair amount of wind which brings the dust, molds and plant pollens.  Of course, all these pollutants can cause irritation to the mucous membranes of the nose and sinuses resulting in sneezing, sinusitis, coughing, hay fever and more.

 

The tendency is to turn to over-the-counter drugs or prescription drugs for relief; unfortunately neither of which are healthy for your system.  Before you go that route, why not try nasal irrigation?  Ayurvedic medicine practitioners and yogis have been irrigating the nasal passages and sinuses for centuries.  Not only is it simple to do but the results are amazing.

 

I have spoken with clients who started irrigating regularly and found that not only did they have less problems with allergies but have also found that they get far less colds.  I decided to try it myself and was so impressed with the results that I started telling everyone I knew that suffered from allergies about it.   Now the positive comments just keep coming.

 

Scientific studies show that there are no side effects and it is very safe and effective to do regular nasal irrigation.  In addition, it has been demonstrated that a consistent practice helps to moisten the mucous membranes of the nose and sinuses.  This sure beats drugs in my book!

 

So what is the best way to do it?  You can use a baby aspirator and warm water with a touch of sea salt.  I started doing it this way and it worked fine.  Eventually I decided to purchase a Neti Pot and found it much more effective.  A Neti Pot is small and looks somewhat like a teapot.  You mix a dilution of warm water and a small amount of sea salt in the pot.  Make sure the salt is fully dissolved before you use it.  When ready, simply place the spout into one nostril.  Make sure that there is a seal between the pot and your nose.  Then simply tip your head to the opposite side, over a sink, and allow the liquid drain out the other nostril.  Repeat on the other side.  It is that easy.  The main thing I’ve experienced is to use only a little salt or it will irritate the nasal passages.  I use about 1/8 teaspoon to 8 ounces of water.  During allergy or cold season, it is ideal to do this twice daily.  The same applies if you have a tendency towards sinusitis. 

 

If you can’t find a Neti Pot at your local health foods store, here is a great place to purchase one.

 

There is one other thing I do that can be helpful with allergies.  This is something that takes a long time to work and is somewhat subtle but worth doing.  That is daily use of honey gathered in your local area.  You want to use about 1 tablespoon per day but you need to make sure it is not heat processed and local.  I have been doing this for about 4 years now and I do find it helps somewhat but not when allergy season is really upon us.  At that time I add the use of the Neti Pot daily!

 

If you suffer from allergies give both a try!  Happy breathing.

Health Tip of the Month

 

With cooler days and more time spent inside, it is easy to not drink enough water.  Although there are various theories, it is still best to have at least half your body weight in ounces daily.  In other words, if you weigh 150 pounds, that equates to 75 ounces of water.  This figure varies based on your lifestyle.  If you exercise a lot and therefore sweat a fair amount, you need more.  If you consume dehydrating drinks you also need more.  For example, for every 8 ounces of coffee you drink you need to add an additional 8 ounces of water.  The best way to make sure you are getting enough is to fill containers* with the appropriate amount of ounces in the morning and then make sure to drink everything in them by the time you go to bed. 

 

There are signs that may indicate you are not hydrated enough.  Below is a list of potential signs of dehydration.  If you are experiencing any of these, you might start by making sure to drink enough water and see if indeed you do feel better!

    

Signs of Dehydration

·         Fatigue

·         Constipation

·         Hunger

·         Headaches

·         Indigestion

·         Muscle and joint aches

·         Asthma

·         Allergies

·         Depression

 

For more information:  www.watercure.com

 

*Another thing you might want to consider is the container in which you put your water.  There has been a lot of concern with the chemical bisphenol A also known as BPA.  BPA is the substance in plastic that makes it hard.  Over the last decade, there are more and more studies being done indicating that BPA may be linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, liver abnormalities and breast cancer.  The FDA has conducted some of their own studies dismissing this but it has been found that those studies were conducted by those that benefited financially from the use of BPA. 

 

For more details on this, read the following article from the Washington Post

 

Whatever you decide, you may want to consider eliminating your old plastic bottles, containers and baby bottles.  There are many companies out there now that offer BPA FREE plastics. 

 

Here is what Consumer Reports suggests:

“While studies are under way, if you’re concerned, here’s what you can do:”

·         Identify which containers might have the chemical. Polycarbonate is usually clear rather than cloudy, although it may be colored. If the container carries a recycling code, it will be marked with the number 7 or the letters “PC,” or both.  No. 7 bottles made with BPA-free polyethersulfone (PES) won’t have the PC marking.  Other BPA-free plastic alternatives include polyethylene, which may be marked with recycling codes 1 (PET) or 2 (HDPE), and polypropylene, 5 (PP).

·         For baby bottles, glass or BPA-free plastics such as polyethylene are the safest choices, as Consumer Reports has advised in the past.

·         For those who reuse water bottles frequently and want to avoid BPA, consider polyethylene, stainless steel, or aluminum with BPA-free liners.

As far as I am concerned, the cost of replacing your old bottles is minimal compared to the potential harm from the BPA.  Don’t you think?

Read about more health tips here!