5 Must Have Daily Supplements

If I only had a dollar for every time someone said to me "I take (fill in the blank with some herb, pill or tincture promised to do miraculous things)" and when I ask why, the response I get is "because Dr Oz said... (fill in the cure-all claim here; from dramatic weight loss, to guaranteed sleep to the energy of ten lemur's to looking so youthful you are mistaken for your teenage daughter!) OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but seriously if you took all the "recommendations" from that show and applied them to your supplement cabinet, 

1) You would probably overdose on something or have a bad interaction between ingredients 
2) You would need a pantry the size of the Trump Towers to store it all 

3) You would need the conference spending budget of our IRS in 2010 to afford it all! 

Bad political jokes aside, let's be sensible for once shall we? Let me throw one disclaimer out there before I proceed. I do in fact think Dr Oz does the general public a HUGE service by providing eye opening education and calling a spade a spade when people are not living healthy. However, the show has producers, massive overhead, Big Network honchos to answer to, and millions and millions of dollars to be made by relying on advertisers and online product sales. Can't fault them for making a buck, but what I do want people to start doing is their OWN RESEARCH! Don't just take people's word for it. The latest craze is just that... a flash in the pan until some manufacturer wants to corner the market on the next gimmick. Craze is one letter away from craz-Y... so when someone, even a doctor says jump, don't say how high...ask WHY? 

That goes for me to! I give advice, but that should never be a substitute for you doing your own due diligence. All this factored in, what are some of the key supplements that aren't a fad and have true science and legitimate backing to them? Well, I am so glad you asked, or at least continue to read so you care at least that much. If I had my druthers, I would have almost everyone adding the following items into their daily health regimen. This would be the basics to any good health foundation. From here you would then seek out more specific supplementation to meet your own bio-individual demands. 

1) Prebiotics AND Probiotics - gut health is imperative to nutrient absorption and your immune system. If your gut is not healthy, it is impossible for you to continue to be in good health. Some things that damage your gut are: medications (especially antibiotics), alcohol, acid foods beverages, stress, illness, parasites, not enough prebiotics for the good bacteria (probiotics) to munch on and thrive. 

2) Full Spectrum Digestive Enzyme with each cooked meal or non-raw, non-living food - What the heck are enzymes? Enzymes are protein chemicals, which carry a vital energy factor needed for every chemical action, and reaction that occurs in our body. There are approximately 1300 different enzymes found in the human cell. These enzymes can combine with coenzymes to form nearly 100,000 various chemicals that enable us to see, hear, feel, move, digest food, and think. Every organ, every tissue, and all the 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reactions of metabolic enzymes and their energy factor. Nutrition cannot be explained without describing the part that enzymes play! Enzymes are especially important for people with food intolerance's,   stomach discomfort, acid reflux, those who eat a lot of cooked or processed food, those who want to stay health and slow aging and more! Learn more here (because there is way more to the wonderful world of enzymes than I can cram into a blog). I am still amazed that enzymes get very little attention 

3) Greens powder or liquid - whether is is wheatgrass shots or greens powder, phytonutrients, minerals, vitamins and enzymes that are readily available for your to thrive on can dramatically boost your overall health. From disease prevention and fighting illness to increasing blood iron, healing wounds, clearing skin, cleanses the blood and detoxes liver, can stop bone loss and the list goes on! 

4) Protein Source - I think we can admit it is pretty easy to get our daily fill of yummy, energy boosting carbs in, but it seems many of us lack quality protein necessary for muscle growth and retention, hormone balance, hair, nails, body repair, etc. And protein sources like Whey Isolates have been shown to boost immunity, support a growing baby if you are pregnant, keep blood glucose steady, help prevent bone loss in seniors ...am I making a convincing enough case for you to incorporate more protein into your daily diet? Try starting your day with about 20-25 g of protein. Then each meal, women should aim for another 20 or so grams of protein and men about 30-35 g. If you are athletic or pregnant, you may want to add get closer to 1 g of protein per pound of your ideal healthy body weight. 

(Easy and delicious Smoothie Recipes - now there is no excuse to skip breakfast!)

Note: If you are vegan, try mixing up your plant based proteins since a plant protein is an incomplete protein, meaning just one source like hemp or pea doesn't have all the amino acids necessary for the building blocks of good health. 

5) Omega-3's & DHA - are anti inflammatory, help with brain, heart and eye health, decrease blood pressure, very important for the brain of a growing fetus, helps decrease depression, decrease severity of autoimmune disease  and click here for 61 more ways omega's help your health 

Now I know you are going to say, "but Briana, you have links to items to purchase in here so aren't you just trying to sell product too?" Nope...not really. I carry these items BECAUSE I personally take them, have my family and friends take them and recommend my nutrition clients take them. It is because I have done the research and found the highest quality products or reached out to manufacturers to create the products I saw the market was lacking so that myself, my family and my clients could have access to those things as well at reasonable prices. I don't care where you buy your products as long as you know you can trust the supplier/manufacturer and source of ingredients, so more power to you! I provide links here for your further education and for you to see what we offer then compare ours to others you might have access to or already have in your possession. I care that you take sensible measures to improve your health, not that you always buy from me. 

I know that if you get to know us at Simply B you will know we are about doing better each day, educating our 3 C's - clients, community and customers. KNOWLEDGE is POWER and ACCESS leads to  ACTION. Fair enough? We sure think so! 

They are in your food and on your body... Now what?

Psst... It's on our face, all over our skin, at our kitchen table, in our pantry, sitting on our refrigerator shelves! What is it? A CHEMICAL INVASION! As if we don't have enough to worry about on a daily basis as we prepare for birth or as new moms, we need to be aware of the DAILY environmental exposures that could be disrupting our own health as well as our baby's. The more research I do the more my mouth falls agape in disbelief... well maybe not disbelief but more disappointment in our manufacturers and large companies. I love the companies they are finally standing up and making a statement by being truly organic and chemical free, but let's face it, they are few and far between because the higher profit margins come in the synthetic products. 

When you stop to think, it is truly mind boggling that we as human beings EVER thought - hey you know what would be a great idea... let's jam pack our foods, packaging, containers, clothing, household goods, cleaners, beauty products and so on full of gnarly chemicals that if served to us in a shot glass you couldn't pay us to sling back, but we willingly and many times unknowingly encounter hundreds if not thousands of offenders EVERY day! Our precious bodies are not made to handle these heinous materials.

However, I realize that my goal is not to completely panic about all the thing we cannot control and instead decide on what things we can control and do something about those. It is my hopes that you join me in the education of our consumer products and start taking action to minimize your exposure. Education is key to determining what we CAN control. The more we as consumers demand better products, i.e organic, natural and harmless, the more big business has to start listening. In case you haven't gathered from my other writings, I am a believer that ignorance is only ever momentary bliss, then the repercussions can be devastating. I propose we take a moment to focus on the what and why's that impact our family's health and our home and then move on to the "what we can do now". Sound like a plan? (well I suppose if you keep reading then you agree :) )

Did you know: (insert expression of horror and shock below!)

• Over 69 million Americans live in areas that exceed smog standards (cough, cough!)

• Most drinking water contains over 700 chemicals, including excessive amount of lead. (are filling that glass of ice with someones else's pharmaceutical residue?!)

• Over 3,000 chemicals are added to our food supply (I hardly call those "foods"! Do you?)

• As many as 10,000 chemicals in the form of solvents, emulsifiers, and preservatives are used in food processing and storage. (Why should ANY chemical be allowed into OUR FOOD? Does that store bought cookie really sound that good anymore?)

• U.S chemical companies hold licenses to make 75,000 chemicals for commercial use; the federal government registers an average of 2,000 newly synthesized chemicals each year. (And our government has our well-being in mind???)

• 500 chemicals are used as active ingredients in pesticides (Buy organic produce when possible. Click Here for the "Dirty Dozen List")

• Chemicals companies are not required to tell the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) how their compounds are used or monitor where their products end up in the environment. (WHY NOT?)

(Source for statistics listed above: Goldberg group, pg. 168; www.bodyburden.com)

• Women take in 2-5 pounds of chemicals each year just through their skin from creams, lotions, makeups and other products.
• Close to 800 chemicals are known to or suspected to be  capable of interfering with hormone receptors, hormone synthesis or hormone conversion.

What does all this mean? Just because something is on a shelf doesn't mean it is safe for us! We have to be our own best advocate, because these companies are not looking out for our well being.

What are these chemicals doing to us? ..and this is the short list! I wasn't sure I had enough room to include ALL the detrimental effects...and we are discovering more and more every year!

• Many are human carcinogens (cancer causing; just about every type of cancer you can imagine!)
• Affecting our nervous system
• Endocrine disrupting (hormone disruption)
• Birth defects
• Obesity (damage to our "appetite switch" and how we store fat)
• Exacerbate hyperactive children
• Increase risk of diabetes
• Early onset of puberty in our children
• Alzheimer's
• Memory confusion and loss
• autoimmune diseases

Some great info about our cosmetics ladies...if this doesn't make you rethink your cosmetic bag, then I don't know what will!

(I have no affiliation with any of the products, websites or authors linked below, they are simply informative ones I came across in my research)

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/chemicals-linked-to-breast-cancer/cosmetics/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/estelle-hayes/chemicals-in-cosmetics_b_826191.html

Find safe, healthy, green & ethical products based on scientific ratings http://www.goodguide.com/

So what can we control?

So glad you asked! We can control our pocket books, our hand-to-mouth reaction and the amount of knowledge we arm ourselves with. Two things we can control absolutely, what we put in our mouth and what we spend our money on. What does that mean?

Buy products with ingredients you can pronounce AND know are safe and natural (I have spent many an hour in store aisles Googling the ingredient lists on everything from baby wipes to shampoo... and you know what...if I have to google it it probably isn't worth bringing into my environment)

1. Use natural household solutions, like white vinegar solution instead of chemical spray.
2. Steer clear of anything with "fragrance" listed in it (companies do not have to disclose what makes up those fragrances and it seems most are health HARMFUL)
3. Buy organic produce whenever possible. Wash  and peel all produce thoroughly before ingesting.
4. Seek out organic, grass-fed meat and poultry
5. Try organic cosmetic lines like Juice Beauty and check out fantastically  supportive sites that take on the effort for you of digging to find green products like at Village Green Network
6. Stay out of the processed and prepackaged food aisle! Nothing good comes from being overly processed, "enriched" and put on a shelf for years. You and your family deserve much better. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store, shop local farmers markets and health food stores (a note about health food stores,;just because they have greener products doesn't mean that every item there them is suitable for your goals, they can still have excess sugars, some trans fats and chemicals in things like many mainstream "protein bars" and dyes and preservatives in things like vitamins)
7. Use organic oils instead of chemical laden lotions. Try almond, olive or apricot oil after a shower or try on them your baby belly several times a day or on baby after her bath (great time to massage baby too!) Use fresh avocado on your face at night, use lemon as a face toner and pore reducer. (I will add home skin remedies on another post!)
8. Use essential oils like tea tree as a disinfectant on cuts, dry scalp and acne
9. Choose shampoos and conditioners without sulfates and parabens like Aubrey Organics
10. Armed with these simple ingredients, visit this DIY site for household cleanser ideas
    
    • Baking Soda
    • White Vinegar
    • Hydrogen peroxide
    • Borax
    • Essential oils, like tea tree oil, lavender oil, eucalyptus oil, or lemongrass oil
    • Castile soap (like Dr. Bronner's)
    • Fresh herbs, citrus, or citrus peels
    • Olive or vegetable oil
    • Water
11. Unsure about products your currently own try this product analyzer below based on what is important to you. Neat concept! http://shopping.goodguide.com/about 
12. Consistently eat very wholesome organic foods with an emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruits for their high antioxidants and anti-cancer properties.
13. Drink lots of purified water each day - FLUSH those toxins!
14. Scrub your skin regularly (dry brushing or wet scrubs work) - it will help exfoliate and improve circulation so your body can release that toxic build up
15. Drink from glass bottles not plastic ( I buy Kevita because their sprakling probiotic drink is delicious then I use the sturdy glass bottles to fill with water and fresh green juices that I do at home. My own mini-version of recycling :) )
16. Take your produce out of the plastic bags as soon as you get home from the store instead of tossing them in the fridge or on the counter in the plastic.
17. Store leftovers in glass containers and not plastic
18. Instead of spraying perfume on your body and burning toxic candles in your home, try natural essential oils for a clean, fresh, relaxing or invigorating scent.
19. Do not microwave foods in plastic or Styrofoam