Vitamin Information Center

Real men should eat liver (or carrot juice, or sweet potatoes), not vitamin supplements. That’s because yet another study has come out questioning the value of megadoses of vitamins. The BBC, ABC, and Science Daily have versions of the story. The advice, as I suggested in an earlier post on this topic, is to get your vitamins and antioxidants from real food instead of pills when possible. Forgotten where vitamins naturally come from? Here’s a quick refresher (foods are listed in order of decreasing vitamin richness):

Vitamin A
Organ meat (liver, giblets), carrot juice, sweet potato (with peel), pumpkins, carrots, spinach, collards, kale

Vitamin B -6
Potato, banana, garbanzo beans, chicken breast, oatmeal, pork loin, roast beef

Vitamin B -12
Mollusks, liver, trout, salmon, beef, yogurt, haddock

Vitamin C
Guava, red sweet pepper, kiwi, orange juice, green peppers, grapefruit juice, strawberries

Vitamin D
Cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, milk

Vitamin E
Sunflower seeds, almonds, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, hazelnuts, turnip greens, tomato paste

etting Botox and spending hundreds of dollar on age-defying skin creams are not the only ways to keep your skin looking healthy and fresh. One of the most effective strategies to have super skin is to nourish your body with plenty of nutrients. Research has shown that consuming specific foods can help prevent wrinkling, sun-damage and keep your skin well-hydrated. Next time you go food shopping have a grocery list for your skin, too.

A garden may mean different things to different people. To some, it’s a way to trim back the grocery budget. If laid out properly and maintained, a 50-by-50-foot garden could produce all the vegetables a family of five would need for a year. Even a 20-by-20-foot plot could produce enough food to greatly impact that weekly trudge to the grocery store.Some find it relaxing, some, a source of exercise. Light gardening will burn 170 to 240 calories an hour, while vigorous work such as spading and hoeing will burn 250 to 350.
Most have found how much better homegrown harvest tastes than the store bought stuff and how much better it is for you. Tomatoes that are picked green will ripen with 1/3 less vitamin C than vine ripened ones, and broccoli will lose 2/3 of its vitamin C six days after harvest. But even when stored for a period of time, good amounts of disease fighting beta-carotene are found in winter squash, carrots and sweet potatoes.

Why should it surprise us that fresh, just-picked veggies are the best for us? You wouldn’t need to take another store bought vitamin if all your vegetables came from your garden.

Going down the list we find that asparagus is high in vitamins A, C, B1, and Calcium. Because they root deep they become a good source of minerals too. Beets are high in A and C, while turnips are packed with B2 and E.

Besides the beta carotene found in carrots, significant amounts of B1, calcium, and phosphorus make the carrot one of the best snacks you could give your little munchkin. They would consider it a tasty treat if it came from your garden; the store stuff can taste pretty bad sometimes, thus leaving a bad taste in their mouth for veggies.

Parsnips, when harvested in the winter under 12 inches of leaves, will give you a whole new appreciation for this B6, C and potassium packed, cream-colored, carrot-looking thing. Other vegetables whose flavor sweetens with each passing frost include broccoli, which has more body-ready calcium than a glass of milk could ever hope for. Brussels sprouts are just plain stuffed with everything. And just one serving of Cauliflower will give you all the vitamin C your body will need for that day. Cabbage goes beyond that, adding good amounts of vitamins B1, B2, A and calcium as well.

Onion and leeks rate high in vitamins A, C and E, with corn adding vitamins A, B and some minerals, though not in very big amounts. My wife says there is not much nutrition in sweet corn; and I guess after it’s been smothered in butter and sprinkled with salt, any good has probably been canceled out. But I tell her, “It’s got to be better than a Twinkie.”

There are many more, including spinach. We around 50 years old know what gigantic muscles can be had by downing a can of this stuff, and these are necessary when protecting our Olive Oyls from the Blutos in our lives (I still don’t know what he saw in her, what a bean pole).

If gardening is your thing, whatever your reason, be it saving money or good health, your tastes buds and, more importantly, your children’s buds will say, “I didn’t know veggies could taste this good.”

If you have any questions about your landscaping, lawn, or garden, enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and write to Niemeyer Landscaping, 3368 Perry St., Hudsonville, 49426, or e-mail NiemeyerLandscaping@Juno.com.

The old saying still holds true: You are what you eat. Some of us believe we can afford to disregard this dictum, as long as we have a plastic surgeon, a salon and a day spa on speed dial.

We want to be thinner - we get liposuction. Our hair is thinning - off to the salon for extensions. Our nails become brittle - acrylic nails are a phone call away.

What most of us fail to recognize is that these changes (skin, hair and nails) are our body’s way of screaming for help. What keeps you clean and healthy on the inside will keep you looking good on the outside.

If you want clean and clear skin, drink more water. Your kidneys remove waste products that must be dissolved by water. By drinking around eight glasses of water a day (this is an average; everybody has different requirements), you are flushing out the toxins that would normally escape through the pores of your skin. This prevents pimples and blemishes, and helps keep the skin moisture level even.

* The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E fight free radical damage caused by aging and the environment. The beta-carotene in bright orange and red vegetables converts into vitamin A, helping to produce new skin cells and shed old ones, which leads to fresh skin. Vitamin A is also good for preventing dry skin and dry hair. Food sources of vitamin A are carrots, dark leafy greens and sweet potatoes. Recommendations: 900 mcg/day for men and 700 mcg/day for females.

* Citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberries and red peppers house vitamin C. Vitamin C is a collagen healer, helping the body build new tissue. The healthier the collagens in your body, the firmer and smoother your skin will look. If you bruise easily, double-check your vitamin C intake. Recommendations: 75 mg/day for men and 60 mg/ day for females.

* Vitamin E is found in almonds, avocados and sunflower seeds. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects the skin from free radicals and helps repair connective tissue. Fifteen mg/day is recommended for males and females alike.

* Omega-3 fatty acids, found in wild salmon, mackerel, walnuts and flaxseed, is great for the skin. Omega-3 fatty acids help decrease inflammation (which can damage the collagen in the skin, causing wrinkles), preventing dryness in the skin and hair. It also adds moisture, leading to healthier looking skin and strong nails by preventing cracking.

For healthy adults with no history of heart disease, the American Heart Association recommends eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids at least two times per week. It also recommends consuming plant- derived sources such as tofu or soybeans, walnuts, flaxseed oil and canola oil.

* It’s no secret that calcium builds strong bones and helps prevent osteoporosis. As you age, calcium helps maintain tooth enamel so teeth remain strong. A diet lacking in calcium also contributes to dry, brittle fingernails. The good bacteria in yogurt is beneficial not only to the digestive tract but to your skin as well. Choose low-fat dairy products such as skim milk, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheese. Recommendation for both males and females is 1000 to 1200 mg/day.

* Iron is the most commonly deficient mineral in humans and is essential for the formation of red blood cells and delivering oxygen to the cells. Brittle fingernails are often a sign of iron deficiency. Iron comes from both animal (heme) and plant (non-heme) sources, but is better absorbed from heme iron food sources. Iron is found abundantly in lean red meats and fortified cereals. Recommendation for males and females (non-pregnant) is 10 mg/day.

* Zinc is another mineral that can combat hair loss and brittle nails, as well as those unattractive little white spots on nails. Zinc is needed for a multitude of functions, including tissue repair, wound healing, maintenance of night vision, taste acuity and hormone production. Zinc-rich foods are shellfish and lean red meats. Pumpkin seeds provide one of the most concentrated vegetarian food sources of zinc. Recommendations are 8 mg/day for females and 11 mg/day for males.

* Protein is not a common deficiency in this country, given our large portion sizes. But it’s important to note that protein fortifies the hair and promotes growth.

Salmon Teriyaki

Serves: 4

1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger

3 cloves of garlic, minced (1 tablespoon)

3 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese wine)

11/2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons honey

4 (6 to 8 ounce) wild salmon fillets

Place the ginger, garlic and scallions in a bowl, and whisk in the soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and honey.

Marinate salmon for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator, turning once or twice. Grill on high heat for 3 to 6 minutes, turning gently, or preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes. This dish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Nutrition per serving 320 calories, 34 grams protein, 16 grams fat, 0 grams carbohydrates, 414 milligrams sodium, 108 milligrams cholesterol

There are three approaches to battling cold and flu: do nothing, take medication or attempt grandma’s home remedies. Doing nothing does not seem to expedite recovery and taking medications seems like a Big Pharma ploy to make more money. That leaves you with grandma’s remedies of chicken soup, echinacea, vitamin C and lots of sweating.

Here is a look at the most common old wives’ tales about cold and flu remedies.

Eat nutrient-rich foods, drink lots of fluids, stay rested and get some fresh air and light exercise when you are sick. Good advice that both your grandma and science can agree on. And as Ben Franklin so eloquently said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The best way to prevent illness is to keep your immune system tuned up by maintaining a healthy diet and getting regular exercise.

An excellent way to control your acne is a balanced diet and making sure to supplement your diet with the proper nutrients and vitamins. Pay attention to the appearance of your skin because it is often times a reflection what we put into our bodies. Find ways to make both your body and skin fit with your diet.

Start with food What might affect one person may not affect another because all of our bodies are different. Diary your food intake and compare your food consumption to your breakouts. Notice if your complexion changes when you eliminate certain drinks or food groups from your diet like dairy, caffeine, and refined sugars, which are all common breakout triggers.

Daily Hydration Moisturize multiple times a day and drink plenty of water and other healthy beverages to keep hydrated. It’s imperative that you don’t let yourself get thirsty. It is a common misnomer that when your skin is taut and dry that it is clean. Although it may be, when your skin is too try it overcompensates by producing more oil, which will in turn clog your pores.

Vitamin A: Make sure you have enough Foods that contain vitamin A include egg yolks, spinach, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and beef. A supplement is available and beneficial too. With enough vitamin A in your body, your skin will rebuild itself more effectively by expediting the healing of existing acne and reducing dry, flaky skin. There is also proof that those with severe acne may have low levels of vitamin A in their system.

The new buzzword: antioxidants Alpha-lipoic acid and vitamins C and E are beneficial antioxidants. They are obtainable through foods like potatoes, broccoli, citrus fruits, seeds, and green leafy vegetables, and of course through supplements. Antioxidants fight off harmful free radicals in the environment that can damage the skin, which makes antioxidants important to any diet. Alpha lipoic acid is helpful in skin renewal, which aids in diminishing acne scars, some studies say.

About omega 3, don’t forget If you have black heads or very dry skin that could be a sign that you, like many of us, do not consume enough of this essential fatty acid. Omega 3 is in fish or fish oil supplements and controls oil production and maintains skin hydration.

Vegetarians need more zinc If you are a vegetarian or if you do not include a lot of shell fish or poultry (like chicken or oysters) in your diet, you may have a hard time consuming enough zinc. A zinc supplement may be helpful because zinc aids in controlling your skin’s oil production.
by Sara Musfeldt