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Vitamins and Minerals: What, Why & How Much?

March 19, 2014

inFood, Health, Lisa, Minerals, Nutrients, Nutrition, Supplements, Vitamins

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Vitamins and minerals are micro-nutrients, part of the 6 Essential Nutrients, required for your body to turn food into energy. Whole foods are the best source of vitamins and minerals, but it sometimes difficult to figure out if you are getting enough from the foods you eat. Below is a list of the most important vitamins and mineral women need and suggestions as to the best food sources. Note: Recommended daily allowances (RDA) listed below are for an average 45 year-old female. Healthy-Nutrition-For-Optimal-Tennis-Fitness

Calcium:

Why you need it: The body uses calcium to build and maintain strong bones and teeth, to help muscles and blood vessels contract and expand, to secrete hormones and to carry messages through the nervous system. Women start to lose bone density in their twenties which can lead to osteoporosis over time. Calcium is one of the best defenses against bone loss.
Where to find it: Milk, cheese, yogurt and dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and kale.
How much you need: 1000mg. Do not exceed 2,500mg.

Iron:

Why you need it: Iron carries oxygen in the body, aids in the production of red blood cells, supports immune function and cognitive development, and is essential for cell growth.
Where to find it: Lean red meat, chicken, turkey, fish, cereals, whole-grains, beans and dark leafy vegetables. Also remember that vitamin C rich foods enhance absorption of iron.
How much you need: 18mg. Do not exceed 45mg.

Magnesium:

Why you need it: Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including maintaining normal muscle and nerve function, keeping heart rhythms steady, supporting a healthy immune system, regulating blood sugar levels and promoting normal blood pressure.
Where to find it: Leafy green vegetables, whole grains, almonds, cashews and other nuts, avocados, beans, soybeans and halibut. Note that a diet very high in fat may cause less magnesium to be absorbed.
How much you need: 320mg. Do not exceed 350mg in supplement form.

Vitamin A:

Why you need it: Vitamin A ensures proper development and function of eyes, skin and immune system and may prevent some types of cancers.
Where to find it: Leafy green vegetables, orange and yellow vegetables, tomato products, fruits, dairy, liver, fish and fortified cereals.
How much you need: 2,310 IU. Do not exceed 10,000 IU.

Folate (Vitamin B9):

Why you need it: Folate helps to produce and maintain new cells. It is necessary for proper brain function for mental and emotional health, and helps protect against birth defects.
Where to find it: Leafy green vegetables, fruits and beans. It is also often added to cereals, breads, pasta and rice.
How much you need: 400 micrograms. Do not exceed 1,000 micrograms in the synthetic form.

Vitamin C:

Why you need it: Vitamin C facilitates normal growth and development, and repairs bodily tissue, bones and teeth. It is used to produce collagen, functions as an antioxidant to block some of the damage caused by free radicals and boosts the body’s immune system.
Where to find it: Most fruits and vegetables especially citrus fruit, red peppers, broccoli, tomatoes and strawberries.
How much you need: 75mg. Do not exceed 2,000mg.

Biotin:

Why you need it: Biotin plays an essential role in energy production and the metabolism of sugar and fats. It is also believed to aid in healthy hair, nails and skin.
Where to find it: Nuts, eggs, soybeans, cauliflower, fish, avocados and berries.
How much you need: There is no RDA, but generally 30 to 100 micrograms.

Other B Vitamins:

Why you need them: The B vitamins help the body convert food into fuel for energy. They contribute to healthy skin, hair, and eyes and also help to maintain muscle tone, metabolism, nervous system functions and memory.
Where to find them: Fish, poultry, meat, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and many fortified cereals and whole grains.
How much you need:
- B1 (Thiamine): 1.1mg. No upper limits have been set.
- B2 (Riboflavin): 1.1 mg. No upper limits have been set.
- B3 (Niacin): 14mg. Do not exceed 35/mg in supplement form.
- B6 (Pyridoxine): 1.3 mg. Do not exceed 100mg.
- B12 (Cobalamin): 2.4 mg. No upper limits have been set.

Vitamin D:

Why you need it: Vitamin D regulates the absorption of calcium and phosphorous in our bones and it is needed for bone and cell growth. It also helps to reduce inflammation.
Where to find it: Fortified mils and cereals, eggs yolks and fish. The body can make Vitamin D from exposure to sunlight.
How much you need: 15 micrograms. Do not exceed 100 micrograms.

Omega-3:

Why you need it: Omega-3 assists in proper brain function, helps reduce high blood pressure and calms inflammation.
Where to find it: Fish, especially salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel, flax seeds and walnuts.
How much you need: There are no standard doses for Omega-3. Check with your doctor to find out your specific needs.

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Virginia • March 19, 2014

Great information!
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Weight Loss Tips You Will Enjoy!

March 4, 2014

inAlcohol, Appetite Suppressants, Food, Health, Lisa, Nutrition, Vitamins, Weight Loss

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Most of us are aware of the basics when it comes to keeping our weight in check: drink water, exercise, eat less calories than you burn, enjoy whole foods and avoid junk food laden with added fats and sugar. However, below are some fun and interesting tips that you can add to your arsenal to fight off unwanted weight gain.

Snack Before Dinner. Eat ½ ounce of healthy fat such as nuts or avocados eight minutes before dinner. You will feel fuller longer and eat less. One study showed a 4-pound weight loss per year with this simple trick.

Eat Mint. Mint has been shown to be a natural appetite suppressant and can even improve digestion. It can be eaten or inhaled. It could be a cup of mint tea, mint flavored toothpaste (don’t eat it), mint infused room scent or a simple mint leaf in your water. One study found that people who inhaled a peppermint scent every two hours ate 2,700 fewer calories per week—that’s nearly a one-pound loss!

Personally, I swear by a cup of mint tea at night. I started drinking it a couple years ago whenever I got hungry at night and it did the trick. Now it is my go to whenever I want to munch (Tazo Refresh is my favorite.)

Add Don’t Subtract. If you are getting depressed thinking of all those foods you are not supposed to eat, then instead concentrate on what you should add to your diet. For example, find a way to add 1 or 2 different healthy foods to your diet each day. Plan your meals around it, and your focus will go from depriving to thriving. Some examples: add kale to your scrambled eggs, add spinach to a juice or make a dessert with three different kinds of berries.

Eat Vitamin C. It inhibits the production of cortisol, a hormone that essentially tells your body to store fat. One simple way is to eat grapefruit or orange slices with breakfast. Or use it as your afternoon snack.

Shoot Your Food. We have all heard about writing down everything you eat, well instead of pen and paper, record what you eat with a photo. Sound complicated? Not with today’s ever present cell phones. Simply snap a picture before you pick up that fork. When you look back and see that healthy salad covered in blue cheese dressing and croutons, it may give you a pause the next time you hit the salad bar.

Eat Breakfast. A recent study in the journal Obesity found that women who ate a 700-calorie breakfast and 200-calorie dinner shed more than twice as much weight over 12 weeks as those whose meal sizes were reversed.

Drink Wine. A 2010 study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, which followed more than 19,000 women for an average of 13 years, found that those who had one to two alcoholic drinks daily put on fewer pounds than non-drinkers and heavy drinkers. Weight gain was lowest among wine drinkers. While the researchers can’t definitively explain this, they say that the subjects who sipped a glass or two ate fewer calories—and that women burn more calories after drinking than men do.

Stand up! Standing burns 1.5 times more calories than sitting. Stand when you’re at the doctor’s office or when you watch TV. My favorite tip is to set my computer on the bar height counter in my kitchen – this way it is perfect height to stand and work.

Sleep in a Cold Room. A somewhat chilly bedroom could improve both your sleep and your metabolism. An article in Obesity Reviews noted that the average indoor temperature has ticked upward during the past few decades. What’s more, most of us keep the thermostat steady throughout the house, preventing the body from experiencing dips in temperature to stoke its own calorie-burning furnace. Sleeping in a chillier room is a great way to force your body to heat itself up for hours and you will burn calories all night long while keeping yourself warm.

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Oatmeal Might Be A Superfood After All

February 4, 2014

inFitness, Food, Health, Lisa, Nutrients, Nutrition, Vitamins

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We all know that oatmeal is good for you and can be a great way to start the day. But it wasn’t until my daughter started eating it and then got her younger brothers to eat it, that I took a second look. I was aware, like most of us, that oatmeal had fiber, and I had seen all those commercials about it lowering your cholesterol. But I thought a lot of this was just overblown advertising. However, when my kids started asking for it as a snack after school, I decided it was time to do a little more research.

As a child, I ate the instant maple brown sugar kind in those little brown packets. At the time, I thought it was tasty and sweet. But as I got older, it was too sweet and uninspiring for me to keep eating it. It wasn’t until recently that I had the ‘real stuff’ – the slow cook rolled oats or the steel cut version. What a difference! Before trying it, I was under the impression that the ‘real’ oatmeal took forever to cook. But it takes maybe 10 to 15 minutes – quick enough for most crazy rushed mornings.

I listed many of the nutritional information and health benefits of slow cooked oatmeal below. One half cup of oatmeal uncooked (which about doubles after cooking) has the following nutritional content.

Protein: 5 to 6 grams of protein depending on the type. Oats have one of the highest protein levels of any grain, even beating out today’s favorite, quinoa. Oats, like many other whole grains, is a complete protein – meaning it contains all 10 essential amino acids. Oats have a one of the highest levels of these amino acids, again, beating our other whole grains like quinoa and brown rice.

Fiber: 4 grams of fiber. Women need between 21 and 25 grams of fiber per day and studies show that the majority of Americans get only about 15 grams a day. If you add fruit, such as bananas or apples, to your oatmeal, you will pump your fiber intake up to by an additional 3-5 grams of fiber. This one meal will meet 1/3 of your recommended daily fiber needs.

Beta glucan: This is a type of fiber that appears to be the all-star compound in oatmeal. There have been hundreds of studies published on beta-glucan and how it naturally boosts your immune system. Beta-glucan stimulates immune cells that ingest and demolish invading pathogens and stimulates other immune cells to attack. In addition, beta glucans stimulate lethal white blood cells (lymphocytes) that bind to tumors or viruses, and release chemicals to destroy it. And to top it off, our bodies do not produce beta-glucan, so you have to ingest it to get it. Hello oatmeal!

Low in fat and calories: Approximately 3 grams of fat and 150 calories per serving.

Whole Grains: Oatmeal is a whole grain, and eating whole grains can lower your risk for several diseases, including high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Oatmeal also contains lignans, a plant chemical that has been found to prevent heart disease.

Low Glycemic Index (GI): Oatmeal has a low glycemic index (Steel Cut have an index of 42, standard rolled oats have an index of 55.). (Instant has 83 – NOT a low GI food.) GI measures the actual impact that a carbohydrate food has on blood sugar. Foods with low GIs provide sustained energy and do not spike insulin levels. As such, we feel full longer which can aid in dieting and fat loss. In addition, low GI diets are associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stoke, depression and certain cancers, to just name a few.

Lower Cholesterol: Since 1963, study after study has proven the beneficial effects of oatmeal on cholesterol levels. Yes, the commercials are actually true! Studies show that in individuals with high cholesterol (above 220 mg/dl), consuming just 3 grams of soluble oat fiber per day (an amount found in one bowl of oatmeal) typically lowers total cholesterol by 8-23%. This is highly significant since each 1% drop in serum cholesterol translates to a 2% decrease in the risk of developing heart disease.

Iron: 10% of recommended daily amount

There are so many ways to dress up oatmeal and add variety and nutrients. Our favorite way is to add peanut butter, banana and a teaspoon of honey. We eat the natural peanut butter so the honey gives us a little sweetness. You can also add any kind of nuts or seeds to get a little crunch. Another favorite is to add nonfat Greek yogurt – it adds a little creaminess and pumps up the protein. Fruit is also a popular option – we usually use bananas at this time of year, but any fruit works beautifully. Cinnamon and flax seeds are other options to jazz up your oatmeal. The possibilities are bountiful and each one only increases the healthfulness of the meal. If you had relegated oatmeal to the back shelf, it may be time to give it a second look.

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