Choosing A Multivitamin

We have all seen the commercials about Multivitamins on TV: "Complete from A to Zinc" but is taking a daily multi really necessary? I think so but you have to choose carefully. I look at multivitamins to fill in gaps that might be missing in your diet. That being said, there is no substitute for good foods because they bring with them fiber, antioxidants, water and other benefits to our body. I also think that you need to look at your state of health and family history and supplement in addition to your multi. For example, if you are overweight with varicose veins and a family history of heart disease I would recommend a multi plus chromium, Vitamin E and Fish oil at a minimum. If you smoke, you need extra Vitamin C, E and B Vitamins. This is where seeing a Nutritionist (not a Dietitian, I will explain the difference in an upcoming blog) would be very beneficial.

So what multivitamin should you choose? Stay AWAY from the no-name and pharmacy brands such as Centrum and One A Day. Many of the vitamins in these supplements are synthetic form and your body cannot recognize them properly. In fact, some synthetic vitamins can actually harm the body (although you would have to take a lot). They use these forms to keep the product cheap but with multis, like anything in life, you get what you pay for. Also look at the list of "other" or "Non-medicinal" ingredients, it is longer than the list of nutrients in the product! This means there is a lot of crap (binders, fillers, artificial colours and preservatives) in amongst the vitamins which make it hard for your body to absorb.

For many people, a multivitamin is the only supplement they take so it is important to make sure it is of high quality, natural source, easy for the body to absorb and complete. Here are my recommendations for getting the best Multivitamin for you:

• Visit your local health food store or your natural health practitioner to get your multi, stay away from drugstores, grocery stores and Costco. In general the better products are at the health food store plus it is nice to support a small business.
• Try to ensure that your multi has a B 50 Complex in it, when you find this it is likely that all of the other vitamins and minerals are at a good level in the product. Ask for help and they will be able to show you the options with a B 50.
• Opt for capsules and softgels instead of tablets. Not all multivitamins in a tablet format are bad but with all of the binders to hold the tablet together, your body has to work harder to break them down. You may need to take 2-3 capsules but even if you only took one per day you would still be getting far more benefit than from taking one of the popular drug store brands.
• Take your multi after breakfast to avoid becoming nauseated. The B-vitamins can be hard on an empty stomach.
• You can buy multivitamins that are gender or age specific. I am not so concerned about gender specific vitamins, I just buy a good quality one that both my husband and I can take. However if you are a single woman or man, you might as well buy a good woman's or man's multi. As far as age goes, I do think that anyone over the age of 50 should buy an iron-free multi because excess iron can cause joint inflammation. All multis specific for this age group are iron free.

The ones I feel comfortable recommending when I am helping out at one of my health food stores are:

Platinum Naturals Super Multi (this is the one my husband and I take because it is in a soft gel, hemp oil base which helps with fat soluble vitamin absorption).

Progressive Nutrition MultiVitamins (these are age and gender specific however I think they do have a basic one as well).

Flora Multi

Other brands that are safe bets are Sisu, Natural Factors, New Chapter, Greens Multi and Now brand.

If you don't take one, go to your local health food store and buy a good multivitamin today. Look at it as a little bit of daily heath insurance.

Why Cleanse?? Part 2

So we know why we should cleanse right? Our bodies are not meant to deal with the burden that we place on them, cleansing helps to ease that burden.

So how do you cleanse? Well there are lots of different options actually but the 3 most common are: Fasting or Juicing, Nutritional Cleansing and Herbal Cleansing.

• Fasting or Juicing: Many cultures fast periodically for health or spiritual reasons. It is gaining popularity in western society and there are even retreats you can attend to fast in a controlled environment. How fasting works to cleanse is that it takes the burden of digestion off the body, allowing all of the bodies functions to perform better. Enzymes which are usually used for digesting food travel to the intestine and blood stream where they "clean" the system of dead and damaged cells, pollutants and unwanted bacterias. Fasting also gives the major organs a rest so that they can become rejuvenated. Sounds great right? Fasting is not for everyone, especially if you have a highly physically demanding job or blood sugar issues. Most people who fast do so for 3-10 days although there are people who do it for much longer. Please proceed with caution if you do decide to fast.
• Nutritional Cleansing: This is a wonderful way to cleanse the body by flooding it with minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. These nutrients help the fuel the body and nourish it so that it works optimally. When you support the body with the proper nutrition, your liver, kidneys, bowel etc all are able to release and eliminate toxins efficiently. Nutritional cleansing can and should be done on a regular basis.
• Herbal Cleansing: Currently this is likely the most popular way of cleansing the body. Herbal cleanses are usually sold as kits with products to cleanse the organs and support the bowel. It is very important that if you are going to cleanse your liver you make sure you are not constipated. If the toxins are dumped into the bowel and sit there, they will be reabsorbed. Either deal with the constipation first or buy a herbal cleanse that addresses that issue (2-3 bowel movements a day is ideal!). Herbal Cleanses use formulas of herbs, minerals and amino acids that help the organs of detoxification to increase their output. These kits usually last between 7 - 30 days (30 days is ideal to do the job fully although a 7 day cleanse done every month is also effective). You would do a 30 day cleanse 2-4 times per year.

As a general rule, these products we keep hearing about on the radio and TV infomercials are overpriced and under performing. To find a good cleanse, visit your local health food store or visit a Nutritionist. If you have any questions about cleansing, don't hesitate to email them to me.

Why Cleanse?? Part 1

We have all heard about cleansing or detoxing our body (not to be confused with the detox that Brittany Spears is forced into bi-weekly). We read about cleansing in magazines, hear ads on the radio (that product we keep hearing ads about is crap by the way) and see products line the shelves of our health food store. It seems like cleansing has exploded overnight but this is not true, in fact cultures have cleansed for thousands of years.
Is it necessary to cleanse our bodies? YES!! If you drink alcohol or smoke, you need to cleanse. If you sit in traffic and breath in the fumes from cars, you need to cleanse. If you use plastic, make up, lotions, pharmaceuticals, eat non-organic foods or dry cleaning, you need to cleanse. Basically if you live in this day and age, YOU NEED TO CLEANSE.

Our bodies are amazing machines and they cleanse every minute of every day. For example, our kidneys and liver cleanse toxins so that they can be removed from the body via urine and our bowel. If you were to ask a Doctor if you should cleanse, chances are they would say "Your body does it for you" and this is true to a degree. Our bodies are bombarded with more toxins than ever in history. Cancer rates are through the roof, kids are developing liver disease, our bodies are nutritionally depleted and still most Doctors refuse to acknowledge that this could be in part due to our toxic environment and bodies. Our bodies weren't designed to handle and process the amount and types of toxins it is faced with today.

A study conducted by Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Environmental Working Group tested volunteers blood and urine and what they found was shocking. There was a total of 167 chemicals found, an average of 91 in each person. Of these toxins, 76 caused cancer, 91 are toxic to the brain and 79 cause birth defects. These industrial toxins were even found in high levels in infants. This is scary stuff. Check out www.toxicnation.ca for studies they are doing on Canadians including our politicians.

More on how the importance of cleansing tomorrow.

Falling off the Weight Loss Wagon!

Well I fell off the wagon, rolled into the ditch and haven't quite gotten up yet! This past weekend was one filled with company dinners, quick bites in between clients and big breakfasts and I am paying for it on the scale. All this food, sodium and the lack of water I drank turned into a 4 pound weight gain in 3 days. Now I know this isn't all fat but it feels discouraging all the same.

So why do I fall so hard when I do fall? Well one thing is clear to me, I have no willpower when I am exhausted. I don't do well with late night dinners (9 pm is late for me). I overindulge and then don't sleep well. I also have always had an all or nothing mentality. If I screw up, why not go crazy?? Life is a series of challenges and set backs and going crazy is what got me to this place! I need to learn to treat each meal individually and make my decision based on the big picture. Not sure if that makes sense so here is an example. If I know we are having a company dinner on Saturday, I need to make good decisions for breakfast and lunch. My thinking has always been (and I do know better!!) that if I am having a big dinner then the whole day is a write off so why not enjoy it. This is fat person thinking, not healthy person thinking.

So what have I learned this weekend:

1. Being this heavy is hard on the body. 2 days on my feet and I feel like I have been hit by a bus! Next year will be MUCH better, this is a promise to myself.
2. When I am tired, I need to sleep. If I have a meeting or engagement I can't get out of I need to eat earlier and then just have a light bite with the group.
3. If possible I need to decide what I want to eat before I go to the restaurant by checking out the menu online. It is too tempting to make bad choices in the moment. I need to plan to succeed.
4. Still be accountable to someone. Jon and I are doing this program together but no one I work with really knows what I am up to. If I had someone I was accountable to and whom I knew was looking out for me this past weekend, maybe I would have passed on the creme brulee and second martini.

So this is me coming clean and now I will brush myself off and climb back onto the wagon. It may be a bumpy ride sometimes but it is all worthwhile to reach the destination.

Busy time ahead!

Hi guys,

There will be no blog for a few days while I am off at our yearly tradeshow. Will be a trying weekend for the waistline but my goal is to stay the same. I will let you know how I do when I get back. Have a wonderful weekend!

Goal setting 101

Most successful people in the world know what they want and they have a plan to get it. Goal setting is consistent trait among top achievers especially with regards to fitness and business. It makes sense right? You are training for a marathon, you have milestones or things you need to accomplish to get there. You see yourself finishing that race but there is a process of training to get to that finish line.

In my professional life, I have always been a goal setter and it has led to a lot of success for me. I work in sales and if I didn't have goals or quotas, I would have nothing to strive for. But I have never consistently done goal setting in my personal life. Sure, I have set goals on New Years Eve to get in shape and have more fun etc. But I have never truly set goals in writing and kept them in the forefront of my mind.

One of my favorite business Gurus is Brian Tracy. He talks a lot about the process of goal setting in all of his books on sales and self improvement. Being that I want to be a top achiever now for my health, I am going to use the tools he sets out to set some goals for myself and I will share those tips with you.

• Goals must be PRESENT, PERSONAL and POSITIVE. So an example would be:

"I am smoke-free" is better than "Quit smoking".

• Goals must be measurable and have a time line:

"I am smoke-free by November 2nd, 2008"

• Goals are 100 times more effective if written down and 1000 times more effective if rewritten every day. Have a book by your bed or on your desk that you write and rewrite your goals in everyday.
• Goals are very personal and some people may decide to keep them private but sometimes sharing those goals creates a sense of accountability. I have shared with you my goal to lose 150 pounds, now I need to make it personal, positive and present to make it really effective. That would look something like:

"I weigh X pounds by July 2009" (still not quite ready to announce my weight)

I have seen the power of setting goals in my career now I am going to harness that power and apply it to my health. I hope these tips help you be able to do the same if you so choose.

Obese and Preggers, not a good mix

A big part of the reason I am really serious about losing the weight this time is that Jon and I would like to start our family in the next few years. My doctor freaked out when I mentioned it saying that being pregnant now would be a disaster. So I wanted to research myself to see what the issues really are and well....she was right. Scary stuff to follow!

The first issue is actually getting pregnant. Being fat can interfere with fertility because your fat stores changes the levels of sex hormones the body produces. Add into the mix that many fat women have polycystic ovaries (blog on PCOS to come) and getting knocked up becomes a huge challenge.

Once you are pregnant you have an increased risk for many serious issues:

• Preeclampsia: This is a condition which causes swelling, high blood pressure and fluid retention. This sucks for mom but can be very dangerous for baby because it can restrict placental blood flow.
• Gestational Diabetes: This prevents your body from breaking down sugars and can cause the baby to gain too much weight in utero causing a dangerous and difficult delivery. It has also been proven that babies with high birth weight are more likely to suffer from childhood obesity.
• Cesarean section: If you are obese you are more likely to have a slow and difficult labor, this increases the chance having to have a c-section (can they do a tummy tuck at the same time???).
• We are more likely also to experience difficulty in our postpartum recovery.

So if you are thinking of starting a family, NOW is the time to get in better shape. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete but losing 10-20% of your body weight will make a big difference.