Everything Causes Cancer!

This was my daughter’s response to a recent email that was circulating warning us against the dangers lurking in hot cars (and I mean temperature not style).
An unhealthy situation created by heated automobile plastic like dashboards, seats, a/c ducts and ANY other plastic objects added to or left in your car (water bottles)- ALL emit benzene, a petrochemical, a natural component of crude oil and a carcinogen, which we know, is a cancer causing toxin. Benzene poisons your bones, causes aplastic anemia and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure can affect your liver and kidneys, cause leukemia and increase the risk of some cancers. It can also cause miscarriages in pregnant females.

The acceptable indoor Benzene level is: 50mg per sq.ft.
A car parked indoors with closed windows will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene.
However, in a car parked outdoors, in the sun, at a temperature above 60 degrees F
the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mgs. 40 times the acceptable level!

What should you do before getting in the car?
The email advises to: “Take the time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car, when you open it, and BEFORE you start it up”. I would skip this part. If you’re smelling the fumes, it means you are breathing them in. Not necessary. Counterproductive.
The email informs us that car manuals advise rolling down the windows to let out all the hot air before turning on the A/C. Makes perfect sense. And “It’s never too late to make positive changes”. I say be proactive. That’s why it’s so important to arm yourself with the facts and to, honestly- use common sense. Because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there and that it won’t hurt you. We are bombarded with potential carcinogens and toxins everyday, especially if we're living the urban life.

We joke that we live in our cars and depending on where you live, it’s basically true. Sometimes we are running in and out of our auto, which heightens this situation, especially if you are like me. We drive our kids to school and open the car. Often if we are running late everyone piles in before we have ‘cleared the air’. I pull out of the driveway as soon as all the seat belts are clicked into place. If I’m off from work, I’ll drive back home eat some breakfast, while the car is sitting in the sun, because my neighbor’s relative has already taken up the entire (and only) space in front of my house where there is shade! A couple hours later I run out and the car is heated up once more.

I run to Whole Foods for some ‘organic’ produce and gluten free 7 grain bread. Guess what- all the parking spots in the shade are taken! This scenario can go on numerous times during the day for many of us who are ‘coming and going’.

So the good advice here is:

1. Do not turn on the A/C as soon as you enter the car.
2. Unlock the door and if you have power windows- hit those buttons while outside the car; let the old toxic air escape and the new fresh air circulate in. It’s not the air conditioning that is harmful it’s the accumulated toxins that the A/C blows around.
3. Then turn on the A/C after a couple of minutes.

I’ll bet we are better, more focused drivers when we follow this ritual especially if we have environmental sensitivities or cerebral allergies.
​
Next we’ll look at what else helps us to combat carcinogens like benzene. We know we can’t avoid them all, especially after catastrophic events like oil spills.
So what can we do ourselves while the government argues over regulations?
What do you do to protect yourself and precious family?
​What do you tell your children when they say, "Everything Causes Cancer"!

Feeling anxious and frenzied?
Wondering why?

Okay what did you have for breakfast?
The usual- a cup of Joe and a Bountiful Blueberry Muffin from Starbucks on your run to the office. You skipped lunch to prepare for a meeting and substituted it with mini snicker bars in the reception area.  Finally, dinner is delayed due to a deadline you needed to meet before leaving the office for the day- vending machine here we come- kettle chips and a diet coke. At the station you grabbed an energy drink to give you the extra pump needed for the long commute home where you catch up on personal emails and texts.  Then you toss and turn into the wee hours.

No wonder you’re feeling stressed both physically and mentally. You’re not feeding your brain and nervous system the nourishment it needs to feel balanced, normalized. Actually you’re zapping it with caffeine and sugar.

Let’s start with a dietary make over. How you begin your morning has a huge impact on your mood and performance throughout the day. If you’re in a rush don’t worry this breakfast is quick and packs a nutritional punch:

Anti-Frantic Breakfast
A quick healthy breakfast to start your day anxiety free:
1-2 scoops amino acid rich protein powder
1 TBS cold pressed chia seed or flax oil
1/4 cup blueberries & 1/4 cup red raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup vanilla or original almond milk
1 tsp. maca root powder
By the way, your healthy low fat blueberry muffin from Starbucks is a nutritional nightmare for your nervous and endocrine systems. You feel full but who wouldn’t eating 430 calories.
1 muffin (135g) Calories: 430 Total fat: 2.5 g Sodium: 540 mg Total Carbs: 98g Sugars: 57g Protein: 6g

Anti-Frantic Lunch
Mixed Green Salad tossed in olive oil/balsamic vinegrette dressing
Grilled Chicken or Sesame Tofu or grilled Salmon
Optional salad garnishings: raw walnut pieces and dried cranberries 
Iced Green Tea

Anti-Frantic Dinner
Roast turkey breast with tamari herb gravy
Or Braised Trout with lime dill sauce
Steamed kale with diced beets, garlic, carrots & red onion
Tri color quinoa & lentil medley
Sprinkling of nutritional yeast on vegetables & grains
Blueberry-Peach gluten-free cobbler with toasted almonds
Decaffeinated Green Tea or Sparkling lime water

Functional Medicine Clinicians generally recommend supplementing with 50mgs of 5-hydroxy tryptophan 30 minutes before bedtime. This is an easily digested form of the essential amino acid tryptophan that increases serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps with sleep and relaxation.

Your calcium and magnesium should be supplemented at bedtime. They are relaxing minerals and also they are best absorbed during the evening hours. Herbal teas that include chamomile, spearmint and valerian often soothe and calm before bed. Valerian contains chemical compounds, called valepotriates, which may offer sedative benefits that help you fall asleep.
​
On weekends take a hot bath with lavender salts or oils. During the week have a lavender sachet near your pillow to calm and soothe.

In a nutshell: The foods you need to focus on to optimize neurological health and relieve stress and anxiety are:

• amino acids (the building blocks of protein foods) including methionine, tyrosine, l-glutamic acid, GABA and trytophan;
• Vitamins- B-complex
• Vitamin C 
• minerals (magnesium & calcium)
• omega 3 fatty acids
• plants/herbs: Peruvian maca, kava, valerian root, lavender, and green tea

copyright 2017

Several years ago at a vegan gathering where Victoria Moran was eloquently speaking about her book, “The Main Street Vegan”, she mentioned oil pulling. I was not familiar with this ancient Ayurvedic practice. The method was quickly discussed and Victoria shared that it whitened her teeth. Immediately following this lecture, I researched this further so I could try it (always an eager guinea pig) and share it with my audience. So after several years of faithful oil pulling, I'm pleased to share that it definitely makes my mouth feel fresher. Weird right-you'd think swishing oil in your mouth would feel slimy and gross. It doesn't. I actually feel like the oil IS pulling bacteria, plaque and lodged food particles out of my mouth.

                                                  CARE TO JOIN ME?
Here’s what to do:

1. If you don’t already have some in your refrigerator, you need to buy organic cold pressed (unrefined) coconut, sesame or sunflower oil. The experts say these are the best for oil pulling purposes. My daughter and I use virgin coconut oil because it's fairly tasteless and it has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. Avoid corn oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil and soy oil as well as oils that go rancid quickly such as flax oil. Do not add flavorings to the oil or buy flavored oils.
2. In the morning, before breakfast on an empty stomach, take 1 Tablespoonful of oil and place it in your mouth. DO NOT SWALLOW! It obviously won’t harm you at this point but we are not eating the oil we are swishing the oil.
3. *Move the oil around your mouth slowly as if you were rinsing or swishing. Dr Karach, Ukrainian Physician and expert on oil pulling describes the movement as, “sip, suck and pull through the teeth.” Begin with 10 minutes and eventually swish your way up to 20 minutes. Your goal is to thoroughly mix the oil with your saliva. According to oilpulling.com, the swishing activates the enzymes and the enzymes draw toxins out of the blood.
4. Don’t swallow the oil. It is toxic after it draws out impurities from your blood.
5. As you swish and draw out toxins, the oil gets thinner and white. If the oil is still yellow or clear, it has not been “pulled” (swished around) long enough. Set a timer and check the consistency of the oil to make sure you do it long enough for positive results.
6. *Then spit the oil from your mouth. If you don’t want to clog your drain or leave an oil slick in your sink or toilet, spit into a jar or can.
7. Rinse the inside and outside of your mouth thoroughly. You can use regular tap water or filtered water to rinse and clean.
8. The oil pulling process pulls harmful bacteria and toxic bodily waste. If you do spit into the sink you may want to clean it with antibacterial soap.
9. The oil pulling can be repeated 3 times a day but always before the meal on an empty stomach.

  CLAIMED HEALTH BENEFITS: 

• freshens your breath (bacteria causes halitosis)
• plaque prevention
•  a decrease in cavities, bleeding gums & gingivitis
•  fastening of loose teeth
• visible whitening of teeth. 
• helps lubricate your lips, tongue, mouth & throat
• increases metabolism
• anti-inflammatory- helps autoimmune disorders

Please share any experience you have had with oil pulling or questions. 

*One man's Wheat is another man's Poison
​If you are following a gluten-free diet and still not feeling well, you may need to eliminate all grains. Thankfully there are food companies hip to this and recipe books to help as well. In her book, “Going Against The Grain”, Melissa Diane Smith makes a sharp statement, “Grains may seem the staff of life, but they’re really scythes that insidiously whittle away most people’s health.”
Included in her list of health problems associated with our pasta infused diets are:

• obesity
• heart disease
• diabetes, fatigue
• dementia
• digestive disorders
• cancer

Instead, a diet that favors vegetables over grains is the key to long-term weight control and health according to much research.
​
*Inflammation
Today we are hearing a lot about inflammation being the underlying cause of disease. We are not just what we eat, but more importantly what we digest and assimilate. If grains are causing irritation and gut inflammation they are contributing to ill health. After partially digested food compounds pass through a compromised intestinal lining into the bloodstream and to tissues, they cause irritation and inflammation.

*Testing Negative for Celiac and wheat but....
If you’ve had allergy tests done and they came out negative for foods you know give you a problem, don’t be discouraged or duped by these limited results. Dr Ronald Hoffman eloquently states, “The more sophisticated belief that it is not individual foods themselves but the byproducts of ingestion of certain foods that cause intestinal problems is fast replacing the concept of food allergy”. You can test negative for celiac disease, but still be gluten intolerant. In my personal case history, I tested negative for celiac disease but I am extremely gluten intolerant and allergic to wheat. I have gastrointestinal distress and upper respiratory symptoms including an immediate irritated throat and cough.

*Caveman Cuisine
It almost sounds like heresy to promote the elimination of grains especially in the USA where we have the wheat belt and our patriotic ‘amber waves of grain’.
The USDA food pyramid guidelines make grains the most important food group and suggests intake of 6-11 servings of grains per day. Grains however are relatively new with their introduction 10,000 years ago during the Agricultural Revolution. The Paleolithic diet that predates agriculture supports a low grain diet and purports the use of nut and bean flours in modern recipes as substitutes. “Even if you believe that Paleolithic people ate a mostly plant-based diet, Smith contends, “The important thing to understand is that their diet contained virtually no grains.” The carbohydrates in our hunter-gatherer ancestor’s diet came entirely from unrefined sources, keeping their blood sugar levels within normal range. With the introduction of grains, especially flour products came increased rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

*Specific Carbohydrate Diet
The original celiac diet prescribed by Dr. Sidney Haas from New York’s Columbia University in the 1920’s was the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This dietary regimen omitted all grains and some complex carbohydrates like potatoes and milk. Unfortunately, by the 1960’s the less restrictive gluten free diet took center stage and became the official diet for celiacs. However, a 2002 study conducted at the Mayo Clinic and published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that 18 % of participants with celiac disease were completely unresponsive to the gluten-free diet. According to Elaine Gottschall author of “Breaking The Vicious Cycle”, the damaged celiac gut can’t digest certain carbohydrates including grains. The undigested carbohydrates lead to fermentation in the intestines causing the accumulation of harmful bacteria and further intestinal damage and diarrhea. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet has yielded very positive results for those also suffering from Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowl disease. According to functional medicine doctors some of the hard to treat symptoms of autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis are responding positively to a lower carbohydrate and grain-free dietary protocol. The immune system becomes healthier and less reactive as intestinal toxicity decreases and intestinal health increases. There is a definite and measurable cause and effect.

*Cookbooks & Products

• For those seeking a great cookbook I suggest, “Everyday Grain-free Gournet” by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass.
• for a Specific Carbohydrate Diet Book- "Eat Well Feel Well" by Kendall Conrad 
• Check out the website- “Against the Grain Gourmet” a grain free Vermont company that makes yummy bagels, rolls and pizza.
• "Simple Mills.com for all your cracker & baking needs.                                   These products are available at some Shop-rites and Whole Foods Markets.
• For yummy 'just add water' Grain-Free Pancakes or Waffles try "Birch Benders" Micro-Pancakery Pancake/Waffle Mix from Boulder Colorado

Today there are approximately 375 million vegetarians worldwide. 
Many people label themselves as vegetarians, yet their overall food intake may be somewhat different. This is due to the fact that the term ‘vegetarian’ represents various types of diets. These include: 

• Vegan (total vegetarian)- this group excludes all animal foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products and honey.  
• Lacto-Vegetarian- consume milk and milk products along with plant foods.  
• Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian- includes dairy products and eggs in their diet.  
• Pescovegetarian- omits red meats and poultry but eats fish along with plant foods.
• Pollovegetarian- eats poultry but not red meat with a plant based diet vegetable diet.

The underlying similarity in all of these diets is the exclusion of flesh from warm-blooded animals.

Myth #1:
There are numerous myths surrounding vegetarianism. The most popular misconceptions deal with proper protein intake and vitamin B12 deficiency.  Our protein requirements are based on our need for 23 different amino acids. Presently nine are recognized as being essential.  These amino acids are: valine, isoleucine, leucine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, phenylalanine, lysine and histidine (essential in the diets of developing children).

How Much Protein do You need?
Our protein needs are easily satisfied by plant foods.  In order to insure sufficient intake, some vegetarians follow the ancient practice of protein complementation.  Other cultures, especially in the East where meat is a luxury item or prohibited for religious beliefs, have been implementing this technique for centuries.  This concept alleviates the protein inadequacies of many plant foods due to their ‘limiting amino acids’. For example, if a food contains 90% of all 9 essential amino acids, but only 50% of tryptophan, then the total utilization of this protein will be limited to 50%.  However, when foods are combined to complement such amino acid limitations, the quality of the protein food is substantially enhanced.  Two or more plant foods eaten together can equal or far surpass the protein quality of beef.  Also plant foods are more easily digested than animal foods.  A cup of rice remains in the gut for approximately 1-2 hours after ingestion, whereas a piece of steak with saturated fat and cholesterol lingers for as long as six hours.  Nutrition researchers are now agreeing that most Americans get too much protein in their diets.  Even many vegetarians are consuming greater than desirable amounts for optimum health and wellbeing.

Less Is More!
There are very strong links between high protein diets and many chronic degenerative diseases. These include: osteoporosis, an imbalance due to the demineralization of calcium from the bones, which is higher among postmenopausal women; kidney disease; various forms of arthritis including gout; arteriosclerosis and cancer.  Animal protein in particular is associated with the increase in breast and colon cancer in the United States.  

The average American is consuming approximately 100 grams of protein per day; nearly doubling the generous amount recommended by the ‘Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council’.  In light of all the recent scientific findings, people should clearly be directing their concerns to lowering their protein intake instead of worrying about where to get more. 

In his groundbreaking book, "The China Study", T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, reports the connection between a high animal protein diet and diseases like cancer and diabetes.
He emphasizes a plant-based diet for vibrant health and longevity. The information in this book, based on a 40 year career of studying the effects of meat consumption on the health of rats and humans, is eye opening and a must read.

Myth#2:
Another fallacy about vegetarianism is the scare that those who follow its doctrine will eventually fall prey to pernicious anemia.  This popular view is based on the notion that only animal products supply us with vitamin B12.  However, there are various adequate plant sources of this nutrient.  Fermented soy foods such as tempeh contain nearly 15 mcgs. in a 100 gram serving.  This provides almost 500% of the recommended dietary allowance for B12.  The micro algae spirulina supplies 255 mcgs. per 100 grams and the same amount of the seaweed, kombu, contains 27 mcgs. Also if a person is following a lacto-vegetarian diet, they will be deriving B12 from milk products.  If eggs are included this is an additional source.
If you are gluten intolerant or need to omit all grains from your diet, there is still a plethera of plant-based foods to choose from including nut & seed butters and flours.
​
What's your reason for choosing vegetarianism?
Each individual has his or her own personal reasons for choosing the vegetarian cuisine. Be rest assured that a high quality nutritious non-flesh diet is healthy, economical, ecologically sound, humane and last but not least an incredibly delicious style of eating.

© Copyright 2017 Mary Ann Reidy, M.S
Published in “Growth Magazine”
"The China Study" T. Colin Campbell, PhD & Thomas M. Campbell II M.D.
​2006 Benbella Books.

As cofactors of enzymes, vitamins help:

1. regulate our metabolism
2. assist in the conversion of carbohydrates and fats into energy
3. are crucial in the formation of bones and tissues 

Decades of research and clinical studies, as well as testimonials from health conscious folks coast to coast, show that an adequate supply of vitamins is essential for keeping pace in the whirlwind of the 21st Century while warding off a multitude of degenerative and communicable diseases.

Despite all this attention from the scientific community and the media, there is still much controversy and confusion surrounding vitamins.  In part, the difficulty with understanding the ABC’s of these nutrients has been the necessity of wading through all the information to separate fact from fiction.  Such an exercise forces many questions to surface-

• Does a ‘well balanced diet’ provide enough of the essential vitamins or is supplementation necessary?  
• Are the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA’s) adequate for everyone?
• If we do need extra vitamins, when should they be taken?
• Is there a danger of getting too much?

Ideally we should be able to obtain all the nutrients we need from our daily food intake.  However, the American diet has dramatically changed over the last 100 years.  Our great-grandparents would not recognize most of the fast convenience foods this current space-age society depends on for ‘nourishment’.  That’s because our ancestors ate wholesome foods that were organically raised on local farms without the aid of chemical fertilizers.  Their fresh fruits and vegetables were grown without poisonous sprays, and meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products were obtained from their own healthy farm animals.  They ate little processed or refined products and these natural unadulterated foods contained more of the essential nutrients, including vitamins and less sugar, hydrogenated fats and salt, than their present counterparts.

Modern agricultural practices and methods of food processing and preparation have greatly altered the nutritional value of our food supply.  Before we can depend on a tomato or orange to provide us with the vitamins that official government food tables claim they contain, the following must be considered:

• soil conditions where the produce was raised 
• the chemicals applied during and after the growth process
•  the stage of maturity when harvested
• the type and duration of storage before delivery to the market place and any additional detours taken before it reaches the mouth.  
• All of these steps may cause variations in the actual vitamin content of the final product.
• Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and some B-Complex vitamins (folic acid, B6 & pantothenic acid) are easily destroyed or lost through most cooking methods and canning.  Vitamins are leached out and unless the fluid the food is stored or cooked in is also consumed, a high percentage of these essential nutrients are wasted.
• Nutrification of refined foods leaves a lot to be desired. During the milling of whole grains to make white flour, the bran and wheat germ are removed reducing the vitamin content by an average of 70-80%.  The token synthetic vitamins added by food manufacturers after refinement, do not enrich the flour, they merely put back a fraction of what’s been extracted.  Consequently, no matter how well we balance our meals, we can still run the risk of vitamin deficiencies.

Even though humans need the same nutrients to stay healthy, the amount of vitamins required by each person may vary.  
It depends on your

• age
• sex
• body size 
• level of activity
• genetic make-up 
• diet
• living environment
• present state of wellbeing. 

Recent nutritional surveys report that a substantial percentage of senior citizens are not getting adequate levels of some important nutrients in their diets including: 

• vitamin C
• thiamine-B1
• riboflavin-B2
• pyridoxine-B6 
• cyanocobalamine-B12
• folic acid
• vitamin E
• vitamin D

As we get older our ability to absorb nutrients from foods can decrease substantially.  Consequently, many seniors may need additional sources to remain healthy.

In the two-week period before menstruation many women find relief from such symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) as anxiety, water retention, and craving for sweets, by taking additional B-Complex vitamins, particularly vitamin B6.

Sports nutritionists highlight vitamins as an important asset to improved athletic performances and endurance.  In his best seller, Eat To Win, Dr. Robert Haas states, “Recent nutritional research has shown that active people require specific nutrients in amounts that cannot be replenished by diet alone.”  These include the powerful antioxidants vitamins A, C and E, which help protect cells from the damaging effects of “free radicals” (high energy molecules) created when the body’s oxygen-processing capacities are increased through exercise.  As a result, these vitamins (along with the trace mineral selenium) help keep the cells alive longer, thereby slowing down the aging process.  Also the B-Complex vitamins are essential in the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose, which the body “burns” as fuel for energy.

Many essential nutrients are depleted by:

• medications
• alcohol
• caffeine
• tobacco
• recreational drug use
• dieting (YES Dieting!)
• and surgery 
• All forms of stress, whether physical or emotional will lead to a loss of vitamins, especially vitamin C and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) 

More and more concerned individuals are routinely taking food supplements as an insurance policy against environmental stressors.  The ominous hi-tech pollution we’ve created pulsates throughout our daily work and play.  Much of this detriment is unavoidable, dictating counterattack by those concerned.

More is not necessarily merrier. Vitamins can become toxic and do more harm than good when taken in high doses.  For example, hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity) can create the same symptoms of a vitamin A deficiency state including dry, itchy skin, hair loss, visual changes and headaches.  It has long been believed that only the fat-soluble vitamins: A, E, D and K, which accumulate and are stored in the fat cells, could be harmful in large doses.  However, there are clinical reports of toxicity from water-soluble vitamins, such as thiamin (vitamin B1) and vitamin B6, ranging from mild side effects to significant potential for harm.  It’s important to remember that your body has a limit to how much of any vitamin it actually needs to be healthy.

Vitamins that are harmless to the healthy may be contraindicated for those with medical problems like aplastic anemia, diabetes, kidney stones, gout, peptic ulcer, malabsorption syndrome, hemorrhage and hypertension.  Supervision by a health practitioner knowledgeable in the field of nutrition is advised.

While each vitamin has its own specific job to perform in the body, none work alone.  Let’s look at a couple examples.  For those who have a tendency towards iron anemia, additional Vitamin C may do the trick because it enhances iron absorption. Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of the mineral, calcium.  An inadequate supply of this fat-soluble vitamin can weaken our bones and lead to a condition known as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.  Consequently, an adequate supply of either mineral won’t help much unless we can absorb it.  We aren’t just what we eat, we are more importantly what we absorb and metabolize.

Some nutrients are not so harmonious.  Inorganic iron destroys vitamin E; therefore a multiple vitamin-mineral formula containing these two nutrients is not advisable.  For best results, they should be taken at least 8 hours apart.

Over the counter remedies as well as prescription drugs can interfere with the absorption and excretion of vitamins.  Aspirin, which is all too often popped in the mouth at the first sign of an ache or pain, can block vitamin C from entering the blood and also affects folic acid utilization.  L-dopa used in Parkinson’s disease and certain diuretic drugs can cause vitamin B6 deficiency.  Mineral oil, commonly used as a laxative, interferes with the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.

Scientists originally discovered vitamins while examining deficiency diseases.  First they pinpointed what foods could cure these diseases, and then they isolated the chemicals in the foods that were the sources of the cure.  There are approximately 20 known vitamins to date.  The National Research Council’s Food and Nutrition Board established the Recommended Dietary Allowance known as the RDA to set nutritional standards and guidelines for the general public.

Ideally if we are healthy and consuming 100% of the RDA for all vitamins, we will not exhibit any clinical deficiency symptoms, such as scurvy, pellagra or beri-beri.  However, this approach only guarantees a minimal level of nutrition  rather than an optimal degree.  If 60 mgs. Of vitamin C for the average adult will stave off scurvy, what will 100 or even 500 mgs. do?  

• According to vitamin C experts like the late Dr. Linus Pauling, higher amounts of vitamin C can boost our immunity and help prevent the common cold or even more serious ailments involving the immune system.  
• Cancer research has reported the positive effects that beta carotene (water-soluble pro vitamin A) has on preventing lung cancer.  
• Niacin is recommended by many cardiologists and nutritionists for its’ role in lowering elevated serum cholesterol levels.  
• For those concerned with protection from low level radiation, vitamin B12 blocks the uptake of  cobalt-60.  
• If you desire the ultimate, not just the bare minimum, the RDA may not be enough, especially if these nutrients are being utilized for their therapeutic effects.

Vitamins are absorbed best when they are taken with other foods and minerals.  The best time is after meals and as evenly throughout the day as possible.

The three leading killers - heart disease, cancer and diabetes have been linked to our diet.  The typical American cuisine replete with refined packaged, processed and chemically treated foods needs to be challenged and cleaned up before it is dependable as a safeguard against disease.

​Proper nutrition, like any other aspect of a health-building program, must be sensibly approached.  It’s important to remember that no two people are identical.  A high quality meal plan filled with wholesome fresh foods, and a supplement program designed specifically for your biochemical needs, is the best path for optimizing your health.

© Copyright 2017  Mary Ann Reidy, M.S