The Truth About Supplements

Americans spend about $37 billion dollars a year on nutritional supplements. These range from vitamins and minerals to sleeping aids, memory enhancers and disease cures. The proportion of adults using a supplement of some kind rose from 51.8% in 2005 to 63.7% IN 2011, and this number is increasing yearly.

These numbers represent many pills and bottles that promise to do something special for us the consumer. These promises are the myth. What is the reality?

Unlike prescription medicines supplements are not regulated by the U.S. government. Instead they are looked upon as a food. Manufacturers of supplements do not need to prove that their products are effective or even safe. This allows them to put claims on their labels that are false even though regulations prohibit doing that.

 In spite of this false claims are still being made.  Why? It is because action by the government usually is taken only after many people are left holding the proverbial bag The lack of prompt action leaves all  consumers holding the bag with tens of millions of dollars spent on ineffective supplements.

An example of an advertising hoax is the number of new products that claim to boost your memory or even suggest that the product can head off or reverse dementia.Why haven't these claims gotten the attention of the regulators? We certainly do not know but hopefully some action will be taken sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile the word is buyer beware. Think carefully before you plunk your money down for some new and wonderful supplement.

for more information go to our website trienergeticsblog.com

Glucosamine Supplements Are A Waste Of Money

Glucosamine alone or in combination with chondroitin sulfate has sales in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is by far the most popular supplement for osteoarthritis.

Are users getting good value for their money? The answer is no and this is why.

In 2006 an important double blind trial found that neither glucosamine  alone or together with chondroitin did not reduce knee pain or other arthritic symptoms better than a placebo. In case you have forgotten what a placebo is we will remind you that it is a substance with no medicinal value that resembles the substance that is being tested.

The next question was whether glucosamine had a beneficial effect on the damage to the knee caused by arthritis. A follow-up study using x-ray showed no reduction in cartilage loss among the supplement users.

Because of these reports and other studies the American College of Rheumatology has reviewed the use of glucosamine and after exhaustive review has decided that there is no proven medical benefit from using glucosamine. The American College of Rheumatology has issued an advisory that there is no medical benefit from taking a glucosamine supplement

 In view of this you may wonder why so many people continue to spend their money on a pill that does not work better than a placebo. We certainly do not have an answer.

Eat More Strawberries

Have you overlooked strawberries in your healthy food diet. If so you should pay attention to this.

Strawberries earned the highest score based upon findings by the Overall Nutrition Quality Index, a measurement system developed by Yale's Prevention Research Center. Strawberries received a score of 100 the highest possible.

In addition to being loaded with essential vitamins and nutrients, strawberries are a natural super food. Eating just eight strawberries a day has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce obesity, improve memory and heart health.

We have not examined the research on some of these claims, but there is no reason to not include strawberries in your diet unless you are allergic to them.

Mindfulness Meditation Lowers Stress

In our books we teach mindfulness meditation to combat stress and to promote health. We know that it is effective based upon our experience and the experience of participants in our programs. Now there is scientific proof that meditation is effective.

Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center randomly assigned 89 people with anxiety disorders to take either an eight week mindfulness meditation course or general stress management classes. Those who learned to meditate had significantly lower levels of the stress hormone ACTH and other markers of inflammation than those who did not meditate.

This study is just one more example of a very effective yet simple process that will yield amazing dividends. Give it a try. Go to our book Live Longer Live Healthier for more information.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

What Is In Your Diet?

 Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for good health yet most Americans are deficient in Omega 3s because their diet the SAD {Standard American Diet) is deficient in Omega 3s. This is a major health concern and may be  responsible for the high incidence of heart disease, strokes cancer and other inflammatory diseases in western societies

Omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory. Omega 6 fatty acids are inflammatory. The average American eating the SAD diet most likely has an inverse ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids. Instead of a 1:1 ratio or even better a 3:1 or a 6:1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6, the ratio may be 8:1 or even 16:1 of Omega 6 to Omega 3. Diets with an inverse ratio such as this are inflammatory and predispose to disease. Unfortunately Omega 6 fatty acids are abundant in the SAD diet and your body can produce only limited amounts of Omega 3. In order to improve this situation you must limit your Omega 6 intake and you must supplement your Omega 3 intake.

Getting back into balance is easier said than done because  we are drowning in Omega-6 fatty acids. They are found everywhere.  They are in almost all snack foods, baked goods, cereals, eggs nuts, poultry and most vegetable oils such as palm, canola, soy, sunflower and corn oil. This list includes many of the foods that we eat daily.  You can understand why most of us have such high levels of Omega-6l fatty acids and why our society is plagued by heart disease and inflammatory conditions.

On the other hand the sources of Omega 3 fatty acids is limited. The best source is fatty fish.  High on the list are anchovies, bluefish, carp, catfish, halibut, herring, lake trout, mackerel, pompano, salmon, striped sea bass, white tuna and whitefish.  Krill is also high in Omega-3 fatty acids.

There are some vegetable sources of the Omega-3 ALA. The most popular of these is flaxseed  The ALA  in flaxseed is converted in the body to Omega-3 EHA; however, the process of conversion is inefficient and only 7 to 15% of the ALA  can be converted.

Reviewing what we have said, the problem is very clear and very simple.  Omega 6s are almost ubiquitous and we get  way too much in our daily life. There are few sources of Omega3s and most of us do not eat two to three servings of fish a week.

 The answer is to take fish oil supplements.When taking supplements or when eating fish we need to be aware of the possibility of ingesting too much mercury.  It is a contaminant in some fish especially bottom feeders. The same potential problem exists in fish oil supplements.  We recommend that you research carefully before buying.

There is no universal agreement on the amount of EHA and EPA to take. Most authorities recommend that you do not exceed 3 grams a day because higher doses increase the risk of bleeding. Remember that Omega-3 fatty acids reduce blood clotting. You should consult your physician if you are on an aspirin regime or if you are taking other blood thinners.

Finally if you are eating too much of a bad thing you need to decrease your intake of Omega-6 fatty acids. This will be difficult because you are probably addicted to the taste of Omega 6 rich foods, but the improvement you will notice in your health and well being will make it worthwhile

What Are The Benefits Of Medical Marijuana?

Have you ever wondered what it is about pot that makes you trip out? Well wonder no more. The answer is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. It is important to know this because researchers are actively working to isolate the components of marijuana that can be used to treat medical problems without making the user high Obviously it will not include delta- 9 tetrahydrocannabinol..

Another compound derived from marijuana, cannabidinol has been used to treat epilepsy with a good deal of success. A number of drug companies are currently working to develop other compounds that can be used clinically without causing cognitive problems. One of them,Epidiolex, is currently being tested at the University of California, San Francisco, Epilepsy Center as part of an international clinical trial to evaluate its efficacy in treating epilepsy.

There are also strong suggestions that cannabinoids might be helpful in treating breast cancer, autoimmune diseases and Alzheimers disease. Ongoing research may be years away before definite conclusions can be reached, but the preliminary results are encouraging.

All of this is good news, but in the meantime remember that the federal government still lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, a class with no currently accepted medical use.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net

Four Tips To Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer

A large study published in JAMA Oncology concluded that 1/4 to 1/3 of all cancer cases and nearly half of all cancer deaths could be avoided if better lifestyle goals were followed. These goals are:

1) Do not smoke
2) Maintain a healthy weight
3) Limit alcohol
4) Exercise moderately at least 150 minutes a week or vigorously for at least 75 minutes a week         

It was also found that people who are most physically active are at reduced risk for half of 26 major types of cancer. This may be new news to some, but we sounded the alarm and had the same suggestions in our  first book TriEnergetics. Look for yourself and get more tips for a healthy lifestyle.

Get more information in our book Live Longer Live Healthier

or visit our website at trienergetics.net