Currently viewing the category: "vitamins"

Fresh Juice for Vibrant Health

By On · Add Comment · In beet juice, Beta carotene, carrot juice, fresh juice, ginger, health food store, nutrients, Omega J8003 Fruit and Vegetable Juicer, vitamins

Got myself a birthday gift this week: The Omega J8003 Fruit and Vegetable Juicer.  Booyah!  Made a promise to myself to imbibe lots of fresh carrot and beet juice daily, and so being a man of my word…ta da!!!

The Omega came highly recommended by a dear friend and avid juicer, who has “tried them all.”  Made my first glass of carrot-ginger juice today, with the help of my girls, and boy-howdee was it good.  Look how much fun we had cranking it out–never thought the girls would like it, too.  Bonus!

Fresh juices are the way to go.  Want great health?  Then juice, period.  The vitamins and nutrients you get from fresh juices are the tops.  And why spend $7.00-$8.00 a pop at the local health food store (Erewhon in L.A.) when you can make a a$$-kicking glass at home for under $2.00 (probably less, but I’m still shopping for the best deals on carrots–any suggestions?)

The Omega is great–easy to put together, easy to use, and dang-easy to clean.  That was a BIG consideration for me because the last thing I need is more work.  I was done in 15 minutes, start to finish, and that included washing the carrots.

So if you’re wondering why I’ve turned orange, don’t think spray tan: It’s the fresh beta-carotene, baby.  Aw yeah! 

Next up: Aspara­gus, car­rot and apple juice!

Natural Health Icon Jack LaLanne Has Passed

By On · Add Comment · In Doctor of Chiropractic, exercise, health, Jack LaLanne, juicing, Jumping Jack, organic foods, physical fitness, Smith machine, vitamins, weight lifting

A hero of mine has passed today: Jack Lalanne died this afternoon at his home in Morro Bay, Calif.  He was 96.  The cause was respiratory failure as a result of pneumonia.

LaLanne was the godfather of the modern physical fitness movement.  I remember as a kid watching him every morning at 7 am while my mom made breakfast.  He made exercise a household activity, and had many other contributions to the world of health.  He invented the Jumping Jack exercise, as well as the Smith machine (a weight-training machine that has a barbell fixed within steel rails, allowing only vertical movement).

A little known fact is that he was a Doctor of Chiropractic.  Yeah, baby!  And a huge advocate for juicing.  He was a bodybuilder, a vegetarian, and believe it or not, a skeptic of organic foods, which he believed were “a bunch of bull.”

LaLanne was one of the first to advocate weight-lifting for women.  At a time when it was believed that lifting would cause women to look big and bulky, LaLanne was always one step ahead of the crowd when it came to health and fitness.

“The Jack LaLanne Show” was the longest running television exercise program.  It was started in my home town, San Francisco–perfect for us hippies and weirdos…but we made him an icon.  LaLanne became a popular inspirational speaker, author of several books, a recording artist (for exercise records), a video producer, and promoter of exercise equipment, many vitamin supplements and two models of electric (one his own, Power Juicer).  He made famous the phrase, “That’s the power of the juice!”

Jack LaLanne was definitely one of my heroes.  He lived an amazing life, contributing greatly to the world we live in today.  He will continue to inspire me, as he has for my entire life.  Thank you, Jack LaLanne for inspiring me to follow the path of natural health and healing that I have chosen.

Essential Vitamins for Total Body Wellness

By On · Add Comment · In essential fatty acids, healthy diet, nutrients, nutritional health, nutritional supplements, sports chiropractic, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamins, whole foods

Vitamins are an important part of nutritional health, but they are not meant to stand alone.  Vitamins are to supplement a healthy diet, one rich in whole, natural foods.  However, I believe that receiving all the necessary nutrients from the diet alone, in this day and age, is nearly impossible.  To enjoy optimal health, then, supplementing with good vitamins is essential. 

Watch the video below to find out what I call the basics as far as vitamin supplements go.  You’ll also get a basic understanding of how each vitamin works to bring you optimal nutritional health.

For more on essential fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin D, you can check my chiropractic website to get the most up-to-date nutritional information.  And if you are looking for a nutritional consultation, you can call my Los Angeles sports chiropractic office to set one up.

When it comes to great health, your nutrition is vital; and supplementing with essential vitamins is the wisest choice to make.

My Daughter Takes Kids Vitamins

By On · Add Comment · In children, diet, nutrients, nutrition, parents, supplements, vitamins

Most everybody knows that I place a high importance of supplementing with vitamins. I think it’s pretty impossible for the average person to get the full amount of nutrients they need from food alone. It’s possible but unlikely.

So if I think adults need to take vitamins, do you think I feel it’s necessary for children, too? You bet I do; so I make sure my children take their daily vitamins as a supplement to their healthy diets. I like Jarrow Kids Multi because they taste good, and Jarrow products have exactly what their label says they do. They’ve been tested by a third party organization, so I know I’m giving my children the best.

If you want to make sure your children are getting the best nutrition possible, consider supplementing their healthy diets with vitamins. You’ll get to see them grow vibrantly into healthy and energetic little beings. That’s the greatest gift any parent can ask for.

Kids Need Vitamins

By On · Add Comment · In nutritional deficiencies, supplements, vitamins

How stupid would this sound? Most people who exercise don’t really need to; their health status is good already, so exercise is actually overkill. Retarded, right? OK, check this out:

According to a recent study, many children taking vitamin supplements don’t need them because they are not at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Sounds reasonable so far, right? Not to me, but keep reading. The report goes on to say that children who might benefit the most from nutritional supplements, including those with overall poor health or diet, may be the least likely to take them. Alright then, so they’ve established that supplementation is necessary, at least under certain circumstances. Hang in there, this will make sense shortly.

The researchers also say that the children who tend to take vitamins are “the healthiest and most active with a balanced diet.” The conclusion from the researchers, at least as the media is reporting it, is that healthy children receive all their nutrients from their diet, and don’t need supplements. But is that true? I think another possibility is that the healthier children just live healthier lifestyles. Is income and education level a part of the equation? Sure, but equally important is that healthier kids take their vitamins. So isn’t it possible–hang on to your hats now–that taking vitamins adds to the overall level of health?

Duh! Vitamins are important–and this study is just more evidence in support that claim.

*Just so you know, the media has totally misreported the conclusions of this study. Just another example of media distortion of the truth.

Wisdom

By On · Add Comment · In heart attack, medicine, nutritional supplements, paradigm, statins, stroke, vitamins

There has been a long history of competition between conventional medicine and proponents of nutritional supplements. Conventional medicine spends a lot of time “debunking” the utility of nutritional supplements. You know what I’m talking about; you’ve heard it; you’ve heard the medical “experts” on T.V. say that taking vitamin supplements is useless. I’ll bet it confused you.

It confused you because common sense tells you that vitamin supplements are helpful. It also confused you because you’ve heard from so many people–your chiropractor, your acupuncturist, your trainer, your nutritionist, other medical doctors, the same T.V. news program reporting on a different story–that taking vitamins is good for you. So which one is it: good for you, or not necessary?

Well you won’t get a straight answer any time soon, as the mainstream medical machine is stepping-up the propaganda. According to new reports, vitamins C and E are useless for cutting the risk of heart attack or stroke. So are vitamins B12 and folic acid, according to another report. However, a third report shows that the statin drug Crestor cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke as well as reduces deaths from both, even in people with normal cholesterol. Wow! Frickin’ drugs, man…they’re miraculous!

Okay, here’s my problem with these studies. Taking nature and trying to squeeze it into a faulty paradigm is erroneous at best, and dangerous at worst. Vitamins are substance not produced by the human body, but necessary for life. We get most of our vitamins from the foods we eat. But the important point is: we need them. We do not need drugs. Drugs are useful, but we don’t need them. We’ve gotten through ~200,000 years of evolution (or 99.9% of our existence) without drugs…but not without vitamins. True, we have been supplementing for a far shorter time than we have been taking drugs…but we need vitamins. So the real questions should be: Do vitamins supplements work, and what do they work for?

The problem with the types of studies mentioned above is that modern researchers are trying to fit a natural and essential substance into a medicinal paradigm. Today’s medical paradigm is a disease treatment paradigm, not a health paradigm. Nothing wrong with fighting disease, but it’s entirely different than enhancing health. To look at vitamins for their disease fighting properties alone is nonsensical. They are life giving substances, health-enhancing material–taking vitamin supplements promote life, they don’t necessarily fight disease. That’s where medicine goes wrong; with medicine everything is about fighting disease.

Frankly, this paradigm and disease-fighting model is severely limited, and becoming progressively more expensive. When we spend billions of dollars studying and focusing on a small percentage of the population’s health woes then, ultimately, to sustain the costs, the model must be carried over to the general population. Thus the powers that be start rationalizing why we need drugs “even in normal people.” I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy–these well meaning “experts” believe it. Why? Because they create studies, and collect data, that fit into their model. And the results, by design, are forced to reflect the operative paradigm, so we get limited knowledge. As it has been said: Knowledge comes from knowing the facts, but wisdom comes from asking the right questions. So validating substances, or the practices surrounding them, based on their disease-fighting capabilities alone is simply foolish.

Healthiest Juices

By On · Add Comment · In antioxidants, black cherry, blueberry, concord grape, cranberry, DNA, free radicals, juice, Linus Pauling, minerals, pomegranate, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, UCLA, vitamin C, vitamins

Want to know the most healthy juices to drink? A UCLA study looked at the antioxidant levels of a number of fruit juices and came up with some exciting conclusions. When it comes to healthy juices, pomegranate is the best; it is highest in antioxidants.

Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are substances that can damage cells, tissues, and DNA. These harmful substances can lead to degenerative disorders like cancer, and they also speed up the aging process. As I point out in my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, “Free radicals are formed naturally in the body during certain metabolic processes as well as by cells of the immune system to fight infections. They can also be formed by outside agents like cigarette smoke, pollution, and radiation.”

Vitamins and minerals that act as powerful antioxidants are vitamins A, C, and E, and the mineral selenium. I highly recommend supplementing with these essential vitamins. I personally take 1,000 mg vitamin C per day. But I also think that taking 2,000 mg isn’t such a bad idea. In fact, the great chemist and forward-thinker, Linus Pauling, believed that people should be taking much more than that (check out this interview), especially people battling cancer.

A great source of antioxidants are fruits and vegetables–that’s why nutritionist recommend eating so many servings of each. But another great source is fruit juice: this is what makes these findings so exciting. So here you go–the list.

  1. Pomegranate juice–the healthiest of them all because it contains the most of every type of antioxidant.
  2. Concord Grape juice–a great source of antioxidants. May also be good for the heart and decrease blood pressure.
  3. Blueberry juice (yum, my favorite!)–contains antioxidants, fiber and vitamin C…and it’s blue, dammit.
  4. Black Cherry juice–some studies have shown this juice to reduce muscle soreness following exercise. Booyah!
  5. Cranberry juice*–can actually prevent urinary tract infections in women.

Enjoy, and start drinking your fruit juice. Remember, eating the whole fruit is always better, but for a big blast, fruit juices pack the antioxidants in. It also packs in the calories, so if you’re trying to lose weight, then definitely stick to the whole fruit. Otherwise, juice away!

*Please note that there is a huge difference between real juice and the juice cocktails sold in most grocery stores. If you want the real deal, please visit your local hippie store, they’ll take care of you. And if you are in L.A.–ask me, I can get you the good stuff.

November Fitness Update

By On · Add Comment · In body fat, sugar, vitamins, working out, yoga

It’s been three months and I’ve stayed true to my commitment…well, pretty much. I’ve been taking vitamins–B, C, D, magnesium, some calcium, essential fatty acids, and alpha lipoic acid. I’ve been taking acidophilus every day; and I’ve done chlorophyll for a week once, and five days of apple cider vinegar. The biggest thing I’ve done recently, though, is quit eating sugar (November 8th was my last day). I didn’t stop eating carbs altogether, but when one cuts out refined sugar, the overall carb intake generally goes down. All I can say is WOW! It’s been just incredible. I started feeling different almost immediately. My appetite actually went up at first, but then normalized. My energy went up immediately, but then dropped. Then I felt crappy–withdrawal like symptoms. Now I feel better. I started craving sugar within a few days but practiced “mega-discipline”, and not only have the cravings diminished but I feel sort of empowered by the discipline part. Now I don’t want sugar, cuz it’s my thing. Snicker.

I’ve been working out regularly–gym two to three days per week, yoga every day, Runyon Canyon about once a week. Yoga has been great. It has really opened up some areas in my hips that were hurtin‘–hip flexors and quadriceps, mainly. Mostly I’ve been working on my posture by standing against the wall squeezing blocks between my legs–very powerful stuff. No handstands–none, nada, nunca–and I haven’t run Runyon, except that one time. Sigh.

But wait! Weight is down to 160. Woohoo! Haven’t had the ol‘ body fat recalculated, but I will before the year ends. I think the weight has more to do with cutting out the sugar than with anything else.

Getting sleep, but…running my ass ragged while awake, so I guess I’m balanced.

That’s it. One more month of reporting and we’ll see what I’ve accomplished with all of this. Woof.

Obesity and Malnutrition

By On · Add Comment · In calories, energy, malnourished, malnutrition, nutrients, nutrition, obese, vitamins

Some people mistakenly believe that malnutrition is a condition restricted to the underfed and starving. The truth is that anyone can be malnourished regardless of body shape and size. Malnourishment means simply–lack of adequate nutrition. Case in point: Experts in Britain have disclosed that 2 million obese people in that country are also malnourished.

Total calories is not the definitive factor in the amount of nourishment – energy, nutrients and sustenance – a body receives. To be healthy, and to function adequately, the human body needs calories (for energy), vitamins and minerals (for metabolic processes), and enzymes and antioxidants. If one takes in a large amount of nutrient poor foods – like most processed fast foods – then malnutrition, and obesity, will result.

As I point out in my upcoming book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health, obesity can actually be countered by adopting a diet high in nutrient rich foods. By making sure the body is getting adequate nutrients, one can actually stave off the hunger response, which, along with other things, can then lead to a decrease in weight.

WARNING: OVERUSE OF SPORTS CREAMS CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH

On another note, many chiropractors, including me, use sports muscle cream to massage sore, stiff and spasmed muscles before administering a chiropractic adjustment. They are very useful in working out those tense, tight areas and they feel good, giving the client a warm soothing feeling for about a half an hour following treatment.

A story has just broke of 17-year-old girl in New York who has died following the overuse of such creams. It seems that the girl, a cross country runner, was using the creams “to excess” according to the medical examiner, which included spreading the cream on her legs, wearing adhesive pads, and also using an unspecified third product. These products contain methyl-salicylate, an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever (or analgesic).

As this story gets more attention, please don’t be afraid to have this product used occasionally. As with any medication, it’s overuse that causes problems – addictions, toxicity, death – and not moderate use. Having this lotion used as an adjunct to massage is totally safe, as was pointed out by the medical examiner in the case, this was “the first time that her office had reported a death from using a sports cream”. And another important aspect to the story is just because a medication, spray, salve or ointment is sold over the counter doesn’t mean it is safe to be used indiscriminately. Read labels and use medical products MODERATELY. Nuff said.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.