Anti Aging Natural Supplements – What Are They
Anti aging natural supplements – do they exist? Is it possible that anti aging natural supplements can slow the aging process? Absolutely! Numerous clinical studies have shown and are still discovering the health benefits of many nutrients.
The foundation for good health is a lifestyle that includes a sensible diet with nutritional supplements, reasonable exercise and weight management. It is important to be aware of what NOT to eat as well as what you should eat. In general, if it comes in a packet or is processed, it’s healthier not to eat it.
Slowing down the aging process includes providing your body all the nutrients it requires. These nutrients must work at the cellular level repairing your DNA and RNA. Ideally, you should be able to obtain the essential nutrients from your diet. However, that has not been possible for years. Numerous studies have found the overall nutrient value of foods has been declining for decades due to soil depletion.
Taking one of the high-quality, broad-spectrum anti aging natural supplements helps fill in the dietary gaps that everyone will have. The essential nutrients that you need are extensive and complex. Your body also needs and will use a wide array of anti aging natural supplements — amino acids, antioxidants, bioflavanoids, neuronutrients, certain herbal extracts, enzymes and specialized substances such as L-Carnosine, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl L-Carnitine, ATP precursors and so on. And these nutrients have to be in the correct proportions to each other based on the latest research.
Remember, even the best anti aging natural supplements cannot substitute for a poor diet. For example, the USDA food pyramid recommends consuming 2.5 cups of vegetables a day for women and 3 cups a day for men — most people simply do not. Consuming mostly junk food, sodas and sweets and taking anti aging natural supplements will not provide you with all the nutrients your body needs. Anti aging supplements should be considered supplements to, not replacements for, a reasonably balanced diet.
If you are serious about slowing down your aging process, remember that there is no single magic pill, supplement or hormone that on its own will help you achieve this objective. The best anti aging natural supplements aren’t the one-a-day vitamin type. Why? One capsule or tablet simply cannot hold all that’s needed in necessary quantities — it would be way too large to swallow. The minimal vitamins and minerals found in the typical one-a-day supermarket vitamins are only the beginning and probably a waste of money.
And on the other hand, when trying to design your own supplement plan, it’s easy to end up with a dozen or more individual vitamins and minerals to take daily, which is both a hassle and expensive. Besides, if certain substances are out of balance, it’s possible they can combine to produce other unwanted compounds that can be harmful. This is why buying a variety of supplements and taking them together can sometimes even be dangerous.
Another important consideration is that women need a different vitamin formula than men. Women’s anti aging natural supplements should contain nutrients proven by clinical studies to support the balancing of female hormones in the years before, during and after menopause. And the best anti aging supplements for men should contain ingredients proven to support healthy male prostate.
Learn as much as you can about what finding the best anti aging natural supplements really means. After all, your health, energy and wellness is the issue. Before spending your money, be informed about the products you’ll be taking every day.
Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing
Read more about best women’s vitamins and supplements and best vitamins for men here. David Buster is VP of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com – a website of natural health articles, reliable sources of nutritional supplements and related health resources.
The Technique That Can Reduce Stress And The Effects Of Aging
When we sleep, our mind and our body rejuvenates itself. Meditation helps us to achieve a state of restful awareness at other times. Restful awareness can sometimes provide a deeper rest than sleep. The benefits of meditation are many.
Vitamin D – What You DON’T Know
The benefits of Vitamin D are not much talked about in the press. That could be why most folks are unaware of the major benefits of Vitamin D. But please don’t think that Vitamin D is not for you.
Vitamin D is another one of those fat soluble vitamins. Fat soluble means that Vitamin D (along with Vitamin A and E) are stored by your body.
Vitamin D is the only vitamin that your body can manufacture. Your body needs exposure to sunlight (without sunscreen) for this to occur.
Your body can also get benefits of Vitamin D from food sources or from supplements. Food sources of Vitamin D include cod liver oil, fatty fish like sardines, tuna or salmon, milk that is Vitamin D fortified and eggs.
However, most folks do not get the required amount of Vitamin D from their diet or exposure to sunlight.
Can’t I Get the Benefits of Vitamin D from My Diet Alone
An article in the READER’S DIGEST titled “The Healing Vitamin” states that “Even with a healthy diet, you may be D-ficient (get it? D-ficient?).” The article argues that Vitamin D is not found in many foods and the foods that it is found in, people don’t eat enough of.
In addition, folks are using sunscreen to keep the sun from damaging their skin. And even sunscreen with an 8 SPF cuts the UV rays necessary to make your Vitamin D to almost nothing.
An article in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION titled “Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults” points out the benefits of Vitamin D. It states that “low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia (comes before osteoporosis) and fractures.”
This same article goes on to state that “most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone” and “pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.”
Benefits of Vitamin D in Preventing Osteoporosis
Another article appearing in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION titled “Osteoporosis, Prevention, Diagnosis and Therapy” tells us that “adequate calcium and vitamin D intake is crucial to develop optimal peak bone mass and to preserve bone mass throughout life.”
The major benefits of Vitamin D is in enabling your body to use calcium and phosphorous. Without Vitamin D, your body cannot process the calcium in your diet and starts taking it from your bones.
In adults, this results in the bone disease called osteoporosis. In children, a severe Vitamin D deficiency causes what’s called rickets.
Rickets is a softening of bones in children and is rare in the industrialized nations though.
An article in the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE titled “What Was Wrong With Tiny Tim” amusingly argues that Tiny Tim of the Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” fame is thought to have suffered from Rickets.
That’s Not Very Funny
Although Rickets is rare in the industrialized world, osteoporosis is not. In the U.S. it is estimated that 10 million folks have osteoporosis. 18 million more have low bone mass making it highly likely that they too will eventually have this crippling disease.
Osteoporosis is a major health concern and major source of suffering for us older folks. It is estimated that one in two women and one out of every eight men over 50 years of age will have a fracture related to osteoporosis.
300,000 fractures of the hip, 700,000 fractures of the vertebrae, 250,000 fractures of the wrist and over 300,000 other fractures happen every year related to this disease.
Again, the major benefits of Vitamin D is that it enables your small intestine to absorb calcium from the foods you eat. Calcium is required by your muscles and nerves as well as for bone formation.
When your muscles and nerves are not getting enough calcium because of low Vitamin D levels, your body robs it from your bones.
Your bones then become porous and brittle. This does not happen overnight but over the course of your lifetime. That is why prevention of osteoporosis should begin at childhood. And making sure you get the benefits of Vitamin D along with an adequate supply of calcium is one way to do so.
Benefits of Vitamin D in Slowing Progression of Osteoarthritis
Another Osteo you say? Sorry! This time it’s osteoarthritis (OA). This disease is a gradual deterioration of the cartilage in the joints. It is the most common form of arthritis.
Another of the benefits of Vitamin D is that it has been shown to lessen the severity of the pain and disability of this disease. The Arthritis Foundation has also reported on the link between low levels of Vitamin D and the increased progression of osteoarthritis of the knees.
Also, in an article in the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION titled “Steps Toward Understanding, Alleviating Osteoarthritis Will Help Aging Population,” we are advised that “preliminary results appear particularly strong for vitamin D.”
Are There Other Benefits of Vitamin D? What About Vitamin D and Cancer?
More research is needed but preliminary studies have shown benefits of Vitamin D in areas such as high blood pressure, cancer of the colon as well as breast cancer and diabetes.
Can I Get My Benefits of Vitamin D Without Taking Too Much?
Dr Reinhold Vieth, Dept. of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto argues that the Recommended Dietary Allowance (birth to 50 years – 200 IU, 50+ years – 400 IU) may keep you from getting osteomalacia. But he feels more is needed to keep you from getting osteoporosis and secondary hyperparathyroidism.
In an article published in THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION, titled “Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety,” he argues that our ancestors were “naked apes in tropical Africa (his words).” And as such they enjoyed full body exposure to the sun on a daily basis. This, he stated, could give them the equivalent of 10,000 IU every day (and possibly a severe sunburn – my words).
A Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) has been set by The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine. This is the level of Vitamin D that they suggest you do not exceed. The UL for infants 0 to 12 months old is 1000 IU. The UL for both children as well as adults is 2000 IU.
Studies done since 1997 suggest that the current UL is conservative and that Vitamin D is safe below levels up to as high as 10,000 IU.
Since multivitamins supply Vitamin D in doses of 400 to 800 IU as do the single supplements, you should feel more than safe getting your benefits of Vitamin D.
You can learn much more about the benefits of vitamin d by visiting http://www.health-supplements-advisor.com/benefits-of-vitamin-d.html