Every time I’m at an event as a Health Coach I get asked a lot of questions, so I thought, “why not answer these questions in my newsletter? If one person has the question – others might also.” I want to encourage anyone who has questions on nutrition, exercise, supplements – or anything else to feel free to contact me anytime.
“Why do I have trouble going to sleep when I don’t take my gummy vitamins?” This question came from an 8-year-old girl when I spoke to her class on nutrition.
The answer is the gummy vitamin probably has magnesium in it – which helps your body relax. When your body can relax, you will sleep better. Most people are deficient in magnesium because we eat a lot of processed food. That, and the soil that our food is grown in these days doesn’t contain all the natural minerals – like magnesium – that it used to have years ago. Everyone, including children, should take magnesium supplement daily – many times a multivitamin will contain enough as long as you make sure the vitamin you take is of high quality.
“My nails are brittle, is there something I can take to help with that?”
Brittle nails are a sign of having a vitamin B deficiency. There are a lot of different B vitamins and since B vitamins are water-soluble they constantly have to be replenished. This particular B vitamin is called biotin, or B7. One thing you need to be careful of with B vitamins is that our bodies have to break them down into a usable format, which can be done, but is difficult. I would recommend adding in a B complex that is already “activated.” This way our bodies don’t have to break it down; it’s already done for us. The brand I use is called Isotonix. It comes in a powder format made to be mixed with water and is absorbed into the blood stream almost immediately. B vitamins are also good to take if you suffer from depression, fatigue, or stress. Just make sure you take a high quality vitamin that’s “activated” so it’s absorbed into your body.
“How much water should I drink daily?”
We should consume ½ our body weight in ounces of water daily. Example: If you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink 100 ounces of water every day. Also, there are certain times in your daily schedule which are better for you to be drinking water. First thing in the morning when you get out of bed you should drink 2 glasses of water – this helps activate your internal organs. Drinking water before you eat helps your digestion and is better than drinking water while you eat. Drinking while you eat may mean your body isn’t going to absorb all the nutrients you need from your meal. Drinking a glass of water prior to taking a bath or shower helps lower your blood pressure and drinking a glass of water before bed can help prevent a stroke or heart attack. Basically, drink plenty of water – the more the merrier.
“What is better to use honey or agave?”
My answer to this is honey, but not all honey – it has to be raw honey, the kind you buy at a health food store or from a roadside stand. A lot of the honey you purchase in the grocery stores is not of good quality; it’s been highly processed and is not natural. Same with agave; a lot of it isn’t natural, it’s also processed and isn’t any better for you than corn syrup or just plain sugar. If you’re unsure of which one to use – always purchase and use raw honey.
“I have issues with constipation and diarrhea, is there anything I can do?”
Constipation can be caused by not taking in enough fiber and/or fluids. Processed food messes up your gut and that’s what causes your problems. The first thing you should do is start taking a good quality probiotic and taking Aloe – either in liquid or pill form. If you take it in pill form, be sure you drink plenty of water with it. These will help to heal your gut as the probiotics puts good bacteria back into your gut. Again, make sure the probiotic is of high quality and made up of many different kinds of bacterial strains – don’t just get acidophilus and stop there. There are many different bacteria strains and the more strains you use the better your digestive system will be. Now, back to the fiber issue – this means eating lots of vegetables and fruits, but you need to fix your gut before you go adding in the additional fiber. You can also take a fiber supplement such as one made by Nutriclean or others on the market but make sure to fix your gut with Aloe and Probiotics first. Let me know if you need help picking out either one of those, I have some great ones that I use.
“I was told by my doctor that I have low iron, what would you recommend?”
There are lots of vegetables rich in iron – broccoli, spinach, kale, green beans, collard greens, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, and bok choy. I would start by adding these into my diet and getting a multivitamin with iron. Beef liver is also high in iron – don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you eat beef liver, but you can buy beef liver pills at health food stores.
“I’ve heard that drinking lemon juice is good for me, can you tell me why?”
Every morning I squeeze ½ a lemon into 8 ounces of water. This helps boost my metabolism, potentially helping me lose weight. My husband dropped about 10 pounds just by adding lemon water to his diet in the morning. Now, there are a lot of variations in how you can use this lemon juice. You can add cinnamon to the juice mixture – which can help your blood sugar. Also, adding apple cider vinegar and cinnamon to the lemon juice mixture can potentially help to fix a number of problems. I’ve heard of it healing cancer and other digestive health problems. Cancer and many health issues are caused by having your blood ph being more acidic than alkaline. Drinking lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and cinnamon will help to make your body more alkaline and can potentially heal disease.
“I take an antacid for my heartburn which has calcium in it. Is that a sufficient amount of calcium for me to take daily?”
First of all, this is not a good kind of calcium to take – it is calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate needs an acidic environment in order to be absorbed by the body. You’re taking an antacid to stop the acid that’s causing heartburn – it’s going to stop the heartburn and get rid of the acid, but won’t be absorbed by the body. The best type of calcium to take is one that’s “activated”. “Activated” calcium will be absorbed by the body very easily and will be put to use by the body to strengthen your bones. Also, you want your stomach to have some of the acid that’s causing heartburn – this is what helps digest your food. The better thing to do is to take digestive enzymes, or aloe. All natural is the way to go rather than an over-the-counter medication that can do more harm than good.
“I’ve heard a lot of things about coconut oil, what makes it so great?”
Coconut oil has over 100 different uses – mouthwash, moisturizer, hair conditioner, you can cook with it – almost anything can be done with coconut oil. Coconut oil when ingested boosts the metabolism, it fills you up and it burns fat. Take 1-2 spoonfuls when you want a snack and you’ll be energized. It’s an all purpose oil, there are even studies where it’s been shown to lower blood sugar. It’s something everyone should have around the house – in the kitchen, in the bedroom and in the bathroom.
“I get UTI’s (Urinary Tract Infection) on a frequent basis – is there something I can do to prevent this from occurring?”
It can be the result of a problem with your digestive tract, or gut. Taking probiotics, aloe, digestive enzymes, etc. would help that. Think about it, it’s an infection – infections are caused by bacteria. If you have too much bad bacteria in your system you’ll be prone to infections more often. Taking a probiotic or aloe will help to put good bacteria into your system. If you go to the doctor, he’ll give you an antibiotic to eat the bacteria to cure the infection. The problem is antibiotics don’t know the difference between good or bad bacteria and they get rid of it all, causing other health problems. Take a good quality probiotic if you get infections of any type on a regular basis.
I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter. Feel free to contact me via email if you have any other questions.