Another ingredient to avoid when purchasing supplements is magnesium stearate. Manufacturers like to add this ingredient into the development process because it prevents substances from sticking together or to the machine doing the processing. So, if you could imagine, saving money is always priority over consumer health. Magnesium stearate is also used to bind sugar in hard candies like mints, and is a common ingredient in baby formulas. Magnesium stearate is not a source of magnesium and has no benefits, but may have a detrimental effect on your immune function as stearic acid has been linked to suppression of T cells. The filler also stimulates your gut to form a biofilm, which can prevent proper absorption of nutrients in your digestive tract! It seems to be pretty common. After this was brought to my attention, I started to skim the supplement isles and found it to be included in almost everything. If you do not know where to look, every supplement should have an ingredient list somewhere on the bottle. Stay healthy people!
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Sorry if I offended you with my title to this blog, but I'm sure it caught your attention! I came across something alarming while writing about the caramel coloring in soda drinks. It was the fact that microwave popcorn was rated one of the worst foods you can eat! Sounds like a healthy snack, but there are some pretty harmful chemicals in the bags of microwave popcorn. Most of these popcorn bags are coated with perfluorochemicals linked to various cancers, reproductive system damage, thyroid disease, ADHD and other illnesses. The problem with perfluorochemicals is that they stay in the body for long periods of time once ingested. That is not all, one of the most acutely toxic popcorn chemicals, diacetyl, the fake flavor used to create a buttery flavor, has been linked to lung damage in microwavable-popcorn factory workers. They are also finding that genetically modified foods (GMO's), such as corn, are being linked to long term health problems such as tumors, another reason to buy organic. I didn't mean to ruin your fun, but I'm just trying to raise awareness about a food industry that doesn't seem to be out for our best interest. If you are going to eat popcorn, eat the real stuff!

We as consumers seem to be catching on to the harmful products being added to our foods and beverages. It seems that every time I check my Twitter account, there is another article about an additive and its harmful effects on the body. You may have heard about the recent uproar regarding Subway and the use of the same chemicals found in yoga mats  being found in their bread. All of this is to save money and add shelf life (maybe that is why my clothes smell after I spend greater than 5 minutes in that place!). The difference in quality is not that much better because of the use of these products. I just wanted to educate you on the caramel additive in most soft drinks that is found to be carcinogenic in mice. That ingredient is caramel coloring. Caramel coloring gives drinks their brown color so you will not find it in Sprite or Mountain Dew, but you definitely will in Pepsi and Coke. Some types of this artificial coloring contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI) and is the single most used food coloring in our food. Under California’s Proposition 65 law, any food or beverage sold in the state that exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day is supposed to carry a health-warning label. Consumer Reports did some homework on the levels found in these different drinks and discovered that they still contained higher levels in these drinks than California had allowed and if they tested levels in New York they were even higher because of the lack of regulation.  There are four types of caramel coloring, only the two made with ammonia compounds can contain 4-MeI.  However, manufacturers can use the general term “artificial color” interchangeably with “caramel color”. We have to stay educated on the trickery used by the food industry if we want to eat healthy. Soda drink sales are declining as people seem to be catching on to their harmful effects. 
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I get a kick out of these supplement manufacturers because of the dangerous chemicals they add to the supplement that go unnoticed. Here I am looking for a supplement that will have positive impact on my LDL (bad cholesterol) and my HDL (good cholesterol) and happen to notice what is added into the capsule itself. I mean the capsule has to be made of something, right?  I'm searching the isles of the grocery store and trying to find a reputable brand name and scanning the ingredients to find partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients list. If you're not familiar with partially hydrogenated oils, let me fill you in. Partially hydrogenated oils damage the body in numerous ways. They encourage heart problems, strokes, nervous system problems, block the absorption of essential fatty acids, upset blood sugar regulation and more! They typically save the manufacturer money in the production process. So, here are the supplements claiming to improve your cardiovascular health, cholesterol, etc. and adding these harmful ingredients. Heads up people! You may think you're bettering your health, but may be negating your intended purpose! Do your homework on all of the ingredients and don't forget that supplements are not regulated by the FDA.

I never heard of this until recently, have you? After starting this new job at the Sandestin Executive Health and Wellness Center, I spoke with our Medical Director who comes from the Andrew's Institute in Gulf Breeze, FL. Anyone who watches sports, knows about the reputation of the Andrew's Institute. Well, I asked him what he does for those with high cholesterol, something I'm predisposed to despite eating fairly healthy and being very active. He said to try Astaxanthin, a supplement that wasn't even on my radar. I thought I did my homework on natural remedies, but nobody ever mentioned this one. He had also brought up Berberine which I may write about some other time. As far as Astaxanthin goes, it appears to be pretty powerful stuff. Walking through Publix the other day, I didn't expect to see it on the shelf, but there it was. It had "NEW" under it in the supplement section for approximately $17.
Astaxanthin is most commonly used as an antioxidant and may be beneficial in decreasing the risks of certain chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Astaxanthin is supposed to protect against LDL cholesterol, the unhealthy kind, and prevents LDL particles from being released and building in arteries (atherosclerosis) while reducing C-Reactive Protein (inflammation marker).  It has also been shown to improve the skin including diminishing age spots, freckles and wrinkles, fight sun damage, improving moisture content, reducing wrinkles and improves the nervous system's function.  Let's also add on that is helps with joint inflammation and protection from diabetes. After looking into this further, it all makes sense why it's not making headlines...IT CANNOT BE PATENTED! Pharmaceutical companies cannot get rich off of this.

Astaxanthin From NaturalNews.com, "You know what makes the flesh of salmon pink? Astaxanthin. And guess what gives salmon the seemingly superhuman ability to achieve marathon swimming feats, leaping up waterfalls against the current? Astaxanthin, of course. Without astaxanthin, salmon are mere average performers, and their survival rate drops to less than one in five. But with astaxanthin, they become superstars of the aquatic world, performing feats of physical strength and endurance that, in proportion, dwarf the greatest achievements of the world's top human athletes. (And their survival rate on salmon farms leaps from 17% to an astonishing 98%!)"

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid that is generally known to be a powerful antioxidant, being measured in some in vitro tests to be hundreds of times more potent than vitamin C or vitamin E! 

Also a good one for athletes! "It improves muscle endurance, proven in lab mice doing swimming endurance tests and in men doing squats with a 94-pound barbell. The mice were able to maintain blood glucose levels better than the controls and burn more fat to keep them swimming longer. The men improved their squats by 19% in the placebo group and 55% in the astaxanthin groupafter taking 4 mg/day of astaxanthin for 6 months." - www.hahealthnews.com

You can buy it here at a great price from Amazon!

This is worth looking into further, but please check with your physician first. Just remember, you heard it here first. Please share so other can BeneFIT!!