by CaltonNutrition on Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Here is the full blog! Thank you to the over 1000 of you who watched and shared our Dr. Oz video yesterday! We feel it is our responsibility to warn the millions of people around the world who are using Dr. Oz's 99 Diet Food Shopping List as a guide for healthy diet foods, that there are some potentially harmful and dangerous ingredients in some of his choices. If you haven't already, please watch our short video and share it with someone you love. It has already made a big impact and we have already gotten a strong response of support and thanks. As you watch the video and read the attached blog remember, this IS NOT an attack on Dr. Oz or the Jennie-O brand. It is our attempt to expose potentially harmful and dangerous ingredients in the foods Dr. Oz himself put on his Dr. Oz approved 99 Diet Food Shopping List. We hope you enjoy our video and the attached blog - we would love to hear your comments.

The Caltons pull back the curtain on the Great and Powerful OZ!

            Over 1 million people have already signed up for Dr. Oz’s Transformation Nation. It’s everywhere, he’s talking about it on The Dr. Oz Show, it was featured on the Today Show, Weight Watchers is involved and even the internet shoe giant, Zappos, is helping out by offering a measuring tape to aid in tracking your soon to be shrinking waistline. His goals to improve the health and reduce the weight of millions of people in this country are truly commendable. When we hear him talking about choosing foods based on their micronutrient content we couldn’t be more excited.  In fact, sometimes it even seems like Dr. Oz is taking excerpts right out of our book ;)            

However, after viewing the shopping list of the 99 diet foods Dr. Oz wants in your shopping cart we were less than enthusiastic. It left us asking, what is Dr. Oz trying to transform the nation into? His list, filled with processed foods with some less than desirable ingredients, left us completely baffled! It has been the over consumption of micronutrient-depleted, over-processed, chemical-filled foods that has contributed to the massive health crisis and obesity epidemic Americans are facing in the first place, and here we have a shopping list from a medical doctor that promotes these foods. Perhaps Dr. Oz was just trying to make it easy on busy people by offering them simple, fast solutions at mealtimes. But simple and fast doesn’t have to mean endangering our health? While not all the fast food options on Dr. Oz’s shopping list were poor food choices, in our opinion, there are too many that contained hidden ingredients that could be dangerous. Indicating to America that these are our best diet food choices is simply not healthy advice.

            So instead of just going back and forth between ourselves with “I can’t believe Dr. Oz would recommend this,” or “If people only knew what was in that,” we here at Calton Nutrition, we have decided to take part in Dr. Oz’s Transformation Nation and do a little transforming of our own. We have decided to do an assessment of Dr. Oz’s 99 Diet Foods Shopping List replacing poor food choices with foods that fits into our RICH FOOD, POOR FOOD philosophy. As discussed in our book Naked Calories, our RICH FOOD, POOR FOOD philosophy focuses less on the calorie, fat, or sodium content of a food and more on its micronutrient value (micronutrients are the essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids like omega 3 that we all need to get enough of to prevent health conditions and disease). It is our contention that achieving micronutrient sufficiency by eating micronutrient rich foods and avoiding harmful chemicals and food additives is the first step towards achieving optimal health. We know that there is many definitions to the word DIET, including low carbohydrate, paleo, Mediterranean, vegetarian, low fat, vegan – the list goes on and on. So, our list is full of healthy, natural, micronutrient rich foods that will help you achieve micronutrient sufficiency no matter what dietary philosophy you are following. While we would prefer, of course, to see fewer packaged foods and more fresh, whole, real foods in the cart altogether, we will be offering up an apples-to-apples comparison to keep the shopping cart transformation fair. For instance, if Dr. Oz offers a frozen food option, we will also offer a frozen food option. Our goal in doing this is to show you what potentially hazardous and micronutrient depleting ingredients are lurking in the foods in Dr. Oz’s cart. We will first examining one of Dr. Oz’s 99 Diet Food recommendations and then we will replace it with one of our suggestions. We will continue to do this until all of the potentially hazardous and micronutrient-depleting ingredients have been exposed. As you will see, some of the ingredients in his foods are not so healthy. So, sit back and enjoy the Calton Nutrition’s version of “Transformation Nation” as we replace the Oz-approved poor food suggestions, with our Calton-approved, rich food options.

 

Introducing #5 on Dr. Oz’s 99 Diet Foods Shopping List: Jennie-O Breakfast Sausage Links.

            This is first food on Dr. Oz’s list that jumped out at us. We chose it for two reasons, first we sometimes eat a similar food for breakfast – we’ll get our rich food picks later; second, and more important, Dr. Oz recently alerted the public about the possible danger associated with one of this foods ingredients. In our opinion, Dr. Oz really blew it with this breakfast food. So we will make this the first food on Dr. Oz’s 99 diet foods shopping list we don’t want to see in your shopping cart. Now we want to be clear, we are not trying to pick up a fight with Dr. Oz or Jennie-O, Dr. Oz is the one that put their name down on his list, not us. Our obligation is to you, our readers, your welfare is our first priority and you deserve to know that there are ingredients in Dr. Oz’s food choices that can negatively affect your health. It is not Jennie-O or Dr. Oz that we appose, it is the ingredients in this Oz-approved diet food choice with which we find fault.

 

Here are the ingredients as they are listed on the label:

Turkey, Contains 2% or Less Turkey Fat, Seasoning (Salt, Dextrose, Spice, Spice Extractives, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Bha, Bht and Citric Acid), Natural Flavoring, Calcium Lactate, Made With Calcium Alginate Casing.

Let’s start by examining the ingredients list. 

Poor ingredients Numbers 1 and 2: BHA and BHT

            We will begin with two seemingly innocent ingredients BHA and BHT. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) are waxy solids that are used as food additives and come with European coding numbers E320 (BHA) and E321 (BHT). Manufactured from petroleum, they act as preservatives to edible fats and fat-containing foods to prevent the food from becoming rancid and developing objectionable odors. The US National Institute of Health reports that BHA is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on evidence of carcinogenicity in rats. Additionally, the state of California lists this ingredient as a carcinogen.

In England these substances are banned as research found that they can form a carcinogenic substance when combined with other foods. Japan has also banned them after studies found they cause cancerous tumors in rat’s stomachs and have been linked to liver and kidney damage as well as breast and lymph node damage. Do these sound like ingredients you want in your breakfast sausage? Do they sound like ingredients that will transform your health in any positive way? We think NOT.

 

Poor ingredient Number 3: Hydrolyzed Corn Protein 

            So, what is hydrolyzed corn protein after all? It doesn’t sound so scary. Well, this ingredient is better known by another name – monosodium glutamate, or MSG. This poor food ingredient can cause extreme changes in blood pressure, joint pain, body aches, chest pains, loss of balance, slurred speech, diarrhea, stomach cramps, sneezing, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, blurred vision, irregular heartbeat, depression, dizziness, anxiety or panic attacks, migraines, mental confusion, stiffness, muscular swelling, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, and seizures. But the real problem, as if that list isn’t bad enough, is that MSG is an excitotoxin, a substance known to overexcites cells to the point of damage or death.

            Tests preformed in the 1950s showed that when rats were given a single dose of MSG, it destroyed the neurons in the inner layer of their retinas. The hypothalamus of the brain was also severely damaged in the process. Here is the kicker, studies show that humans are up to six times more sensitive to the effects of MSG than rats!

            Even if you are going to overlook the possible brain damage and the host of other side effects listed above, we still have another reason to avoid MSG. It turns out, if you are trying to lose weight, which by the way is the main goal of Dr. Oz’s Transformation Nation, than you’ll most certainly want to steer clear of this ingredient. In a study of more than 10,000 individuals, researchers found that participants with the highest MSG intake (median of 5g/day) were about 30% more likely to be overweight at the end of the study, compared to those with the least intake (less than 0.5g/day). This is because individuals who consumed MSG had higher than normal leptin secretion levels (the hormone that normally tells you when you are full.) Normal leptin secretion typically signals the brain that a person is full. But the MSG eater’s leptin levels in the study were so out of whack that their bodies could no longer recognize the leptin’s messages. The over secretion had the opposite effect and made it so that they never felt full. Is this an ingredient you want in your food? Will this ingredient help you on your weight loss journey? Again Dr. Oz… No.

Poor ingredient Number 4: Dextrose 

            Do we really need to add sugar to the sausage? Dextrose is just another name for sugar. Aside from sugar being an Everyday Micronutrient Depleter (EMD) – see Naked Calories pages 104 & 122 - this poor food ingredient spikes insulin – a fat storage hormone - and has been unnecessarily added to the sausage to simply appeal to the American taste bud. Additionally, sugar is addictive. Studies out of the University of Bordeaux, France, found refined sugar to be far more addictive than cocaine! So the more we add it to our foods, the more we will crave it. To add insult to injury, dextrose rates a 100 on the glycemic index (the highest possible rating). This means that it enters our system extremely fast and thus stimulates a high insulin response very quickly. Remember, insulin is a fat storage hormone so suggesting a sugar-laden sausage as a diet food is completely bizarre unless your goal is to transform our nation into overweight, sugar-addicted diabetics.

            Poor ingredient Number 5: Non-organic, non-pastured turkey 

            If there is any ingredient on this list where we can give a little wiggle room to, it might be this one. We know that the richest food option would be organic, pasture raised turkey meat. Turkeys, like chickens, are far more micronutrient rich when they have been pasture raised, allowing them to absorb sunlight (vitamin D), and allowed to peck around in the dirt and grass for their insects (omega 3). So, for that reason choosing a sausage that is made from organic pastured turkey would be the healthiest.  But, we are realists and know that pasture raised ingredients are hard to find and can be costly. Until we as consumers demand pasture-raised ingredients, the supply will stay low, and the cost high.

            However, we do want to at least stress the organic portion of this health recipe. Why should the turkey be organic? Well, the answer is based on a topic that is near and dear to Dr. Oz’s heart – one we just heard him talking about on “Today” this past week. It’s all about the arsenic.

            There he was on “Today” remarking on how brown rice syrup has been shown to have unsafe arsenic levels. Dr. Oz cautioned against giving it to our children in baby food formulas.  Well, we’re sorry to be the ones to break the news, but turkeys (and chickens) commonly contain arsenic too. So, while Dr. Oz cautions us on television no to consume it, he recommends foods known to have it on his shopping list. Huh?

            According to the FDA, poultry farmers feed arsenic, a recognized carcinogen to the birds, for "growth promotion, feed efficiency and improved pigmentation." The arsenic affects the blood vessels in the chicken and turkey, causing them to appear pinker and therefore fresher. Doesn’t that just sound delicious?

            Now, we are NOT saying that we have tested Jennie-O Breakfast Sausage Links for arsenic. We haven’t!  However, when conventional poultry was tested by a Minnesota-based advocacy group, The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, it found the poison (arsenic) in 55% of chicken parts (breast, thighs and livers) tested, with the highest amount, 21.2 parts per million, occurring in generic brands. If you want to know how safe that is, you should know that the EPA considers 10 parts per billion (with a B) in drinking water to be high enough to pose a cancer risk. The chickens tested had more than 2,000 times the cancer causing arsenic levels!

            So, you can see how important choosing an organic turkey would be in avoiding this known carcinogen.  The European Union has outlawed this feed since 1999. If we can’t get it outlawed here in the US, shouldn’t it at least be our obligation to warn against it, or at the very least to NOT suggest products that contain turkey that may have been fed the arsenic?

Five Strikes… The Jennie-O Breakfast Sausage Link is OUT!

            Well, we have been very thorough in pointing out what ingredients we don’t want to be in your foods. Based on the above-mentioned ingredients we don’t want the Jennie-O Breakfast Sausage Links in our shopping cart. But, how difficult is it to find a better product?  It’s not!  In fact, we found three products in our fridge/freezer just now that we feel are better choices.

            The first is Jones, All Natural Pork Sausage Patties. We dub this a rich food breakfast option because of its simple ingredient list. Pork, water, salt and spices. Now, we don’t have to translate any of those for you do we? While this product is not organic, it is a great, easy-to-find, inexpensive option to transforming your health. Especially if you’re following a low carbohydrate, paleo, or Mediterranean style diet.

            Next, we also like The Original Brat Hans Organic Sweet Italian chicken sausage.  These links tick off all the boxes – no MSG, no sugar, and no nasty carcinogenic preservatives. They even add veggies for an extra bonus in the morning. They may be a little harder to find, maybe that is why the Dr Oz people didn’t find them, but they are so good, and so much better for you! This organic breakfast sausage delivers the micronutrients you need with none of the potentially harmful ingredients you don’t want.

            Finally, our third choice is by Applegate Organics Fire Roasted Red Pepper chicken and turkey sausage. This is a rich food option for certain. There is nothing about this food that’s not to love. Remember, because these are organic, the birds will not have been fed the arsenic. These tasty organic links will transform your morning by supplying you with a satisfying, delicious, and healthy meal.

            Well, our job is done here…for today. But don’t fret. We will continue to transform the Transformation Nation’s shopping cart, item by item, into one that is filled with Calton-approved rich foods that are safe and healthy for you and your family. Remember, you are what you eat. As Dr. Oz says, your grocery store is your pharmacy. We agree, and believe following our guidelines and choosing our rich foods, with the safest ingredients will be the right prescription for you to achieve micronutrient sufficiency and eventually optimal health.

If you haven’t yet make sure you watch and share the attached video – we need to get the message out, before millions of people unknowingly ingest these potentially harmful ingredients. Thank you for doing your part!

~Mira and Jayson Calton

by CaltonNutrition on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

You don't want to miss this MUST SEE video staring the Caltons and Dr. Oz! Its already going viral! 

Our full blog will be posted tomorrow - make sure to check back then - you won't want to miss it! In the mean time enjoy the video and don't forget to count how many times we mention the word "OZ." Then follow the directions on our Naked Calories Facebook page and you could win a free copy of Naked Calories. We will be giving away A LOT of books, so watch the video, count the "OZ's" and enter your guess. Please share our video with as many people as you can, while it may be entertaining, we feel it is a serious topic people need to be made aware of. Thank you for doing your part!

Live Your Optimal Life,
Mira and Jayson Calton

by CaltonNutrition on Thursday, February 16, 2012

Whitney Houston was an incredible talent. She will be missed by millions and forever be remembered for her huge, incredible voice. Today, we want to use her death to remind us of something else that is huge right now. We are talking about the abuse of prescription medications. According to reports, Whitney’s prescription of choice was a daily cocktail of at least three different types of anti-anxiety sedatives including the ever-popular Xanax. We say ever popular, because this single drug was prescribed nearly 50 million times in the past year alone.

            Xanax works by numbing your brain when you start to feel anxious. The only problem is that the people become reliant on this numbing effect, and rather than dealing with the cause of the anxiety, patients pop the fast acting pills at an ever increasing pace.  The process of weaning yourself off this particular drug is said to be so painful that hospitalization is often necessary. So, why are our physicians dolling out these drugs like candy, drugs so addictive, and with such horrible withdrawal effects that few can successfully quit?

            Additionally we need to point out that by taking three different prescriptions from this class of medication, known as benzodiazepines, Whitney was depleting her body of her vital micronutrients threefold. Her levels of vitamin C, B12 and CoQ10, the micronutrients depleted by benzodiazepines, must have been dramatically reduced. We should note here that as we discussed in Naked Calories, reduced vitamin C levels are HORRIBLE for stress levels. It becomes like a dog chasing its tale - a patient starts to feel anxiety or stress so their doctor prescribes them a pill that depletes them of the very micronutrient(s) that they need to properly deal with that anxiety and stress. In fact, research shows that the demand for vitamin C increases by up to tenfold during periods of stress and that vitamin C can be more effective than medications for relieving stress. So now instead of feeling better the micronutrient depletion causes the patient to feel worse, which causes them to use more of the drug which depletes more micronutrient(s) and so on…

            Let’s add to this the numerous micronutrients she was depleting herself of through her years of alcohol consumption/abuse as well. Remember, that alcohol decreases digestive enzyme secretion, which impairs the absorption of vitamin B1 (thiamin) and vitamin B9 (folic acid). What do thiamin and folic acid have in common?  Well, besides both being B vitamins that help with stress, deficiency of these specific micronutrients can cause congestive heart failure.  What other micronutrient do we know, that when deficient, causes congestive heart failure? Oh yes, we are talking about CoQ10 here, which if you remember Whitney Houston would have been extremely deficient in due to her trio of anti-anxiety drugs. Remember, in Naked Calories, we explain that studies have shown that congestive heart failure is primarily a CoQ10 deficiency disease.

            As of yet we cannot say what took this Divas life, however, we know that she did not drown. Did her heart give out? We don’t know this either.  What we can tell you is that we know her heart was in a good position to do so, looking at it from a micronutrient perspective, due to her everyday micronutrient depleting lifestyle habits of prescription medications and alcohol.

            Regardless of whether the drugs depleted the micronutrients that caused Houston’s heart to fail, or if there was a drug overdose, one thing is certain…prescription drugs killed Whitney Houston – and she is not the only star that has fallen recently due to these habit-forming pills. Kurt Cobain, Chris Farley, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger, Amy Winehouse, and Michael Jackson were all addicted to medications. According to the CDC, prescription drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., topping automobile accidents for the first time in 30 years! We think that Whitney’s death should be a wake up call to all of us, as to the over-prescribing and misuse of pharmaceuticals. Rather than treating the body with micronutrient-depleting drugs, physicians should prevent these conditions by creating a state of micronutrient sufficiency in their patients. We need to end this period of using prescription drugs as band-aids to mask the illness. Instead, we need to prevent the illness in the first place. With all the knowledge we have as to the body’s ability to use micronutrients to heal both body and mind, isn’t it time we start looking to them as safe and effective treatments for the health conditions and diseases that are plaguing our world?

            Well, just how much safer are our vitamins, minerals and accessory micronutrients than prescription medications? According to JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, there are over 100,000 Americans killed each year by adverse reactions to FDA-approved pharmaceuticals. There are 100,000 additional deaths to do overdoses of these same prescription drugs. Over a ten-year period this is over 2 million deaths! Now, let’s look at micronutrients.  How many deaths are reported annually? According to the U.S. National Poison Data System the number of people killed in 2009 across America by vitamins, minerals, amino acids or herbal supplements was zero.

            We hope that these fallen stars can help to illuminate the bigger message. We are a nation that is killing ourselves through the misuse of medications.  Medications that kill us through overdose, adverse reactions and yes, by depleting us of our essential micronutrients that we need to live long, healthy lives. Your health is in your hands. Take time today to evaluate your personal intake of prescription and over the counter medications.  Consider how you can improve your health through micronutrient sufficiency and start working with your physician to take steps towards the elimination of your pharmaceutical crutches. If your doctor laughs when you tell him/her of your goal, find a new doctor – your health is not a joke. Its time to transform America from a sick, overweight over medicated nation to one were optimal health is a reality!

 

by CaltonNutrition on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

February is American Heart Health Month, but did you know that recent research suggests that micronutrient deficiencies could be at the HEART of heart disease?

 

A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) suggests that a proper balance of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, EFA’s and accessory nutrients) may be the missing link to improving heart function and achieving a healthier heart.

 

Here are the facts, over 5 percent of all healthcare expenditures in the United States (estimated to be $38 billion) are related to the treatment of heart failure (HF). However, it seems that no matter what we do, or the positive results realized through available HF treatments, such as drug therapy, defibrillators and exercise, hospitalizations due to heart failure continue to rise – why?

 

As it turns out, while current research addresses many aspects of heart disease (again, mostly macronutrient based), there have been relatively few studies examining the micronutrient needs of the heart muscle to maintain its health.

Without a doubt, the heart is the hardest working organ in the body. On any given day, the human heart will pump more than 1,900 gallons of blood and because the heart is so active, it requires an enormous amount of energy — in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — to stay healthy. However, few in the health sciences today are looking at how a deficiency in certain micronutrients may affect the hearts ability to process this energy.

“The heart requires a tremendous amount of ‘fuel,’ or ATP, to pump the volume of blood that circulates throughout the human body on a daily basis,” says Dr. Mihai Gheorghiade of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and co-author of the recent review on micronutrient deficiencies and heart health in the JACC. “In heart failure patients, the energy requirements are significantly higher due to the increased demand on the heart. At the same time, the heart is less efficient in processing the fuel, possibly because of an insufficient amount of certain micronutrients….In a healthy heart, much of the regeneration takes place while a person is sleeping. The heart consumes the necessary micronutrients when resting,” Dr. Gheorghiade states. “For someone with heart failure, the heart is in a constant state of activity — even when sleeping — and requires more micronutrients than may be available in the body. So micronutrient deficiencies may actually contribute to the burden of disease.”

What Does This Mean?

It means we all need to seriously take a good hard look at the role micronutrients actually play in the prevention and reversal of chronic health conditions and disease. (See Micronutrient Sufficiency Hypothesis of Health Pg. 249 Naked Calories) The scientific community at large including researchers, nutritionists, and medical doctors have been so focused on how macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) effect heart disease (and all other diseases for that matter) that we have almost completely overlooked the micronutrients.  Theoretically, creating a state of micronutrient sufficiency for those micronutrients needed by the heart could improve heart function and, possibly, lead to better outcomes for HF patients.

“Until now, we had never really examined the role that micronutrients play in heart health,” says Dr. Gheorghiade. “Although there is nothing conclusive about the study, it certainly suggests that additional research is needed to assess this potential new area of heart failure treatment.” Dr. Gheorghiade recommends that patients and physicians continue to talk about holistic approaches to HF and discuss how micronutrients may be an important factor in HF treatment.

At Calton Nutrition, we believe that micronutrient deficiency is the most widespread and dangerous health condition of the 21^st century. We also believe that the potential health benefits of micronutrient sufficiency goes far beyond that of heart heath. Micronutrients are an underexplored therapeutic field of nutrition that desperately deserves our attention. By reading Naked Calories, you can take your first steps towards understanding how micronutrients can affect your health.

It should be noted that current HF treatment guidelines do not recommend micronutrient supplementation. To learn more about micronutrient sufficiency or to learn if you are micronutrient sufficient, go to CaltonNutrition.com and take our free 50-question micronutrient sufficiency profile quiz. While you are giving your heart to someone special this Valentines Day, make sure it is as healthy as possible.

List of beneficial micronutrient for heart health:

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2 (Niacin), Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Chromium, Copper, Selenium, Alpha Lipoic Acid, L-Carnitine, Coenzyme Q10, Grape Seed Extract, Quercetin, Omega 3, Omega 6.

To see how your multivitamin stacks up to the ABCs of Optimal Supplementation            Click Here 

Sources: 

Soukoulus V et al. Micronutrients Deficiencies: An Unmet Need in Heart Failure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2009.

Dr. Mihai Gheorghiade, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Chicago, IL.

by CaltonNutrition on Friday, February 10, 2012

We want to talk about something serious in this blog, something we think is extremely important -- SEX! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we don’t want there to be any excuses in the bedroom.  We don’t want to hear that you are too tired, have a headache or that you aren’t in the mood. Regardless of your age or sex, it is time for you to get a little bit frisky. So, if your libido is just so-so it is time to boost your MOJO with micronutrients!

 

That’s right! We are going to make vitamins SEXY! While some people look to aphrodisiacs such as oysters or Spanish fly to intensify their sexual desire, we want to assure you that becoming sufficient in your essential vitamins will be all you need to bring some spice into the bedroom. Some vitamins provide building blocks for making the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, and without the proper amounts of these vitamins, it can be difficult to maintain good sexual health. Others help to boost energy, and physical enjoyment. Here are five great vitamins to heat up this Valentine’s Day.

 

Vitamin D

You probably already know that there is a widespread vitamin D deficiency among Americans, mostly due to the fact that we are spending more time indoors and less time soaking up the sun. In Naked Calories we state that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of the general population in the United States is vitamin D deficient, regardless of age. About 70 percent of elderly Americans and 90 percent of Americans of color are vitamin D deficient. However, you may not know that a vitamin D deficiency can devastate a women’s sex drive because it can bring on low estrogen levels, as well as bone diseases and cardiovascular difficulties. Low vitamin D can also make you moody and depressed – two attributes rarely associated with romance. And men, low vitamin D levels mean low testosterone and that equals a low libido. So boost both of your vitamin D levels this year and make cupid work overtime!

 

Vitamin A

Could vitamin A be a natural Viagra? Listen up guys…if you are having any troubles in the bedroom you may want to check your vitamin A levels as vitamin A deficiency can result in lower production of the essential sex hormone testosterone and is the most common deficiency in impotent men. With more than 50% of Americans deficient in Vitamin A, this looks like a good place to start if your looking to put a little steam back in the bedroom. A sign of this deficiency may be some not so sexy dry skin.

 

Vitamin E

According to the USDA, only 13 percent of  the U.S. is sufficient in vitamin E. That’s too bad, because vitamin E has been called the "sex vitamin" due to its ability to aid in the feelings of desire, attraction and enhanced mood. It doesn't hurt that it is also considered an anti-aging secret as well. What can be better than looking young and feeling like a teenager in love again? Some find vitamin E can also be used topically as a sexual lubricant, and it may increase sensation. Just open a vitamin E liquid capsule, use topically, and boost the enjoyment of this special night.

 

Vitamin B1 (thiamin)

Do you want to make the passion last all nightlong? Then you will want to make sure you are getting enough vitamin B1 in your diet. B1 is important to maintain energy and sex drive, as well as for metabolism and high energy. Those with deficient B vitamins may find themselves with low desire and may feel tired or sluggish…a deficiency can also make you feel constipated, which is never very sexy.

 

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

Vitamin B3 increases blood flow to the extremities, and yes, that also includes the brain! This vitamin is crucial in the process of achieving orgasm during sexual encounters. You can turn on your ability to get off by eliminating a niacin deficiency that could be putting a real damper on your sex life.

 

 

 

If you have not checked out our media page lately, we have put together a couple of our latest television spots for your enjoyment.

 

The Daily Buzz – Bodychecklist with Rachel K

Fox and Friends with Gretchen Carlson.

Good Day Tampa Bay with Kristin Wright

Daytime with Lindsay MacDonald and Cyndi Edwards

ABC 7 with Hayley Wielgus

by CaltonNutrition on Monday, February 6, 2012

Control is the name of the game.

Whether in business, politics, or our personal lives, whoever is in control is in charge, you could say, they have the power. Most of the time, those in control create rules and regulations concerning whatever it is they have control over. Oh, and associated consequences or punishments for those who do not follow their rules and regulations.

When it comes to your health, you want to be in control…don’t you? Do you want to be told what you can eat and what you can’t? What you should weigh or how much you need to exercise? Now, we will be first to say that we have a health crisis here in America and that there is a lot that needs to be done to get Americans moving towards a healthy future, but is government regulation really the answer?

The Proposal.

So here is what is being proposed. In a comment article published on February 1, 2012 in Nature authors Robert H. Lustig, Laura A. Schmidt and Claire D. Brindis argue that “added sweeteners [like sugar and HFCS] pose dangers to health that justify controlling them like alcohol.” They go on to say sugar is just as “toxic” for people as alcohol and tobacco, so the government should step in to curb its consumption. In a CBS news piece the authors are quoted as saying “Sugar meets the same criteria for regulation as alcohol, because it’s unavoidable, there’s potential for abuse, it’s toxic and it negatively impacts society.” They continue by saying that, “Sugar is everywhere, and people eat up to 500 calories per day in added sugar alone, Sugar acts on the same areas of the brain as alcohol and tobacco to encourage subsequent intake, and it’s toxic because research shows that sugar increases disease risk form factors other than added calories, such as when it disrupts metabolism… That’s why it’s time that the government steps in and regulates sugar in ways similar to tobacco and alcohol.” That includes taxes, age restrictions and other policies to control the distribution of sugar. “There has to be some sort of societal intervention. We cannot do it on our own because sugar is addictive. Personal intervention is necessary, but not sufficient.”

According to CBS news HealthPop, Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, agrees that it’s time for policy changes, since many Americans take in roughly 25 percent of their daily calorie intake through sugar. Nestle when on to tell CBS news that she thinks regulation could eventually be possible, since many local governments are already enacting policies to curb sugar in schools or tax sodas. “If you have enough of those, the federal government can step in.”

Today it is sugar, but what comes next?

Ok, so we now have a clear picture of what is being proposed, and we all know sugar is bad for us or at least we hope we all do. In Naked Calories we reveal sugar’s numerous anti-nutrient, micronutrient robbing traits that can eventually lead to obesity. However, while most of us can agree on sugars dastardly existence, we need to think long and hard before we hand our freedom of choice concerning our food over to the government – don’t we? In the article sited above,they are comparing sugar [a carbohydrate] to alcohol and tobacco, but alcohol and tobacco are not foods. Here is the worst case scenario, first they say sugar is bad, and while most of us would usually stand up and give this a standing ovation, what happens when a year or two from now, government says – well, we are already regulating sugar a [bad] form of carbohydrate so why don’t we regulate saturated fat a [bad] form (according to some) of fat, or casein, according to Dr. Campbell of The China Study and Forks over knives (and others), a [bad] form of protein?

People who are looking to gain control always start with the obvious win. Sugar is an easy win. Even we, right now, feel very strange arguing against sugar regulation, but it is not because we are pro-sugar, it is because we are pro-choice! We agree that their needs to be an effective advertising and education program as to the dangers of sugar, but we cannot let them micronize the situation. Sugar is only one of the culprits out there robbing us of our health. We need to think on a larger more realistic and sustainable scale if we are going to get America’s health back on track.

Regulation or education?

Many point to the taxation on tobacco in Canada and its positive effect on reducing tobacco consumption, but that taxation came with a very effective advertising and education program. Are we trying to say that somehow taxation overcame the addictive nature of cigarettes, or could the education program have caused Canadians to rethink their habit and make a conscience choice to stop causing them selves and others harm? Most importantly, and we cannot stress this enough – tobacco is not food! Some people say, wow, this is great, finally the government is going to do something about this problem by taxing and put restrictions on high sugar foods – it’s about time. Even though sugar is found in many foods these days, can’t we, with a little effort, avoid these foods on our own without government intervention?

Government regulation of tobacco and alcohol is one thing, but government regulation of our food is not even in the same universe! We think its time for all of us, to start to take responsibility and control of our own health. There are many strong and intelligent voices in the nutrition world today that can be our guides through this learning process. The dietary philosophy you choose to follow is a personal choice and it should be yours and yours alone to make. There is simply too much special interest in government to effectively regulate our food without bias.

Your health is in your hands…for now.

So here is our bottom line. Our ability to chose which foods we eat and which ones we don’t may be one of the most important freedoms we have left. That is because our ability to be healthy solely depends on our ability to derive our essential macro and micronutrients from our foods.  While we do not think that there is any intention by the government to use this regulation in a detrimental way, and we agree that less sugar consumption could do nothing but good for our society, it does open the door to future policies concerning certain types of fats and proteins that may not be so clear cut. What if instead of sugar, this was a regulation of red meat, dietary supplements, or a regulation against raising your child as a vegan or strict vegetarian? While there are those who may find pros and cons on each side of these issues, we as American citizens still have the right to choose for ourselves where we fall on these issues and act as we see fit.

Plato wrote the following line in his work “The Republic,” around 380 BC “Quis custodiet ispos custodies,” which translates to “Who shall watch the watchers themselves?” Food is not cotton, it’s not tobacco, it’s not gold or any other unessential commodity, it is food! Its what nourishes us, keeps us alive, and is what is supposed to keep us healthy. We urge you to think twice before giving away your right to choose the food you eat. Remember, the day we give away control of our food will be marked in history as the last day we had control over our own health.

by CaltonNutrition on Friday, February 3, 2012

                     Ok – as many of you know we have been very busy running around New York and Boston doing book signings and TV. We want to start this blog by saying THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to come out and meet us and to everyone who has supported us on this journey, which in case you are wondering means YOU! We know a lot of you caught us on FOX and FRIENDS last Monday morning around 7:30 AM EST. After that show we are happy to report that on Amazon.com Naked Calories went to #1 in the UK and #2 in America in nutrition and healthyliving books and #20 in ALL books in the U.S.! So THANK YOU to everyone who went out and bought a copy of Naked Calories – we could not have done it without you.

Diabetes is on the rise!

                  While we were running around this last week we were inundated with requests to comment on Paula Deen and her diabetes diagnosis, so we thought we would use this blog to talk a little bit about our take on the situation. We think it is time for Paula to get NAKED! We believe that if Paula were to use the principals in Naked Calories that she would have the power to rebuild her health through improved diet, better lifestyle habits, and proper supplementation. With the shear number of people who love Paula this gives her a unique opportunity to teach others that the answer does not lie in medications, but in personal education and changing one’s habits.

                  If you have read Naked Calories, or heard us speak recently in the media, you would remember a few ingredients we call out as Everyday Micronutrient Depleters (EMDs). We should not be surprised that many of these foods appear in recipe after recipe on Paula’s show. One should not be surprised that micronutrient deficiency set in after a lifetime of dining on sugar, white refined flour and factory-farmed meats. If Paula were to embrace our nutrivore lifestyle and take the first step to cut out many of the highly refined/processed foods from her diet and replaced them with fresh local/organic produce,100% grass fed beef, pasture raised chickens and eggs, wild caught fish, and healthy omega 3 and CLA based fats, Paula would have a good chance at controlling her diabetes either with MINIMAL medication use or perhaps WITHOUT medication all together.

                  If Paula followed the second step in our nutrivore lifestyle she would incorporate lifestyle changes like exercise, stress management, and moderate alcohol consumption; these would add to her success. Finally, a properly formulated multivitamin that met the ABCs of Optimal Supplementation Guidelines would round out our the third step in our nutrivore lifestyle and and put Paula on a path for a successful – minimal to drug free program.

Are micronutrients the key to preventing and/or reversing type 2 diabetes?

                  Chances are as time goes on you are going to hear a lot of arguing about what kind of diet Paula should follow to control her diabetes. Some will say low carbohydrate and others will say low fat, but as usual most of the debate will center around the MACROnutrient component of her diet and most if not all of the advice will leave out the MICROnutrient part of the equation all together. But, that is why we are here…to give a voice to one of the least talked about, but perhaps one of the most important aspect to diabetes care and prevention – micronutrient sufficiency! It is important for everyone, but especially individuals who may be pre-diabetic or who have type 2 diabetes to understand which micronutrients can help them to prevent or control this devastating health condition.

                  Micronutrients are fascinating little things. They literally control our whole body. Where diabetes is concerned the micronutrients play a vital role in converting sugars and other carbohydrates in our diets into usable energy, regulating metabolism in general, and even talking to our gene, causing some to turn on and others to turn off. If we are deficient in our essential micronutrients this gene signaling and metabolism regulation can suffer and our chances of developing a chronic disease like diabetes can increase greatly. This is why we continually urge everyone to become micronutrient sufficient – when our bodies have a sufficient supply of essential micronutrients it can do what it was designed to do – keep us healthy!

                  So which vitamins and minerals are most effective at protecting us from insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes? We have listed a few here, but remember we need ALL the essential micronutrient in a sufficient quantity to protect us from poor health and disease.

Chromium – Chromium deficiency has been closely related to diabetes for a long time. Dr. Walter Mertz M.D. former director of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center, was a major proponent of chromium. He discovered that chromium played a key role in carbohydrate metabolism, possibly by participating in the formation of a special compound, which he named "glucose tolerance factor," or GTF. In 1959, he stated, “Type II Diabetes is not a disease. It is the lack of a natural ingredient known as GTF Chromium.” GTF is comprised of chromium (perhaps the most active component), nicotinic acid (vitamin B3), and the three amino acids that make up glutathione (glycine, glutamic acid, and cysteine). Make sure your supplement uses chromium polynicotinate, because this is biologically active form of chromium and it is already attached to B3. In addition to GTF potentiating the effect of insulin, it also seems to help lower elevated serum cholesterol and triglycerides.

Magnesium – This micronutrient could be a real game changer for diabetes. Magnesium plays a key role in the regulation of insulin and is one of the most commonly deficient micronutrients in insulin resistant and type 1 and 2 diabetes patients. However, in two studies published in the Journal Diabetes Care, when nearly 170,000 men and women were followed for 12 -18 years those with the highest intake of magnesium (between 300-400mg daily) were found to have significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes even after the researchers accounted for age, weight, physical activity, smoking and family history!

Calcium – We may not typically think of calcium being associated to diabetes, but don’t forget the crave cycle (page 181 in Naked Calories). When calcium and/or magnesium are deficient this can cause a physical craving for sweet and/or salty foods. These cravings can lead to poor eating habits and eventually could contribute to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

B3 – There are two forms of vitamin B3, niacin and nicotinamide. Nicotinamide is vital for optimal carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.

B6 – Vitamin B6 may be able to protect you from diabetes related complications and may improve glucose tolerance, particularly in gestational diabetes.

B9 – When we combine B9 (folate or folic acid), with B6 and B12 we get a synergistic super team that can help to lower homocysteine levels. This is important to those with type 2 diabetes because high homocysteine levels cause metabolic dysfunctions and are a major risk factor for overall mortality for those with type 2 diabetes.

B12 – Separately from the super team above is essential for proper nerve function. Adequate vitamin B12 levels may help to prevent the nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) that can occur with diabetes.

Manganese – A manganese deficiency is often found in diabetic people although science is not sure why. Becoming sufficient in this essential micronutrient can help protect LDL cholesterol from being oxidized and eventually becoming plaques in the arteries and may help with diabetes and insulin resistance.

Vitamin C – In people with diabetic hyperglycemia an accumulation of a kind of sugar called sorbitol can lead to complication in several organs including the kidneys, eyes, and nerves. In studies on insulin dependent diabetes mellitus vitamin C was considered to be superior in normalizing sorbitol levels when compared to drugs used for this same purpose.

Vitamin E – It is a powerful antioxidant that can neutralize the damaging free radicals that are formed during hyperglycemic states. Research also shows that being deficient in vitamin E may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Vanadium – This micronutrient has been shown to help with the uptake and metabolism of proteins, lipids and glucose as well as increase cell insulin sensitivity.

Don’t get caught up on specifics here, this isn’t a nutrition class. We just want you to see that having a conversation about diabetes prevention or control without taking into account how micronutrients fit into the equation is really only looking at half of the problem.

We love Paula, and we would love to see her empower her fans with nutritional knowledge that proves to them that they are the ones in control of their health, rather than share a message of helplessness and dependency on drugs. Good luck Paula - we wish you the best of luck!

For those of you who may have missed our FOX and FRIENDS segment you can watch it HERE. Also, we have done some amazing podcasts with some of the best in the business. You can listen to those by clicking their names below:

Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show with Jimmy Moore

Underground Wellness with Sean Croxton

The Balanced Bites with Liz Wolfe & Diane Sanfilippo

Fat-Burning Man with Abel James

Beyond Diet with Dan Rodriguez

To Your Good Health with Dr. David Freidman

See more on our media page!

by CaltonNutrition on Monday, January 23, 2012

Now that cold and flu season is here you are about to be bombarded with advertisements for flu shots and medications. While we respect your decision to use these methods to prevent or get over your cold or flu, if you choose to do so, this blog is dedicated to sharing with you how we can all boost our immunity this year to fight off a cold or flu - naturally.

There is no biological reason we have to catch a cold or get the flu.

The fact is that a cold or flu is most often a sign of a weak immune system. By becoming sufficient in your essential micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, etc.), you can create an immune system capable of doing its job – which is to keep you well. Not only can you save yourself the pain and discomfort of dealing with these illnesses, you won’t miss work and you will find that you have more energy as well.

There is a good reason why the colds season peaks after the holidays – SUGAR!

Think about it, we just finished a fabulous, fun holiday season and what did we do throughout it? We ate cakes and cookies and celebrated with foods that are high in sugar. Sugar is the main ingredient in many of the foods that we say are filled with NAKED CALORIES, because these foods are all but devoid of your essential vitamins and minerals.  But sugar does something else too.  It competes with vitamin C for receptor sites in our cells, blocking our cells ability to absorb vitamins C, and when you become low in vitamin C your immunity is weakened and you become susceptible to catching all the nasty bugs going around. Cold weather doesn’t cause colds, a low immune system does. The excess sugar eaten over the holidays not only packs on the pounds, but may also be the reason cold and flu rates peak after the holidays.

When most people get sick they grab over the counter cold medications, or even prescription medications, but is this the best first step?

When someone takes an over the counter or prescription medication they do so because they assume that it will make them feel better, however what many people don’t realize is that these medications actually deplete essential vitamins and minerals from their body when they take them – in some cases the same micronutrients that are needed to keep their immune systems strong! For example:

·      Aspirin depletes immunity fighters vitamin C and zinc

·      Ibuprofen depletes zinc

·      Antacids deplete vitamin D and zinc

·      Antibiotics deplete 11 essential micronutrients. (pg. 135-136 Naked Calories)

·      WATCH OUT- Children’s medications are no better: According to research at The Hospital for Sick Children in Canada, Penicillin, in solution form, is 80% sugar. Three of the other top ten children’s medications came in above 60% sugar. This gives a whole new meaning to Mary Poppins magic spoonful of sugar. So check the label, you may be lowering your child’s immune system with every spoonful of vitamin C blocking sugar.

Look to your food as a first line of defense – A super healthy cold fighting breakfast.

While we have learnt many approaches to enhancing wellness on The Calton Project (our 6 year, 100 country global expedition), here is a breakfast that is going to start our day by making sure our gut is strong. No, we won’t be doing sit ups. In order to stay healthy we need to make sure that the bacteria in our gut are working efficiently because almost 80% of our immune system resides in our gut.

We are going to do this by eating yogurt with fresh strawberries.

The Yogurt:

• The "live active cultures" or probiotics found in yogurt, are healthy bacteria that keep the gut and intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs.
• In an 80-day Swedish study those who took in these probiotics increased their immunity and took 33% less sick days.
• WARNING: we aren’t talking the sugar-sweetened yogurts sold in many grocery stores.  We already discussed how sugar lowers immunity. You want to look for an unsweetened product or a plain yogurt (try natural – unpasturized yogurt if possible) and add in some of our next micronutrient immunity boosting food – strawberries!

The Strawberries:

·      Always try to buy them locally, this way you can be assured that they haven’t lost too many of their vitamins and minerals during transport.

·      You should also choose organic strawberries because they are high on the dirty dozen, which means they are at a high risk of heavy pesticide residue.

·      For fighting colds, strawberries are a great weapon. They are a rich source of immunity-boosting vitamin C, and eating strawberries causes your body to produce higher levels of antibodies and white blood cells.

Mix them in to the plain yogurt add a little stevia (we recommend KAL brand), a natural sweetener, to replace the sugar, and you have a fantastic immunity boosting breakfast that tastes great!

For lunch we recommend a burger and well, some carrot fries.

Millions of Americans are deficient in Zinc. Even mild zinc deficiency can increase your risk of infection. This is because zinc is very important for the development of white blood cells, and these white blood cells act like your immunity military that recognizes and destroys invading bacteria, viruses, and assorted other bad guys.

The Beef Burger:

Beef is a great source of zinc. Try to use 100% grass fed beef (other wise known as grass finished beef) for even more of your essential micronutrients as well as the extra bonus of CLA (a fat metabolizing type of fat—and who can’t use that extra perk!)

Now for the carrot fries: 

They are so easy to make and they are a great alternative to French fries if for no other reason than carrots are lower on the glycemic index than potatoes (47 vs. 85). Just cut them into French fry type strips coat them very lightly with oil (we use coconut oil) and then pop them in the oven to bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. These are great because the carrots are loaded with beta-carotene, a phytonutrient that increases your body’s production of T-cells and natural killer cells.

We are having salmon and broccoli for dinner with an ingredient that has been shown to cut colds by 2/3 when eaten regularly.

At this point, it should go without saying that we recommend wild caught salmon (because we do not believe in feeding corn to a carnivorous fish) and because it has much higher levels of omega-3.

The salmon:

·      First, it has selenium, which helps white blood cells produce specific proteins that help clear flu viruses out of the body.

·      Additionally, wild salmon is a great source of omega-3, which reduces inflammation, increasing airflow and protecting lungs from respiratory infections.

The broccoli:

·      Broccoli has amazing benefits. First, it has dynamic trio of phytonutrients that support the body's detoxification process by eliminating unwanted contaminants.

·      It also a concentrated source of beta-carotene and it contains MORE vitamin C than an orange! (89mg vs. 59mg per 100 g serving)

·      We are going to put a little garlic butter on our vegetables and fish. Using grass fed butter infuses the meal with even more beta carotene (400% more to be exact) while the garlic contains the potent infection fighting component known as, allicin, which when eaten on a regular basis has been shown to reduce colds by two-thirds in studies.

Micronutrient sufficiency is the first step to optimal health.

The truth is we can all build a stronger immune system by becoming micronutrient sufficient, but if you are one of those people who can’t always eat perfectly, or (like us) find that you have some lifestyle habits that can deplete those essential micronutrients (such as exercise, stress, alcohol, etc.), we also recommend taking a well formulated multivitamin. Getting enough of your essential vitamins and minerals and reaching micronutrient sufficiency not only fights colds and flu’s but, it can also prevent disease and maximize weight loss as well.

 ~Stay well this year and Live Your Optimal Life!

P.S. Don't forget to watch us on FOX and FRIENDS on Friday morning (January 27th) between 6:30 - 7:00 AM EST & and if you or someone you know live in Boston we will be doing a book signing at the Braintree Barnes & Nobles on Sunday January 29th between 2-5 PM. (Check out our Upcoming Appearances page to see more TV/radio/podcast/book signing dates and times)  Thank you all for your support!

by CaltonNutrition on Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Do you or someone you know suffer from a lack of energy, unusual mood swings, a difficulty concentrating or remembering things, depression or even Alzheimer’s? If so, it may be due in part to a vitamin B12 deficiency. Last Thursday’s Dr. Oz show gave national exposure to the massive problem of micronutrient deficiency  - specifically our vitamin B12 deficiency. As most of you know (and if you don’t you soon will) there is very little that we are as passionate about as micronutrients. While Dr. Katz and Dr. Oz did a good job at bringing attention to America’s B12 deficiency there were a few things that they didn’t say, so we are going to use this blog to tell you what they missed that you need to know about vitamin B12 so that you or someone that you love can regain your natural energy, smooth out those mood swings, sharpen your mental concentration, shake of the depression and perhaps prevent or reverse the devastating disease of Alzheimer’s.

They didn’t stress that the form of B12 in the supplement matters!

 One thing most people don’t realize is that it is very important to know what form of B12 you are taking. This is because, in order for cyanocobalamin (the unnatural form of vitamin B12, not found anywhere in nature, but never the less used in many of today’s popular multivitamins like Centrum and One-A-Day) to become active, it must be converted by the liver to either methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin otherwise it cannot be utilized by humans (and all other animals). This is why it is imperative to make sure your multivitamin uses methylcobalamin as its B12 source.

They underestimated just how deficient we all are in vitamin B12!

            How deficient are American’s in B12. Well here is where it gets tricky. For those of you who have read Naked Calories you may remember on pages 71-74 we dig into just how the USDA calculates adequacy rates. We won’t go into the math in this blog, but suffice it to say that approximately 52-78% of Americans do not get the minimum amount B12 considered sufficient to prevent micronutrient deficiency diseases. This is something the Dr. Oz show sugar coated considerably. We aren’t going to lull you into a false sense of security here at Calton Nutrition. We are in the middle of a micronutrient deficiency pandemic and we want you to be aware of just how likely it is that you are deficient in one or more of these life-enhancing, essential micronutrients. (find out here)

            Additionally many people mistakenly believe that all they have to do is look at how much of a vitamin or mineral is in a food  - eat the food- and “voila” they can count on that amount being available when body needs it, but that is simply not the way it works. As you will find out from reading Naked Calories there are many way in which EMDs (Everyday Micronutrient Depleters) can rob you of your essential micronutrients before and after you have eaten your food.

Some EMDs that the Doctor Oz show didn’t talk about:

?       Did you know that over 16 classifications of medications deplete B12 from your body? That’s right! Your antibiotics (Erythromycin, Zithromax, Cipro) , birth control pills (Ortho-novum, Ovulen) , H2Blockers (Tagamet, Zantac), Psychoactive Drugs (Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Prozac) and you Proton Pump Inhibitors (Prevacid, Prilosec) are but a few of the culprits.

?       Did you know that specific diets are often deficient in B12? B12 deficiency is not only prevalent in those following a vegan/vegetarian diet.  Individuals who follow raw food diets or gluten free diets also need to be concerned, as they have been shown in studies to be frequently deficient in B12.

?       Did you know that people who drink alcohol should also be concerned about B12 deficiency? Alcohol inhibits this breakdown of micronutrients by decreasing digestive enzyme secretion. Alcohol also seems to raise serum levels of vitamin B12, so that the deficiency is masked and the subject may look like they have higher than normal B12 levels.

Finally, the show only mentioned one micronutrient competition!

To make matters (and potentially the reported deficiency rates) worse, it can be very difficult to detect a B12 deficiency due to a type of micronutrient competition (learn more here) known as a clinical competition, between B9 (folic acid) and B12. So, even though an individual is deficient in B12, if B9 is present to pick up the slack it can mask B12 anemia and often a B12 deficiency will go unnoticed and undiagnosed. B12 has other micronutrient competitions as well. We think it is fantastic that Dr. Oz mentioned this one micronutrient competition.  After all, this is one area of research that it seriously under discussed.  However, they did not bring up the other 4 micronutrient competitions for vitamin B12. Only a multivitamin formulated with Anti-Competition™ Technology can promise you that these have all been accounted for.

The real problem with the show is that it only focused on 1 essential micronutrient. (The rabbit hole goes much, much deeper)

            Look, it is great that people get information about vitamin B12 deficiency.  But that is only a small contributor to the health conditions and diseases facing us today. The bottom line is each essential micronutrient is important to our overall health and wellbeing. We need to bring awareness that becoming sufficient in each and every micronutrient is our ultimate goal.  We don’t want people to think that a B12 shot is the answer. B12 can’t even function properly without B1, B3, B6, C, E and calcium… but that is for a whole other discussion on micronutrient synergies, which somehow was also omitted from the show.

The Bottom Line.

Calton Nutrition is founded on the belief that micronutrient deficiency is the most widespread and dangerous health condition of the 21^st century and that it is at the root of many of the chronic health conditions and diseases plaguing the planet today. Our goal is to give you the information you need so that you can become an expert on controlling your own health and live your optimal life. But we need your help! If you feel the information in this blog is helpful please post it, tweet it and link it to anyone you feel could use this information. Until next time - read Naked Calories, explore the Discovery Center at CaltonNutrition.com listen to the new podcasts on our media page and remember - micronutrient sufficiency is the first step to unlocking a world of optimal health!

by CaltonNutrition on Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Did you know that nearly 100% of Americans are deficient in their essential micronutrients?

• According to Dr. Oz, a recent study of 3 million people revealed that less than 1 percent of the participants got enough essential vitamins from diet alone. Our first defense against disease and poor health is a better diet filled with more health-enhancing micronutrients.
• Also, according to the USDA adequacy statistics nearly 9 out of 10 Americans are deficient in vitamin E, more than 9 out of 10 are deficient in potassium. The data also states that more than 7 out of 10 are deficient in calcium, and approximately 5 out of 10 are deficient in vitamin A, vitamin C, and magnesium. In fact, of the seventeen essential micronutrients studied by the USDA, all showed a deficiency rate of some kind.

Why is this important? What is micronutrient sufficiency?

• We want our bodies to get the most out of the food we eat. We’re talking about more than calories, grams of fat, or protein vs. carbs. We’re talking about the micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids) that our body actually needs to keep us healthy and strong. To be micronutrient sufficient means that our body is able to get and use all the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to function at its best.
• According to congress, "There is a link between the ingestion of certain nutrients or dietary supplements and the prevention of chronic disease such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis."
• Experts agree that micronutrient deficiencies, or an inadequate intake of these essential, health sustaining micronutrients, are linked to disease, and that an inexpensive remedying of these same deficiencies would improve health and longevity.
• Here is just a short list of the incredible health benefits-those above and beyond disease prevention-that are made possible through micronutrient sufficiency.
• Decreased depression and mood swings
• Anti-aging
• Balanced hormones
• Improved sleep patterns and fewer leg cramps
• Superior immunity
• Better brain function, memory, and clarity
• Weight loss and decreased appetite and cravings
• Improved athletic performance and rapid recovery from intense activity
• Youthful skin, hair, and nails
• Improved vision
• Enhanced dental health
• Improved fertility
• Increased longevity

What happens when you make a new years resolution and start a new diet?

• You do a few things that exacerbate your probable current micronutrient deficiency.
• First, you eat less. The odds of these smaller meals having all of the essential micronutrients shrinks in proportion to the serving size.
• Additionally you follow a diet program. While most people believe that diet plans written by nutritionists and physicians will supply all of the essential micronutrients they need to be healthy, our own published and peer reviewed research looked at 4 popular diet plans (South Beach, Atkins, The Best Life, and The Dash Diet) and found them to be on average 56 percent deficient at supplying 100% RDI for 27 essential micronutrients. (read more)
• People also tend to choose a few meals in a diet program that appeal to them and to eat them repeatedly. When the same foods are eaten daily, we only get the same micronutrients in those foods over and over again. This tends to give the dieter a high level of some micronutrients, but a lack of others. For example, a low fat diet might be low in fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and D, while a low carbohydrate diet might be lacking in certain phytonutrients.
• To add insult to injury a dieter usual begins some kind of physical fitness program. Exercise is what we call an Everyday Micronutrient Depleter (EMD), or a lifestyle habit that robs the body of micronutrients after we have eaten them and consider them in the body’s "micronutrient piggy bank." This healthy habit depletes the dieter of the now limited resources being offered by their limited menus and smaller portions. While we are big advocates of exercise, don’t forget to replenish the vitamins and minerals utilized during your workout.

So how does the information in Naked Calories help the individual who is going to start a diet in the New Year?

• Naked Calories helps people understand the importance of micronutrient sufficiency. Diets fail because people have cravings and can simply not sick to their diet plan. We explain in Naked Calories how specific vitamin and mineral deficiencies have been shown to be the cause of both salt and sugar cravings. By becoming micronutrient sufficient before you start your next diet, you’ll be setting yourself up for weight loss success.
• Also, we offer solid evidence that being micronutrient deficient is a huge indicator of overweight/obesity. In fact, did you know that research shows you have an 80.8% greater chance of being overweight or obese if you are micronutrient deficient? This is great news-this means that becoming micronutrient sufficient would give you an 80.8% greater chance of having a healthy weight.
• Naked Calories teaches you how to turbo boost any diet. Did you know eating whole foods over processed foods can double the calories your body burns? That’s right, you actually get a calorie burning benefit by choosing micronutrient RICH foods over micronutrient POOR foods. According to a new study out of Pomona College, participants burned nearly twice the number of calories when eating cheese sandwiches made with real cheese on multigrain bread vs. those who ate a processed cheese product on highly processed white bread. Why? Researchers believe the processed food requires less effort to digest than whole, natural foods.
• Stop studying the calorie intake and start thinking about the micronutrient intake! The bottom line is, its essential micronutrients you body is craving not calories. When you become micronutrient sufficient before you start another weight loss program your are setting yourself up for success!
• Don’t trade your larger pant size for a larger health problem. Overweight/obesity is not the only health condition linked to micronutrient deficiency. Osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimers and many others have all been proven to be linked to deficiencies in essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. We all want to achieve a healthy weight, but dieting incorrectly may also cause greater micronutrient deficiencies that can lead to far more serious health ramifications in the future...including weight re-gain. Our clients have found that weight loss is a natural side effect of a healthy lifestyle.

Naked Calories gives you an easy to follow 3-step lifestyle plan that will help you achieve micronutrient sufficiency and will put you on the road to optimal health for the new year!