Natural Solutions for Women :: Food and Nutrition

Natural Solutions for Women

Noninvasive, natural remedies are often the first choice for wise women. Here are six well-researched natural health products that help protect and enhance every woman’s health. They are available at your local natural health store.

1. Vitamin D Brightens Health Outlook

The sunshine vitamin is proving to be one of the most important supplements women can take, but it’s especially important for women who live in cloudy climates who have limited exposure to daily sun. A review of vitamin D published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in May 2004 listed type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and some common forms of cancer as being related to deficient levels of this valuable, yet inexpensive vitamin. According to the review, vitamin D deficiency is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, a painful and increasingly common condition that mostly affects women. Mounting evidence also shows that women who take supplements with vitamin D have 40 percent lower risk of multiple sclerosis (MS).

2. Folic Acid Foundation

Most women of child-bearing age know about the importance of taking a daily folic acid supplement. This low-cost supplement is packed with benefits, including the prevention of neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. Research shows it is most effective for a woman wanting to become pregnant to take folic acid for at least three months before planned conception and throughout her pregnancy. But folic acid is not just for women on the baby track. Reams of research show that women of all ages benefit from the cell and heart protective properties of folic acid, especially in combination with vitamins B6 and B12.

3. B Vitamins to Be Happy

Stressful anxiety is the number one threat to a woman’s health and happiness. The B vitamins support the adrenal glands, which in turn help us adapt and flow more gracefully with the stresses of the day. Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) do themselves, their friends, and family a great favour by taking a complete vitamin B complex.

4. Cranberry Controls Bladder Infections

Women have 30 times more likelihood of bladder infection than men. After menopause, the risk increases even more. Beat those odds with cranberry juice or cranberry extract capsules, tablets, or powder. The proanthocyanidins in cranberries help prevent bacteria from sticking to the bladder walls.

5. Flaxseed is Forever Fabulous

Simple and inexpensive flaxseed is still one of the best preventive health measures you can take. Grind fresh organic seeds in a coffee grinder or blender and eat 1 or 2 Tbsp (15 to 30 mL) daily. The lignins in flaxseed protect heart health and modulate hormone metabolism.

6. Chasteberry

The medicinal berries of the beautiful flowering Vitex agnus-castus bush are another great remedy for symptoms of PMS. For most women, getting within 7 to 10 days of their “time of the month” means they get noticeably cranky, weepy, moody, bloated, achy, and crampy. Chasteberry may save a woman from the emotional and physical torments of PMS.

These natural supplements will help every woman take good care of herself.

Source: alive #309, July 2008

Vitamins Vindicated
"Breast cancer study hints at harmful effects of vitamins," proclaimed the headline of a recent Vancouver Sun article that some feel could be extremely misleading. The story, which appeared Dec.

New Roots Herbal
Peter Wilkes, founder and president of New Roots Herbal, is no newcomer to the natural health industry. In 1977, Wilkes founded Community Natural Foods; two years later, he launched a second company, Christmas Natural Foods, in Richmond, British Columbia..

Shopping List for a Healthy Heart

Vitamin E (100 percent natural source mixed toco.

Healthy Skin
A multitude of skin problems, including eczema, acne, dermatitis (inflammatory conditions of the skin), hives (raised blotchy welts) and rashes have been linked to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.

Profile of Dr. Andrew Weil
Andrew Weil is definitely changing the face of medicine. His familiar, white-bearded face has beamed at us from the cover of TIME magazine twice in the last nine years, most recently last October when his new book, Healthy Aging (Knopf, 2005) hit the stands.

CoQ₁₀
Since its discovery, researchers have found various uses for this incredible antioxidant including treating heart disease, congestive heart failure, increasing energy levels, boosting the immune system, providing antioxidant benefits, and even preventing certain side effects from common cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Navigating the Supplement Maze
Your first trip to the local natural health store's supplements aisle can be overwhelming. The myriad of nutrient and herbal helpers that populate the shelves can make it difficult to navigate your way to just the right supplements for your own good health.

Going Vegan
Switching to a vegetable-based diet has many health benefits. According to the Dietitians of Canada, vegans show lower rates of hypertension and adult-onset diabetes.

Canadians: a Vitamin-Friendly Bunch

Beware Teflon Pan Fans

Have a Happy Holiday: Be Lead Free

SISU
When SISU (pronounced "see-sue) founder Harlan Lahti started to make his own vitamins and supplements and sell them in 1980, from Finlandia, his Vancouver pharmacy he had no idea that what was then a sideline business would one day become one of Canada's .

Purity Life
Since 1984, when David and Elyse Chapman first opened the doors of Purity Life, the small distribution company has grown into Canada's leading supplier of natural health products.

Preferred Nutrition
Deane Parkes, president of Preferred Nutrition, launched his career in the natural health industry through a chance encounter with a health food store owner who was having a bad day.

Virus Protection

Manuka Honey

Inno-Vite
Leaving a secure career to follow your dreams is a risky move-but for Cornelius and Donna Pasare, it was also the right move.

From Greens+ to Great
Leading companies in the competitive health food industry differentiate themselves from their competitors by formulating top-quality products with proven results-and that's exactly the approach that has worked for Genuine Health, Canada's leading health supplement company.

Quest Vitamins
A lot of things have changed in the last 30 years. But one thing Canadians have come to rely on is the unchangeable and unquestionable quality of Quest Vitamins.

Phytochemicals
When you read the labels on packaged food, do the long lists of bizarre ingredients make you wish you'd majored in biochemistry?

A Multivitamin Survival Guide
Time constraints can force us to rely too often on less-than-nutritious processed foods. Combine that with the fact that nutrient absorption decreases as we age, and we end up with suboptimal nutrition. We can help counter these effects with a multivitamin, but how do we choose the best one?

Nutrients In the News
There have been 32 adverse reactions to vitamin C as of May 2008, according to the Canada Vigilance Online Database hosted by Health Canada. But hold on! Before you get nervous and chuck out the bottle that you just bought, let's dig deeper.

Antioxidants
An antioxidant is a molecule that helps stop oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals-those molecules in the body that are unstable due to a missing electron. The free radical will try to stabilize itself by stealing an electron from one of the body's healthy cells, a process called oxidation.

Vitamin Angels
The Health First Network, a group of Canada's leading independent health and wellness retailers, proudly supports the work of Vitamin Angels in the fight against childhood blindness and malnutrition.

Coenzyme Q₁₀
Coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀) is an energetic little nutrient considered crucial for cellular energy production. Concentrated in microscopic cellular organs called mitochondria, it is one of a select number of nutrients that has been the subject of intense study over the last 20 years.

Deal Out Cancer
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, about 40 percent of women and nearly 45 percent of men in this country will face a personal battle with this fearful disease.