PGX, glucomannan and konjac root are different names for the same plant fiber. Dr. Oz likes to call it konjac root, I call it glucomannan because that’s how it reads on product labels.

Glucomannan is insoluble fiber that expands in your digestive track. This fiber, Dr. Oz says, helps you lose weight because, not only does it make you feel full so you don’t feel like eating much at meal time, but, it also rids the colon wall of fat. Glucomannan also slows down the digestion of carbohydrates which supports healthy blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels.

Drinking a lot of water with this product is recommended so you don’t become dehydrated. This type of fiber expands as it soaks up liquid in your digestive tract, so, you need to make sure you replenish your body fluids by drinking lots of water throughout the day.

Another thing to remember with insoluble fiber is to start slow; otherwise you may experience gas pains from too much fiber introduced into your body in a short period of time. So, start with one serving a day and build up over time.

It’s important to take a multivitamin/mineral while taking glucomannan since, when the fiber expands, it may cling to nutrients from the foods you eat and prevent them from being absorbed. Take the multivitamin/mineral at a time you are not taking the glucomannan.

So, if PGX is too expensive for you, you will find glucomannan a lot more affordable. Buy glucomannan in a capsule or powder and take it like PGX recommends on their products, before a meal, sprinkled on top of your meal or drink. It is tasteless and odorless so it goes well with any kind of food you’d like to put it on.

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Does a cold have you congested and coughing? Do you have an earache or think you might have bronchitis? I have help for you.

We sell a cough syrup from Naturade called Expec. Expec’s main ingredient is guaifenesin. Guaifenesin breaks up congestion by thinning out mucus (phlegm). This will make coughing more productive so you will cough less often. Most important, your airways open so you don’t have to gasp for air.

Guaifenesin may sound familiar to you since it is sold in drug stores under the name of Robitussin. The bad thing about this product is that it will contain other ingredients that have harsh side effects. Two that I want to hit on are pseudoephedrine and dextromethorphan. Pseudoephedrine, which can quickly dry up a runny nose and congestion, has side effects that include nervousness, anxiety, and sleeplessness. Dextromethorphan, which is actually a synthetic derivative of morphine, stops the coughing reflex cue in the brain. This may sound good but look at the side effects: Confusion, slurred speech, seizures, and erratic movements. Overdosing can cause hallucinations and this is why it is used as a recreational drug – easy way to get a high.

If you should accidently overdose on guaifenesin you can get stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and drowsiness. Which do you feel safer taking?

Expec comes in sugar free, alcohol free, herbal and children’s.

Other herbs listed in the formula are wild cherry bark extract, rosehips, cocillana bark extract peppermint leaf extract. All natural; all safe. These herbal ingredients will help calm the cough and sooth your throat.

Guaifenesin is an expectorant that reduces chest congestion, thins mucus and makes breathing easier in people that have colds, bronchitis, or allergies, and it works. Why look anywhere else?

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On the back of any supplement bottle there should be a nice, easy to read “Supplement Facts” label. This is a list of all the “active” ingredients in the supplement. They are “active” ingredients because these are the studied, tried and documented herbs, vitamins or minerals that are known to help with certain ailments and the reason you are buying that supplement.

Right under the Supplement Facts label will be the “inactive ingredients.” These are ingredients that the capsule is made from, or, the material that keeps the tablet from flaking apart, or, what the soft gel is made from and the name of the preservative if one is needed.

I bring this up because a customer came in, handed me a bottle of a drug store Vitamin D3 and asked if I had an equivalent. I handed her one. She turned both bottles around to the Supplement Facts and said, “Let’s compare ingredients.”

I showed her that both said D3. Then, she pointed to the “inactive ingredients” on her’s which there were eight of. I couldn’t believe she thought she had to match the inactive’s. I explained that the active ingredients are the same and as far as the inactive ingredients are concerned, the shorter the list the better. Furthermore, I told her what you don’t want to see is fillers. Red # dyes, sugars, and metals are all bad for your body but usually make the list of inactive ingredients on some of the supplements you buy at the drug stores and grocery stores. Cheap? Yes. Natural and good for you? No!

The inactive ingredients in my capsules are polysaccharide, another name for cellulose (plant fiber). For my tablets – cellulose and acacia gums (natural fiber from plants that hold that tablet together), and a minimal amount of magnesium stearate so the tablets don’t get stuck in the machinery, and, for my fish oil soft gels – the types of fish used for the oil, and mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) as a preservative. Do I take the best or what?

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We have all seen bath products and skin lotions with avena in the product name. These products contain oatmeal which soothes inflammation of the skin caused by eczema. Avena sativa is Latin for “wild oats”, and, are actually the oats that are in your breakfast cereals.

Taken internally, however, either by capsule or liquid extract, avena sativa has other benefits.

You’ve heard the saying “sow your wild oats”? This phrase came about when people started noticing heightened sexual behavior in male horses that consumed wild oats in their diet. Studies were than done on male horses confirming increased libido when fed wild oats.

The same occurs in human males. Avena sativa makes testosterone in the body.

Now, if you go to your doctor complaining about low libido and he does a test to measure your testosterone, the test may come back stating that you have high levels of testosterone. This is because your doctor is measuring the total testosterone in your body. What he really needs to do is measure the unbound vs bound testosterone. Testosterone can attach to other compounds in the body, belly fat being one of them. This bound up testosterone does nothing for libido, and, as men age more testosterone binds in the body diminishing testosterone for hormonal functions.

What avena sativa does is free up bound testosterone so there is more testosterone in your body ready for hormonal functions, thus, a high libido and a better sex life.

100mg a day of avena sativa should do the trick.

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RLS can cause a very restless sleep. People with RLS experience twitches and jerky movements in their legs when they get into bed for the night. My customers have told me these involuntary leg movements can keep them up all night and, to make it worse, are accompanied by itching and/or a creeping, crawling feeling up and down the legs. Muscle spasm can occur or legs may even cramp up and become very painful.

Think you have restless leg syndrome? Here are some natural tips for relief:

1. Calcium, magnesium and potassium help muscles relax. Try taking these minerals before bedtime. Country Life has a product that contains all three; simply called, Cal/Mag/Potassium. Follow the instructions on the label.
2. If swallowing pills is a problem for you, Flora is a company that has great liquid minerals (under the name Floradix) made from vegetables. These are delicious minerals by themselves but you can also put them in juice.
3. Take a B-Complex 100mg daily along with vitamin E 400IU. This will help repair your nerves.
4. You might want to try our most popular product for RLS which is a homeopathic remedy from Hyland’s called Restful Legs. It temporarily relieves symptoms of restless leg syndrome so you can get a good nights sleep.

These are just a few suggestions. Need more? Get in touch with me. I answer all my emails.

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Fresh, juiced wheat grass may smell like freshly mowed grass but the sweetness makes it delicious tasting, and, since the juice doesn’t contain any fiber, you don’t have to deal with any particles floating around in the juice. It goes down nice and smooth. But, there are other options besides fresh wheat grass that are just as healthy and these are powered wheat grass and other greens.

I want to share some of the benefits of drinking nutritious, low calorie “green drinks” and then suggest some green drink products for you to try.

Benefits:

1. Helps with digestion and elimination of food. Green drinks are loaded with active enzymes and all minerals including trace minerals that help break down food and move it along through the digestive tract.
2. High alkalinity helps balance your body’s pH levels. When blood is too acidic cartilage in joints may start to dissolve which can cause inflammation and pain in joints.
3. Super rich in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll protects us in the same way it protects plants — protection against pollution, carbon monoxide, x-rays and radiation. Chlorophyll oxygenates your blood so you experience increased mental clarity, energy, faster healing of cuts and bruises and better lung capacity. I sell a lot of chlorophyll to people who vacation in Greece and other destinations of high altitudes because it boosts lung capacity.
4. Repairs DNA in cells. This makes green drinks an excellent choice for combating cancer.
5. Helpful for weight loss because it speeds up metabolism.
6. Detoxifies body, cleanses blood.

So, let me suggest some green drinks. These are powders that I have tried and like. Number 1 on my list is Green Magma Plus. It is very delicious in 8 oz. of water and the powder dissolves very quickly just stirring with a spoon. There are no particles of grasses floating around in the water so it is very enjoyable. There is no added sugar, salt, coloring or fillers but, surprisingly sweet tasting. Made up mainly of barley grass it packs in 56 other natural ingredients. Please, visit their website: www.greenfoods.com

Amazing Grass has wheat grass powder (gluten free and raw). Not bad tasting in just water but you will have particle floating around. I think this works best in smoothies or juice. This is 100% whole leaf powder not from juice. An exceptional product well worth looking into.

Amazing Grass also makes GREENSuperFood. This is a chocolate (cacao) drink powder which will satisfy chocoholics. Great in just water and even better in milk or a smoothie. It uses other greens besides wheat grass and it is packed with enzymes, probiotics and antioxidants.

So, tried any green powdered drinks lately that you’ve liked? I want to know about them. Please write me.

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Need an alternative for those sugary sport drinks?

Alacer Electro Mix, Ultima Replenisher , a powder that offers different flavors and if you spill some on your white tennis outfit it will dry clear.

My personal recommendation is Trace Minerals Research’s Mineral Drops. They put trace minerals in all their products: Liquid Multi Vitamin, Cal/Mag, Gluc/Chond.

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Are you one of the 60 million Americans that suffers from heartburn?

Symptoms are usually a burning sensation in the stomach or in the chest and you may experience an acidic taste, or burn, in your throat. The burn can be so bad that some people may think they are suffering a heart attack especially when it is accompanied by a shortness of breath. Actually, these are all symptoms of heartburn or acid reflux, usually referred to now as GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease).

These symptoms occur when the valve separating your stomach and esophagus does not close tightly enough and the hydrochloric acid and bile, which is produced in the stomach to breakdown food, flow backward, up into your esophagus. Lying down or bending over usually make heartburn worse.

Avoiding certain foods can ease heartburn: Onions, peppermint, citrus, and foods that contain caffeine (i.e. chocolate, coffee, tea, carbonated drinks). Nicotine relaxes the valve muscle and does not allow it to close tightly, so, smokers usually suffer from heartburn.

There are many natural products that can help with heartburn.

The product most people like to use is chewable papaya tablets. These are convenient to take along in your car or purse and chew before a meal or when symptoms occur. Try papaya tablets from Country Life.

Deglycerrized licorice (DGL) is also a chewable tablet. DGL should be taken between meals. This supplement also helps support the lining of the stomach and intestines. Customers with peptic ulcers have found great relief with DGL. Our best seller is Enzymatic Therapy’s DGL. Enzymatic offers a sucrose free DGL, also one that tastes like German chocolate, plus two other varieties.

Eating fresh pineapple with your meal will help with heartburn, but, since this is not always possible, it does come in tablets and capsules. It is called bromelain. This is the digestive enzyme found in pineapple. You take it along with your meal to help with digestion. Solaray and Nature’s Plus are the one’s I suggest.

Always visit your local health food store for heart burn relief. Products sold at drugstores mess with the pH in your stomach. These products make the stomach environment alkaline and put a band aid on your heartburn symptoms but do more long-term damage. The pH of the stomach has to be acidic so it can properly breakdown food. Using these “band aids” will eventually cause more damage to your whole digestive tract not allowing you to absorb nutrients from the foods you eat.

Please contact me if you have any questions or to tell me how these products have helped your heartburn. Additionally, if you need more information on what heartburn actually is head over to the term’s Wikipedia listing here.

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Why are refrigerated probiotics better than shelf stable probiotics?   They aren’t!

If you are dealing with reputable brands (listed below), they have studies that you can read that back up their claims.

Dr. Oz has got to get with the times.  Please don’t think that if you are traveling and have no access to a refrigerator that you won’t be able to bring probiotics along with you.  Probiotics are one of the most important things you will need when traveling to a country that doesn’t have safe drinking water.  So, why would you want to be without them?  There are probiotics in blister packs that never need refrigeration and could withstand high temperatures.  You simply punch the pearl or capsule out and consume.

These are shelf stable probiotics that work.  How do I know they work?  Well, some of these companies have been in the health care industry for over 30 years and others are newer to the industry but what set them apart are the studies done on their products.  These studies include third party testing that is available to you on the internet.

However, my best knowledge comes from my customers that use these recommended products and then come back to let me know how the product has worked for them.

Here is my list of shelf stable probiotics that I sell in my store and use myself:  Natrol’s Bio Beads, Enzymatic Therapy’s Pearls, Renew Life’s Flora More, Nutrition Now’s PB8, Natures Way’s Probifia  Pearls, Jarrow Formula’s  Jarro-Dophilus EPS.

Do you know of one that I didn’t list?  Please send me the name of the product so I can do the research and let you know my conclusion.

There is no excuse not to take your daily probiotic just because you can’t keep it cold!

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Prebiotics have been the number one thing people have been asking for lately.  A lot of customers asking for them don’t even know what they are or how they differ from probiotics (also referred to as acidophilus).

So, what are prebiotics?

Prebiotics are found in certain foods and their role is to feed the good bacteria in your gut so it can multiply and flourish.  This is important because we need probiotics (good bacteria) in the gut to help with high blood pressure, irregular bowel movements, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Chrohn’s Disease, a healthy immune system, candida overgrowth, asthma, calcium absorption, and, since it helps with pH balance, it can help guard us against certain cancers.

In what foods can we find prebiotics?

Foods that contain undigested plant fibers called inulin are considered prebiotics.  These raw foods contain inulin:  Chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion greens, garlic, leeks, onions, asparagus, wheat bran and soybeans.   Remember that only when these foods are consumed raw do they contain inulin.

How often are you eating these foods raw?  Think about this if you haven’t already:  Raw onions on hotdogs and hamburgers at a cookout this summer or, raw asparagus and baby dandelion greens in the salad at your next barbecue.  Eating these raw foods along with taking a probiotic from your local health food store is a great way to keep your digestive tract on the right track.

We sell probiotics with prebiotics in the same capsule.  Look on the information panel on your bottle of probiotics and if it contains inulin or FOS (fructooligosaccharides) then you have the best of both worlds in one product.

Some people may tell you that the fiber in fruits such as bananas and berries contain small amounts of prebiotics.  Well, they are right but, they contain a lot of sugar too, so, it defeats the purpose of using these foods for prebiotic content.  Remember, sugar kills the good bacteria because sugar is food for bad bacteria.

With 4 lbs. of bacteria lining our intestines, we have to be proactive in keeping it beneficial bacteria.  Too many things work toward destroying good bacteria:  Stress, antibiotic use, breathing polluted air, alcohol consumption and a poor diet consisting of sugar and processed foods.   Basically, just living kills off beneficial bacteria, but, just a capsule a day can bring it back.

Go into your health food store today and start feeling better.

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