Found a Great New Blog to Follow!

Living Prepared

Check it out. Today's post is about dry food storage and I'm drooling over the pictures...

Soda = Unsafe?

I've always known that regular soda is bad for you because of the high sugar content, and that diet soda is unhealthy due to the artifical sweeteners. Recently, I've pretty much eliminated all soda from my diet. I did think that seltzer water was okay, until I did some research ...

There are studies that indicate that the carbonation can cause Osteoporosis. Since I already have problems with calcium, I've opted to give up all carbonated drinks completely (this is easier said than done -- I can't believe how much I crave them!).

Check out these links:

Soft drinks: Unsafe beverages


Soda May Lead To Osteoporosis

The Truth about Osteoporosis by Dr. John Lee MD

I could post another dozen links, but I think you get the idea. Now, that said -- there are other studies that show this may not be the case. However, in my mind if it's possible, then why not quit? It's not as if we'll get ill or die if we quit drinking soda.

Better safe than sorry, I say.

Choosing Good Supplements

Something I've known for quite some time is not to waste money on cheap vitamins and herbal supplements. The cheap ones tend to use less "bioactive" products. What does that mean? Low bioactivity means the body can't actually absorb and use what you're giving it. You might as well take nothing.

Some chemical forms are better than others and you can look at the nutrition information on your bottles to see what they contain.

In his book, "Never Be Sick Again", Raymond Francis gives a good scale of how to check your vitamin supplements for high bioactivity and I thought I'd share:

POOR Bioactivity (i.e. don't use these):

Carbonate (e.g. calcium carbonate)
Oxide (e.g. magnesium oxide)
Sulfate
Phosphate

ACCEPTABLE Bioactivity

Aminoate
Chelate
Gluconate

OPTIMAL Bioactivity

Ascorbate
Citrate
Fumarate
Malate
Picolinate
Succinate
Tartrate

He recommends Perque brand as the best bang for the buck. Of course, that doesn't mean it's your only option. Just ... educate yourself. Store brand supplements probably aren't your best option.

Be healthy!