Getting Swimsuit Ready? Why Macronutrients Matter When Counting Calories
Recent reports by scientists and health organizations provide evidence that folate, one of the B vitamins, is a critical nutrient for health. Folate prevents or slows the development of cancer and other serious health conditions. Adequate levels of folate in pregnant women help to reduce the risk of birth defects.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports these conclusions. This prestigious journal recently published findings by Donald G. Weir and John M. Scott showing that inadequate folate intake can cause colon cancer.
Not many people today get the recommended amount of folate, even though recommended amounts are notoriously low for all nutrients. Yet this B vitamin is an essential ingredient of any healthy diet. In addition to cutting the risk of cancer, folate prevents anemia, helps reduce high blood pressure, is essential for the formation of red blood cells, and helps produce DNA. New research is showing that folate may even decrease the risk of stroke.
Folate is not one of those exotic natural substances with a high price tag. Levels of folate can be boosted easily by eating more beans and legumes, citrus fruits and juices, whole grains, dark green leafy vegetables, poultry, pork, shellfish and liver. Supplemental folate in the form of folic acid is widely available and low in cost.
Nuts are rich in folate, and peanuts are an especially good source. A single serving of peanuts contains 17.5 percent of the recommended daily intake.
Folate is also naturally found in whole grains. This has led health experts in New Zealand to consider the addition of folic acid to breads made with processed flour. Research has shown that folic acid is extremely effective in preventing spina bifida in unborn children. Folic acid is also believed to decrease the risk of heart disease and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Women are advised to increase their intake of folate or folic acid when trying to get pregnant. They are told to eat more nuts and other folate-rich foods during pregnancy. More often than not, doctors prescribe a folic acid supplement. Because of this, many women stop consuming foods that are rich in folate.
Health experts recommend that you get at least 400mcg of folate or folic acid per day. This requirement jumps to 800mcg for pregnant women.
Editor’s comments: One of the best ways to get the recommended daily amount of 400mcg is to regularly take two capsules of Daily Balance (180). In addition to folic acid, Daily Balance (180) contains a broad spectrum of the B vitamins in their most advanced forms. Many other supplements on the market are made with lower quality forms of these vitamins that can have toxic effects in the body.
For example, quite a few daily supplement manufacturers use Vitamin B-1 from thiamine mononitrate. When thiamine mononitrate dissolves, free nitrates are released. These can be metabolized to produce nitrites that combine with amines to form nitrosamines. Research has determined that nitrosamines are responsible for thousands of cases of colon cancer The Vitamin B-1 in Daily Balance (180) is from thiamine HCL, which has shown no toxicity in the body.
Most daily supplement manufacturers use Vitamin B-12 from cyanocobalamin because it is the cheapest source of B-12. But cyanocobalamin is a cyanide molecule combined with cobalamin, and although it provides the benefits of B-12, it is also toxic to the body. The Vitamin B-12 in Daily Balance (180) is from hydroxocobalamin, a more costly form with greater bioavailability and no toxic residue. Getting the highest quality of B-12 in your daily supplement is particularly important because most people do not get nearly the recommended amount of this critical vitamin from their food.
When selecting a daily supplement, it is imperative that you read not only the list of nutrients, but look to see where these nutrients come from. When you do that, you will see that although Daily Balance (180) may be more expensive than products from discount stores, it is really quite a bargain in the long run.
