As the winter months approach, many of us get out our bottles of cod liver oil and start taking preventive doses to ward off flu viruses and keep the winter blues from setting in. The vitamin D content of cod liver oil tends to get most of the credit for the above benefits (and rightly so), but there are actually a couple of other factors at work to make cod liver oil a fantastic cool-weather supplement:

• Cod liver oil supplies a natural form of activated vitamin A. Vitamin A is necessary for immunity (white blood cells actually require vitamin A in order to mature properly) and a deficiency in vitamin A can be related to fatigue. Most of the negative press surrounding vitamin A has been related to synthetic forms, such as those found in acne medications. However, excessive intake of natural forms that require conversion and activation by the body, such as beta carotene which requires zinc for activation, can cause problems. People with altered vitamin A metabolism (such as alcoholics) should still be careful to watch total vitamin A intake.
• Cod liver oil is a balanced source of highly absorbable omega-3 fatty acids. Some of the signs of inadequate omega-3 intake include depression, lowered immunity, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, frequent infection, and irritability. Foods that are richest in omega 3 fats include cold-water fish, egg yolks from pastured hens, flax seed and flax oil, and walnuts.

For more detailed information on cod liver oil, see the article Cod Liver Oil: The Number One Superfood which is available on the Weston Price Foundation website, www.westonaprice.org.

Just for fun, I wanted to share with you all a few statistics on the amount of vegetables people in the United States consume:

1. A 2005 survey of 350,000 adults found that the average American adult eats 1.6 servings of fruit and 3.2 servings of vegetables daily—well below the 3 to 5 servings of fruit and 4 to 8 servings of vegetables recommended by U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
2. The average American high school student eats less than 2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables daily.
3. A 2007 Johns Hopkins study found that vegetable consumption in the U.S. is declining—even when scientists counted French fries as vegetables!
4. Even after heavy promotion of the benefits of fruits and vegetables by a 2009 government campaign, not a single state met the target numbers for desired fruit and vegetable consumption in 2010.
5. In many school districts, ketchup counts as a vegetable in meeting the daily required vegetable intake for children.

Are you depressed yet?  I hope not!  But if so, try adding a whole foods supplement such as PureNutrition to your daily routine to put the statistics in their place.

Sources

• How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do You Eat?
• Americans Eating Fewer Vegetables
• State-Specific Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults—United States, 2000–2009
• Does a Packet of Ketchup Count as a Vegetable?

Many people choose either the original or yeast-free version of PureNutrition (our whole foods supplement) based on taste – original has a slightly savory flavor, and yeast-free is sweet.  However, there are also minor ingredient differences as well as one major nutritional difference: original contains nutritional yeast while the yeast-free (obviously) does not. 

Nutritional yeast is an excellent source of protein and B vitamins, especially for vegetarians.  It should not be confused with candida albicans, the yeast that causes yeast infections and other health problems.  However, people with yeast allergy still need to be careful to avoid all forms of yeast including nutritional yeast.

Here is a link to a short article with more of the benefits of nutritional yeast:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/nutritional-yeast-benefits.html

Enjoy!

The recent addition of PureNutrition Red to our product line brought up a lot of questions from our customers as to how it compares to Red Alert, a product we have carried for several years.  Below you will find a simple comparison outlining the differences between the two.  Please use the comments section to share your experiences with PureNutrition Red, Red Alert, or both along with your favorite recipes with these products!

Click here for the comparison chart.