Thursday, April 10, 2014

Confused About the Alphabet Soup of Food Certifications?

We certainly used to be confused! After all, who can keep up with the difference between GMO and GMP? Or organic versus natural? It's difficult without a doubt. But knowing the difference in the quality of and certifications assigned to the food you eat makes a HUGE difference.

For instance:
GMO = Genetically Modified Organism (Yikes!)
GMP = Good Manufacturing Practice -- means the product has passed the standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) to be pure and contain only the listed ingredients (more here: http://bit.ly/1mo8xu8)

Also:
Organic = Means the product has met the strict safety, purity, and environmental impact regulations set by the USDA (more here: http://ow.ly/vEQmR)

Natural = Is a word that anyone can slap onto any product without any certification or testing.

Why Is This Important?
As your wallet has probably informed you, anything with certification or keyword on it tends to be more expensive. Thus finding pure foods that are harvested in an eco-friendly manner, and remain pure and nutritious can be difficult to find. Finding products that meet all of those standards AND are affordable can be even more difficult.

That's why we've compiled a list of products from one of our favorite companies, New Earth, showing you exactly which products have which certifications, so you can shop these products with confidence.

NEW EARTH PRODUCTS & CERTIFICATIONS

Vegan Foods
Wild Bluegreen Body
Wild Bluegreen Mind
Wild Bluegreen Blend
Enzymes 
Acidophilus
Bifidus
Spectrabiotic
Essentials Blend
BG Bar
Rebound
Soothe
Elevate
Defend
Wild Water
Wild Forest
Wild Earth
Enzymes Plus

Vegetarian Formulas
Drive
Focus

Non Vegetarian Products
Flex
Build
Energize
Super Q-10
*If you suck out the contents of the Energize and SuperQ10, and spit out the capsules, they are both vegan.

Square Meal
While the Square Meal has brown sugar and other ingredients, you must realize that for the target market, it's a huge upgrade in diet.  It tastes good too.  This is the product that you can contribute to the feeding programs.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, check out the free health resources or order blue-green algae products  on our website.
 
Image courtesy of hyena reality / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Make Your Paleo Diet More Affordable with These Capsules

The Paleo diet is a way of eating that takes us back to the type of diet our hunter gatherer ancestors consumed. Loren Cordain, PhD and Robb Wolf and other proponents of the Paleo diet cite studies reporting that the Paleo diet improves blood lipids, promotes weight loss without calorie counting, gives relief of pain from autoimmune diseases and supports a healthy lifestyle that can keep us from developing many of today's concerning health issues including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Robb Wolf states that the Paleo diet is the only approach towards nutrition that works with our own genetics. (http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/)

The Paleo Diet vs. Other Diet Plans
There are many diets and healthy eating programs that promote eating lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, fiber and healthy fats, and not eating processed foods, sugars, salt and alcohol, so what really makes the Paleo diet different? The types of food included in the Paleo diet obviously are filled with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The real difference in the Paleo diet and other diets that include lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats seems to be what is considered "healthy fats" and the lean proteins that are allowed and not allowed as well as the type of meats that are preferable as protein sources. Saturated fats discouraged by many health experts and nutritional programs are included in the Paleo diet as healthy fats. Protein from animal sources seems to be one of the basics of this diet, but grass fed or wild meats are preferred over animals that have been raised on grain feeds. While wild meat is a very lean protein source, it also does contain some saturated fats, as well as omega-3 fatty acids which are definitely good for us. Another difference with the Paleo diet is some of the food types that are not allowed which other healthy eating plans encourage. This includes grains, dairy and legumes. 

Cost Considerations
Since the Paleo diet promotes eating more fresh, lean meat and fish as well as the freshest veggies and fruits you can get, you may find that your grocery bill is higher than usual should you decide to adopt this type of nutritional plan. We have a few suggestions that may help you stretch your food budget and still stay within the hunter gatherer spirit of the plan.

AFA Bluegreen Algae – Many of us get the totally wrong ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids which can lead to inflammation in the body that can then lead to a variety of autoimmune disease. This is because many fast foods, junk foods and processed foods have an over-abundance of omega-6. To be healthy, you need 3 to 4 times as many omega-3's as omega-6's and most Americans get 10 to 20 times as many of the omega-6's as omega-3's. From this you can see where the problem is. AFA bluegreen algae is a whole food solution for getting lean proteins and high quality fats with the exact ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 that the body needs.

Supplements from wild superfoods – Three supplements we like provide antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from all organic wild elements of nature.
  • Antioxidant Supplement – This supplement is rich in chlorophyll, glutathione, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients from its combination of AFA bluegreen algae, kale sprouts, red clover sprouts, wheat sprouts, concentrated wheat sprouts, and Dunaliella salina algae providing superior antioxidant nutrition.
  • Full-spectrum algae supplement – This supplement provides a unique richness of minerals and phytonutrients from the lake and sea through a combination of nine different algae: dulse, kelp, fucoidan, Ecklonia cava, bladderwrack, Dunaliella salina, spirulina, chlorella and pure AFA bluegreen algae.
  • Mushroom and algae supplement – This supplement combines five powerful mushrooms: reishi, maitake, cordyceps, wild black trumpet, and Poria cocos, that have been shown to have antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antifungal abilities, support immune system function, support heart health, and provide a rich source of proteins and antioxidants. 

If you decide the Paleo diet is for you, but are concerned about the extra financial stress it may put on your food budget, consider using these supplements to add some of the wild superfood nutrition it promotes. This just may be a way for you to go "caveman" on a budget. 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, check out the free health resources or order blue-green algae products  on our website.
 
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net