Daily Supplement Stack for Optimum Health

The USDA has established guidelines for required vitamins in your diet. Optimally you should be able to get all the vitamins and nutrients you need from the food you eat. However most foods available today have had most of the nutrients processed out of them and most people do not eat enough nutrient foods. To help bridge the nutrient deficiency most people suffer in their daily lives, I give you daily supplements you should be taking for optimum health. Your needs vary based on age and physical condition as well as your activity level, but this should be your basal minimum.


Daily Multivitamin

Your basic daily multivitamin should contain the essential vitamins your body requires. I really don’t recommend one over the other, I will just get whatever is on sale or buy one get one free to save money. Most of the active formula/weight loss/etc. specialty multivitamins will just add an extra herbal supplement or B vitamin that really have no clinical data supporting the claims. They may be beneficial but really just stick to your basic multivitamin.










Calcium Magnesium and Zinc

These good as a combination as they are related to bone health, the individual effects I will explain below.

Calcium

The body is unable to produce this nutrient on its own, and must be supplemented. It is the primary component in bone and teeth, and is essential for hard bone production. Bones not only provide structure and protection for your organs, but red and white blood cells are also created in the long bones. Additionally calcium helps develop nerve tissue, and aids in hormone secretion and neural impulses

Magnesium

Like calcium, magnesium is stored in the bones and is necessary for calcium absorption. Along with calcium, magnesium maintains healthy muscle, nerve function and blood pressure. Magnesium also regulates heartbeat and blood sugar levels, and supports the immune system.

Zinc

This nutrient does not store in the body and needs to be replenished daily. Zinc aids in enzymatic actions and increases mineral absorption and retention, as well as boosting physical immunity, cell division, metabolism. Zinc is also essential in protein and DNA synthesis.

Biotin

This nutrient is very helpful in supporting the skin, nerves, digestive tract, metabolism, and cells. A general super vitamin so to speak, I discovered this vitamin about a decade ago and found it helps keep me young looking and gives me an edge in weight loss support and wound healing.












Fish Oil

First thing you will think of will be the Omega-3 fatty acids. This is of course a good supply of one of the essential fatty acids, and also needed to balance Omega-6, another essential fatty acid. Fish oil is also the best source of DHA and EPA, components of a healthy heart, and studies have shown low levels of DHA and EPA contribute to heart disease. In fact fish oil is the only supplement the American Heart Association endorses. Additionally Fish oil has shown to lower triglycerides and increase HDL good cholesterol. Fish oil also good for inflammation, arthritis, vision, and mental health issues such as Alzheimer’s, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.








Glucosamine Sulfate

Glucosamine is a building block of cartilage, the tissue that allows the bones to glide along the joint. There is no way to rebuild genesis cartilage unless by injecting stem cells directly into the joint. However the body will create scar cartilage and glucosamine is necessary to facilitate the creation of scar cartilage.

By incorporating these supplements into your diet, you will have improved health and wellbeing, feel better, perform better, and look better.

In Memoriam: Fitness Expert Jack LaLanne (1914 – 2011)

Jack LaLanne was an amazing man. Known as the “Godfather of Fitness” and “the First Fitness Superhero” This amazing paragon of fitness revolutionized the world of health and fitness and brought it to the average person at a time when doctors were telling women not to exercise and weight lifting would cause heart attack and sexual dysfunction. Jack LaLanne was truly a pinnacle of health and fitness and we are all sad to see him go.

Early years

Born Francois Henri "Jack" LaLanne on September 26, 1914 in San Francisco, CA. His parents were Jennie (née Garaig) (1884-1973) and Jean LaLanne, immigrants from Oloron-Sainte-Marie in southwest France. It was his older brother Norman (1908–2005), who nicknamed him “Jack.”

Jack was raised in Bakersfield and later Berkeley, where his father died of a heart attack at age 58, partly due to poor diet. Jack himself admitted to being addicted to junk food and sugar, something he attributes to the reasons why he had violent outbursts and headaches. Jack was "a miserable goddamn kid...it was like hell." He also became bulimic and temporarily dropped out of school at the age of 14.

At 15, Jack turned his life around after listening to a public lecture by nutrition expert Paul Bragg. Jack had a new found purpose and began improving his diet and exercising. He returned to school, joined the high school football team. He went to college in San Francisco and earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He studied Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body and incorporated it into bodybuilding, making revolutionary strides in strength and weight training.

Fitness Clubs

In 1936, Jack opened his first health and fitness club in Oakland, California what is considered the first in America. He offered supervised weight and exercise training and nutrition. Doctors actually advised patients to stay away from Jack LaLanne’s fitness club, claiming he was an exercise nut, and his programs would cause people to be muscle bound and lead to health problems.

Jack LaLanne’s gifts to the weight lifting community were the first leg extension machines, pulley machines using cables, and the plate style weight selectors that have become exercise machine standards. He also designed what eventually became the Smith Machine.

By the 1980’s Jack LaLanne opened more than 200 Health Clubs, and he eventually licensed his clubs to the Bally Company, which became Bally Total Fitness.

Brother Jack LaLanne, Freemason

Brother LaLanne was Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on March 17, 1949 in Chateau Thierry Lodge # 569 (which merged to become the current Corw Canyon Lodge #551 in Castro Valley, California). Brother Jack LaLanne was a member in good standing until his untimely passing.

Brother. LaLanne was also a 32° K.C.C.H. Scottish Rite Mason in the Oakland Scottish Rite Bodies and a member of Al Malaikah Shrine in Los Angeles.

The Jack LaLanne Show (1951-1985) ran for 34 years, holding the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running television exercise program. Jack paid for the airtime when it ran on San Francisco's ABC television station affiliate KGO-TV to promote his fitness clubs and products. His shows consisted of Jack in his trademark blue jumpsuit, giving basic exercises using household furniture and encouraged his viewers to get off the couch and join him in exercising. In 1959 ABC picked up the show and ran it nation-wide. He also met his wife Elaine who was working at the KGO and married her in that same year. Elaine joined Jack on the program to demonstrate the exercises to further reach his prime demographic of housewives who majorly watched his show. Jack included his dog happy to perform tricks while he exercised to attract children viewership and encouraged them to wake their mothers to join him to exercise. Later in the show he also had a dog named Walter that he said stood for We All Love To Exercise Regularly.

Jack was also an accomplished swimmer and some of his more interesting publicity stunts were swimming the San Francisco Bay, Long Beach Harbor, Lake Ashinoko, near Tokyo, Japan, mostly shackled, and towing a dozen boats in his teeth.

As the accomplished marketer of health and fitness, many photographs of his bodybuilding successes are available, including Jack LaLanne in the nude.

Later years

Jack LaLanne continued to exercise two hours a day until his death, and marketing many fitness products. Most notably was Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer:

“Juicing is a quick and easy way to get all the goodness fruits and vegetables have to offer. Deliver a tremendous amount of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and enzymes without having to digest and breakdown the food first. While It is still very important to consume whole foods as well to get the much needed fiber, this is a quick way to hydrate the body and get the natural vitamins and minerals while bathing the cells with vital nutrients and enzymes in just one glass!”

His honors include:

1963: Founding member of President’s Council on Physical Fitness under President Kennedy

1992 (age 78): The Academy of Body Building and Fitness Award

1994 (age 80): The State of California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award

2002 (age 88): A star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. At his induction ceremony, LaLanne did push ups on the top of his star.

2008 (age 94): Inducted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver into the California Hall of Fame

Jack LaLanne died on January 23, 2011 of respiratory failure caused by pneumonia in his home in Morro Bay at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife Elaine of 51, two sons, Dan and Jon, and a daughter, Yvonne. Elaine said in a statement said in a statement "I have not only lost my husband and a great American icon, but the best friend and most loving partner anyone could ever hope for."

Brother LaLanne, I didn’t know you in life, but I’m sure you are keeping the brethren in shape in the Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.


Jack LaLanne - Website

Creatine

Everyone who is interested in fitness has heard the supplement creatine and has also heard many different and even contradictory statements about it. This article I hope will serve in answering your questions regarding creatine and whether or not you should add this supplement to your diet.

Science

Creatine or (α-Methylguanido)acetic acid is naturally produced in the body from the amino acids L-arginine, glycine, and L-methionine primarily in the liver and kidneys. Creatine helps supply energy to all the cells of the body, particularly the muscles, by increasing Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is an energy carrier essential to metabolism. Creatine also draws and retains water into the muscles.

Benefits

Creatine primarily is used to increase lean muscle mass, which is accomplished in several ways. As creatine increases ATP in the body, more energy is carried to the muscles, allowing you to exercise with higher intensity and duration. As creatine draws and retains water into the muscles, it increases cell activity and allows muscles to heal faster. Additionally studies have shown increased I.Q. with the usage of creatine.

Problems


The consumption of creatine as a supplement may cause issue with asthmatics and also those with specific allergens. Those with renal, kidney, or liver disease should limit their intake of creatine. Diabetics and hypoglycemics should also limit intake, and also discuss with your doctor before going on a regimen of creatine



Availability

Creatine is widely available in many bodybuilding supplements, and as a standalone supplement in liquid, capsule, or powder form. There are also several different forms of creatine; as monohydrate, phosphate, and ethyl ester. All forms have differences on how they are absorbed into the body, but essentially do the same thing. Creatine is naturally occurring in red meats and fish.

Creatine is extremely helpful in increasing muscle mass and energy to the cells, two essential components in health and fitness. Like any supplement however, one should first test its usefulness to your body. Some people have complained creatine supplements give them a bloated feeling, others don’t feel the difference whether or not they take supplements. I personally recommend my clients take creatine on their exercise days, it is included in my shake supplements and also part of my custom diet program. Creatine allows the muscles to excel while reducing recovery time, essentials of my exercise program.