Nutritional Supplements Are Important For Optimal Health
It’s estimated we are receiving only 40 percent of the nutritional value of food nowadays. Some reports suggest this is untrue while many reports go even farther by saying this figure is actually lower. In any case, unless you are fortunate enough to have a garden close by with organic fresh food you can harvest and eat on a daily basis, I believe the food available in the supermarket does indeed lack in nutrition.
Many fresh foods travel great distances and many foods are processed to increase shelf life. To obtain the highest possible yield, producers are forced to rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides for their crops, while other producers use growth hormones, antibiotics, and inhumane confinement for animal production. (By the way, from what I understand about antibiotics given to animals destined for the dinner table…they are not necessary if the animals are kept in clean, un-crowded environments where they are able to stretch their legs and get fresh air and sunshine daily. Another reason to shop organic.)
The availability of high-calorie, high-fat, high-sugar, and low-fibre foods has rapidly become commonplace, and growing concern with processed foods is they are becoming much less expensive than nutrient-dense foods such as fruits and vegetables. The availability and lower price of processed and energy-dense foods rich in sugar and fat makes them appealing to the pocket book as well as the taste buds, but not without consequences. Obesity, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and other chronic conditions are gaining a stronghold in North America and researchers are now beginning to admit that diet plays a huge role in the prevention and treatment of disease.
Balance, variety, and moderation are the keys to a healthful diet. A balanced proportion of foods from the different food groups, a variety of foods from within the different food groups, and moderation in the consumption of any food should provide us with the nutrients we need to sustain life.
Although developments in the food industry over time have improved food quality and safety, there are still concerns over the nutritional content the food actually contains. Nutrients should come primarily from the foods we eat, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find foods that have not been grown in nutritionally challenged soils. Decades of poor agricultural practices are depleting foods of the nutrients we need for optimal health and wellness.
This is why nutritional supplements are important.
Nutritional supplements are designed to provide nutrients, both essential and non-essential, that you may not be getting from your diet. Also known as dietary supplements, nutritional supplements are an important part of a balanced health regime and can offer significant health benefits. They can help to correct nutritional deficiencies and help boost the immune system, and there is growing scientific evidence supporting the benefits of nutritional supplements and their role in maintaining optimal health.
Nutritional and dietary supplements are big business. It’s estimated that over twenty-five billions dollars a year is spent in the United States alone on natural health products. So which supplements should you look for and which are safe to take?
In the United States, the FDA regulates dietary supplements. According to their website, “dietary supplements (are regulated) under a different set of regulations than those covering “conventional” foods and drug products (prescription and Over-the-Counter). Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the dietary supplement manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that a dietary supplement is safe before it is marketed. FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market. Generally, manufacturers do not need to register their products with FDA nor get FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements. * Manufacturers must make sure that product label information is truthful and not misleading. *Domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States are required to register their facility with the FDA.”
Although “the manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that its dietary supplement products are safe before they are marketed” and “there are no provisions in the law for FDA to “approve” dietary supplements for safety or effectiveness before they reach the consumer”, it’s important to purchase nutritional supplements from a reputable company who has been in busy for many years. You can also read more on FDA regulations with regards to dietary supplements on the FDA website.
In Canada, the laws are much more stringent. On January 1, 2004 The Natural Health Products Regulations came into effect and apply to all natural health products. Products defined in the Regulations as natural health products include vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies, probiotics, homeopathic medicines, traditional medicines (such as Traditional Chinese Medicines), amino acids and essential fatty acids.
Natural health products that fall under these regulations require an NPN (Natural Product Number). Once Health Canada has assessed the product, an eight digit product license number, preceded by the letters “NPN” will appear on the label informing consumers that Health Canada has reviewed the product for safety, quality, and health claims, and the product has been approved to be marketed under the Natural Health Products Regulationsand has authorized the product for sale in Canada. The Natural Health Product Directorate (NHPD) is the regulating authority for health products for sale in Canada.
Nutritional supplements that are considered food products or whole-food concentrates come under the regulations of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and do not require NPNs. When purchasing nutritional supplements look for a Natural Product Number (NPN) on the label to ensure the product has met the requirements of Health Canada, and also make sure the company selling the product is a reputable company with a good track record.
Including nutritional supplements in your diet and daily health regime doesn’t need to be hard or cost a lot of money. Many companies offer high quality supplements at reasonable prices and it only takes a few minutes to mix up a healthy “green drink” from a barley grass juice concentrate such as AIM BarleyLife® or include a supplement caplet such as Kyolic® Aged Garlic Extract™ with your meal.
There are many health benefits nutritional supplements have to offer. In these modern times, with the convenience, cost and available of fast and processed foods, poor dietary habits and the questionable nutrition content of nutrient-dense foods, nutritional supplements are becoming increasingly popular as an addition to complement the diet. Simply put, nutritional supplements are important for optimal health.
AIM provides a variety of superior whole food concentrates and nutritional supplements to support a healthy lifestyle, strengthen the immune system, and nourish your cells, and AIM Members enjoy the benefits of wholesale pricing.
As Members of AIM Canada, we have a dedicated team of knowledgeable people keeping on top of all the legislation and regulations, ensuring AIM Canada is compliant, so we will continue to have the right to use and share natural health products to protect our health and the health of others who wish to use Natural Health Products.
To date AIM Canada has acquired eleven NPNs with nine other AIM products in the licensing process. Food products such as AIM BarleyLife®, LeafGreens®, Just Carrots®, ProPeas™ and RediBeets® come under the regulations of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and do not require NPNs.
Joanne Jackson holds a certificate in Nutrition: Studies and Applications and a certificate in Natural Health Fundamentals, and is currently studying for her diploma as a Certified Holistic Nutritionist. Joanne is an advocate of healthy eating and proper nutrition and understands that the choices we make, and choosing them wisely, is the key to wellness and vitality. A Member of The AIM Companies for over twenty-three years, Joanne takes pride in sharing her knowledge of nutrition and the AIM products with others. Sign up for her informative free e-newsletter by visiting http://www.followthegreen.com/newsletter.html or visit My AIM Store website at http://myaimstore.com/awealthofhealth
Many Health Insurance Plans Don’t Cover Air Ambulances
A medical emergency is one of the worst things for a person to go through. Emergency transportation to a medical facility in an ambulance has saved many lives. Sometimes, an air ambulance is needed. These helicopters rescue people in locations inaccessible to standard emergency vehicles, such as at the top of the Grand Canyon. They are also used in the most critical cases, when time is of the essence and backed-up traffic could make the difference between life or death. The companies that provide air ambulances provide an essential service, and there is no doubt that they are appreciated by those rescued, as well as their loved ones.
Unfortunately, much of this emergency transportation is not covered by health insurance plans. Victims are often in for a new shock once they get a bill from these private companies. Obviously, these firms must charge in order to cover their costs, as well as be profitable. Many Americans are already familiar with the increasing fees charged for an ambulance transport by truck–anywhere from ,000 to ,000 for transport. Health insurance plans often cover only a portion of ambulance expenses, leaving the patient and their family with the rest to handle out-of-pocket. Sixty percent of private plans pay the entire bill, but that cost is often passed onto policyholders in the form of higher premiums. Public health insurance plans, such as Medicare and Medicaid, are charged a rate discounted by 40% due to their stingy reimbursement rates. Meanwhile, just two percent of the uninsured who have used an air ambulance pay off the charges.
The amount charged is based on an initial fee, plus a certain amount per mile flown. Operators of air ambulances point to several factors when justifying their rates, which range from ,000 to ,000. First, they must recoup the costs incurred from those flights not paid for in full; whether those losses are due to health insurance plans stalling reimbursement payments, writing off patients without insurance who lack any resources to pay, and the reduced amounts recieved for those insured by the government. In addition, air ambulances emphasize the millions of dollars in infrastructure that must be invested to provide this service. For example, emergency air transport companies must have operators in far-flung locations and bases able to travel in most states on a moment’s basis. Helicopters, which are expensive enough in themselves to acquire and fuel, must also be equipped with the highest quality medical equipment and staff around the clock.
Air ambulances transport over 500,000 people in the United States annually. Most of the time, patients and their loved ones are not provided with clear, reliable information regarding how much the trip will cost them. The ambulances appear at a vulnerable moment; therefore, few individuals take advantage of their legal right to refuse ambulance transport. Some refuse to use a ground ambulance, preferring to have a friend or family member drive them to the hospital in order to avoid fees. However, such a strategy isn’t as effective in those situations most likely to require air transport: a patient in critical condition with severe injuries, when the closest treatment center is extremely far away or there are extenuating circumstances that may increase travel time (e.g. rough terrain or traffic). Most people don’t know what amount of emergency transport is covered in their health insurance plans, because that provision is typically hidden in the fine print. As a result, those with high-deductible health insurance plans or Health Savings Accounts are unable to shop around for the best deal.
As an increasing percentage of Americans has been driven to bankruptcy through medical debt, new solutions have been introduced to mitigate the negative impact ambulance costs can have on a family’s or individual’s finances. Now, there have been supplemental insurance plans offered by air ambulance companies, which allow careful consumers to pay a fee in exchange for free emergency transportation. These programs, such as Northwest MedStar, cover any of the costs left over after health insurance plans pay their share. Such memberships can be especially helpful to those living in rural areas where hospitals are distant, or those employed in dangerous lines of work. However, these products are not as strictly regulated as standard health insurance plans, so research is necessary if one chooses to go down that route.
(Image: euthman under CC 2.0)
Yamileth Medina is an up and coming expert on Health Insurance and Healthcare Reform. She aims to help people realize that they can find quality health insurance plans right now while waiting for a public option, if it ever gets passed. Yamileth lives in Miami, FL.
Overhaul your health and safety training procedures with modern methods
Modern health and safety requirements can seem almost insurmountable to small businesses. In the last 10 years, the amount of provable health and safety training that has to be undertaken by every business in the United Kingdom has swollen to flood levels – and companies all over the country are having to spend more and more time trying to make sense of it all, getting their employees trained up (often over and over again) and keeping proper records of it all. It is possible to streamline one’s health and safety training procedures, thank goodness – though it’s not clear how many UK businesses are actually aware that they can do this. There are whole industries out there which deal in outsourcing or running health and safety training courses for struggling companies – so if you’re one of the ones that need to catch up, you might want to think about making a change.
The reasoning (and very sound reasoning it is, too) goes a little something like this: if a company devotes all of its time to doing health and safety training, then other companies don’t have to do it at all. It’s the same theory you get behind things like outsourced technical development. Leave the company buying the service (in this case outsourced health and safety training procedures) time to do what it always did, which is make and promote the product or service it sells – and get another company to develop health and safety training as its product or service.
The training itself is still done “to” the staff of the company that hires the outsourced training scheme, of course – but the beauty, from the small to medium sized business’ point of view, is that it can be done and managed with a much higher degree of effectiveness. The company that delivers the health and safety training procedures has perfected its own art, just as the company it is delivering those procedures to has perfected the art of selling whatever it is it sells. Everyone does what they are best at, which means everything gets done a lot quicker and a lot smoother. It also means that everyone can comply with UK health and safety law without fear of having accidentally done something wrong.
A lot of companies that do their own health and safety do so with every good intention in the world – but they get it wrong, anyway, because they simply don’t have the knowledge to do it right. By outsourcing health and safety training procedures to a company that does this for a living, businesses don’t just get more time to do what they do – they also get an assurance that the training itself is definitely going to be carried out and recorded in a completely legal fashion. Correct recording of health and safety training is one of the heaviest legal requirements of all. Using an outsourced company to do the recording as well as the training ensure total compliance – and that means no nasty surprises later on down the line.
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National Qualification in Exercise, Health Studies and Personal Training
What can I do with this qualification?
Graduates of the National Qualification in Exercise, Health Studies and Personal Training are fully qualified fitness instructors and personal trainers and can work in the health fitness industry at home and abroad or in a self employed capacity as a personal trainer.
Successful completion allows graduates to obtain professional indemnity insurance cover to faciliate exercise prescription to members of the public.
Programme Overview
The National Qualification in Exercise, Health Studies and Personal Training will offer successful graduates the opportunity to prescribe safe and effective exercise to the general public in either group fitness situations or on an individual one-to-one personal training basis.
This qualification, which is delivered by the National College of Exercise and Health Studies (NCEHS), offers individuals the opportunity to learn the skills required to teach safe and effective exercise to the general public. Exercise prescription offered by NCEHS Health Fitness Instructors includes resistance training classes using the wide variety of weight training machines available in health clubs and fitness centres. Graduates also deliver group exercise to music classes, either in health clubs and fitness centres in an employed capacity, or in community centres, parish halls etc. as self employed individuals. They also have the opportunity to deliver one-to-one personal training as this excellent programme also includes the National Qualification in Personal Training.
As a result of the superb quality of instructional skills and internationally accepted qualifications, NCEHS Health Fitness Instructors can obtain a highly specified Professional Indemnity Insurance policy which is available exclusively to our graduates.
NCEHS graduates will find themselves immediately employable and in strong demand within the health fitness profession. Opportunities also exist for NCEHS qualified Health Fitness Instructors to work on board luxury cruise liners through our professional relationship with Steiner, the company responsible for staff placement in this area.
Entry Requirements
The National Qualification in Exercise, Health Studies and Personal Training is open to anybody with a strong interest in exercise and health fitness and the desire to pass their enthusiasm on to the general public as part of their day-to-day working routine as either a full time or part time health fitness instructor.
The course content includes anatomy and physiology, exercise to music, resistance training, diet and sports nutrition, first aid, injury prevention and other areas of interest. The content is delivered to facilitate adult learners of mixed ability.
Synoptic Syllabus
The National Qualification in Exercise, Health Studies and Personal Training covers all relevant areas including:
# Functional Anatomy & Kinesiology, Basic Exercise Physiology
# Concepts and Components of Fitness
# Exercise Principals & Energy Systems
# Lesson Planning & Class Structure
# Muscular Actions & Exercise Analysis
# Resistance & Flexibility Training
# Exercise to Music, Choreography & Music Appreciation
# NCEHS Key Elements to successful Instruction and Personal Training
# Safety and Contra – Indicated exercise
# Personal Training & Instructional Teaching Skills
# Diet & Sports Nutrition
# Injury Prevention in exercise
# Introduction to Sports Massage
# Business Aspects
# Code of Ethics
Tutors
All National College of Exercise and Health Studies tutors are expert in their chosen field with some having represented Ireland at international level in health fitness competition.
All senior tutors have many years of experience working in the health fitness profession and, having obtained a H. Dip. in Education have learned the skills required to deliver complex information to learners of mixed ability.
All tutors have dedicated areas of speciality to enhance the learning experience for NCEHS students.
CPD
NCEHS graduates have a responsibility to ensure that the exercise prescription which they offer the public is current, safe and effective. In order to achieve this goal graduates must participate in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) which ensures that they are always operating within ‘best practice’ standards.
CPD can be achieved through attendance at health fitness conventions and conferences or through the participation in advanced educational programmes which bring graduates up to date with changes.
www.fitness-instructor-training.co.uk A short clip of the 60 minute DVD. The Exercise to Music Instructor training course is for people over 17 years of age (no upper age limit) who wish to become a qualified group exercise to music instructor (aerobics). It is an essential prerequisite/foundation for all other music based classes such as Studio Cycling, Body Pump, Body Combat, Step etc. This course is nationally and internationally recognised by employers in the fitness industry. Video Rating: 4 / 5
The Range and Choice of Health Foods in a Health Food Store
If youâre forever looking for healthy foods for you and your family, and are tired of scouring the grocery store aisles in search of meaningful nutrition which is non-existent, you might want to try going to a health food store instead. You will find that all the nutritious foods you were looking for are to be found there.
And depending on the size of your health food store, you might also find that it carries such things as raw organic foods as well as processed organic foods. Health food stores are also a great place to pick all sorts of things to help you round out your life and make it healthier.
Here, depending not only the literal size of the store, but also in its growth potential as well as the type of health food store it is, you might also be able to find herbs and herbal remedies right alongside your other natural remedies.
With the growing interest in staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles, health food stores are popping up all over the world. This means that the price tags they carried while still being somewhat ridiculously high, are not as wallet-damaging as they used to be. In fact, more and more people can now afford to shop at a health food store without thinking twice about it, and more and more people are turning to this resource to help them get their lives in order.
Over fifty years ago people were still mostly living a healthy lifestyle which included a good rounded diet as well as regular exercise. Healthy, fresh foods were available from just about every corner store and people didnât have to go out of their way to eat in a healthy manner.
Nowadays if you want to live a healthy lifestyle and still live in the real world, you need to make an extra effort to do so. So you join a gym and scout out the best health food store in your area. Not only that, if you really want to go healthy, you have to not only look for fresh fruits, vegetables and animal products, but you also need to look for these products in their organic form.
This said having a good health food store is so much easier than having to find everything that you need at your local grocery store. For one thing, the range and choice of health foods that you find in normal everyday grocery stores just isnât the same as what you would find in a health food store.
And for another thing, in a health food store you also have the assurance that there will always be health foods in stock for you to buy. Do you always have that guarantee from your normal grocery store?
Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Organic Foods for Years. For More Information on Health Food Store, Visit His Site at Health Food Store
Recent infomercials for various health food and supplement “miracles in a bottle” brings to mind the old fable of King Jack, the ruler of Anesthesia:
Content with the state of affairs throughout Anesthesia, but sensing the need to be more in touch with his constituents, King Jack appointed members of his staff to seek out the knowledge from the greatest minds in the kingdom. Upon their return they presented the king with several volumes worth of information. Delighted with the response, yet perplexed with the amount of data collected, King Jack responded with a request to condense the information into a single volume. After an initial assessment of the condensed version, the king then petitioned to have the information expressed in a single phrase consisting of five words or less. The advisors to the king deliberated for several days and returned with their consensus on the single phrase which best represented the wisdom of the intellects throughout Anesthesia; “THERE AIN’T NO FREE LUNCH.”
It is a “free lunch mentality”, as proclaimed through various marketing channels, that offers physical and mental nirvana through indulgence in commercially available brews, nutriceuticals and medicinal concoctions without legitamite regard for the fundamental principle of pharmocology. Surely if these products have any viable active ingredients, there are certain to be potential complications associated with intoxication or contraindications. Intuitively, a red flag should go up in our heads every time we are confronted with a product that will most certainly have some known and unknown physiological effects. That which is construed as truly pure, or natural is certainly the antithesis of the movement that advocates the mass consumption of food extracts or concentrates held together with binders, suspended in questionable diluents, or encased in synthetically derived gel caps.
Public scepticism over contemporary therapeutic medicine has been a contributing factor to the evolution of a billion dollar health quakery industry. Proponents of the health food culture support what they refer to as a “natural” approach to health and vitality through the use various pills, powders, and potions. Among these products are everything from megadoses of vitamins and minerals to nostrums such as bee pollen, ginseng root, dired algae, and a range of homeopathic products.
These medicinal potions are promoted as having generalized curative or restorative powers for everything from the common cold, chronic fatigue, and sexual disfunction to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other assorted chronic diseases. Beyond the question of efficacy, the consumption of such products may indeed preclude the use of scientifically substantiated medical protocol. Promoted with the cooperation of newspapers, magazines, book publishers, multilevel marketing schemes and franchised retail outlets, these concoctions are unregulated and readily dispensed without provisions for gender, individual physiology, or guidance concerning contraindications or toxicity.
Product promotions are based on a distorted logic that attempts to extrapolate a correlation between an outside piece of scientific data, and a health food product. Independent third party testing of some supplements suggest an absence of a viable quality control program as witnessed through product inconsistencies, impurities, degradation, and bacterial contamination.
The Health Food Industry Free Ride
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 classifies herbs – and concentrates, extracts, and constituents of herbs – as “dietary supplements” and shelters such products from drug and food-additive regulations. The act transferred the burden of proof of safety from supplement manufacturers to the FDA. This act provides the loophole by which the marketers of dietary supplements can make exaggerated health claims for everything from Bermuda grass clippings to mountain lion urine, and it would be up to the FDA to prove the product unsafe.
Natural Food Better than Processed Food?
The term ‘natural’ has become a catch-word for numerous consumable products ranging from beer to cough remedies.
If you check the tobacco isle in your local grocery store, you will notice some brands of cigars and cigarettes labeled as using “All Natural Tobacco.” In general, a “natural” product is promoted as having an inherent goodness beyond that of its processed counterpart. Theoretically, food that incurs alteration as part of an established food processing protocol is diminished of its vital factors.
The proposition that natural foods are superior to their processed foods is short sighted and void of scientific objectivity. If we define “natural” as that produced solely by nature, not altered, treated, or disguised, then we must renounce years scientific developments in food processing technology that have provided an abundant and wholesome food supply.
* Microbiology as a science, has advanced the technology for the understanding of food-borne bacteria. Microbacterial diseases in unprocessed liquid food products such as milk and fruit juices, have been dramatically reduced, and in some cases eliminated through pasteurization. Due to numerous disease outbreaks, attributable to the consumption of unpasteurized fruit juices, the Food and Drug Administration has mandated the presence of the following warning statement for unpasteurized products:
WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems. Food allergy is a serious condition where the body’s immune system reacts to a certain component, usually a protein. The reactions can range from a mild discomfort to a more serious and life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis. The process of food oil refining removes the protein which would trigger such reaction, thereby eliminating the inherent dangers of touted natural or cold pressed oils.
Patulin is a toxic and potentially carcinogenic (cancer causing agent) mycotoxin found in apples at varying levels of concentration. In a study designed to compare organic and conventional apple juice, samples of each were purchased and analyzed to determine the concentrations of patulin. The conventional apple juice had patulin ranging from 250 micrograms per liter up to 4,000 micrograms per liter. The organic apple juice had patulin at rates up to 45,000 micrograms per liter. This study suggests that apple processing and concentration of patulin are inversely correlated.
In the final analysis, the accepted definition of what constitutes a natural food may lie somewhere between two opposing extremes of the conservative “mulch munching” devotee foraging for wild edibles, and the more liberal “ballpark frank, junk food junky.”
Toxic By Nature
The natural foods industry has grown largely because of the erroneous notion that naturally occurring substances makes them safer as drugs or medicines than their processed counterparts. A quantitative analytical scrutiny of that which nature has provided reveals the presence of numerous natural toxins:
Ricin, an extremely toxic lectin found in legumes and fatal to humans, was used as an insecticide at one time. Fortunately, heat destroys the toxicity of lectins. Chick peas and vetch contain lathyrogens which can potentially cause a crippling paralysis of the lower limbs and may result in death. Protease inhibitors are widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom, particularly in the Leguminosae and, to a lesser extent, in cereal grains and tubers. Potatoes contain numerous natural poisons, including solanine, a narcotic-like substance. Solanine is known to cause neurologic and/or gastrointestinal problems. Solanine can build up to toxic levels when potatoes are exposed to sunlight during storage. Cassava, lima beans, and the seeds of some fruits–apricots and peaches for example, are members of a group called cyanogens, precursors to the deadly poison cyanide. As a point of interest, laetrile is a cyanogen that was mistakenly represented as a cancer cure. While laetrile was effective in killing the cancer cells, it did so only at a concentration lethal to patient. Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips all contain small amounts of goitrogens (glucosinolates), that can enlarge the thryroid gland and aggravate thyroid problems. Goitrogens are estimated to contribute approximately 4% to the worldwide incidence of goiters in humans. The most potent natural toxins responsible for human health risks are the mycotoxins. These are toxic metabolites produced by fungi infesting foodstuffs, especially cereals and nuts. Mycotoxins are known to have caused ergotism “St. Anthony’s Fire,” To avoid poisoning, eat all foods in moderation, choose a variety of foods, and avoid fad diets that advocate single food consumption concept.
Toxicity Through Concentration
Any substance in food may have a degree of toxicity whether naturally occurring or deliberately added. The problem with eating a food concentrate is that it maximizes the amount of a particular hazardous substance. Once again we are faced with the “more is better” mentality. Can an extract from food be more healthful than the food itself? Let us consider fruit juice. A glass of orange juice contains about one tenth as much fiber as an orange and twice the calories. The effects of the juice on the human body are as straight forward as physiology 101.
Fruit juices drive blood sugar levels too high. The rise in sugar calls out extra insulin, which in turns stimulates the appetite. This mechanism is especially bad news for diabetics and for people trying to lose weight. Juice is good food, but it isn’t medicine, and certainly is not better than the whole fruit. Ounce for ounce, orange juice has about as much vitamin C as an orange. The fruit itself contains more of some nutrients, and especially more fiber and photochemical.
The Omega-3 Craze
Derived from eating fish, omega-3s may reduce blood clotting, reduce triglycerides, and make the heart less susceptible rhythm abnormalities. In addition, research has demonstrated that fish oil may help relieve inflammatory symptoms of auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis.
Fish oil capsules however, come with potential adverse effects, including an excessive reduction in the ability of blood to clot, increasing the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. The capsule form may also raise cholesterol levels in some individuals. Further more, as pesticide resides concentrate in animal’s fat, fish oil capsules serve as a potential source of concentrated pesticides.
Vitamin Toxicity
Vitamins are categorized as fat-soluble and water soluble. The fat soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K—generally occur together in the fats and oils of foods. These vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissues until the body needs them. It is the capacity to be stored that allows for a potential toxic buildup of fat-soluble vitamins. 25,000 IU daily of vitamin A may cause liver damage or lead to anemia and gout – a form arthritis. The best way to ensure a safe vitamin A intake is to steer clear of supplements and instead to eat foods to obtain it. Vitamin D is the most potentially toxic of all vitamins. People who take supplements containing vitamin D may easily overdose, not aware that their tissues are building up stockpiles of the vitamin. Overdose of D leads t loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and serious disorders involving the calcium content of the blood and the distribution of the calcium ion throughout the body.
Cases of vitamin E toxicity are rare, and high doses taken over a short period seem to have no adverse effects. People that take anticoagulant medication risk uncontrollable bleeding when they take large doses of vitamin E.
Vitamin K toxicity can result when supplements of a synthetic version of vitamin K are given, especially to infants or pregnant women. Toxicity induces breakage of the red blood cells and release of their pigment which colors the skin yellow. Vitamin K toxicity also causes brain damage. Because the vitamin K contained in supplements can easily reach toxic levels, it is available as a single vitamin only by prescription.
The water-soluble vitamins–B vitamins and vitamin C– are easily absorbed by the body and just as easily excreted in the urine. Foods never deliver toxic doses of the water-soluble vitamins, but the large doses concentrated in some vitamin supplements can reach toxic levels. Women who exceeded 2 grams of vitamin B6 daily (a touted cure for the symptoms of PMS), were reported to have experienced numb feet, accompanied by lost sensation in their hands, and an inability to work.
Since the first report of vitamin B6 toxicity, researchers have seen toxicity symptoms in more than 100 women who took vitamin B6 for more than five years. The potential toxicity of vitamin B6 is yet another reason why people should not self diagnose and self-prescribe vitamins for their own illnesses.
Among his contributions to science, Linus Pauling, is credited for research on the beneficial effects of vitamin C. Since Dr. Pauling first published his book claiming that large doses of vitamin C will prevent or cure colds, many studies have been conducted that have refuted this claim. Currently there is no objective scientific study that supports the notion that a cold can be prevented or cured by taking this vitamin. Large doses taken during a cold however may ease some of the symptoms because vitamin C serves as a mild antihistamine.
Toxic levels of vitamin C can produce diarrhea, cause nutritional imbalances, deprive tissues of oxygen, interfere with the action of vitamin E, and may produce kidney stones. Vitamin C supplementation at any dosage is dangerous for people with an overload of iron in the blood. Vitamin C increases iron absorption from the intestine and releases iron from storage.
Medicinal Herbs
At least 25% of the medicines prescribed by physicians in this country today are based on active ingredients in plants. It is the recognition of the life giving properties of botanicals that has had such a strong influence on the environmental initiative for rain forest preservation. To reiterate an earlier statement, a herbal or botanical product that contains useful constituents is likely to have some harmful ones as well. A few of the more noteworthy for their toxicity are as follows:
Belladonna Any part of the deadly nightshade plant; a fatal poison. Chaparral This herbal product is made from ground leaves of the creosol bush. It has been found to cause acute toxic hepatitis.
Comfrey Contains cancer-causing chemicals
Echinacea Has not been proven effective in preventing disease and is not recommended for long-term use, since the practice may actually depress the immune system.
Ginkgo biloba An extract of a tree of the same name, claimed to enhance mental alertness, but not proved to be effective or safe.
Ginseng A plant containing chemicals that have stimulant drug effects. Ginseng abuse syndrome is a group of symptoms associated with the overuse of ginseng, including high blood pressure, insomnia, nervousness, confusion, and depression.
Hemlock Any part of the hemlock plant, which causes severe pain, convulsions, and death within 15 minutes.
Horse chestnut leaf Has been associated once with hepatitis.
Kombucha Proclaimed as a treatment for everything from AIDS to cancer but lacking scientific evidence and FDA approval. Also known as Manchurian tea, mushroom tea, or Kargasok tea.
Sassafras Root bark from the sassafras tree, once used in beverages but now banned as an ingredient in foods or beverages because it contains cancer-causing chemicals.
Sweet clover Source of coumarin.
Blue-Green Algae Spirulina, a blue-green algae is said to be a rich source of protein and vitamins, effective at treating such conditions as obesity, alcoholism, herpes, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. While the plant does contain 65 to 70% protein, white fish is a less expensive alternative at 97% protein. Chicken and beef come in at 75 to 80% protein.
Numerous investigations into the nutrient value of spirulina show that the high vitamin B12 content is attributed to contamination with insect or animal fecal matter. These results are not unexpected as spirulina is extracted from open lakes and ponds with little washing prior to being dried. In addition, some strains of spirulina have toxins that can cause nausea, diarrhea and throat infections.
Cancer Fraud
Unsound products for prevention and cure of cancer comprise a large segment of today’s medical fraud. When people hear of exciting research reports that hint at cancer prevention, they want to apply the findings right away. One very popular supplement marketing ploy involves the claim that the medical establishment has suppressed information on their particular medicinal concoction. The strong desire for control over cancer makes consumers vulnerable to those who would victimize them for profit. Just a few of the more blatantly fraudulently promoted products include beta-carotene, phytochemcials, kombucha, laetrile and vitamin megadose.
* Beta-carotene. While research has established a correlation between between diets rich in beta-carotene and a reduced cancer risk, an exact mechanism by which beta-carotene might prevent cancer has not been established. Though there is no conclusive evidence that beta-carotene has any effect on cancer, the supplements are still being sold as anticancer agents.
* Phytochemicals. As a relatively new isolate, phytochemical interactions with body systems are not fully understood. Some appear to act as weak carcinogens. Others mimic steroid hormones.
* Kombucha. Promoted as a cancer preventer, arthritis reliever, and baldness cure, this tea is derived from yeast and bacteria. A report in a recent medical journal told of two women who drank an extra strong brew and had to be rushed to the emergency room with a life threatening acid condition of the blood. One woman died, the other woman was resuscitated following cardiac arrest. The Center for Disease Control has asked physicians to be on the lookout for serious side effects in their patients who make and drink kombucha.
* Laetile. Laetrile is registered with the U.S. Patent Office for the treatment of “disorders of intestinal fermentation.” This compound is chemically related to amygdalin, a substance found naturally in the pits of apricots and various other fruits. Since fruit seeds are natural sources of cyanogens, good number of patients treated with laetrile developed signs of cyanide toxicity. The Laetrile following started with a pharmacist-physician who developed one concoction after another for the treatment of serious diseases, especially cancer. It continued with his son, a self-imagined scientist, who spent many years in college but failed to earn any graduate degree. A man who earned his fortune from gun-running and a catholic newspaper columnist promoted it as a persecuted drug that cured cancer. After it was dubbed “vitamin B-17,” an army of health food devotees promoted Laetril, along with vitamins and diet, as nature’s answer to cancer.
* Vitamins. There is not a single responsible study demonstrating that large doses of any vitamin or mineral have ever prevented cancer in a human. The American Cancer Society recommends that the diet include in its variety some foods rich in Vitamins A and C, but it specifically does not advocate supplements, let alone megadoses.
As long as there remain crippling and fatal diseases, there will undoubtedly be individuals eager to offer “alternatives” to scientific treatment and large numbers of desperate individuals willing to purchase them.
How To Tell The Facts From The Myths
You know your being scammed when you see…
1) Anecdotes and testimonials to support claims. Assuming the testimonial has any authenticity, how can anyone tell if a cure or remission is specifically due to cause and effect, or if it is due the placebo effect, coincidence, or spontaneous improvement.
2) Illegitimate credentials and degrees, or credentials outside their professed area of expertise. The late Carlton Fredericsk had a Ph.D. and was referred to as Dr. Fredericks in his radio nutrition shows. His Ph.D. however was not in a health science but in the field of radio communications.
3) Natural vitamins are preferable to synthetic ones. The human body does not distinguish between the so-called natural vitamins and the their synthetic counterpart. In either case the chemical composition is the same. To reiterate an opening statement, and without going into laborious data, the synthetic vitamin is more likely to be manufactured under stricter quality control, and hence offers a more consistent product.
4)The persecution complex. A great many supplement and/or methodology promotion will incorporate a statement about a greedy, closed medical establishment that shuns his or her products from fear of competition.
5) The false contention that most diseases and symptoms are due to a faulty diet and can be treated with proper nutrition. No amount of any kind of nutritional supplementation can change a genetic predisposition to develop disease. No amount of supplementation can reverse the role of excessive intense, intermittent sun exposure resulting in melanoma. Aside from deficiency diseases such as ricketts, beri beri, or scurvy, there is little legitimate evidence that most diseases and symptoms have any significant relation to diet.
6) Food processing or storage is claimed to destroy foods’ nutritional quality. It is erroneous to make such an all encompassing statement concerning processed foods. Milk is processed to the extent that it is pasteurized. Foods processed with vitamins C and E preserve food quality by preventing oxidation.
7) Fructose is preferable to other forms of sugar. The delusion that fructose is an acceptable form of sugar is quite prevalent in many nutritional circles. Nearly all simple sugars are metabolized quickly and disrupt insulin levels which contributes to most chronic illness. Do not be mislead. Avoid fructose just like you would table sugar as they both cause similar problems. Do not be fooled by products that claim to contain “all natural” sweeteners. Added ingredients like brown sugar, raw sugar, fruit sugar, honey or maple syrup are treated no differently from table sugar once they enter the bloodstream.
Practitioners who use computerized questionnaires to diagnose nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional deficiencies are diagnosed by appropriate medical tests and examination, not by computers. Any computer used for this purpose is likely to be programmed to recommend supplements for virtually everyone.
9) Outrageous claims are couched in pseuscientific terms or jargon. Some examples from actual magazine ads:
- Subjects who used _________experienced an extraordinary 3860% greater total fat loss than subject who used a placebo.
- ______ is better than any ephedrine based fat burner with its precise combination of pharmaceutical pure 1R,2S Norephedrine HCI, Yohimbine HCI, and Caffeine. The incredibly potent 1F, 2S Norephedrine HCI has been shown in vertebrate studies to be the most thermogenic ephedrine type alkaloid. In one study, only amphetamine itself was more potent!
- A new breakthrough scientific discovery has uncovered the unique substrate activity that controls the key “genetic-marker” shown to regulate muscle growth and fat loss. Now think of the possibilities in new muscle growth. Imagine being able to supply your body with the very substrates that trigger muscle growth, fat loss, and even immune system enhancement. Pseudoscience provides easy answers, dodges skeptical scrutiny making us victims of credulity. Practitioners of pseudoscience purport to use scientific methodology, while in fact they are faithless to its nature.
Tze Khit is one of the directors and also a personal trainer from Personal Trainers Singapore (http://www.pt.com.sg), the LARGEST & most POPULAR personal training company in Singapore.
Do you know how to read food labels? Maybe you THOUGHT you did. Truth is, you probably don’t. But Jeff Novick, MS, RD — of the McDougall program — does. And in his full talk he shows the 3 easy steps you MUST know if you ever buy foods at any supermarket or “health” food store. In this online excerpt, Novick — who used to be a food service manager at Kraft Foods — exposes one of the dirty secrets major food corporations use to deceive consumers. It’s no accident labels are so confusing! High-protein/low-carb diet proponents claim that the US started eating “low-fat” foods 20 years ago and yet still gained weight, “proving” that the low-fat diet wasn’t effective. But that’s nonsense, as Novick demonstrates in his talk. The foods weren’t/aren’t low-fat at all. Food companies use sleight of hand to make them appear that way. Novick shows how to cut through the nonsense of food labeling to see what you need to see, and understand what you’re really getting. This is an excerpt from Novick’s 80-minute talk at the VegSource 2007 Healthy Lifestyle Expo, and part of a 12-part series of top health expert presentations. In his full fascinating and entertaining presentation, Novick teachers the “three easy rules” for cutting through the bs and quickly understanding food labels, to know exactly what you’re getting. After watching his talk, you’ll never look at packaged food the same! You can get a DVD set featuring all 12 amazing talks from the Expo 2007. CLICK HERE for more info …
Aarkstore Enterprise -Heart Health Food and Drinks: NPD in cardiovascular health, hypertension and cholesterol reduction
Heart Health Food and Drinks: NPD in cardiovascular health, hypertension and cholesterol reduction
Business Intelligence for the Consumer Goods Industry
The portfolio of consumer goods management reports are designed to help you make well informed and timely business decisions. We understand the problems facing today’s consumer goods executives when trying to drive your business forward, and appreciate the importance of accurate, up-to-date, incisive product, market and company analysis. We help you to crystallize your business decisions. The strength of our consumer goods research and analysis is derived from access to unparalleled databases and libraries of information and the use of proprietary analytic techniques. Reports are authored by independent experts and contain findings garnered from dedicated primary research. Our authors’ leading positions secure them access to interview key executives and to establish which issues will be of greatest strategic significance for the industry. Our consumer goods portfolio of reports can be used across a wide range of business functions to assess market conditions and devise future strategies and cover the food, drink, health, cosmetics, toiletries, dairy categories and key consumer issues including eRetail and marketing.
Key issues examined by this report…
• High CVD prevalence rates to drive growth in heart health food and drinks. Cardiovascular disease prevalence rates in the developed world are high, ranging from 8% in Japan to 12% in Germany. • Global sales for heart health food and drinks are growing rapidly and are set to reach a total value of .7 billon in Europe and the US by 2010. In 2007, the tot al value of the US heart health food and drinks market was .0bn. • Increasing regulatory scrutiny over health claims made by food and drinks manufacturers. Increasing regulatory controls over claims made on bioactive ingredients is likely t o have a positive effect on NPD for products claimed to be low in unhealthy ingredients, whilst reducing output in those based on bioactive agents.
Heart Health Food and Drinks
NPD in cardiovascular health, hypertension and cholesterol reduction The heart health food and drinks market has seen continued development and a generation of products targeting specific conditions such as blood pressure and cholesterol reduction, have been the focus of innovation. However, the market is beginning to shift again, this time towards more ‘natural’ heart health products which promote an overall, holistic and everyday approach to heart health. Heart Health Food and Drinks is a new management report analyzes the underlying growth drivers for the heart health foods and drinks market, assesses future sales prospects in key geographical markets, reviews the latest innovations trends and offers actionable recommendations for food and drinks manufacturers. It examines the latest actual and forecast data for hypertension and cardiovascular disease prevalence, heart health food and drinks sales values, as well as unique data on product innovations for all the key product groups. Develop more effective strategies for heart healthy food and drinks using this report’s analysis of the development of the market by country and product category.
This new report will enable you to…
• Identify key players in the heart healthy food and drinks market including Kellogg’s, Unilever, Nestlé and PepsiCo. These companies have adapted core ranges and launched new products in order to benefit from the trend in heart healthy food and drinks. • Anticipate the impact of key trends in the heart healthy food and drinks market and quantify the new and emerging opportunities using epidemiology data for 7 key markets including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, the US and Japan. • Improve targeting and the effectiveness of your NPD strategies with this report’s analysis of Productscan data of over 900 heart health food and drink products launched between 2004 and 2007. Analysis was conducted in terms of positioning, category, region, product tag and flavor.
Your questions answered…
• Who is the most innovative player in heart health food and drinks? • How is the heart health food and drinks market changing? • Which countries have the highest r ates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease? • What are the key trends in heart health food and drinks? • Which country currently spends the most on heart health food and drinks?
Some key findings from this report…
• Blood pressure focused NPD is on the decrease, from a 14.4% share of all heart health products launched in 2004 to 13.3% in 2007. • Prevalence rates for hypertension are higher than those for cardiovascular disease; expected to reach 30.0% in France and to get as high as 45.6% in Spain in 2007. • “Natural” remains the most used product tag on heart health products. 6.9% of heart health products launched in 2007 claimed to be natural. • Sales of heart health food and drinks will reach a combined total value of .7 billion in Europe and the US by 2010. This represents a CAGR of 6.4% over the period 2006-2010. • Unilever is the largest contributor to heart health food and drinks NPD. The company tends to focus on development of cholesterol reducing dairy products.
Health and safety training is important to help people who have been injured in accidents, who are ill, or are suffering due to their work. Ensuring health and safety of the employees is essential as they are a valuable asset for the organization. Employees realize this and are now indulging in employee occupational health.
Why Is A Health And Safety Course Important?
These courses are important for employers to:
* Cultivate a positive health and safety environment in the office. * Make sure that employees do not get injured or become ill due to the kind of work they are doing. * To know how you could improve health and safety in the office. * To contribute towards making the employees knowledgeable about health and safety. * To fulfill your moral responsibility to give first aid training to the employees. * To avoid accidents. * To avoid heavy expenses that may be incurred due to accidents and occupational health hazards. Insurance does not cover the costs incurred due to lost production, damaged products, and unhealthy staff.
A first aid course is important for everyone. Whether you are an employer or an employee, all of us need to know about health and safety. You or your employees would need health and safety training if you want to know how to take help from your health and safety enforcing authority. You would also be learning on how to advise your employees on health and safety issues, for instance, they can be given training on particular dangers they could face in certain processes in the organization and how those risks can be minimized. Employees should know what role they have to play in health and safety programs and where to go if they have any questions regarding health and safety at the workplace.
First aid courses are important to make safe working practices standard. There are many courses available online that you can enroll in. These trainings are available at an affordable price. These courses come with audits, reporting tools, and you, as a buyer of this course, may also be able to customize them to suit your organization’s needs.
Health and safety training is important to empower new as well as existing staff with answers on all health and safety issues. These training courses can either be completed from work or home as they are online. Apart from taking them anywhere, you can take them anytime you want. These courses contain latest information on all health and safety topics.
These useful training courses can help decrease the risks of costly legal battles. This is a useful investment as it motivates the employees and reduces absenteeism. This training also ensures that employees are safe, healthy, and more productive. These courses are interactive and engaging and help the people taking the course clarify their doubts. They can be used as refresher courses also.
The training lessons are communicative, informative, fun, and easy to learn, may have interactive graphics and animation, and contain all the up-to-date information on health and safety training. They contain the latest health and safety legislation and directives. They contain modules on topics like fire safety, manual handling, driver safety, first aid, and tips on how to handle stress at workplace.
ENVICO is a health and safety training organization. To know more about their health and safety courses and for any other information, contact them at the given link.
Innovations In Mood And Mind Health Food And Drinks: Growth Opportunities, Effective Product Strategies And Evolution In Npd
As is the nature of the food and drink business, emerging sectors such as mood/mind health have the ability to create a buzz among curious consumers and the potential to spark inspiration and interest from manufacturers/retailers.
Over the past four years (since 2006), the sector has experienced significant changes, as more and more people show an interest in purchasing products to suit/improve their mood, improve mental acuity and target specific concerns (related to wellbeing and mental health). Products such as confectionery, bakery and soft drinks are traditionally perceived as indulgent, but recipe reformulation, re-branding and a change in marketing strategy can help to target mood/mind health. A change in strategy can introduce existing products to new potential target audiences, retail and distribution opportunities.
Key features of this report
• Analysis of sales values and volumes for the functional food and drink market in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific. • Evaluation of the drivers behind the changing functional food and drink market (becoming more health-centric, niche and specific to individual health concerns) with a focus on moods/emotions and mental health. • Coverage of 18 categories (under the mood food/mental health heading) including soft drinks, baby food, ready meals, snacks and dairy.
Scope of this report
• Understand each regional market in terms of absolute size as well as the future potential of each type of product. • Evaluate the potential of sub-categories by comparing new product launches, maturity of market etc within the global food and drink sector. • Inform your sales team and/or export department by prioritising the geographical markets best suited to your current range of products. • Evaluate whether you should be looking beyond your current product portfolio for future opportunities within the functional food and drink market.
Key Market Issues
• Over the past four years, the sector has experienced significant changes, as more and more people show an interest in purchasing products to match/improve their mood, improve mental acuity and target specific concerns (related to wellbeing and mental health). • Consumers are likely to grow increasingly bored of the standard ‘energy drink’ flavors which have to date been (in the most part) limited to fruit flavors, as more and more products are brought to market. An emerging ingredient, the schisandra berry, has not yet made a major appearance in this market but this is expected to change in the next 12 to 18 months as more new products are developed in line with growing market opportunities. • Justifying a premium price in hard financial times is essential to long-term success and brands that have credible support for the bold health claims they are making in relation to improvements of mind/mood health should be able to justify their existence to their target audience (people who are looking to food and drink as prevention rather than cure).
Key findings from this report
• The functional food and drink sector is experiencing consolidation in established markets such as the UK and US, and holds massive growth potential in ‘emerging’ countries including China, India and Russia. • The maturation of the functional food and drink market in countries such as Japan has paved the way for the introduction of more niche and health-specific products such as those targeting moods, emotions and mental health. • Over the next three to five years, antioxidants will become even more important to the mood/mind health food and drinks market. Already gaining ground across other food and drink categories as a result of growing consumer understanding of their importance to a healthy diet (food and drink PR, marketing and advertising campaigns are primarily responsible for this growing understanding), antioxidant-rich ingredients such as cherries, pomegranates, blueberries and more exotic berries such as acai will feature more regularly in mind/mood NPD.
Key questions answered
• Which moods are addressed by recent food and drink product launches? • What are consumer perceptions of the impact of food and drink on mood/mental health? • Can food and drink products compete against/sit alongside the pharmaceutical industry’s mental health drugs? • What are the most exciting new product launches from around the world and what is so great about them?
Table of Contents : Table of Contents Innovations in Mood & Mind Health Food & Drinks Executive summary 8 Introduction to moods foods and mental health 8 Drivers behind the evolution of the mood food market 9 NPD analysis by region, flavor and sub-category 10 Leading global trends in mood food 11 Conclusions and success strategies 12 Chapter 1 Introduction 14 Summary 14 What is this report about? 14 Report methodology 15 Report structure 18 Chapter 2 Drivers behind the evolution of the mood/mind health market 20 Summary 20 Introduction 21 Self-prescription 21 Food not supplements 22 Depression treatments: medicinal versus nutritional 23 Top five disorders targeted by anti-depressant medication 24 Top five anti-depressant sales and total value 25 Medication through nutrition 27 The food and mood project survey 27 Beneficial nutritional self-help strategies 28 Responses to health claims 30 Ingredients innovation 32 Green super-ingredients 34 Essential fatty acids for memory enhancement 36 Lifestyle targeting 39 R&D and scientific breakthroughs 40 Maturation of the global functional market 43 Global functional food and drink market growth to 2012 43 Functional food and drink market value 44 Chapter 3 NPD analysis by region, flavor and sub-category 48 Summary 48 Introduction 49 Regional analysis 49 Asia Pacific 50 Europe 54 Latin America 58 Middle East & Africa 62 North America 65 Case study: HealthShots 69 Flavor analysis 70 Top 20 flavors in mind/mood health food and drinks 70 Top 20 fastest growing flavors in mind/mood health food and drinks 72 Top 10 future flavor forecast in the mind/mood health food and drink market 75 Product tag analysis 76 Top 20 tags on mood/mind food and drinks 2006-2009 76 Focus on antioxidants 77 Sub-category analysis 79 Growth of mind/mood food and drinks NPD by sub-category 79 Diversification in NPD type between 2006 and 2009 80 Chapter 4 Leading global trends in mood food 84 Summary 84 Introduction 85 Celebrity endorsement 85 Repositioning traditional products 86 Daily dosing 87 Premiumization 88 Convenience 89 Wholesome image 91 The organic debate 92 Diet aids 95 Indulgence 96 Chapter 5 Conclusions and strategies for success 100 Introduction 100 Strategies for success 101 Actionable conclusions for marketing 102 Actionable conclusions for NPD 104
List of Figures Figure 2.1: Beneficial nutritional self-help strategies 29 Figure 2.2: Products with ‘green’ ingredients 36 Figure 2.3: Awareness versus availability of selected cognitive health ingredients 40 Figure 2.4: Global functional food and drink market growth, (%), 2002-2012 43 Figure 3.5: Share of mind/mood food and drinks NPD, by region (%), 2006-09 50 Figure 3.6: Black O-Pium energy drink with reishi mushroom introduced in Singapore in 2006 51 Figure 3.7: Mind and mood food and drinks launched in Asia Pacific 52 Figure 3.8: Balance Water brand targets women and children with flower essences 54 Figure 3.9: Mind and mood food and drinks launched in Europe 56 Figure 3.10: Lucozade range 58 Figure 3.11: Mind and mood food and drinks launched in Latin America 60 Figure 3.12: Three new flavors in the EQ range of tablets to make any drink into an energy drink 61 Figure 3.13: Mind and mood food and drinks launched in Middle East and Africa 62 Figure 3.14: Potion Herbal Remedy Energy Shots 65 Figure 3.15: Mind and mood food and drinks launched in North America 68 Figure 3.16: HealthShots: Brain Refresh, Men’s Edge & Sustained Energy 69 Figure 3.17: Share of mind/mood food and drinks, by sub-category (%), 2006-09 80 Figure 3.18: Share of mind/mood food and drinks, by type (%), 2006-09 81 Figure 4.19: Healthy convenient products with mind/mood benefits 91 Figure 4.20: Organic products with mood/mind benefits 94 Figure 4.21: Diet aids with mind/mood benefits 96
List of Tables Table 2.1: Top five disorders targeted by anti-depressant medication, by country (%), 2007-2008 24 Table 2.2: Top five anti-depressant sales and total value, by country (0), 2007-2008 25 Table 2.3: Top five anti-depressant sales and total value, by country (0), 2007-2008 (cont) 26 Table 2.4: Functional food and drink market value in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific ($m), 2002–12 44 Table 3.5: Top 20 flavors in mind/mood health food and drinks, 2006- 2009 72 Table 3.6: Top 20 fastest growing flavors in mind and mood health, 2009 73 Table 3.7: Top 20 tags on mood/mind food and drinks 2006-2009 76 Table 3.8: Growth of mind/mood food and drinks by sub-category 2006-2009 79
Look No Further for the Best Health and Safety Recruitment Specialist
The process of screening applicants for a job can be difficult at best. There is only so much you can learn about potential candidates by reading a resume or looking at a job application, so invariably, most of the work falls to you in the interview process to discover whether or not the candidate will be a good fit to your team. When you are trying to fill a health and safety position, the right person for the job is a must! If you don’t have the time to sort through a pile of applicants, don’t have the advertising capabilities to attract the applicants you need, or don’t even know where to start, it may be time to look to the health and safety recruitment specialists at www.principalpeople.co.uk for help.
Principal People has 20 years of experience in helping to meet your health and safety needs. They specialize in recruiting for all types of companies to fill vacancies in the health and safety departments. Principal People will give you the customized help that you need to find the right person for the job, at every step of the way. From advertising to their pool of highly trained candidates to helping you with the actual interview process, Principal People offers expert assistance in finding you the employee that you need.
As the longest established HS&E recruiter in the UK, they are specialists in the health and safety field, and that means that Principal People knows what they are doing. They also want to make sure clients and candidates also know the process and they will work one on one with individuals to ensure a smooth transition. Without this level of customer service, they wouldn’t have earned a 98% customer satisfaction rate. They have a well earned reputation for being the best at what they do. When you’re in need of health and safety recruitment, look no further than Principal People.
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Georgia Cancer Specialists Employee Recruitment Video Video Rating: 0 / 5
Practitioners who use computerized questionnaires to diagnose nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional deficiencies are diagnosed by appropriate medical tests and examination, not by computers. Any computer used for this purpose is likely to be programmed to recommend supplements for virtually everyone.
