As I’ve mentioned many times before at this blog, there is a lot of garbage out there when it comes to supplements.  Until about 2 years ago, I didn’t even recommend a particular brand of supplement to my San Jose personal training and boot camp clients, because I just couldn’t trust what was in the bottle–not to mention the outrageous claims some companies make.  You can’t really miss it on the Internet these days. Seems like everywhere you look there’s another company promoting the nutritious Acai Berry as a weight loss miracle.

That’s why I thought it was critical to write you today. I want to make sure you know my opinion on the subject.

First, you know better than to believe you’re going to pop some pills – ANY pills – and have the pounds and inches melt off like magic. Pleeeeease give that notion up.

If you’ve been listening to any fitness expert for any length of time you know true fat loss comes from a variety of factors, including exercise and proper nutrition.

Second, any fitness expert worth their fees will tell you that any diet that promotes you eat any one food all day long and then eat a sensible dinner, well, don’t bother. Yes, you will lose some weight short-term (due to taking in fewer calories), but as soon as you go back to your old eating habits – and you know you will – you know exactly what happens.

Third, the Acai Berry actually does contain VERY powerful antioxidants and it is getting a lot of good press for that very reason. Antioxidants are extraordinary nutrients that help fight the free radicals associated with aging, cancer risk and other degenerative diseases.  Just keep in mind, acai berry alone is not a miracle cure.

Research has shown that there are a number of powerful antioxidants found in nature, and we should be getting them in our diet. Did you know that the coffee berry (the berry that covers the coffee bean) is one of the most powerful antioxidants on the planet? It’s something researchers have just discovered in recent years.

What’s really cool is that Prograde Nutrition (the only nutrition company I have promoted in my 25 years in business!) has created a Whole Foods based Anti-Aging formula called Prograde Longevity that includes both Acai Berry and Coffee Berry.   It also utilizes Green Tea, Pomegranate, Wolf Berry and Biovin Grape (Red Wine extract).

Just to give you an idea of how powerful this formula is, well, you’d have to eat an entire POUND of raspberries to get the same ORAC value. And in case you’re not familiar with the term, ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.

Prograde creates their own forumulations based on scientific research.  No phony baloney hyped up claims here.

Here’s the great news:  You can now try Prograde Longevity for free! You simply pay a tiny shipping and handling fee. Just go to Prograde Nutrition to order your FREE bottle today.

But you really do need to hurry. I’m not sure how long they’re going to be able to make such an incredible FREE offer.

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Remember, Prograde Longevity is NOT some silly weight loss pill. It is a powerful combination of anti-oxidants specifically designed to give you extraordinary protection against dangerous free radicals.

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In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to take a multi-vitamin. Through good, clean eating, we’d get everything we need. But most of us don’t. We’re busy. We eat on the run sometimes. We don’t eat the variety of fruits and veggies that we should every day. This is why I recommend that every boomer woman take some sort of a multi-vitamin.

Not everyone understands WHY vitamins are so important for their body. I asked Registered Dietitian, Jayson Hunter, to give us a brief explanation of what certain vitamins and minerals actually do for us. Here’s what he had to say:

Vitamin A – This vitamin contributes to the health of your eyes, skin and nails.

Vitamin B – While B vitamins are often referred to as “energy vitamins” they don’t actually give you a surge of energy, per se. What they actually do is help facilitate metabolic reactions in the body to create energy. They’re also necessary for a healthy metabolism.

Vitamin C – This vitamin is a great antioxidant and immune system booster. It also helps skin health.

Vitamin D – Helps women absorb calcium. And it may help prevent certain types of cancer.

Calcium – It’s actually a mineral, not a vitamin. It helps you maintain your bone density, and may also help in weight loss efforts.

I get asked all the time by women which vitamin supplements, if any, they need to be taking. Great question. It’s a personal decision, but I do recommend that you take a multi-vitamin that has these four characteristics:

1). Look for a multi made for women. I like gender specific and to some extent, age specific vitamins. Men need less iron and calcium than we do. Younger women (in child-bearing years) may need more folic acid. Older folks may need more B vitamins.

2). Look for a broad range multi that has vitamins AND minerals. Look for 100% of the Daily Value of all the vitamins on the label. I like to see a multi with all of the B vitamins (B1, B2, B6 B12) and trace minerals like boron, zinc, copper, iron, chromium, manganese and zinc. If you eat a lot of cereal or energy bars that are fortified, be careful, though. You may be doubling up on some vitamins or minerals).
3). Your multi should contain a hefty dose of antioxidants: Vitamins C, E and beta carotene.
4). Look for a multi with whole food nutrients.

Remember that a multi-vitamin is supposed to be used as a supplement to a good nutrition program—not as a band-aid for poor nutrition.

I take Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25+ for Women, because it meets all the above requirements.

It’s a really unique formulation because it’s literally made from 25 veggies, greens and fruits. You should definitely check out Prograde’s Women’s Vitamins .

At the very top of the page is the list of ingredients. You can see the 25 whole foods they use to make VGF 25+ for Women.

Because you read this blog, I know you’re making an effort to eat well, exercise well and age gracefully. Do yourself a favor by choosing a multi-vitamin that will support your efforts at living and eating well!

Committed to your success,

Becky

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Well, there is nothing I know of that will maintain our youth forever, but as far as anti-aging nutrition goes, fish oil is at the top of the list!

Study after study shows that fish oil (and, more specifically the long-chain omega-3 fats DHA and EPA) can benefit us in so many ways. Based on scientific evidence, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports that the ingestion of fish and/or fish oil supplements can benefit us in the following ways:

-Reduce blood pressure
-Reduce triglyceride levels
-Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
-Reduce inflammation
-Reduce the incidence of macular degeneration (an eye disorder)

These are only the top four benefits the AHA mentions as having “strong scientific evidence”. It’s the tip of the iceberg–the list of potential benefits from fish oil is several pages long!

We boomers are right smack in “mid-life” where a lot of life’s pains the rear (heart disease, high blood pressure, etc) start showing up. The evidence-based argument favoring fish oil in reducing the risk for these conditions is just too strong to ignore.

If you aren’t taking fish oil, I suggest you talk to your doctor about adding it in to your supplement regime. One word of caution: Folks who are allergic to fish or shellfish should not take fish oil capsules.

If you like fish, the best way to get omega-3 fatty acids is to eat fattier fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel. Trout is also high in both DHA and EPA.

If you don’t eat fish several times a week, a fish oil supplement may be in order.

What should you look for in a fish oil supplement?
-Look for a product containing Neptune Krill Oil. Neptune Krill Oil doesn’t give you “fish burp” or a fishy aftertaste, and reportedly has a higher antioxidant rating than other types of fish oil used for supplements.
-Look for a product that contains both EPA and DHA.
-Talk to your health care provider about the proper dosage of fish oil for your situation.

I use and recommend EFA-Icon from Prograde Nutrition for my Omega-3 supplement.

You can pick up some EFA icon at a discount right now!

Click here to get to the Prograde site. Once you’ve placed your order, put in the coupon code 012009 at checkout. You’ll save 10.9% off your entire Prograde order from now through midnight EST on Thursday, January 15th!

Yours in health,

Becky

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I’m excited to announce the my new book for YOU, the boomer woman who wants to be in shape and look great throughout mid-life, is almost ready to go! It’s chock full of cutting edge workout routines you can do at home or at the gym and step-by-step instructions on the right way to melt fat with your cardio routines (there are NO long, boring cardio routines in the whole book! Yeah!). It also has a nutrition chapter that teaches you a non-diet approach to getting and staying lean (I know you’re sick of diets and so am I), and a complete success journal to keep you focused and on track. There’s just one thing I need for the book…..

A TITLE!

That’s where YOU come in. I’m having a “Name Becky’s Book” contest! As a reward for coming up with the best name for the book, the winner will receive FREE products from my favorite nutrition company, Prograde Nutrition and a FREE copy of my book.

Here’s exactly what the winner will get:

• VGF25 for women- a top notch whole food multi-vitamin and mineral supplement
• One box of Prograde Cravers (the flavor of your choice)–the best tasting nutritious snack bar on the planet
• Longevity- Prograde’s new, cutting edge anti-oxidant supplement
• My digital e-book plus all the bonus items I’ll be offering with my book

This is over $160 worth of goodies!

So, get your creative juices flowing and send me your best title ideas for my book. Just post right here in the comment section. Feel free to post more than one title suggestion.

My team and I will consider all entries posted on or by Friday, January 16th and will announce the winner right here on Monday, January 19th.

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