Health News

More evidence just published on the benefits of a Med diet...especially for seniors.  A key component of such a diet is to have a high quality Olive Oil, expeller pressed (as opposed to hexane extracted) and ideally unrefined (Olive Oil shouldn't be used to for high heat cooking such as stir frying anyway -- for that I recommend this excellent slightly refined organic Canola Oil).

https://science.slashdot.org/story/17/01/08/0536231/new-study-finds-mediterranean-diet-significantly-reduces-brain-shrinkage

I'll also include links to my main supplements and the reasoning behind taking them.  The first one is Quercetin, the 2 links below (sources are highly reputable, especially for health related matters this is key...so much dis & misinformation out there!).

Discusses mainly Querectin's anti-aging benefits, think of it as a janitor cleaning up garbage cells (cells that no longer divide, essentially dead)!
https://www.scripps.edu/news/press/2015/20150309agingcell.html

Discusses the many other benefits such as it's anti-inflammatory & anti-histamine properties!
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/quercetin

As with all supplements, efficacy is key, you see Quercetin tests for example are done with the actual compound Quercetin acting on say a blood sample but things are not so simple in real life, if you take Quercetin you will have to ingest and hence metabolize (to some degree) before it reaches your blood stream and at that point it will no longer be exactly what you put in!  Cheap supplements cannot take this into account, they just go for the cheapest form of the compound.  This doesn't mean you have to spend $100 for a bottle though either, there's supplements like that out there but often those companies are either way overcharging for a quality product or just ripping you off entirely with a cheap to make knock-off!  So it takes a bit of research to find the right one.  I found the highest efficacy Quercetin (note it may have a different chemical name as it only becomes Quercetin after metabolization) and also Multi-Vitamins as well.

http://naturalfactors.com/product/bioactive-quercetin-emiq/

http://www.ultralaboratories.com/EmeraldLabs/MEN%2045%201-Day%20Multi/index.php

Finally, the single most important Vitamin (based on current research) is D, a lot of people still believe Vitamin C is the immune booster but it's actually Vitamin D that regulates your immune system and the Recommended Daily Amount is very slow to get updated.  The Harvard article on Vitamin D shows that based on current research the typical daily amount should be around 2000 IU (not 800 as is the old RDA). Vitamin D is one of the few Vitamins that is difficult to get naturally at those doses (unless you spend a lot of time everyday in the sun and that's not most of us these days, especially in the winter). There is ongoing research that most people (especially in Northern latitudes) are deficient in Vit D and they found strong links to Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes risks!

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/