What I Do

You have a busy life, why spend all of your time following the latest health news and research? This is my passion. I do it for enjoyment and I enjoy helping others feel good and be well. I believe all health problems are the result of nutritional deficiencies and the best way to help correct a problem is to correct these deficiencies. Total body health is the key to preventing illness and disease. You decide the pace of the program you want to follow. Do you want a kitchen ingredient makeover? Do you want to change your whole diet or do you just want to take the necessary supplements and stop wasting money on things that don't work? Although we have similar nutritional needs, there is no "one size fits all" diet and supplement program. I pull from years of knowledge and experience as well as many expert sources of information. I am currently working on a Masters of Science in Holistic Nutrition of Hawthorn University. E-mail me at weldonwilliford@hotmail. com or give me a call at 919-921-2085 for a free phone consultation. Sometimes just a small change can make a BIG difference in your life.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Bottoms Up, Bottoms Up, Ay What's in Your Cup?

If you are the type to get right on a Friday night, you know what happens once you "open the well".  Your kidneys get quite a workout. That's because alcohol is a diuretic. Diuretics cause water loss and along with that water loss comes mineral loss which in the standard American diet is already lacking. This can cause some serious nutritional deficiencies, of which one of the most important, especially for women, is magnesium.

A deficiency in magnesium can have devastating effects on the body. Here are just a few:

These changes include muscle weakness, tremor, and spasm. In the heart muscle, magnesium deficiency can result in arrhythmia, irregular contraction, and increased heart rate.
Because of its role in bone structure, the softening and weakening of bone can also be a symptom of magnesium deficiency. Other symptoms can include: imbalanced blood sugar levels; headaches; elevated blood pressure; elevated fats in the bloodstream; depression; seizures; nausea; vomiting; and lack of appetite. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=75

A couple of other symptoms that I have personally observed in individuals with magnesium deficiency are poor sleep quality, insomnia, and acid reflux. Magnesium is an alkaline mineral and why it is used in some antacid products. The type of magnesium used for supplementation is in a different form and dosage than those used in antacids and laxative products that you see on the shelf.

Some great food sources of magnesium are pumpkin seeds, spinach, black beans, almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds.  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=75  I also recommend a magnesium supplement for my clients as well.

So if you lift your red solo cup, make sure you are replacing those precious minerals that make your body run like a well-oiled machine. If you are having some of the issues listed above and feel you need help on choosing the right type or dosage of magnesium, contact me and I'll be glad to help you get on the right track to better health.




Monday, January 23, 2012

Ideal or Make it Real?

Being the perfectionist that I am, this is a topic that hits close to home. As I ironically, personally struggle to find healthy foods in one of the "top ten agricultural counties in the country"- mainly due to the huge industrial agri-business in our area, I realize that sometimes being "real" is as good as "ideal".  There is an 85-15 rule to strive for by eating 85% whole, unprocessed foods and 15% processed foods. By keeping this mindset you don't set yourself up for failure if you eat that one cookie that you have been craving. You have 15% to burn, so a cookie doesn't hurt!

I would like to carry this one step farther with organic vs. non-organic foods. Ideally, you want to eat nothing but pastured, organic, hormone-free, etc. foods but there is thing called reality.  One, some of these foods are not even available within a 30 min driving distance and on a budget are out of many people's reach. This past Friday my Mom decided to fix a very healthy meal of liver and onions. Of course I special ordered mine without wheat flour as my Dad insists on his being "country-style" battered.

Yes, the liver is the filter of the animal. This particular liver came straight from a CAFO operation, loaded with antibiotics, hormones and God knows what, packaged and sent to the local grocery. You know what? I ate 2 big pieces of that "non-organic" liver and felt the best I had in weeks. I went out later that evening and had plenty of energy to keep going late into the night. Want to know why? Because along with this CAFO filter were an extremely healthy dose of vitamin A, B12, copper, B2, tryptophan, folate, zinc, B3, B5, phoporous, B6, iron, and selenium! Reference There are very few foods on earth that come even close to the nutrition in this marvelous piece of organ meat.

The main thing to remember is you don't have to be perfect to be healthy. A conventionally grown apple, carrot, cherry, kiwi, orange, etc. is always going to be better than a moonpie, honeybun, or even a bag of "all natural & baked" chips. Likewise, eating non-organic liver once a week will do much more for your health than not ever eating liver at all because you don't have access to clean, pastured, organic liver.


Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Calf's liver

 






Thursday, January 19, 2012

It's Cod Liver Oil Day!

I've seen multiple informative links today on Facebook concerning fish oil and vitamin A. I'm a big believer in foods and supplements that offer the most bang for the buck. Cod liver oil is one of those, supplying not only the much touted DHA, but EPA, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A and D. Fermented cod liver oil is also known to have many more nutrients that have yet been researched. Concerned about vitamin A toxicity? Most studies showing vitamin A toxicity were using a synthetic form of vitamin A. Beta carotene is one safe form vitamin A, provided an individual is capable of breaking down this nutrient into it's vitamin A derivatives. Some individuals are not able to do this properly or efficiently and why I prefer to use the guaranteed supplement to work. Krill oil is an alternative for those who get digestive issues from cod liver oil and/or their digestive system has yet to heal (due to a poor diet and lifestyle) to the point that they can take cod liver oil with no issues. Along with phospholipid coated omega-3's, krill oil supplies a small amount of a very powerful antioxidant-astaxanthin, but does not contain sufficient amounts of vitamin A.


Some women may lack vitamin A

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/11/23/Some-women-may-lack-vitamin-A/UPI-10441258957333/




Fish Oil Activates Thyroid Signaling in Your Liver to Burn Fat

http://www.wellnessresources.com/weight/articles/fish_oil_activates_thyroid_signaling_in_your_liver_to_burn_fat/