Yoga for autistic kids, Getting skinny with “fatty” foods, and being Organic on a budget. Eat recommended amount of veggies for less than $2.50 / day. Mission: definitely possible.

Living the Organic lifestyle seems to expensive, doesn’t it? And the food doesn’t seem appetizing. You’re thinking Kale smoothies, dried berries, lots of unsalted nuts. Do you often wonder, “how do people eat that? How do they live that way?”. The answer is, a lot of people don’t. Being Organic is often associated with lots of biking, hiking, smoothie making, sustainable farming, money spending, Subaru driving, REI gear wearing, Whole Foods shopping, non meat eating individuals. We’re here to tell you that’s actually a very small percentage of people who enjoy Organic products. Most importantly, you DON’T need to be one of those people! We explore how you can incorporate small changes while staying true to yourself.

1. Prevent & enjoy an active, healthy retirement

You’ve heard the saying that every cigarette takes away 5 minutes of your life. Now reverse that for eating fresh fruits and vegetables and think about adding minutes ON to your life.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention) says that healthy diets with fruits and vegetable may prevent cancer and other chronic diseases.

While some people are just genetically predispositioned to acquire certain diseases, eating fruits and vegetables help boost your immune system whether you’re fighting the flu or simply living your life.

2. Doing the math

Did you know that you can consume the daily recommended amount of vegetables for about $2 to $2.50 / day (USA TODAY)? Fresh fruits and vegetables are the most natural and affordable way of preventative medicine, and it costs you under $2.50 / day. Proper nutrition costs you PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR compared to the costs of prescription drugs, doctor visits and expensive health insurance (Natural News).

Powerful nutrients like zinc, magnesium, and Vitamin D cost pennies and can be found in most vegetables and fruits, so there’s no need to take additional supplements if you’re already eating foods that contain them.

While in some parts of this country fresh vegetables do cost more, there are currently many options for fresh produce, including SPUD.COM, Amazonfresh.com, Greenpolkadotbox.com, and freshdirect.com. In most cases, many of the fruits and vegetables found in these delivery services cost less than high end specialty grocery stores. Amazonfresh also offers free delivery if you spend a certain amount, so if you have a big family, this might be advantageous. Costco is also a great place for fresh produce, although not all have an Organic section. When you can, try to spot the GMO Free sticker on fresh fruits and produce.

Lastly, be that person at the grocery store (or online) who busts out their iPhone calculator to calculate price per oz or price / lb. Don’t be ashamed of looking cheap. In the end, your wallet is affected and not anyone else’.

3. Get skinny with it.

Find out what keeps you full and never allow yourself to starve. Develop healthy eating habits first, then start incorporating more fruits and vegetables (if you haven’t already). While crash dieting can help you lose weight fast, it’s also easier to gain those pounds back (and more) when you start eating regularly again, because your body goes into starve mode and stores extra fat since it’s not sure when you’ll have your next meal.

Here are some ‘fatty” foods that make you feel full, which sometimes also means you can spend less.

• Fatty Fish – Fish contains lots of good, unsaturated fats (Omegas) that are important for your brain and can also make you feel full (not hungry). According to Livestrong, a 3 oz salmon poached salmon fillet contains only about 95 total calories. Most salmon fillets are 6 oz, so double that, and load the rest of your plate with leafy greens. While wild salmon can be expensive, you can always steam cod or tilapia with just sesame oil, some soy sauce and garnish with green onions. You’ll be surprised at how refreshing and delicious it is.
• Leafy Greens – Leafy greens are virtually fat free and you can eat entire CUPFULS of them with very little calories. A cup of cooked spinach (from fresh) only contains 74 calories but is chock full of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Iron, and Protein. Also, a lot of these calories are burned off in the digestion process, so you’re literally metabolizing what you just ate while you’re eating. How exciting is that? Spinach is also inexpensive, so buy lots.
• Citrus Fruits - grapefruit, lemon, papaya, guava and tomatoes are all rich in Vitamin C, which helps the body process fat faster. They also contain loads of water content so we feel full for some time. Papaya is not cheap, but lemons are. Make dressing with olive oil and lemon juice – you’ll be hitting your fruit and veggies intake goals by doing this.
• Oatmeal – it’s cheap and it’s fast but ONLY IF it’s the old fashioned, non sweetened kind that you just add water to. Premixed oatmeal is full of sugars (carbs) that are hard to burn off.
• AVOCADOS! – Although it’s 70% fat (yes, you read that correctly), these are the GOOD kind like when we talk about FISH. These are necessary, monounsaturated fats that promote healthy cholesterol levels and make you feel VERY FULL. The kind if fat in avocados is entirely different than processed, saturated and trans fats, and can actually help in losing weight. Eat an entire avocado with a tiny amount of salsa on top and you’ll be surprised at how full you feel after. This is one of the best snacks!

4. Veggie hater? Not if it’s stir fried…

Fresh vegetables are not present in every household in America, and that’s a huge problem. One of the reasons is the way it’s cooked. Most people steam vegetables and just add salt and pepper. Once in awhile this is OK, but if you had to incorporate veggies into your diet everyday, this is boring and tasteless, and your family will lose interest in it. We have advice for you: STIR FRY IT! Try using coconut oil for Southeast Asian inspired dishes as it can withstand serious heat. Sautee with olive oil on medium so it doesn’t burn.

Instead of servings your veggies and your protein separately, combine the 2. Slice up a small amount of meat to simply “add flavor” to your veggies. Next, julienne or slice your cabbage (regular or napa), broccoli, or cauliflower, add some soy sauce, and voila! You now have a tasty dish that is LOADED with veggies and contains some meat, balancing out your meal.

If stir frying is not for you, try to bake them in olive oil and fresh spices. The point is, try to cook them differently and find you and your family’s favorite way of cooking them. You can get more ideas from this WEB MD article.

5. Make (almost) everything from scratch

Oh, we already know your excuse. “You don’t have time”. Actually, making everything can save you time if you learn to manage it correctly. Say you prepare everything Sunday. For the next three week days, toss everything together. It takes minutes, not hours, because you’ve already prepped it. Or make a huge batch of stir fry on Sunday and eat it for the next three days. This also allows you to bring cooked food to work, saving you money and calories.

These are the things you should always make from scratch -

1. Rice – be it brown or white or wild, buy in bulk and boil it yourself. Flavored rice is expensive (because someone else has put in the time and you’re being charged for it) and it’s unhealthy. Have you ever seen what’s in the ingredient list? It’ll surprise you. A 15 lb bag of brown rice sells for $27.00 on Amazon while a pack of 12 cooked brown rice packages cost $21.00 (for a total weight of 5.55 lbs). You do the math.
2. Salad Dressing – Salad dressing is extremely easy to make. Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a dash of dijon mustard to “glue” it all together. No added sugars or calories. Or, dress with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle some salt and fresh black pepper on arugula. Some of the best ideas are the simplest ones.
3. Pizza dough and bread – Make it for less than $0.30 / pizza. You control the ingredients and your wallet.
4. Salads – Staff member Carrie makes a chicken salad that feeds her entire family of 4 for $20 (at $5 / person) that tastes just like their favorite one at California Pizza Kitchen (at $12.25 / person).
5. Rotisserie chickens – If you love buying Rotisserie chickens at the store, make your own. Put an entire chicken in the crock pot in the morning and go to work (but you should brine it first for flavor). Come home and serve your family.

6. Take walks & do yoga at home

Walking is free, low impact and good for your waistline. According to the Mayo Clinic, walking can help you:

• Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol)
• Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol)
• Lower your blood pressure
• Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes
• Manage your weight
• Improve your mood
• Stay strong and fit

Yoga is good for joints and muscle pain. Get a yoga video, learn the moves, and do it at home with the family! Help your kids improve their concentration by being the “teacher”, or have them be the teacher! You can learn about the benefits of Yoga from WEB MD here. Studies also suggest that Yoga may improve behavior of kids with Autism.

In short, being healthy on a budget does mean spending more time in the kitchen an at home, but it’ll be worth it for you and your family! You will feel the benefits of eating healthier now and your wallet will experience the benefits later on in life. It’s not instant gratification, but instant gratification is what leads so many to weight gain and diet related diseases. So take some time to work on your life so you can live it.

The gift giving guide for health nuts and foodies.

Shopping for your friends or family who love eating granola, hiking, or is basically a hipster can be a little hard sometimes. How does one wrap KIND bars or home made bread prettily?How do you make goji berries pretty?

Beyonce did a song that is about as catchy as all get out called “Single Ladies (Put a ring on it)” and we’ve altered that statement to adhere to our mantra for this Holiday Season.

It’s called “Everybody (Put a Bow on it)”!

Whether you’re gibing out goji berries, home made cakes, or elf costumes, you can fancy it up by putting “a bow on it!”. Home made tzatziki? Put a bow on it! Stir frid peanuts? Put a bow on it! Cartier watch? All-clad pots? Put a bow on it!

Below are our tips for fancy-ing up homemade gifts, or gifts that do not normally look pretty on their own, like specialty peanuts.

Tip 1: put a bow on EVERYTHING. We’ve taken to this option by allowing you to purchase a bow for $0.99. It is a fancy black bow that dresses up your gift. We’re offering it in black because it’s non-specific for whatever Holiday they’re celebrating this year. You can also purchase mini, pre-tied satin ribbons from Nashville Wraps for about $0.19 / bow in a pack of 12, but you do have to pay shipping and they ship ground as their standard.

Tip 2: Make your own labels. Need to label that jar of home made chutney? If you have a color printer, simply make your own labels and instead of printing on regular, white label paper, print on clear labels. Online labels dot com has a variety of clear labels that you can get, and it makes everything look 200% more fancy because the background is slightly frosted and the print is clear and vivid, making that the focus of the design and not a huge white space.

Tip 3: Put everything in a tin / pail. You can easily get these from Michael’s or other similar craft stores. If the gift you’re giving is aesthetically underwhelming, just empty the contents into a pail or tin! Then you can make your own label for the information that’s on the bag (mostly for allergy reasons, just in case). You can also get this at nashville wraps dot com.

Low Budget yet palate sensitive gift ideas:

• Make sweet and savory peanuts. We saw this on the food channel and it was one of the best ideas, ever. Peanuts are insanely inexpensive and you can buy tens of pounds for almost nothing. Next, make a savory spice mixture including salt, toss that in with the peanuts in a wok, and glue it all together with honey or agave, then set to cool and they should stick together. You’ll have a sweet and savory treat in no time, and something to put in that tin we just told you to buy.
• Make your own ____________ in a mason jar. Mason jars are the bees knees right now, and well, you can put almost anything in it, but the problem is shelf life (or lack thereof). Make sure whatever you gift in the mason jar does not expire tomorrow and cannot grow mold if there’s more than 1 helping and people are going to take the lid on and off, exposing it to oxygen and bacteria (like pudding that takes days to finish because you’ve made them 3 pounds of it – while it shows that you are generous, it’s also a little over the top).
• Slate board with chalk for the food photographer / instagrammer – people LOVE to take photos of their food, and with a cool slate board that they can both serve AND write on, this is the perfect gift for that (err…gifted) friend who’s always making you wait before you can eat your food because they want to take a photo first. Their Instagram / Pinterest account is filled with every meal they’ve eaten since they created their account! They will love this.
• Our newest chocolate products (ok, ok, we HAD to put that one in there!)
• Spiffy portable iphone chargers – practical AND cost effective, this is something that will remind them of you every time they charge up!
• wood iphone case – Wood iphone cases are chic and trendy with an important message – remember to take care of Mother Earth!

Happy Holidays, and good luck!

 This super fruit has always been under marketed but its antioxidant potential naturally sweet, vanilla aroma should not be underestimated.

History:

White Mulberries (morus alba), native to China, India & Turkey

Do you remember that song, “Here we go around the Mulberry bush”? That song was referring to the North American purple Mulberry, with its tart flavors and a history of going into delicious, sweet, dark hued pies that your grandmother used to make. Those Mulberries are native to this country and grew in back yards aplenty.

The White Mulberry (morus alba), featured in our line of Organic products, is native to China but then brought all over the world where silk is cultivated, and now commercially cultivated in Turkey. The white variety is sweet, where the dark purple ones are more tart and astringent (they’re usually baked into pies with lots of sugar).

Health Benefits of White Mulberries (morus alba):

White Mulberries have always been used in traditional medicine in Asia and India for controlling insulin levels in those who are Diabetic , have high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, heart disease, or high cholesterol, nourish the blood, treat anemia, and to fight fatigue. Mulberries possess excellent free radical scavenging ability and have shown antiviral and antimicrobial effects, contributing to a healthier overall body.

White Mulberries contain beta-sitosterol, which is normally used to treat heart disease and high cholesterol. Although it is not an essential nutrient, studies show that in conjunction with other sterols found it plants, it appears to block the absorption of cholesterol. Because of this, white Mulberries also appear to have infection reduction capabilities as

Purple Mulberries, native to the US and Europe

athletes take beta sitosterol for infections and to enhance performance.

According to Unbound Medicine, Morus Alba contain anthocyanins and may protect cells from neurotoxicity in a dose dependent manner and suggests that it may protect cells in Parkinson’s induced test models.

In another article published by PubMed.gov, it states that the entire Mulberry plant shows anti-cancer properties. However, the study was primary conducted on the leaves of the Mulberry plant.

Uses:

It would be a shame to just eat Mulberries for their health benefits are they are one of the most delicious and naturally

Blueberry Mulberry “granola” with crushed Mulberries, Blues, and honey

sweet super fruits out there. With a sweet, almost vanilla-like aroma, this berry is slightly moist and chewy even when dried. Rich Nature white Mulberries are especially sweet and come from Turkey, where they’re normally eaten as they are for a healthy and delicious snack.

One of the greatest versatility of White Mulberry is that it can be ground into a flour, making it extremely ideal for raw recipes that call for such an ingredient, but without the gluten or the carbs! Make no mistake, this little berry does contain good carbs to give you energy, but no bad carbs for love handles.

Recipes:

• Organic Mulberry Topping for Yogurt, Sorbet, Ice, and many more!

• Raw Mulberry Cacao Coconut Balls

Not only are they sweet and tart, they now have the potential to help burn belly fat as well! Here is what Dr. OZ shared on his show (aired originally on Friday 09/09/2011).

5 Steps to Conquering Your Over-40 Belly

Dr. Oz’s 3 Breakthrough Belly Blasters

To help you blast away unwanted belly fat, try these top three superfoods. They’re inexpensive and can be eaten any time of day.

1. Goldenberries

A bright yellow fruit from Brazil, the goldenberry is loaded with B vitamins that are essential for maintaining a healthy metabolism. While they’re sold fresh, goldenberries are easier to find in dried form and are available at health food stores or online for about $12.  Eat ¼ cup daily.

2. Miso

Miso, the Japanese staple made from fermented soybeans, rice and/or barley, lowers triglycerides in the blood that contribute to belly fat. You can purchase instant miso soup in supermarkets for about $3 per package. Be sure to purchase the low-sodium variety.

3. Sauerkraut

Unprocessed fermented food like sauerkraut contains bacteria that boosts digestion and reduces belly inflammation. Instead of eating it on a hot dog, try sauerkraut with turkey on whole-grain bread. Aim to eat 3 teaspoons daily. Purchase canned sauerkraut for about $1. Be sure to rinse it before eating or buy the low-sodium kind.

It’s that time of year again, when the sweaters start coming off and our hair gets, skin, and nails get much needed attention after long, neglected winter months.

The truth is, you don’t need to apply separate treatments for healthy skin, hair, and nails. They’re all connected to each other. It may sound simple, and it’s because it is. By taking care of your body through a well balanced diet packed with nutrients, Vitamins, and essential minerals, you can have beautiful skin, hair, and nails. Think of a well balanced diet as a one stop shop for all three. Hair and nails are both protein fibers, so naturally they need Protein to grow.

Dr. Paradi Mirmirani, MD, of the Permanente Medical Group in Vallejo, Calif., says that you most likely won’t even need to take extra Biotin, which is an ingredient marketed by many hair product companies, although it probably won’t hurt either, depending simply on how much you want to splurge for your hair.

In an article by WebMD (Top 10 Foods for Healthy Hair) Dietician Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, says that nutrients is the foundation for skin, hair, and nail growth. Dr Mirmirani also says that although you can find supplements for vitamin intake, it’s much better to get it directly from food whenever possible.

So what Vitamins should you be paying more attention to?  You should be eating more foods with the following Vitamins:

• Vitamin A – Vitamin A is essential for skin elasticity. It is a fat soluble Vitamin and exists either as a Retinol or Carotene. You can easily spot foods rich in Vitamin by its pigment, which ranges from orange to orange-y red. It can be found aplenty in Goji berries.
• Complex-B vitamins – just focusing on 1 of the 8 water soluble vitamins is not enough – you should be eating foods with as many of them together as possible. Here are the different B-Vitamins:

1. B1 – known as Thiamne
2. B2 – known as Riboflavin
3. B3 – known as Niacin, Vitamin P, or Vitamin PP
4. B5 – known as Pantothenic Acid (not familiar? It’s an important vitamin because it helps metabolize fats, carbs, and proteins
5. B6 – known as Pyroxidine and helps absorb and metabolize amino acids
6. B7 – known as Biotin or Vitamin H
7. B9 – known as Folic Acid
8. B12 – known as Cobalamine or Cyanocobalamine and you know this vitamin through people more likely to be deficient in it if not eating enough meat.

• Vitamin C – Vitamin C is great for skin tone balance and is essential for maintaining elasticity.
• Vitamin E – Vitamin E is essential for moisture binding and slows down the aging process of skin cells. One super fruit with enough Vitamin E to rocket you to space is Seabuckthorn.

In addition to Vitamin A being great for your skin tone (and eyes!), it’s also great for your scalp, which means no itchy flaky mess. Vitamin E and C restore moisture for your hair, and Vitamin B helps maintain color and prevent hair loss.

How do you know when your skin and hair isn’t healthy, besides looking in the mirror? Some things are not as obvious. For example, you could be blessed with skin that never break out but it doesn’t mean it’s not to dry, so in addition to eating the right food, taking the right supplements, and using the right moisturizer, you’ll need to keep hydrated and drink plenty of water.

The same Vitamins you’re consuming for hair and skin health is also vital for heart health. If you’re looking for diets that promotes cardiovascular health, you’ll notice it calls for lots of Omegas, gains, fruits, and vegetables. The nutrients found in a heart healthy diet also promote healthy cell and follicle growth, so if you’re heart’s healthy, your skin should reflect that, naturally. You also need to be getting some exercise to promote all the good changes to your body. Foods cannot carry the burden alone.

Not sure where to start? Just getting acquainted with natural foods? Have no fear: just remember one rule of thumb. Always pick out foods that naturally vibrant in color, such as Goji berries, Golden berries, eggplant, bell peppers, carrots, spinach, kale, and so on.

Good luck! You’ll start seeing (and feeling) changes in no time!

Carotenoids convert to Essential Vitamins. They are antioxidant chemicals that you get from eating colorful fruits and vegetables and exist in the color pigments of plants and animals. Health experts suggest that carotenoids from eating fresh fruits and vegetables are easier for the body to receive than those supplements. Having some carotenoids in all 3 meals daily could boost your immune function and possibly even lower your risk for cancer.

How colorful is your diet? Brightly colored produce are high in natural antioxidant pigments

Benefits of Carotenoids:

•  Carotenoids also help maintain the healthy lining of your digestive tract, respiratory tract, and skin.
• Promote normal cell growth
• promotes effective communication between cells (when this fails to happen, tumor can grow)
• promotes normal fertility and ovarian function in women
• Promotes eye health
• Contributes to overall health and decreases chances of age related diseases

Three carotenoids you may be familiar with are Carotenes (such as Beta-carotene),  Xanthophylls (yellow pigments, such as those found in egg yolk and Zeaxanthin, which we will cover soon), and Lycopene (a bright red pigment found in tomatoes).

Beta-carotene is a carotene that the body converts to Vitamin A and is found in fruits and vegetables such as Goji berries, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. Studies suggest that a good beta-carotene intake may help aid in Cancer prevention and the general aging process while enhancing immune function.

Myth: Taking large doses of Vitamin A is the same as taking large doses of beta-carotene since they’re the same.

Fact: You can, in fact, take too much Vitamin A while it is not the same for Beta-carotene. Nutritionists recommend consuming beta-carotene from food versus supplement and it is generally very safe and free of side effects. The body only converts Beta-carotene to Vitamin A if your body needs it so once your body’s had enough, the conversion decreases.

Structure of Zeaxanthin

Zeaxanthin is a carotenoid produced by the body and concentrated in the retina of the eyes, whereas another carotenoid, Lutein, is found around the retina. Research shows that Zeaxanthin protects the retina by absorbing blue light and therefore decreases damage to the eyes. Zeaxanthin and Lutein may help strengthen the eyes to protect against Age related Macular Degeneration and cataracts.

Having a diet high in Carotenoids can only do your body good, so eat a naturally colorful diet filled with leafy greens, brightly colored dried fruits (ESPECIALLY super fruits) and vegetables.

As the saying goes, “the deeper the color of fruit of vegetable, the higher concentration of Carotenoids”!

Click here to see Web MD's "Famous Faces of Diabetes" Slideshow

Clinicians project that 40% of Americans will develop metabolic syndrome in the next 30 to 50 years, including diabetes and obesity.

Your chances for diabetes increases with metabolic syndrome, which is basically a group of risk factors that can cause heart and health problems.To read more about Metabolic Syndrome click here.

Focusing on one area of your health isn’t enough to prevent diseases, but it’s a good place to start.

To try and prevent “a group” of factors may seem a little overwhelming – let’s start by trying to talk about one today: Type 2 Diabetes, also known as Adult Onset Diabetes, meaning it’s usually caused by your lifestyle and diet. And it’s not just about staying away from sugary foods.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure in adults” and also increases the risk of heart disease.

The good news? You may be able to prevent Type 2 Diabetes by adopting a healthier lifestyle and diet and it may even be easier than you think.  Step up your game plan to a better diet and incorporate more fruits and vegetables.

Studies have shown that fruits high in antioxidants, polysaccharides, and good fats may hep in reducing your chances of Diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, western cultures lack foods that posses a low glycemic index but high in the following should be in your diabetes meal plan:

• Calcium
• Potassium
• Fiber
• Magnesium
• Vitamins A (such as catotenoids), C, and E

You should also include berries (any kind) into your diet, especially those packed with “antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber”.

Here are some fruits we’ve compiled that may easily be incorporated into your own Diabetes Meal Plan:

Goji Berries

For carotenoids, calcium, fiber, magnesium, and Vitamins, this little berry has it all, and amino acids to boot. The Zeaxanthin is great for eyes while the carotenoids are great for Diabetes. Plus it has natural polysaccharide sugars for your sweet tooth.

Golden berries

Golden berries are known for their fiber; just look at their fibrous, translucent skin and all the nutritious seeds packed inside! Not only are they high in Fiber, they’re also high in Vitamin A.

In fact, Golden berries have up to 45% of RDI of Vitamin A in every serving.

Mulberries

Don’t underestimate these multi-seeded berries that are subtle in taste. They are a very powerful source of Vitamin C (up to 135% of RDI per serving), Protein, Carbohydrates, Fatty Acids (good fats that are great for Diabetes prevention), Anthocyanins (great for health health, also found in the tannins of red wine), and fiber.

Seabuckthorn

If you’re looking for an Omega source aside from fish, this super fruit is for you. Seabuckthorn berries are praised for their abundance of Omegas but they are posses loads of carotenoids, particularly in the berry oils. Seabuckthorn berries posses over 22 Essential Fatty Acids!

Seabuckthorn has been recommended for both health and beauty, since its load of Vitamin E is great for skin, and it has wound healing affects as well, which means it helps in cell repair. You don’t actually have to be wounded to feel its benefits!

Take a look below at our chart to find out why Goji berries still rock in a market full of Super star wanna-be’s!

The chart is in nutrient hierarchical order, so the fruit on top has the most to offer (guess which one’s #1?)

Click to enlarge

GET IT HERE

What is Zeaxanthin?

First, we should know that Zeaxanthin is Lutein’s stereo-isomer, which means they have the same structure but different configurations. This leads us to the conclusion that both are important in protecting eye sight.

Zeaxanthin is a natural pigment produced in eyes that act as a shield to protect our eyes from blue light, like sunlight. As we get older, or if we have diabetes, our Zeaxanthin capabilities decrease.

AMD & Eye Health

AMD is also known as Age related Macular Degeneration, a medical condition normally affecting adults as we get older and eyesight weakens due to damage to the retina.

Although this disease does not only affect adults 50+ and in that case is simply referred to as Macular Degeneration, it is more typical in older adults than in younger individuals under 50.

If AMD goes untreated it may lead to progressive vision degeneration and (worst case) vision loss.

In multiple studies concerning AMD, Zeaxanthin, along with Lutein, have been administered as a natural remedy for increasing macular pigment density to stop AMD from progressing.

Studies

In a study published by the Department of Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba titled “Associations between lutein, zeaxanthin, and age-related macular degeneration: an overview”, the states the following: “Existing literature focuses on factors affecting macular pigment density, functions of lutein and zeaxanthin as blue-light filters and antioxidants, and risk factors associated with age-related macular degeneration. Few studies have focused on the impact of dietary lutein and zeaxanthin on retinal function and the potential to preserve vision and prevent further degeneration.”

In two separate studies there were very favorable results and a “striking reduction” in risk of AMD when  taking Zeaxanthan as one of the supplements.

Goji has up to 13x more Zeaxanthin than Spinach!

Yes, it’s true. We’ve always been told to eat our green leafy vegetables and among those vegetables, spinach had always stood out to be the Zeaxanthin super star, but not anymore. Rich Nature Organic Goji berries have as much as 13x more Zeaxanthin than the amount found in Spinach!

More beta-carotene than Carrots

You may have also heard that carrots is good for eyes. Goji berries have more beta-carotene than carrots! Not to put dismiss the yummy and low fat carrot, but if you’re eating it for the Beta-carotene…

L. Ascorbic Acid / L. Ascorbate 

Vitamin C is more than just a nutrient for fighting colds.  and found in oranges. It’s an important counterpart to Beta-carotene, which is an antioxidant pigment found in carrots.  The two work together to protect your cells and neutralize free radicals.

It is suggested that long term deficiency of Vitamin C (chronic Scurvy) can cause atherosclerosis (arteriosclerotic vascular disease resulting from too much fatty material accumulation).

Studies have suggested that healthy people with sufficient Vitamin C in their diets may have decreased chances of cardiovascular diseases and increased life expectancy.

Combined with other antioxidants to promote the synergy of nutrients have shown promote wound healing.

Functions of Vitamin C

Vitamin C lessens oxidative stress caused by “free radicals”, making it an important antioxidant in anti-aging and anti-inflammation and is essential for tissue, blood vessel, and cartilage development and maintenance.

Don’t go overboard now!

With all that being said, a person does not need more than the recommended amount of Vitamin C. Since your body actually disposes of “extra” amounts, it’s actually better to take it in moderation. There is an ongoing debate about the daily recommended intake, ranging from 75 to 2000 mg a day (depending on your sex and whether or not it’s a “mega dosage”.

Rich Nature’s Organic Mulberries have over 100% of your RDI of Vitamin C in just a small handful – 28grams (or 1 oz) – making this 160g bag last just a bit longer.