CarePro Health Services on Three steps to building a strong foundation of health – LIVING WELL Magazine

Three steps to building a strong foundation of health

By Shannon Davis, CarePro Health Services, Linn County LIVING WELL Magazine 

Are you looking for ways to fight illness and build a healthier you? For many Americans, even a balanced diet and regular exercise are not enough. In fact, a study in 2010 by Dietary Guidelines for Americans showed that 75 to 95% of adults and children in North America eat less than the minimum recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, which can hinder them from fighting off chronic diseases and building strong immune systems.

Lucinda Harms, RPh, is the director of pharmacy at CarePro Advance Health. She teaches that three basic supplements can help to build a strong foundation of health, encouraging them that popping one multi-vitamin a day is not giving them all of the health benefits they deserve.

#1: Take a high-grade multi-vitamin

“Health depends upon a regular intake of a precise balance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and metabolic nutrients including micronutrients,” Harms says.

Complete nutritional support is also required to support normal detoxification that occurs in the body, which prevents the build-up of toxins. Harms recommends taking a high-grade nutritional supplement in a couple doses per day. Taking 200 to 300% of the recommended daily allowance will not only prevent deficiency, she says, but at these levels, patients may start to experience benefits of the supplements as well, such as greater focus, higher energy levels and fewer illnesses.

#2: EFAs and fish oil

“Omega-3 essential fatty acids are also essential to health,” says Harms, “but they cannot be produced by the body.”

These EFAs must be provided through foods, such as cold-water, deep-sea fish or supplements. These “good fats” are important for immune system development, prevention of ear wax build-up, proper hormone function, healthy brain function, soft and smooth skin, and circulatory health.

#3: Probiotics for a healthy digestive tract

The GI tract plays a major role as a part of the immune system. Trillions of microorganisms, especially bacteria, live in the intestines. Some of these bacteria are beneficial; some are harmful.

“If harmful bacteria are more prevalent in your digestive tract or if antibiotics have killed off too much bacteria, you may experience symptoms such as gas, bloating, acid reflux or diarrhea,” says Harms.

The best way to help develop a healthy bacterial balance within the GI tract is through the use of a probiotic supplement. This will provide the GI tract with the beneficial bacteria it needs to fight off infection and build a healthy immune system.

With these three simple supplements, anyone can experience the benefits of a strong foundation of health: higher energy levels, better focus, healthy digestion, and fewer illnesses.

For more information, contact CarePro at 319-363-4554.