Who needs an energy booster? If product sales are any indication, millions of people each day.

Energy boosting products have exploded in popularity and are now one of the most popular types of dietary supplements.  After all, who couldn’t use a little more energy now and then? One thing that’s unfortunately true about any type of energy booster is that the more you use it, the less effective it becomes.  But by paying attention to how you use you energy booster and by taking certain accessory nutrients, you can get more, sometimes much more, out of your energy booster so you won’t have to use as much, as often.

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Lighten up your love life!

People have used the power of foods and herbs to enhance their love lives since time immemorial.  Some of these foods have more of a scientific basis for being effective (note the zinc content of oysters) than others (powdered rhino horn).  But besides oysters and heart-shaped pizza, there are other foods and herbs that can enhance your love life, too. (more…)

Vitamin D aka Sunshine Vitamin: More Important Than Ever

Dr. Robert Heaney is one of the leading researchers in the quickly-advancing field of vitamin D research.  He recently gave a fascinating lecture at UC Berkley in which he summed up the most current information about vitamin D with respect to what have been difficult-to-answer questions about vitamin D deficiency and dose. Dr. Heaney’s information is compelling and commands a complete rethink of this crucial prohormone nutrient. The video has since been removed from YouTube, but we were able to see it and took some notes.  Here’s what this leading researcher had to say about vitamin D. (more…)

Vitamin E has taken some heat in the mainstream press.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’ve always taken vitamin E because there’s a family history of heart disease and a few of my nutrition books say it’s beneficial.  But in the last few years I’ve come across conflicting information about vitamin E including some recent news stories that say it doesn’t help and can actually be harmful to use vitamin E supplements.  So what’s the story?

Thanks,

Mike W.

Novato, CA

Dear Mike,

Once upon a time, the type of vitamin E supplement in question wouldn’t have mattered because they were all the same. At this point in time, however, it really depends on what kind of vitamin E supplement we’re talking about. (more…)

Protein shakes, maybe the single best nutritional approach to growing thicker healthier hair.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’m a 30 y.o. female and new mother. Over the last year or so, I’ve become aware that my hair is growing much slower than it did while I was in college.  It also seems to be thinner and drier and falls out more easily.  My doctor seems unconcerned, just said to make sure to keep eating enough and take my prenatal.  Believe me, I eat enough and I’ve been taking this prenatal for over a year now. There’s got to be something else? I ‘ve seen “hair vitamins” ,  should I use one of those or can you suggest any particular supplements that might help?

Thanks,

Gabriella

Malibu, CA

Dear Gabriella,

Congratulations on the new arrival!  Well, on one hand there are indeed a few nutritional supplements that ‘work’, that people have successfully used to improve the growth and condition of their hair.  On the other hand (more…)

Sugar gliders know the truth: friendly bacteria occur in most yogurt, and that's good......

By resupplying your body with “friendly” bacteria, Probiotics can be incredibly useful supplements to both keep you healthy and help you pull through a wide range of health problems.  Probiotic supplements have been around for a long time, but recent high-profile ad campaigns for probiotics in yogurt as well as food poisoning outbreaks have really taken them prime time and renewed interest in these bacterial supplements. But although probiotic supplements come in capsules and tablets just like vitamins, there are big differences between the two, so we’ve put together a guide for buying, storing and using your probiotic supplements for the best possible results. (more…)

You do need exercise and fresh air, gas masks are optional.

In Part One of AllStarHealth.com’s New Year Detox Guide, we laid down the basic principles of detoxification.  As we said near the beginning of that article, there’s no universally agreed-upon definition of or approach to detoxification, and the range of options and opinions runs the gamut from legitimate and useful to outright scam.

The BBC picked up on this theme with a story on today, but their headline is misleading when it says (more…)

Your world's a toxic place, unfortunately. Land......

Along with losing weight, joining a gym and giving up smoking, another popular New Year idea is undergoing a detox program of some kind. (more…)

Winter weather and holidays make it all too easy to get into a rut with your workouts.

Dear AllStarHealth,

Maybe it’s been our typical Minnesota weather, or the Holidays, or something else, but we’ve really gotten into a rut with our training. My wife and I go to the gym every other day faithfully but we don’t seem to be making the kind of progress we were just a few months ago. I think she’s losing her enthusiasm for it, and we’re kind of at a plateau. Are there any supplements that can help us get back on track?

Dear AllStarHealth,

I’m training for my first bodybuilding event which is coming up this March.  My lifts we’re going great there for awhile but I’m gotten into a rut. My lifts have plateaued. I’m no longer seeing any gains in size, or cuts, or anything.  I don’t have a lot of time left to work with and wanted to know what you’d recommend to help jump-start my progress.

Dear AllStarHealth,

I started working a new job in October and as a result of that, the only time I can work out is 5 AM. I’ve never really been a morning person, and I’m finding it really hard to stay on track . Even with a lot of coffee, I’m just not having good lifts anymore.  It’s all I can do to get myself in and out of there in time to get to work.  I’m in a rut. Are there any products you’d suggest? (more…)

Acai berries. Most acai supplements use freeze-dried berries or juice.

You may have been hearing a lot about Acai (ah-sa-EE) berry supplements or acai juice lately. Acai is an antioxidant-rich palm fruit that grows in South America, and is widely cultivated and consumed  in various forms throughout that region. Acai berries are round, dark-purple and about 1 inch in diameter, similar to a grape and grow in bunches that contain hundreds of individual fruits. Two crops of berries are produced each year.Interest in Acai berries and Acai products has grown with the discovery that the fruits have an exceptional nutritional profile, including high levels of antioxidants, amino acids and nutritional fats.  Seeking to capitalize on this interest, a great many Acai products and brands have come onto the market in a relatively short period of time.  Some make exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims. Perhaps even more significantly, several high-profile individuals such as Dr. Nicholas Perricone and Oprah Winfrey have publicized Acai supplements and purported great benefits from using them. This has further intensified interest and demand, drawing even more Acai products to the market, with ever more-attractive health claims. Quite a few AllStarHealth customers have asked us to comment on the new popularity and legitmacy of Acai supplements.  From these questions, it’s clear that someone somewhere is making some pretty tall claims about Acai: Is it really anti-aging?  Does it get rid of joint pain? Is it better than Viagra? (more…)