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Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12, also called cobalamin, helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells, and is also needed to make DNA. Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in food and is released by hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the stomach during digestion. Once released, B12 combines with a substance called intrinsic factor (IF) before it is absorbed into the bloodstream. Vitamin B12 is needed for normal nerve activity, is necessary for DNA replication, and important for the formation of red blood cells. Vitamin B12 is found primarily in red meat (grass fed beef, lamb, buffalo). It is also found in seafood including mussels, salmon, clams, crab, and shrimp, lobster, halibut and scallops as well as ostrich and yogurt.
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Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral that is found in almost every cell and stimulates the activity of approximately 100 enzymes. Zinc supports a healthy immune system, is needed for wound healing, helps maintain your sense of taste and smell, and is needed for DNA synthesis. Zinc also supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence. Zinc is found in a variety of foods including pumpkin seeds, oysters, beef, shrimp, yogurt, ostrich and lamb.
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Arginine
Arginine is a nonessential amino acid. It can be manufactured by the human body, and does not need to be obtained directly through the diet. Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones (including growth hormone). Arginine is found in a wide variety of foods, including: dairy products (e.g. cottage cheese, ricotta, milk, yogurt, whey protein drinks), beef, pork (e.g. bacon, ham), poultry (e.g. chicken and turkey light meat), wild game (e.g. pheasant, quail), seafood (e.g. halibut, lobster, salmon, shrimp, snails, tuna in water) as well as vegatrian sources including wheat germ and flour, buckwheat, granola, oatmeal, nuts (coconut, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, pine nuts, peanuts), seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower), chick peas, cooked soybeans, and chocolate.
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Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a fatty acid found primarily in the meat and dairy products of ruminants. While technically conjugated linoleic acid is a trans fat, research shows that that it is not harmful in the same fashion as other trans fatty acids, and is in fact but is beneficial. CLA is a "conjugated system", and in the United States, trans linkages in a conjugated system are not counted as trans fat for the purposes of nutritional regulations and labeling. Research shows kangaroo meat has the highest concentration of CLA when compared with other foods. Grass-fed beef (as well as buffalo and lamb) are good sources, and contain much more CLA than those from grain-fed animals. In fact, products of grass fed animals can produce 300-500% more CLA than cows fed the typical diet of 50% hay and silage, with 50% grain. Eggs are also rich in CLA. Because CLA is heat-stable, it is not destroyed during cooking.
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Iron
Iron is a mineral that plays an important role in oxygen delivery to tissues. It is necessary for the production of hemoglobin in red blood cells, and is involved in the production of ATP (the basic unit of energy in the body). It is also essential for the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. There are two forms of dietary iron: heme and nonheme. Heme iron is derived from hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells. Heme iron is found in animal foods that originally contained hemoglobin, such as red meats, fish, and poultry. Iron in plant foods such as lentils and beans is arranged in a chemical structure called nonheme iron.
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