A Tribute to Energetic Soy, Natural Vitamins and the Power of Choice

We should all be thankful for many blessings in life. People in our lives are right up there at the top. Also important is our own self, and our physical bodies that are our own responsibility.

Do you ever feel like you have little control over what happens in your daily life? Some weeks things can spiral and there are more challenges than easy, happy times. Relationships may be a struggle to manage although there is help for that (not the focus of this blog). In one area of my life I know I have control and just this week I tested that.

I guess it is my personality to like to be able to make my own choices and navigate to the desired outcome – to have some ‘power’!! Soy is one such success in my life (benefits of soy at end of article). I have performed
my own personal experiments with natural supplements that I take daily – and what they can do for me.

I take natural vitamins and other food supplements daily because I have seen the studies that prove they make me healthier and because they actually have made me healthier. Also, I like to have energy, focus, and no aches or pains. Plus, I don’t want to be sick.

Vitamins are my body’s insurance. As much as I hate paying for all of the other insurances in life such as home, auto, life, health, etc. – my vitamins are the first purchase every month. I get my money’s worth with that insurance because natural vitamins deliver healthy results.

Hopefully you believe that what you feed your body is what will fuel your body and your health. Junk in and junk out – so they say! Vitamins are my insurance because we don’t get the amount of vitamins from our food today as we did many years ago. Still, the right food choices can create good health or bring on the bad.

Processed, high sugar and high fat food diets are not likely to deliver stellar results. Choices. I don’t mean for this blog article to be about ranting or pointing fingers, and yet it is hard to watch people make bad choices and then have to live with what they get.

A little homework, tapping into the abundance of information that is now available to us about healthy eating and healthy bodies, and some personal testing can give you your own personal results that make for happier, more successful days. Doesn’t it feel so much better to feel good each day instead of dragging yourself through it?

Last week I started my Monday morning without my soy (Cinch) shake for breakfast. Previous protein shake-less mornings didn’t go as smoothly as I like but yet I still like to test and re-test the results I get.

So I have a whole grain bagel with cream cheese one morning, cereal another morning (a combination of a high fiber cereal with Cheerios), and just coffee and whole wheat toast one morning. These may seem like typical breakfasts for some (on weekends I will take the time to cook some eggs for breakfast).

For much of my life I was not a ‘breakfast person’. I was not hungry when I woke up and I did not want food. When I started to learn more about nutrition and natural health, I started to think differently.

I may not want a morning meal but my body needs it. You may have heard the same and not think much about it because we all think that we know our bodies and what’s best for us. But how many of us are doctors or scientists who have studied what a healthy body needs throughout the day?

We may think more that choices or the responsibility to care for our physical body is more about what we think feels right for us, or simply what tastes better or what we enjoy for the moment. I am not talking about those kinds of choices – in regard to our bodies, we have the choice to eat for health and then enjoy the results we get in terms of feeling energetic, not getting sick, fighting off diseases of aging

What’s different for me with breakfast – and may be very different from what you experience – is that those other breakfast foods I mentioned do not ‘hold me over’ until lunch time the way that my soy protein shake will do. What I notice most is ‘the difference’.

When I drink my soy shake (and I take my vitamins with it the same as I do with any breakfast I have), I don’t FEEL hungry for 4 to 5 hours. I don’t get the desire to snack all morning. I am not even thinking about food.

However, when I have these other foods for breakfast – and I do enjoy these foods – I am still looking for more to eat in order to feel satisfied. It’s not the same outcome if I happen to have those other breakfast foods for lunch. It seems like they last longer when I do. Since I enjoy them, I eat them for lunch or even dinner.

I believe that what I experience is something I remember learning about a long time ago. It has to do with your blood sugar levels and how you start your day. While I may not understand all of the science behind it, the body seems to react differently when you start the day by balancing your blood sugar.

Your day can be very different in terms of moods, energy levels and calories consumed when you compare what you eat and when you eat it. These are choices we have – power we have – and what I like is that we can FEEL the difference.

What works for me may not be what works for you. The bottom line is to ask yourself if what you are doing is working for you? If it’s not, look for answers. Science has delivered us those answers. We can feel energized. We can feel focused and productive. We can be healthier and we can fight aging.

If you drag through your mornings or even your entire work day, it doesn’t feel so good. When it happens day after day you may begin to accept it – to ‘settle’ for something that is not the way it has to be. It might be time to explore solutions.

The choice is yours.

For those who would like to know more about SOY, here is a start*:

Protein is essential for building and retaining muscle, for tissue repair, for immunity and almost every function in your body.

Protein can help ward off hunger and BOOST ENERGY.

Soy protein is a plant based protein that is healthier than fatty, high cholesterol protein sources.

Soy can help aid in weight loss, prevent osteoporosis, balance hormones, reduce the risk of heart disease, prevent top cancer killers of men and women, and prevent gallstone formation.

Soy is helpful to diabetics because animal protein may be limited if renal failure is a concern.

Soy is a low fat protein source that contains isoflavones, or phytoestrogens, that are very important to your health. Soy is the only plant to contain a significant amount of the two most important isoflavones: genistein and daidzein.

Isoflavones help fight cancer by preventing normal cells to change into cancerous cells, and controlling enzymes that are associated with cancer growth. Soy isoflavones can block new blood vessels from developing into cancer and help prevent the spread of cancer to other organs.

Carbohydrates are ranked by a glycemic index which measures how fast or slow they break down sugars – slow is best to keep blood sugar levels balanced in your body. Soy shake sources with high quality carbohydrate ingredients are low glycemic and break down sugars slowly to keep blood sugar levels low.

Soy helps people with frequent fatigue, colds, flus or infections, poor muscle tone, mood swings, irritability, muscle weakness, dry hair, slow wound healing, splitting nails, exercise recovery, pms symptoms, menopause, hypoglycemic tendencies, supplement vegetarian diets.

Soy protein sources that are alcohol processed remove the beneficial isoflavones and can cross-contaminate with the chemicals used for that processing. Be sure to find a soy source that is NOT alcohol processed.

Non-GMO Soy Protein will ensure that soybeans are free from exposure to genetically modified soybeans. Natural, quality soy sources will help deliver the whole goodness of this plant source.

Feel free to post your experiences with soy, including any benefits I haven’t listed.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent illness or disease.