Category: Nutrition Supplements

>> SPICE IT UP Garlic contains allylic sulfides, compounds shown in lab studies, to block the growth of cancer cells and kill them outright. While eating the herb raw ensures the full power of these compounds, few people find it appealing. Cooked garlic is less pungent and therefore easier to consume. But take not: Unless the herb is chopped or crushed and allowed to stand for at least 10 minutes before cooking, heat will destory much of the enzyme that unlocks its cancer-fighting compounds. The verdict: It’s your preference. If you cook it, crush it and let it sit while you prep other food.

No bones about the fact that calcium builds strong bones, healthy teeth. Other than keeping our skeletal strong, it keeps our heart rhythm steady and helps muscles contract. Bones act as storehouse of calcium and our body withdraws from bank whenever blood calcium levels dip.

Bone Tale

• We do not up all calcium we ingest. During pregnancy and childhood our bodies act as sponge in soaking calcium.
• With increased age our absorption decreases. Calcium absorption does not happen alone.
• Without enough vitamin D, the intestines cannot soak, calcium from the diet. Vitamin D forms naturally in the body when exposed to sunlight; 15 minutes of sun every day is sufficient. Vitamin D , rich foods include egg yolks, saltwater fish and liver.
• Vitamin C in citrus fruits enhances calcium absorption.
• When it comes to soaking calcium homemade yoghurt is better than milk. The lactic acid in yoghurt maximizes calcium absorption.
• Magnesium can help improve calcium absorption and may help maintain bone density in those individuals at risk for excessive bone loss. Rich sources include -nuts, beans, apples, bananas, leafy-greens and yoghurt.
• Other than dairy products, leafy greens, red beans, almonds, soy, cabbage and cauliflower are good sources of calcium too.
• Half a cup of spinach has about 120 milligrams of calcium but our body will absorb only a miniscule portion of that. The oxalate in spinach will hamper with the absorption of calcium. Leafy greens like mustard are less on oxalic acid, which improves calcium absorption.
• Beware! Caffeine, cigarette, cola, salt steal calcium from bones.
• When taking a supplement space it between meals and through out the day for better absorption.
• A supplement at bedtime may add extra benefit as bone-building process occurs at night during sleep.

Herbal dietary supplements contain herbs (a type of herb on its own or in a mixture), used for therapeutic therapies and remedies. Just because the ingredient of a dietary supplement is herbal, this does not mean that all herbal dietary supplements are safe herbal supplements. This article will enlighten you on the facts about herbal supplements.

Why Herbal Dietary Supplements

More and more people are turning to herbal dietary supplements as a holistic and natural way of treating and healing the body is more popular nowadays. People are encouraged to draw their own conclusions and opt for over the counter herbal remedies. There are herbal remedies available for nearly any condition nowadays. A few examples of the most popular herbal supplements are:

Astralagus

Astralagus root is said to enhance and stimulate the immune system, making it less likely for you to catch a cold or virus. Claiming to help people with a poor appetite and weight loss, fatigue and feverish chills. Relieving anxiety and insomnia this is one of the most popular herbal supplements.

Dong Quai

One of the moist important Chinese herbs for herbal medicine is the Dong Quai root. Powdered and dried the dong quai herb is used to clean the blood and regulate the menstrual cycle. The supplement is mainly used to balance the female hormones and helps to balance symptoms caused by Pre Menstrual Tension (PMT) and the menopause.

Evening Primrose

Evening primrose oil is another very popular herbal remedy offering relief (when taken daily) for symptoms and conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, breast pain, hot flashes, premenstrual syndrome, eczema, and other skin problems to diabetic neuropathy, cancer, high blood cholesterol levels, and heart disease. Evening primrose oil contains gamma-linolenic acid, balancing hormonal disturbances in the body. Some people suffering from diabetes, Multiple sclerosis or cancer have trouble producing this acid in their own bodies. They might benefit from taking these supplements too.

Flax Seed

Flax seed is a much-used herbal remedy for many ailments and flax seed oil benefits are widely known nowadays. The oil in flax seed, called alpha linolenic acid, is a fat of the omega 3 fatty acid type (and can for example also be found in fish such as salmon). Flax seed lowers cholesterol levels in the body and is beneficial to people suffering from high blood pressure. The oil keeps the platelets in the blood from ticking and clotting and thus reduces the risk of a heart attack.

Rhodiola

A tonic made from rhodiola extract used as a remedy against fatigue and stress and as an antioxidant to keep the blood clean and to promote a healthy heart. This remedy originates from China and it has gained importance now in the west

Calming Herbal Supplements

There are certain herbal supplements, which help to produce calmness in you when you are finding yourself impatient or not relaxed.

Kava Kava

The kava root produces a syrup (or powder that can be made into capsules) aiding relaxation, promote sleep and apparently increases sociability by making people more relaxed. The herb stems from the South Pacific region.

Valerian

Valerian is used to relieve anxiety and helps to relax enough to have good nights sleep. Valerian root also helps women coping with bad menstrual cramps to relax. Valerian comes in different treatment options, the dried herb can be used as a tea, and there are capsules and sugar coated tablets.

Herbs to Boost Immunity

The well known herb Echinacea helps to prevent the common cold and its symptoms like a sore throat or a blocked nose. Echinacea is a tested and safe herbal supplement and can even be taken once the first symptoms of a cold appear, this herb will stop you from developing a full-blown cold.

Goldenseal

This herb helps to prevent infections when the bodies’ immune system is low, and will keep a common cold from developing into an inflammation of the mucus membranes in the nose and throat. This herb also reduces the time that the cold will take before it disappears.

Kombucha

The kombucha mushroom is in effect not a mushroom but a fungus of which a tea is brewed, the tea boosts the immune system and help to upgrade your energy levels by allowing helpful bacteria and antioxidants to enter the body.

The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Diet Fads is certainly no exception.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you’re fully informed about Diet Fads, keep reading.

It might be actresses such as Suzanne Sommers and Jane Fonda, or models such as Christie Brinkley or Kathy Ireland. It seems that a number of celebrities today offer their own weight loss programs. The programs are appealing because we see these various svelte celebrities and we want to have bodies just like them. The celebrities are also highly likable, so we have a predisposition to be accepting of their products.

However, did you ever stop to think whether these celebrities have any nutritional training? Do they have medical training? Is the information that they offer nutritionally sound? Or is it just a good sales pitch?

Nutrition experts Annette B. Natow and Jo-Ann Heslin, authors of the book Get Skinny the Smart Way, say that consumers should be leery of celebrity-inspired diet books. They point out that such books are often based upon nutritional fiction and that, while the diets outlined in these books may result in short-term weight loss, they can be far from healthy in the long run. Therefore, you might consider passing up the celebrity diet books and opting for those written by nutritional experts instead.

But celebrities aren’t the only ones preaching fad diets. For instance, there’s the so-called grapefruit diet which recommends consuming a grapefruit prior to each meal. Another fad is the cabbage soup diet, which requires you to consume all the cabbage soup you can handle. Other fads call for eating all the eggs you can…consuming only raw foods…or fasting every other day. Such diets are not only based on nutritional misinformation—they can also be dangerous.

For instance, let’s take a closer look at the cabbage soup diet. No major health organization has endorsed it. Moreover, the American Heart Association disapproves of it, noting that it can actually harm you. Promoters of this diet say that you can lose as much as 15 pounds a week by following it—what they don’t say is that most of that weight is water weight. Once you begin eating normally again, you will see your weight rise once more. Some of the side-effects of the cabbage soup diet include a feeling of weakness, stomach pains, and diarrhea.

Yet another questionable diet approach is what’s known as food combining. Such a diet assumes that you are overweight because you are not eating the right combination of food. The requirements of such a diet can seem quite arbitrary. For instance, you might be told that you can eat a banana only in the morning. This is rubbish, since your stomach can deal with a variety of different foods at one time. The idea behind such a diet is to eat food with fewer calories, but there are other methods you can use to accomplish the same goals.

Some companies even claim that you can shed pounds while you dream. They say that, if you use their product right before bedtime, you will lose weight. In actuality, no company can make such a claim with any degree of credibility. It is impossible to burn a large number of calories while snoozing. In other cases, you may be tempted to try to lose weight by consuming special milkshakes or candy bars. In essence, these products are just milk and candy with certain vitamins and minerals added. However, one rarely feels satisfied after consuming these products. As a result, you may find yourself actually consuming additional calories during the rest of the day. While you might be able to theoretically lose weight in the short-term, you’ll find it difficult to maintain the weight loss over the long haul.

The fact of the matter is that there is a great deal of money that can be made through the sale and marketing of diet products. As long as America has a large contingent of overweight people, companies will try to make a profit off of overeating. It is up to you to be savvy enough to recognize a diet fad when you see it and opt for a different approach to losing weight. You’ll find that there are really no short-cuts to weight loss. Any successful diet program takes time, patience, and determination, along with a willingness to change your eating patterns.

Knowing enough about Diet Fads to make solid, informed choices cuts down on the fear factor. If you apply what you’ve just learned about Diet Fads, you should have nothing to worry about.

Read the label of processed foods. Many manufacturers fortify their processed foods with vitamins. In some cases, you may find that the applesauce actually has more vitamins and a higher content than a raw apple. It’s important to note that the vitamins you’re getting from the applesauce aren’t natural to the apple, but they’re present nonetheless.

It’s easy to tell the vitamin content of your favorite breakfast cereal, the fruit juice you had for a mid-morning snack or that granola bar you had on the way home from work. You tend to watch what you eat, so you also read those labels to be sure you’re eating snacks that are high in the vitamins you most need for your body. But what happens when you grab an apple? Most fresh fruits don’t come with a label so it’s sometimes difficult to know just what you’re eating. You’ll find some very helpful charts that list vitamin content of most fruits and vegetables, but keep some important facts in mind.

If you’re really looking to get the most from particular vegetables, fruits and other products, take time to do some research into the particular food you’re interested in or the vitamins you’re looking to increase. You may be surprised to find out that handling, cooking and choosing make a big difference in the vitamins you actually consume.

What is St John’s Wort?

St John’s Wort Benefits

St. Johns Wort today has been found to be very beneficial in healing wounds and is especially good for dirty, septic wounds. St. Johns Wort has been used in case of putrid leg ulcers, that noting heals. Like the leach that was used not too many years ago for wound cleansing it does not destroy the healthy tissues and healthy cells but it cleans the dirt out of septic wounds. It helps reduce the inflammation in septic sores, in boils, in cellulite and lymhangitis.

The compound Hypericin was isolated from St. Johns Wort in 1942 and has been used as an anti-depressant for emotionally disturbed people. This tranquilizing quality from small quantities hypericin increase blood flow to stressed tissue. There is a reduced capillary fragility and enhanced uterine tone due to the increased Hypotensive blood flow.

St John’s Wort Side Effects

The use of St. Johns Wort has been shown to demonstrate a side effect producing a photosensitivity. Hypericin is absorbed in the intestines and concentrates near the skin. An allergic reaction takes place when those with light fair skin are exposed sunlight. That exposure causes tissue damage and in some cases death has resulted. While taking St. Johns Wort one should avoid strong sunlight whether the skin is dark or light. There is a photosensitizing substance produced under the skin by this exposure to sunlight that causes the skin to burn.

Benefits

• relieves mild to moderate depression and anxiety.
• promotes restful sleep.
• improves capillary circulation.
• increases cardiac circulation.
• eases gastrointestinal distress.
• relieves discomfort associated with premenstrual syndrome.
• fights retroviruses.

Natural Herbs

Minerals are as important as vitamins when it comes to overall health and well-being. Since all enzymatic activities in the body require minerals, your body wouldn’t be able to use vitamins and other nutrients without them. Calcium, Magnesium, Chromium, Iron, Selenium and Zinc are just a few of the numerous minerals essential to continued health.

For years the supplement market has been dominated by vitamins, but vitamins and amino acids are useless without minerals because all enzyme activities involve minerals. Minerals for healthy bones, organs, and tissue minerals are needed to maintain the delicate cellular fluid balance, to form bone and blood cells, to provide for electrochemical nerve activity, and to regulate muscle tone and activity (including organ muscles like the heart, stomach, liver, etc.)

Minerals act as catalysts for many biological reactions within the body, including muscle response, the transmission of messages through the nervous system, the production of hormones, digestion, and the utilization of nutrients in foods.

Minerals are primarily stored in bone and muscle tissue so toxicity is a possibility. Toxicity risks increase when one isolated mineral is ingested without any supportive cofactor nutrients. Such situations of mineral toxicity are quite rare, because toxic levels accumulate only if massive overdoses persist for a prolonged period of time.

Benefits
• maintains healthy bones, organs and tissue
• regulates muscle tone
• assists with the formation of bone and blood cells

here a number of different specific hair vitamins and minerals that can play a major role in helping a person have a healthy head of hair. If a person does not have sufficient hair vitamins then the deficiencies can lead to thinning hair or even total baldness in the most severe cases. The fact is that the state of a person’s hair reflects the overall condition of their body. Extra hair vitamins are likely to be needed if a person is generally unwell or is undernourished as their hair will show damage too and may even stop growing.

Some of the most important hair vitamins that a person needs to have healthy hair include B6, biotin, inositol and folic acid. The best way to ensure that a person receives enough of these essential hair vitamins are for them to be taken as vitamin supplements. It is not just hair vitamins that are necessary for healthy hair though as there are a number of minerals that are essential, including magnesium, sulphur, silica and zinc.

The most essential hair vitamin is vitamin a but the best form of this is to include in the diet is beta-carotene. This is because the hair vitamin A can be toxic if consumed in large quantities but beta-carotene has no such problems and is converted by the body into vitamin A that can be used to promote healthy hair. Of course, vitamin A is not just a hair vitamin, it is also needed for a number of other functions including normal growth of bones, skin, nails and the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres.

Protein is another essential hair vitamin. This is because hair itself is essentially protein. The amount of this hair vitamin that a person consumes in their diet can affect the hair directly. If a lot of protein is included in a person’s diet then this hair vitamin will lead to improved hair growth and a far fuller head of hair. However, a person who has a diet that is lacking in this hair vitamin will suffer from thinning hair and slow hair growth.

Of course, it is not just hair vitamins and minerals that are needed to ensure that a person has healthy, strong hair. There are a number of researchers who have found that there are direct links between the overall health of a person and the condition of their hair. If a person is under a lot of stress or suffers from a lack of sleep then their hair is also likely to suffer and it is likely that their diet will not provide enough hair vitamins to counter these effects. Hair vitamin and mineral supplements can be the solution to weak and damaged hair.

For more on VITMAINS

Carrot juice has a number of health benefits. The carrot provides what is certainly the most important basic juice. The yellow color is due to carotene. Another name for this form of carotene, the transform, is pro vitamin A. Many authors write that carrots contain a lot of vitamin A. This is not actually true; what the carrot does contain is the pro vitamin. That means a substance that is converted by the body into the vitamin itself.

Carrot juice plays the most important part in an infant’s supply of vitamin A. When carrot juice is consumed jointly with milk, the utilization of carotene as vitamin A is considerably increased. A carrot and milk juice is the ideal vitamin A source for infants and can in no case lead 10 the risk of the child having too much A.

Carrots are widely used. Indeed it is estimated that in Germany carrots account for 10% of the total vegetable consumption. From the carrot juice point of view, the varieties to be employed are ideally those with the most carotene. It is fortunate that the pro vitamin is strongly colored for this means that so long as you use good colored carrots they are likely to be the best nutritionally speaking too.

As a general rule, early carrots are pale and low in carotene. Because carotene is not water soluble, but is fat soluble, there is not a very great deterioration in the vitamin content on storage.

Nursing mothers are well advised, for the sake of the quality of their milk, to take carrot juice throughout lactation. When the baby is on its way it is good sense not only to drink the juice but also to nibble a carrot when you feel hungry. For although a good sized one will provide your minimum requirement of vitamin A, 7oz (200g) of carrot contain only 50 calories, which cannot be considered to be a fattening snack.

The carrot is recorded as being used in medicine by the early Greeks and has been cherished ever since. Its juice is one of the most delicious and healthful, and alone or in combinations should be in every daily diet providing, as it does, the essential vitamin A, without the saturated fats with which this vitamin is associated in eggs and butter.

For more on Vegetables and Vitamins

Magnesium is a necessary mineral that not many people think
about. However, magnesium is an extremely important
component of our diet. Deficiencies of magnesium can be
quite dangerous to your health. It’s essential to eat a
healthy and balanced diet, but it is also important to know
which vitamins and magnesium should be included in our diet.

All the cells in you body use magnesium. Magnesium keeps
bones strong, helps maintain nerve and muscle functioning,
and, perhaps most important, keeps the heart beating
steadily. It’s easy to see why a deficiency of this mineral
is dangerous to your health. Magnesium can be found in
naturally in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seed, and some
whole grains.

Your body only requires a small amount of magnesium, but
there is also only a minute amount of magnesium found in
most of the foods listed above. This is why it is so
critical to eat a balanced diet full of healthy and
nutritious foods.

It’s fairly uncommon to experience a magnesium deficiency,
but symptoms include disorientation, confusion, depression,
abnormal heart beat, loss of appetite, cramps, numbness, and
seizures. Magnesium is often leaves the body though the
urination and an over- consumption of alcohol can cause
magnesium deficiencies.

To find out what the recommended daily amount of magnesium
is you can ask your doctor or nutritionist. There are also
many books and websites that can help you determine how much
magnesium you should be consuming each day. This number
differs for men, women, different age groups, pregnant
women, and lactating women. Knowing how much magnesium you
should be taking, and how much is in certain foods, is a
great way to prevent any deficiencies.

If you think it’s possible that you aren’t getting enough
magnesium in your diet, consider taking a magnesium
supplement or a multi vitamin. If you have a deficiency in
magnesium you may not be getting enough of other vitamins
and minerals as well. The best way to get all vitamins and
minerals is fresh and healthy foods, but the next best thing
may be a multi vitamin.

Drastic changes in your eating habits should be considered
if you find yourself relying on multi vitamins for all your
dietary needs. There are a number of reasons that could
require you to take a magnesium supplement. For example you
may need to take a supplement to ensure you have enough
magnesium in your diet if you have chronic mal-absorption.

Some studies have shown that high blood pressure or
hypertension can be lowered by magnesium. Whether or not
this is true it cannot hurt to increase the number of
vegetables and fruits you eat each day. Metabolic changes
that may cause heart attacks or strokes have been linked to
Magnesium deficiencies. As you can see, magnesium is a very
important mineral to have in your diet.

Be wary of taking too many supplements, laxatives, and
antacids. There is the danger of too much magnesium. There
is little risk of any overdose if you are getting magnesium
through your diet. However if you take too many supplements
there is the danger of magnesium toxicity. The symptoms of
too much magnesium are very similar to those of magnesium
deficiencies.

Magnesium is an essential mineral, and you make careful to
get the proper amounts of fruits and vegetables in your diet
daily. If you eat a balanced diet, chances are you will
never need to worry about a magnesium deficiency.