Tuesday, September 16, 2014

B vitamins, your mental health & your wellbeing

B vitamins, your mental health & your well-being

by Michael Edwards 

(NaturalNews) B vitamins are essential to many functions of the body. They aid in breaking down simple carbohydrates into glucose, the fuel for the brain and the body. They help manufacture new red blood cells and help them carry iron and create hemoglobin. And although these functions are vital to life, the most dramatic benefits of B vitamins are seen in relation to the brain and nervous system.

Deficiencies in B vitamins run the gamut from simple fatigue all the way to death. In between these extremes lie a host of symptoms and diseases including many mental health issues from depression, anxiety, mood swings, and irritability to paranoia, dementia, delusions, and psychosis.

B vitamins help you sleep, calm you down, help you think, and improve your mood.

How to improve mood and mental health with B vitamins

If you are dealing with any of these issues, diet is the first solution. B vitamins in their natural form are destroyed by processing foods. There is no place for processed foods in a truly healthy diet. Processed foods are generally filled with trans fats, GMOs, sugar or high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. If you are dealing with any mental health issue, a clean, healthy diet is the first and most important treatment.

Clean out your cupboard, your pantry, and your freezer. Get rid of your processed foods. Buy real food and buy organic as much as possible. All of your meat should be organic. When you are eating at the top of the food chain, you are ingesting the product of that animal's diet. If the cow was raised on GMO feed, do you really want to eat it? Also, avoid all farm raised fish. Their feed is garbage as well. Animal protein is the only food source for B12, which is vital for the brain and nervous system. Make sure you buy food that is top quality, not from tortured animals raised on adulterated foods and antibiotics.

Fill your refrigerator and pantry with raw, organic fruits and vegetables. Beans and lentils are high in B vitamins. Grains must be whole. White rice, for instance, has had the outer layer removed--the outer layer filled with B vitamins.

Too often we rely on few foods, our favorites, to make up our diet. Experiment. Broaden your horizons and include new, nutrient dense foods. Eighty percent of your diet should consist of raw, organic, fruits and vegetables. This means eating one big salad a day with as many different veggies as you can cram into it or you can snack on lots of cut up veggies. Green smoothies are good, too, as long as they do not replace whole foods. You need the fiber for digestion and for promoting healthy bacteria in the gut.

B vitamins are water soluble, which means we do not store them in our fat tissues the way we store fat soluble vitamins. B12 is the only exception; it is stored in the liver. Since we do not store the other B vitamins, we need to eat good sources of B vitamins each day.

B Vitamin Supplementation

If you suffer from digestive disorders like Celiac disease or Crohn's disease you should seriously consider supplementation. These conditions make it difficult for your body to assimilate B vitamins. Also, age is a determining factor. Supplementation is also strongly recommended after age 50 due to a decrease in assimilation. And if you suffer from PMS, anxiety, OCD, depression, or any form of mental illness, discuss B vitamin supplementation with your health care provider.

If you do choose to supplement, know that our bodies do not utilize synthetic vitamins as well as whole food vitamins. Make sure your vitamins are from a good source. And don't freak out when your pee turns orange or bright yellow. B vitamins do that. Think about it this way: it's a good way to know if you remembered to take your vitamins!

Along with B vitamins, we need a multitude of nutrients that just aren't available in most of our topsoil anymore. Make sure you're taking a holistic approach with your health. More than any one supplement, the foundation should be a healthy diet and one great whole food multivitamin/mineral. Here is a recipe for the best multivitamin/mineral nutrition formula I know of, and you can make your own at home. For more information on B vitamin supplementation and symptoms of B vitamin deficiencies, check out Mental health, physical health & B Vitamins.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Antioxidants

Antioxidants


Strawberries (md)
Our bodies are battlegrounds against infection and diseases. Normal body functions such as breathing or physical activity and other lifestyle habits such as smoking produce substances called free radicals that attack healthy cells. When these healthy cells are weakened, they are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers. Antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E and carotenoids, which include beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein, help protect healthy cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Carotenoids

Among the 600 or more carotenoids in foods, beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein are well-known leaders in the fight to reduce the damage from free radicals. Foods high in carotenoids may be effective allies against prostate cancer (beta-carotene); cancers of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon and rectum (lycopene); and may help decrease your risk of macular degeneration (lutein).
Foods high in carotenoids include red, orange, deep-yellow and some dark-green leafy vegetables, like tomatoes, carrots, spinach, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, winter squash and broccoli.

Vitamin E

Research has demonstrated the broad role of vitamin E in promoting health. The main role of vitamin E is as an antioxidant. It helps protect your body from cell damage that can lead to cancer, heart disease and cataracts as we age. Vitamin E works with other antioxidants like vitamin C to offer protection from some chronic diseases. Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, salad dressings, margarine, wheat germ, whole-grain products, seeds, nuts and peanut butter.

Vitamin C

Perhaps the best-known antioxidant, vitamin C offers a wide-variety of health benefits, including protecting from infection and damage to body cells, helping produce collagen (the connective tissue that holds bones and muscles together); protecting your body from bruising by keeping capillary walls and blood vessels firm; and helping in the absorption of iron and folate.
To take advantage of these benefits, eat foods rich in vitamin C like citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits and tangerines), strawberries, sweet peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and potatoes.

Challenges to Healthful Eating

The best way to build a healthful eating plan is to eat well-balanced meals and snacks each day and to enjoy a wide variety of foods. Eating at least 2 cups of fruits and 2 ½ cups of vegetables daily is a good start for healthful living.
However, there may be circumstances that make healthful eating a challenge. If you are on a severely restricted low-calorie weight loss diet (less than 1,200 calories per day) or are of child-bearing age or just don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, a multivitamin or mineral supplement may be beneficial. Ask a registered dietitian or your doctor whether you need a supplement. A registered dietitian can evaluate your eating pattern and determine whether a supplement is right for you.

Thanks :http://www.eatright.org/public/content.aspx?id=6792

6 Simple Ways to Improve Your Liver Functioning

6 Simple Ways to Improve Your Liver Functioning

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The liver is enormously important to the body, but many people do not realize just how essential it is until something goes wrong. Its most important function is act as one of the body’s filters to help remove toxins such as pesticides, heavy metals or even the by-products of medicines from the body to help prevent dangerous build-ups of these substances. Nourishing the liver is simple to do and enormous health benefits can be reaped from it. Below are six ways to love the liver.
Hydrate
To help the liver drive toxins out of the body, drink 8-10 glasses of filtered water a day. Starting the day out with a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon added is also a great way to bolster the liver’s detoxifying functions. This is because the lemon juice stimulate the liver to make bile, which the body uses as a vehicle to get rid of unwanted substances.
Love Your Greens
Make sure to include plenty of liver-nourishing vegetables in the diet. These include leafy green vegetables, beets, cabbage, kale, arugula, collards and other similar veggies. That is why they often appear on the menu of a liver detox regimen. Sulfur-rich veggies like garlic, onions and broccoli will also boost liver function.
Massage
This might sound strange, but a little DIY massage can also improve liver health. Lying flat on the back, get comfortable and then gentle massage the portion of the abdomen below the right lower rib, where the liver and gallbladder are located. This will help improve circulation to the area.
Avoid Overburdening
Even for people leading a healthy lifestyle, the liver has a lot of work to do. Over-consumption of alcohol or use of over-the-counter pain killers can add substantially to its workload and causes problems like cirrhosis in the course of time. As a matter of fact, though, the number one cause of liver failure is not alcoholism but chronic use of pain killers, with acetaminophen being particularly notorious for this.
Take Liver-Nourishing Supplements
Apart from a healthy diet and lots of water, it is also possible to nourish the liver with the use of certain supplements. Try 45 mg of turmeric, 400mg of milk thistle or 400 mg of dandelion extract daily to keep the liver healthy and happy.
Eat a Mineral-Rich Diet
Optimum liver function is dependent upon adequate levels of a variety of minerals in the body. To achieve this, eat a mineral rich diet and/or use a multi-mineral supplement. If using a such a supplement, be sure to look for one which contain magnesium, calcium, potassium, copper, sodium, zinc, manganese, and iron.
None of these suggestions are complicated or expensive to do. However, the benefits from them to someone’s overall health can be enormous and have big effects on one’s immune system, energy levels and even longevity.
Thanks to :http://blogs.naturalnews.com/6-simple-ways-improve-liver-functioning/