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.

Antioxidants

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

• 4

By Christine . S

Posted Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 02:30pm EDT

Keywords: Improve Your Liver Functioning, liver, Ways to Improve Your Liver Functioning

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/

Eat Some Garlic

Eat Some Garlic. In animal studies, garlic increased both testosterone levels and increased 

hormonal production of testosterone. Garlic’s secret ingredient for boosting testosterone is called allicin. It 

breaks down quickly, so it’s tough to get a good amount from a supplement. 

My favorite way to get garlic is to brew a bedtime elixir of four mashed garlic cloves steeped in eight ounces 

of hot water and flavored with the juice of a lemon. To ward off garlic’s tendency to make your breath smell 

“garlicky,” eat some neutralizing fennel seeds, like those served at Indian restaurants.

Rajgir a best nutrition grain ....from IE

http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/third-millennium-grain-highprotein-amaranth-is-rich-in-iron-calcium/1111172/0

 High-protein amaranth is rich in iron, calcium

Ishi Khosla : Sat May 04 2013, 16:05 hrs

Amaranth, commonly known as rajgira (king seed), ramdana (seed sent by God) and keerai, is regaining popularity in India. Believed to be of Indian origin, the grain is from America. Native to the ancient Aztec and Inca civilisations, amaranth was cultivated in the Andes mountains and in Mexico. With time, Amaranth faded into obscurity, as staple crops such as corn and wheat cultivation took over.

The American amaranth underwent a remarkable migration to Asia. In the last century, it became increasingly popular among hill tribes in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet and China.

Considering its nutritional properties, it is not difficult to understand why it is called the "third millennium grain". One of the most striking features is its exceptionally high protein content and quality. Unlike most conventional grains such as wheat, rice and corn — which are low in lysine — amaranth contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it an unusually complete protein source among grains.

Considering its high protein content, it is categorised as a pseudo-cereal. However, due to its readily digestible starch, it has a high glycemic index. To obtain maximum benefits, it is best combined with nuts, seeds, pulses, legumes and vegetables. In addition, amaranth is a relatively a good source of cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamin A, C and several B vitamins. It contains about four times as much calcium as wheat and twice as much iron and magnesium. Flavonoids (such as rutin and some phenolic acids as gallic acid, p-Hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillic acid) with anti-oxidant effects also occur in amaranth seeds and sprouts. Amaranth is gluten-free and easy to digest.

The health benefits attributed to amaranth include decreasing plasma cholesterol levels protecting the heart, stimulating the immune system, exerting an anti-cancer activity, reducing blood glucose levels and improving conditions of hypertension and anaemia. In addition, it has been reported to possess anti-allergic and anti-oxidant properties. Most of these properties are explained by the presence of bio-active compounds. Unsaturated fatty acids in amaranth may contribute to cholesterol lowering effects. Being a good source of magnesium, which helps relax blood vessels and prevents constriction and rebound dilation, it helps fight migraines.

Research has suggested that the amaranth grain can be used in the development of non-allergenic food products, with an added potential for use in fighting allergies. Amaranth can be baked, steamed or cooked as a cereal, ground into flour, pop like corn, sprout or toast, added to salads, casseroles, stir-fries, desserts or can even thicken your soups and stews. Amaranth flour can be added to breads, rotis, flour mixes, cookies, porridge, health bar or as fillers, toppings and beverages. Sprouting these seeds further increases their nutritional value. Sprouted seeds can be added to salads or juices. Amaranth, the nutrient-rich grain makes an excellent choice for everyone, especially for individuals with gluten sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome and wheat intolerance. Future research should be directed to epidemiological studies towards understanding the mechanisms of action and determining the minimum amount of amaranth that should be consumed in the diet in order to derive its benefits.

Does Less Housework by Women Lead to More Obesity?

Does Less Housework by Women Lead to More Obesity?

By Michael O'Riordan

Medscape Medical News

March 5, 2013 -- A new study adds yet more evidence that the decline in physical activity is contributing to the rise in obesity in the U.S. This study, however, is bound to cause some controversy, as researchers found the increase in obesity in women is tied to a falloff in the amount of housework they currently do compared with days gone by.

Published in PLoS One, the study shows that women were doing far less housework in 2010 than they were in 1965, and this has led to burning about 360 less calories per day. In 1965, women cooked, cleaned, and did laundry, among other household work, an average of 26 hours per week. In 2010, the amount of time spent doing the same work declined to 13 hours per week.

The researchers stress, though, that they are not suggesting women, or men, do more housework. Instead, the results should get people to think about how much energy they use throughout the day and also get policymakers to think about addressing the "calories out" aspect of obesity and the energy equation.  

"Our results show that we have engineered physical activity out of the workplace, out of the home, and out of our daily commute," says researcher Edward Archer, MD, of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, "and this has severe and dramatic consequences for our health. We need to find a way of reintegrating that activity to make up for the [decrease] in calories expended."

Calories In, Calories Out

The researchers used historical data to get a better idea of the amount of time spent on specific activities in the past. They found that the time spent doing housework declined from 25.7 hours per week in 1965 to 13.3 hours per week in 2010, with non-employed women cutting the amount of weekly housework by nearly 17 hours and working women by nearly seven hours.

The amount of energy used in household management declined 42% for non-employed women, down from 6,004 calories burned per week in 1965 to 3,486 calories burned per week in 2010 -- a weekly reduction of 2,518 calories.

"We found that non-employed women are spending about 360 calories less per day in physical activity, and if we look at obesity as calories in and calories out, this is a huge number of calories," Archer says. "It's about 15% of their total daily energy expenditure. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars studying diet and nutrition, which is the energy in, but we spend almost no money on the energy-expenditure portion of the equation. The most modifiable factor in the energy-balance equation is physical activity."

The researchers also found that the amount of time women spent watching television, and later using the computer, doubled from eight hours in 1965 to 16 hours in 2010.

Archer says the physical activity guidelines for health recommend 30 minutes per day, which is enough to lessen the risk of heart disease and stroke. However, this is not going to have much of an effect on weight and body fat. For that, the Institute of Medicine recommends at least an hour per day of moderate activity for weight maintenance, and at least 90 minutes to two hours of daily moderate exercise to lose weight.

Archer says that while patients complain they are not going to have enough time for that, he says the television is the biggest source of wasted time.

"The number one recommendation is to turn off the television and replace that time with walking and lifting weights," he says.

To see a version of this story for physicians, visit Medscape, the leading site for physicians and health care professionals.

Thanks to : http://women.webmd.com/

sharing a mail from friend who has achieved weight loss etc in 10 days...Ghataprabha Naturopathy Centre

RE:My Experience in Ghataprabha Naturopathy Centre in Karnataka State.

shrikumarmenon <shrikumarmenon@pnb.co.in>	7/11/13
to me

Dear Sir,

My experience was very good. I  had lost 5 Kgs, from 76 to 71 kgs. at the time of discharge. The atmosphere was very clean ,neat & homely. Many persons loose weight from 5 to 5.5 kgs ,on an average, depending on your body. Many persons who have BP, Diabetes, Cervical Spondylisis, Arthritis, Cholestrol related problems become normal when they leave the centre after 10 days. Even if they are on tablets, it gradually tapers off. It has a pollution free atmosphere & my expenses were Rs.8,200/- for 13 days in a special room, with 2 persons sharing. Everyday ,one has to get up at 5 a.m, go for walk 6a.m. to 7a.m.is Yoga& Jal  Neti. After that the doctor comes for round & your B.P.& weight is checked  on a daily basis. Treatments are Oil Massage, Jacuzzi, Under water Massage, Enema, Mud Treatments, Sauna, Whirlpool Bath, Spinal bath, depending on your ailment.Health related talks are given daily at 7 p.m. The facilties are quite good. Toilets, bathroom are clean & hygienic. All in all a good & refreshing experience & I plan to go every year. It is recommended for B.P.Diabetes patients that every six months the visit the centre. They have given the Maintainence diet ,to be maintained as far as possible.

Thanks & regards

Shrikumar Menon

9869966262