The Vitamin Breakdown

Vitamins are organic compounds that the human body cannot produce and therefore must acquire through the diet. To help maintain good health, humans need 13 different vitamins. These include: vitamin A, the various B and D vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin K. Deficiencies of these essential vitamins can cause the body to enter a diseased state. Deficiencies of different vitamins manifest themselves with differing diseased states. For example, night-blindness is linked to vitamin A deficiency, while Rickets is linked to vitamin D deficiency.



The relationship between foods and maintaining health has been recognized for centuries. For example, in 1747, Dr. James Lind discovered that citrus fruits prevented scurvy. Some stores of vitamins within the body can last well over a year, as is the case with vitamin B12. Others can deplete more rapidly—lasting only a couple of weeks. A vitamin can be either fat or water soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body. Often they need to be replenished more frequently. Fat-soluble vitamins, however, are stored in the body. Excessive intake of fat-soluble vitamins can cause toxicity in the body. Fat-soluble vitamins include A, E, D and K.



Today there is debate among experts over the benefits of vitamin supplements. Some believe supplements must be taken in conjunction with the daily diet. This is because many foods are processed and artificially enriched—which can reduce the nutrient level naturally found in these foods. Moreover, even fresh fruits and vegetables are picked prematurely and shipped long distances before arriving on grocery shelves. For this reason, some physicians recommend taking vitamins.



The US RDA is a standard set forth by the Food and nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council to help Americans determine a proper level of daily vitamin intake. It is important to note, however, that these levels are sometimes quite modest— intended to meet the nutrient needs of already healthy individuals. For some, these amounts may be lower than optimal. For example additional amounts of vitamins may be needed during illness. Consequently, the Board has also set two other values: the tolerable upper intake levels (UL) and the adequate intakes (AI). The UL values are designed to help people avoid over consumption. AL values are established when there is not enough scientific evidence to set an RDA.



It is important to note that different developmental stages and physiologies may require varying vitamin intakes. Children, adolescents, women, and men all have differing needs. Consulting a specialist is the best way to determine personal vitamin needs. Moreover, some supplements may negatively interact with prescription drugs. Therefore, all supplemental intakes should be discussed with a physician.



A proper balance of vitamin intake can enhance personal health and increase energy levels. These essential nutrients aid in the regulation of many bodily functions and can prevent illnesses. Their value must not be underestimated.



Ruth Stattmiller enjoys writing about the benefits of vitamins. Learn more at http://www.myvitaminguide.com/ .

Food for Good Prostate Health

The prostate gland has a reputation as a health destroyer. Hypertrophy of the prostate gland, which affects nearly every elderly male, strangles the urethra. This troublesome condition makes urination difficult and increases the risk of bladder infections and kidney damage.

However, there are many good foods that may already be a part of your everyday diet that can help thwart the onset of prostate problems.

Tomatoes, watermelons, red grapefruit, papaya and red berries are all great sources of lycopene, a health-promoting plant pigment known for its cancer-battling ability. It also promotes a strong immune system and helps support prostate health in men.

Though fresh are always an excellent option, the lycopene in cooked tomatoes is actually absorbed more readily by the body. It is also your ally in the battle against heart disease.

Quercetin, a flavonoid that forms the backbone of many other flavonoids, may have positive effects in combating or helping to prevent many different types of cancer, including prostate. It also acts as an antihistamine and has anti-inflammatory properties, which may be helpful in relieving the pain of an inflamed prostate.

Foods rich in quercetin include apples, black and green tea, onions, raspberries, red wine, red grapes, citrus fruits, broccoli and other leafy green vegetables, and cherries. Quercetin can also be found in honey and sap, including the type from eucalyptus and tea tree flowers.

It is vital to remember to get a healthy balance of foods to keep your prostate healthy, including antioxidants, vitamin E from nuts and seeds, and drink plenty of clear fluids to help flush the bladder.

Try to avoid caffeine, alcohol, and spicy foods. Keeping your weight in check will also help maintain a healthy prostate.

Health Benefits of Tea

Tea: It Does the Body Good

Studies that support the health benefits of tea drinking keep filling the headlines. There’s simply no denying that a daily spot of tea does the body good.

Even though researchers can’t quite agree on every aspect, I’m sold on the fact that a few cups a day will do its best to protect me from heart disease, a stroke, cancer, and more.

What Makes Tea Good for the Body?

Tea contains high levels of antioxidants, some of which are called polyphenols, flavonoids, and catechins, and all of which take on the “free radicals” in the body and prevent them from harming the healthy cells on board.

In other words, sending in antioxidants is disease prevention in its finest form. Antioxidants are ready and waiting not only in teas but also in several fruits, vegetables, nuts, meats, and even wines (see my health benefits of wine article).

If that were not enough, tea also contains flouride which benefits your teeth and has bacteria killing properties which helps control bad breath and the formation of plaque.

Are All Teas Equally Good for the Body?

This is a question researchers are still squabbling over. Does green tea have more antioxidants than black tea? Should I drink instant tea or loose leaf tea for better health benefits? Is hot tea better than iced tea? And here’s what it comes down to:

• Higher quality teas may have more catechin antioxidants than lower quality teas.
• White tea has more antioxidants than any other tea.
• Green tea has more catechin antioxidants than black tea since black tea goes through more processing.
• Unfermented rooibos tea has more polyphenol antioxidants than fermented rooibos.
• Freshly brewed teas have more polyphenol antioxidants than instant or bottled teas.
• More researchers seem to agree that brewed (cold or hot) or caffeinated tea has more antioxidants than instant teas.

Here’s a short preview of the hundreds of recent studies that boast the health benefits of tea and its antioxidants:

Heart Benefits:

• Study finds tea drinkers have lower blood pressure (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004).
• Tea may lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease (Journal of nutrition, 2003).
• Black tea may lower “bad” cholesterol (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beltsville Human nutrition Research Center, 2003).
• Tea consumption may help heart disease patients (Circulation: The Journal of the American Heart Association, 2001).

Cancer Prevention:

• Green tea could help stem esophageal cancer. (Harvard Medical School, 2004).
• Green and black tea can slow down the spread of prostate cancer (Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, 2004).
• Tea may protect against cancer caused by smoking. (Journal of Nutrition, 2003).
• Green tea and white tea fight colon cancer (Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University study, Carcinogenesis, 2003).
• Hot tea may lower risk of some skin cancers (University of Arizona study, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (Vol. 9, No. 7), 2001).
• Green tea consumption may lower stomach cancer risk (University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health study, International Journal of Cancer (Vol. 92: 600-604), 2001).

Hypertension-Reducing Benefits:

• Green and oolong teas reduce risk of hypertension (National Cheng Kung University study, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004).

Immunity-Boosting Benefits

• Tea believed to boost the body’s defenses (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2003)

Leukemia-Fighting Benefits:

• A green tea component helps kill leukemia cells (Mayo Clinic, 2004).

Alzheimer’s-Fighting Benefits:

• Drinking tea might delay Alzheimer's Disease (Newcastle University's Medicinal Plant Research Centre study, Phytotherapy Research, 2004).

AIDS-Fighting Benefits:

• Tea may play a role as an AIDS fighter (University of Tokyo, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2003).

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In Conclusion:

So how do you get started in doing your body some good with tea?

To get the most health benefits out of your teas, choose high-quality loose leaf teas from your local or online tea shop. Brew it up and enjoy. And of course, don’t throw out the idea of enjoying instant or bottled teas when you’re on the go. You just might have to drink a little more.

Don’t wait any longer. Sip, savor, and fight disease today. It's never too late to enjoy the many health benefits of tea!

7 Day Soup Diet for Effective Weight Loss

One of the most effective rapid weight loss diets is the 7

days soup diet. This diet basically consists of different

kinds of soups in your diet and is a great way to detoxify

the body. It is divided into 7 days regime.





Day One: For the 7 day soup diet to be effective you should

follow the suggestions closely in order to have the best

results. The first day consists of soup and an assortment

of fruits, preferably fruits low in sugar content such as

mangoes or bananas. It is suggested that you eat watermelon

and or cantaloupe considering they are very low in calories

and tend give you the sensation of being full. You should

drink at least 9 glasses of water a day, if not more, and

you can also have juices, such as cranberry juice or tea

(unsweetened).





The 2nd day of the 7 days soup diet would include soup and

vegetables. You can eat fresh raw or cooked vegetables like

leafy vegetables, baked potato with butter and you can eat

as much as you want but try and avoid dry beans, peas and

corns. No fruits are included on this day.





The 3rd day of the 7 days soup diet would be a mixture of

fruits and vegetables accompanied by soup but you must not

eat baked potatoes. By now you would have noticed a slight

change in your body and this 7 days diet would have already

helped you loose 6 to 7 pounds.





Day Four: Your body needs potassium, so on day four of the

7 day soup diet you are to eat at least eight bananas, which

provide you with that needed potassium, and drink as many

glasses of skim milk that you wish. Continue eating the

soup and drinking your water. Although the bananas and the

milk have a great deal of sugar, your body needs the

potassium, the calcium from the milk, and the carbohydrates

for energy. The bananas also help curb that craving for

sweets you are having by day four.





Day Five: Day five comes with the introduction of meats and

tomatoes, along with the soup. The 7 day soup diet is

designed to give you all the proteins, vitamins, and

minerals you need and helps to eliminate the ones you don't

need, thus the reason for the tomatoes, which help rid your

body of uric acid. On day five you can have up to 12 ounces

of meat and up to six fresh tomatoes. Keep drinking that

essential water.





On the sixth day of the 7 days soup diet, you can have meat

and vegetables. However you cannot have any baked potatoes.

There is no limit to the amount of meat or vegetables that

you wish to eat here.





Day Seven: Final day of the 7 day soup diet and you should

have lost between 10- 17 pounds at this point. On this day

you can have brown rice, your soup, non- sweetened juices,

vegetables, and water. The 7 day soup diet is designed to

help you learn which foods are the healthiest for you to

eat, which one's provide the best nutrients and vitamins and

helps you to get into the habit of eating this way, beyond

the 7th day of this diet. In order for you to have the best

results, it is always recommended that you include a regular

exercise program into your daily routine and continue to eat

healthy and keep drinking at least 9 glasses of water daily.



I lost 40 lbs in 3 months with extreme dieting measures that almost destroyed my health. Spicy food + lots of milk that lead to serious diarrhea every day. I've been doing a bit of research after my dramatic weight loss experience and found that there's actually a PROGRAM designed to do what I attempted, except its basically more healthier and effective.



You can find that specific program at Weight Loss Insider. I recommend you take a look at this Weight Loss Programs and see what they have to say about what you should do to lose 40lbs in 3 months healthily!

Hemorrhoids Diet - The Best Food To Eat

Constipation and obesity are two of the most common causes of hemorrhoids, so your hemorrhoids diet needs to address these two conditions. The same strategies will help all these conditions at the same time - your hemorrhoids, your constipation and your weight.

Constipation can be a symptom and a cause of hemorrhoids. Straining when you go to the toilet can cause the hemorrhoids and certainly makes them worse. The dry, hard stool that accompanies constipation is also an irritant to your hemorrhoids.

Dietary fiber is going to help overcome your constipation. Fiber remains undigested through the stomach and passes into the intestines where it keeps everything moving along steadily, cleans out the 'pipes' as it goes and maintains a soft, moist stool. Inadequate fiber in your diet causes slow, sluggish stools that are hard and dry, making them difficult and painful to pass.

Reversing and preventing constipation are only part of the good work that fiber does in your body. The action of fiber in your intestines also helps to prevent some cancers, lowers cholesterol and regulates blood sugar. High-fiber foods prevent hunger pangs by keeping you feeling full, so you eat less.

Fresh fruit and veggies are the classic fiber foods, and as a bonus, they are rich in nutrients and have loads of health benefits. Eat them at every meal and as snacks in between. Plan to have half your plate covered with vegetables in a variety of colors for balanced nutrition. Processed food is out with your hemorrhoids diet because all the fiber has been processed away; salt and sugar need to be added to make them taste good again.

So, eat wholemeal bread not white; rolled oats and other wholegrain cereals instead of those out of a box; reduce added sugar and salt; limit fast foods. Eat three meals every day and two or three snacks of fruit, vegetables, nuts, skim dairy. Include legumes in your diet - beans, peas, lentils etc. Drink water through the day.

This is not only a great hemorrhoids diet with small portions of lean protein, it is a wise eating plan for optimum health and weight management.

Remedy for Hemorrhoids?

Do you want to eliminate your pain and embarrassment for good? Discover an easy method to cure hemorrhoids safely in 48 hours by visiting the website below.

Hemorroids Diet

Video Source: Youtube

Tips on Making Beautiful Floral Arrangements

Do you have your own flower garden and would like to make some use of it? Are you fond of crafts and do it your self decorative projects? Would you like to make some homemade floral arrangements to further accent your home or to give away as gifts? If this sounds like you, then please read on for some tips on making beautiful floral arrangements.

To start your floral arrangements, you will first need something to put your flowers in. Get a vase or some other container that is decorative and also holds water. Before you start your floral arrangements, you may want to consider further decorating the vase or container by spraying it with gold or bronze spray paint. Let it dry for 24 hours and then spray on a coat of clear enamel spray. This will give your arrangement a more decorative feel.

Next, you need a base for your floral arrangements. The base is used for the flowers to have something to anchor to. You can use a ball of willow branches, grapevine, or floral foam that you can buy at a local craft store. The floral foam is called Oasis. If you use Oasis, be sure to soak it in water and poke holes in it with a pen before you put flowers it so that it doesn't break the stems.

When cutting flowers for floral arrangements, try to do so early in the day or morning. This is because the stems have more water in them at this point of the day and the flowers are not drooping. Be sure to only use cold water in the flower arrangement because warm water tends to make the flowers open up too soon and not last as long.

If you want your flowers to last longer, you can places apple and lemon wedges in the water at the bottom of the floral arrangements. The apples have nutrients that will help feed the flowers, while the lemons prevent premature rotting and browning. It also adds a more decorative touch to your flower arrangements.

When designing your flower arrangements, try to pick colors that go with the environment the arrangement will be placed in. First use taller flowers to create the vertical part of the arrangement. Then use full blooming flowers with bright and bold colors for the center and sides of the floral arrangements. Then fill in the small gaps with tiny flowers.

Those were some great tips on making beautiful floral arrangements. If you use all of these tips in conjunction with each other, you are sure to have a long lasting floral arrangement. With a little practice, you can be well on your way to having beautiful floral arrangements that rival those found in floral shops!

Paleo Chicken Recipes – The Recipe that Won My Mother-In-Law’s Heart!

I've been looking for some delectable paleo chicken recipes like forever; I think...Look, I was sick and tired of hearing my mother-in-law's negative remarks about the paleo diet (I've always been at odds with her!).



And despite the obvious change in my physique (I lost some body fat thanks to this diet), she kept insisting that the "caveman diet" is a fad type of diet and may be detrimental to my mind in the long run.



Huh? For real?



Well you see, the Paleolithic diet is perceived by many as one of the most boring dietary regimen on the planet. You can't eat dairy stuff, artificial preservatives, rice, bread etc.



These are staple foods of most people!



So when you go on a paleo diet plan, you can't eat those things. You end up eating tasteless dishes every single day, and your mind may very well go nuts. Well...at least that's her theory which I argued vehemently.



And then she challenged me!



She told me to search for some nice paleo chicken recipes and quit eating the same thing every day. See, I only knew how to make 2 different paleo chicken meals...



One is paleo chicken soup with cabbage and the other, paleo chicken with a bunch of garlic and onion. Hmmm...Pretty boring I admit.



So I accepted her challenge. I checked out a few bookstores and after what seemed like forever, I came across a bunch of download only paleo cookbooks online. There are so many sumptuous paleo chicken recipes in those books and they're also pretty easy to prepare!



Heck, they have all kinds of stuff in there including recipes for paleo cookies, chocolates, noodles, snacks etc all done the paleo way. You may follow the link at the bottom to check out the cookbooks:



Anyway, here's the chicken recipe that won my mother-in-law's heart!



Paleo Style Chicken and Egg Salad with Satay Gravy



Ingredients for the salad:



1 steamed chicken breast, shredded.

2 boiled eggs, cut them into quarters

1 carrot, diced

1 cup of rocket leaves

1 large green capsicum, diced



Ingredients for gravy:



1 tbs olive oil

¼ cup of almond butter

¼ cup of coconut cream

1 grated white onion

3 cloves crushed garlic

Some chili flakes



Directions:



1) Fry garlic and onion with olive oil until they turn slightly browned.



2) Now put in the remaining gravy ingredients and stir until gravy thickens. Remove from heat and add in chili flakes.



3) Put the ingredients for salad in a bowl and then pour in the gravy.



Now, lap up what I consider to be one of the best paleo chicken recipes on the planet (my mum-in-law thinks so too!).



So if you're interested in whipping up all sorts of tasty paleo chicken recipes such as hazelnut chicken schnitzel, chicken larb kai, Bombay skewers plus loads of recipes on snacks, seafood, omelette, salads, done Paleolithic diet style, then go to: http://www.paleorecipecookbooks.info/

You can find additional info at the following links:

Click Here for more information
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