Hello To Healthy Eating

Archive for September, 2009

As your body gets older, you are going to naturally need more of some vitamins and supplements than you did when you were younger. This is something that you should keep in your mind, because as you age you are going to want to gradually increase certain amounts of some of the vitamins and minerals in your diet to keep yourself healthy and active.

One of the things that you should know is that as you get older you are going to be more at risk for a vitamin D deficiency. If you aren’t drinking milk or eating fatty fish, you might be at risk for this.

Also, because vitamin D production is stimulated by the sunlight, you might find that if you don’t get out as much as you age, you aren’t getting enough Vitamin D. Because of this, you should consider getting some extra as you age through vitamin supplements.

Another thing that seniors are often having problems with is an iron deficiency. This can happen if you lose blood through some reason, or if you are using antacids or are on other drugs.

Calcium is another thing that you are often lacking as you get older, so it is something that you should consider supplementing if you aren’t getting enough calcium in your diet. Along with these, magnesium is also often lacking in an older person’s diet, and therefore might need to be supplemented.

If you believe that you aren’t getting enough of a certain vitamin or mineral, the best thing to do would be to talk to your doctor about getting a multivitamin that is made for seniors.

You might also want to consider the idea of taking a one a day supplement in the areas that are you are lacking. Multivitamins are a great way to back sure that you’re receiving the best nutrients possible without getting too much either.

Remember that getting a balanced diet and taking supplements if need be is something that you should always be considering and should make a lifelong goal. There are many benefits to getting the correct amount of vitamins and minerals, and as you age these become more and more important.

If you want to live longer and be healthier, you should be sure that you are getting the proper amount of nutrition in all areas. Vitamin supplements can help you get the nutrients you need to stay younger longer.

There are many different kinds of vitamins that can help your body. These vitamins, along with the essential minerals, which can also be called micronutrients, are things that your body needs, in small amounts, which promote good biochemical reactions within your body and within your cells.

They make you grow right, help you digest your food, make you more mentally alert and more mentally sound, help you to be resistant to infectious diseases, and help your body to use carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Also, vitamins and minerals are catalysts in your body, which speed up or initiate chemical reactions.

The difference between the vitamins and the proteins you get from food is that you don’t burn up the vitamins, so you can’t use them for energy.

Because your body does not make most vitamins and minerals directly, you have to get them from food sources or from vitamin supplements. If you aren’t getting enough of a certain vitamin or mineral for a long period of time you can get a specific disease or condition. This will usually be fixed when the vitamin or mineral is re supplied to your body.

Basically, there are 13 vitamins. Four of them are fat-soluble and nine of them are going to be water soluble. The ones that are fat-soluble can be stored in your body fat and also stored in certain organs such as your liver. The water-soluble vitamins do not get stored in your body in large amounts.

The vitamins that are fat soluble, which means that you can store them in your body for a long time, include A, D, E and K. These dissolve in lipids and require bile in order to be absorbed. They are also stored in tissues, and if you have too many of them they can be toxic to you.

The water-soluble vitamins are going to be C and eight of the B vitamins. These are thiamine, which is B1, Riboflavin, which is B2, niacin, pyridoxine, which is B6, pantothenic acid, which is B5, vitamin B12, biotin and folic acid.

These dissolve in water, so if you are cooking or washing, the vitamins might actually be washed out of the food. They are easily absorbed and excreted, and are not stored very much or often in your tissues. These vitamins are seldom going to reach toxic levels.

All of these vitamins are found in food, but if you aren’t able to get the food that you need in order to get the vitamins, you are going to have to turn to nutritional supplements to make sure that you are getting all of the vitamins and minerals that your body is going to need.

Today the average duration of human life in the United States
is just about 70 years for women and a little less for men.
Conservative experts believe that man is really build to last
about 100 years; and that medial advances and more healthful
living habits could bring this about within a generation or two.

What good is it to add years to life if we do not also add life
to years? In fact, unless people learn to enjoy life and to
grow old gracefully, the extra years may be an additional burden.

From 18 to 30 years is roughly the period of highest physical
and mental vigor. The experiences we accumulate from the day we
are born help us to conserve and to use our physical and mental
abilities more wisely, so that for some time after 30 years we
are able to perform increasingly well in spite of slowly slipping
vigor.

After age 50 the increasing accumulation of experience is
no longer able to offset the now more rapidly energy and therefore
aging begins to assert itself noticeably and in many ways.

A number of things may come about gradually such as people who
have not used eyeglasses before may at some time in their forties
need them for reading, and in the fifties they usually need bifocals.

Also in the forties, people are likely to put on weight because
there is a general slowdown in the oxidation rate of the aging body
tissue. Also we tend to do less strenuous work with no reduction
in the amount of food consumed.

And in the fifties there is likely to be some loss of hearing.
Usually the high-pitched tomes go first, so words with the sounds
of F, S, and TH are confused. A hearing aid may be needed in
some cases.

Aging is generally accompanied by a loss in physical and mental
flexibility. This is noticed in a tendency to become stiff in the
joints; in slower comeback after a strenuous trip, excessive “night
life,” or hard work; in slower healing of wounds, sore muscles,
and sprains; in slower recovery of pep after an illness; and in
greater difficulty to adjust to new people, new places, and new
ideas.

Men, especially, will notice loss of muscular strength. There will
be increased unsteadiness and delicate muscle movements will
be more clumsy and the stride in waking will become shorter.

The conclusion now is that the performance and ability of the
elderly has long been underestimated and can be greatly improved
by a proper diet, sleep and exercise along with rest and relaxation.

Many elderly people tend to lose their joy and will to live and
chronic worriers may mope around and withdraw. Medical authorities
now say that laughter is one of the best medicines for the elderly.

You can always keep your sense of humor tuned up by surrounding
yourself with pleasant and interesting people. Just act your age
and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself even when no else is around.

Now that we all know the role that physical activity plays in our
lives, remember to do something physical every day. The joints must
be used or quite simply they will tighten with age creating that
stooped worn out appearance we so often associate with getting old.

Keep yourself flexible and fit on an exercise program consistent with
your ability.

Have you started hearing about the Raw Food Diet? It’s gaining popularity and buzz, not just as a diet to lose weight, but a diet for a long and healthy life. We eat so much in the way of processed food that we don’t even stop to think about what we’re putting into our bodies, and how far we’ve come nutritionally from our ancestral, agrarian roots.

A raw food diet means consuming food in its natural, unprocessed form. There are several common-sense rationales for why this is a good idea. Processing and cooking food can take so much of the basic nutritional value away. Think of some of the conventional wisdom you’ve heard about for years, such as: If you cook pasta just to the al dente (or medium) stage, it will have more calories, yes, but it will have more the nutritional value in it than if you cooked it to a well-done stage. Or you probably remember hearing not to peel carrots or potatoes too deeply, because most of the nutrients and values are just under the surface.

The raw food diet means eating unprocessed, uncooked, organic, whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc. It means a diet that is at least 75% uncooked! Cooking takes out flavor and nutrition from vegetables and fruits. A raw food diet means eating more the way our ancient ancestors did. Our healthier, more fit ancestors. They cooked very little, and certainly didn’t cook or process fruits and vegetables. They ate them RAW. Their water wasn’t from a tap; it was natural, spring water. Maybe they drank some coconut milk on occasion.

Doesn’t it just make sense that this is how our bodies were meant to eat? It’s a way of eating that’s in harmony with the planet and in harmony with our own metabolisms. Our bodies were meant to work, and need to work to be efficient. That means exercise, certainly, but it also means eating natural, raw foods that require more energy to digest them.

Ancient Chinese have long believed in the benefits of drinking natural health drinks to improve one’s health disposition. Tea has been drunk for at least 4,000 years. While coffee has been around for centuries. Both have immense benefits for health improvement.

Tea was first discovered in China in 2737 B.C. According to Chinese records, the emperor would only drink water which is boiled to make sure that it is indeed clean. During a trip, a servant boiled water and a dried leaf fell on the boiling water. It turned the water brown but was still served to the emperor. The emperor drank the concoction and found it very refreshing.

Coffee, on the other hand, has can be traced as early as the 9th century. Coffee was largely cultivated in Ethiopia. Soon, the Arabs started trading it, bringing it to northern Africa where it was mass-cultivated. After being popular in Africa, it started to enter Indian and European Markets.

Europe and Asia pioneered energy drinks. In 1901, the first energy drink was released in Scotland called Im-Bru. While in Japan, their energy drinks can be traced as early as 1960s. Although they cite that there are already some attempts in mixing different minerals with water before World War II they released Lipovitan in early 1960s. South Korea also produced “genki drinks” which are also energy drinks.

In 1929, Lucozade Energy was used as a hospital drink in the United Kingdom. This drink was primarily for helping the speedy recovery of hospital patients. In the 1980s, this drink was commercially released as an energy drink meant to replace lost energy.

The worldwide leading energy drink, Red Bull, was created and marketed by an Austrian entrepreneur. This leading energy drink was created in Europe. It was based on a Thai drink called Krating Daeng, which is also based on Lipovitan. Red Bull entered the United States market in 1997, and currently the dominant brand. It’s approximate market share is as big as 47 percent.

For sports drinks, the first one created was for the purpose of improving the performance of athletes and sports star, was for the Florida Gators. That is why the first product, which was released during 1960s, was called Gatorade. The main purpose of this drink is to provide to lengthen the performance levels and aid hydration of athletes.

As early as 1985, the United States have started to introduce energy drinks. They had the Jolt Cola. While in 1995, PepsiCo launched the Josta. This was the first energy drink made by a leading United States beverage company.

Since then, energy drinks have started to gain fair market share and popularity. More and more companies are taking advantage of such popularity and high demand. Most people who consume energy drinks are within the range of 13 to 35 years old. Young adult and male drinkers comprise 65 percent of the target market. Since 2001, the increase of the energy drink market has been increasing by 50 percent every year. Since this market is relatively new, with 20 years under its belt, there is still much hype about it.

More and more people seek out energy drinks and new developments. People are trying to be heath conscious amidst all the pressure of a high and fast paced life. With the demand increasing, there are unlimited possibilities. We are trying to discover ways in fitting all the nutrients and more vitamins and minerals that we can have in just one gulp. Health can be just in one drink after all.