Archive for the ‘Articles’ category

Healthy Kids’ Recipe with Vitamin C

April 16th, 2010



Healthy Kids recipes should always include foods that are rich in vitamins and nutrients. Vitamin C is especially important for children. The good thing about Vitamin C is that it is present in a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Children need a daily intake of Vitamin C because it is important for maintaining a healthy immune system. Among the many benefits of Vitamin C for children is that it acts as a powerful anti-oxidant as well as an anti-inflammatory agent that prevents oxygen-based damage to the cells

Children can get their daily dose of Vitamin C by consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables. Fruit is a delicious food with wonderful colors and textures that appeal to children. Fruit is one of the easiest healthy foods to get kids to eat.

Fruits as well as vegetables are vital for the health and well being of children. Raw fruits are preferred because of their high fiber and water content. But frozen fruits and vegetables are still a viable source of Vitamin C that can be an alternative to fresh vegetables.

Vitamin C has to be consumed daily because the body does not store Vitamin C. Pediatricians recommend that children should consume at least 30 – 45 mg. of vitamin C per day. This is the minimum requirement. Parents should check with their own Pediatrician to confirm the requirement or special needs for their children. Children with asthma or other health problems may require a higher consumption of Vitamin C.

Some nutritionist recommends a daily intake of up to 200 mg./day of Vitamin C. If a child consumes the recommended daily allowance of five servings of fresh fruit or vegetables per day, they would be in this recommended target range.

The bad news is that less than 20% of children or adults consume the recommended daily allowance of fruits or vegetables. Meeting the minimum RDA can be as simple as increasing the kinds of fruits and vegetables consumed each day.

Citrus fruits like strawberries, lemons and oranges are delicious sources of Vitamin C. Fresh squeezed orange juice, or a homemade strawberry milkshake are favorites with kids. Fresh squeezed lemonade on a hot summer day will provide a healthy thirst quencher.

Try this Strawberry Fluff Recipe

Ingredients:

*16 oz. strawberries fresh or frozen

*1 pkg. colored marshmallows

*1 large tub of Cool Whip

*1/4-cup sugar

Instructions:

1. Cut up the strawberries

2. Mix with Cool Whip

3. Add sugar

4. Mix well

5. Stir in 1/2 to 3/4 package marshmallows

6. Refrigerate

There are other vegetables and fruits that contain high volumes of Vitamin C. An unlikely source of Vitamin C is broccoli and cauliflower. These nutrient rich vegetables provide over 45 mg. of Vitamin C in a

Female Hair Vitamins – What Vitamins Are Best For Shiny Female Hair?

April 15th, 2010



Vitamins are one of the least understood areas in terms of helping women to achieve their very best shiny female hair! In terms of hair loss for example, which fortunately affects women much less than men. It is a fact that certain vitamins, or more accurately a lack of them can actually lead to hair loss. Amongst these the B vitamins are particularly important. If you are deficient in vitamins B12 or vitamins B6, than it can often lead to hair loss. So a good start in terms of achieving beautifully shiny hair, is to stock up with a B complex vitamin supplement. Why B complex? Well, because the B vitamins tend to work together, synergistically, and so a lack of any of them tends to affect the others in a detrimental way.

When exploring female hair vitamins, a question arises as to which foods to include in your diet which are particularly good to get those essential vitamins. Three good sources are Soya beans, fish, and chicken, which are some of nature’s very best natural healthy hair treatments! Foods are a very protein rich tend to also be rich in vitamins B6 and B12. So if you are seeking shiny female hair, then you will want to make sure that you have sufficient levels of these vitamins in your diet.

The hair tends to be the last place that the body sends nutrients. This is because it is essentially (for survival purposes at least!), not nearly as important as essential organs like the heart or lungs, and so they get first call on any nutrients that you bring into your body. And so this tends to explain, why when you are feeling rundown, that often your hair will also look lank and lifeless. So to have beautiful shiny female hair it is essential to really look after yourself and diet plays a key part in this.

Other female hair vitamins that some studies have indicated may be useful in terms of having vibrant, healthy and shiny hair is Saw Palmetto. The reason behind this is that Saw Palmetto has been shown to lower levels or a substance called DHT. Now, DHT is known to cause hair loss in both men and women when its levels are high, and so it would seem that Saw Palmetto, because it is able to lower the levels of DHT could well be a useful female hair vitamin. (It should be pointed out here, though, that this is in the early stages of research, and is by no means conclusively proven.)

Two other vitamins that are useful in promoting healthy female hair are vitamins A and C. The reason behind being similar to that of Saw Palmetto. Namely, that vitamins A and C tend to inhibit the production of DHT, and hence tend to promote healthy and vibrant hair growth.

So, in conclusion, if you are looking to explore female hair vitamins and wish to know what vitamins are best for shiny female hair, then simply seek out your ABCs! (With a healthy dose of saw Palmetto thrown in for good measure ;) ) And remember to take a look at the links below for more great vitamin tips.

By: Stuart Brown

How Do Vitamins Help Make Us Healthier?

April 14th, 2010



Vitamins have a lot to do with your health. Your body needs certain vitamins and minerals that we get from certain foods every day to keep us alive and healthy. If we do not get a certain amount of these vitamins and minerals we will become susceptible to diseases and viruses. Many of the foods we eat today do not contain enough of these vitamins in them because either they don’t have the vitamins in them to begin with or in the manufacturing process the vitamins and minerals are destroyed or they have very few left in them.

Most of the population today are not getting enough of the necessary vitamins and minerals they need to have a healthy body. Vitamins balance the system and if the system isn’t getting the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs to operate, something is going to go wrong. When this happens, the body is weakened and you are more likely to get the flu or other viruses that are going around. Colds, viruses, pneumonia and other ailments weaken parts of the body and cause other, more serious problems.

In order to help ourselves stay healthy, we need to take supplemental vitamins and minerals to insure that we are getting the daily amount needed to stay healthy. The healthy body fights off illnesses and there is a good chance you will not get the flu or if you do it may just be a mild case. Taking daily vitamins can give you the assurance that your body is getting its daily dosage of vitamins and minerals it needs to stay healthy.

If the body is healthy its immune system will help ward off viruses and other diseases. With all of the new flu viruses going around we need to do all we can to keep from spreading them and if taking a vitamin a day will maybe help keep us from getting the flu, it is well worth the few dollars the vitamins cost. These natural vitamins and minerals may save us hundreds of dollars in medical bills if we can ward off the virus. Doctor bills and prescription drugs are very expensive.

Not to mention the misery and danger we will go through if we contract any virus. The medical scientific world has come a long way in their discoveries but the simple natural vitamins and minerals taken from natural plants can make a big difference in our health too. For a few bucks a month, you can feel better, be more active and know that your body is not full of synthetics and stimulants. You can possibly save those trips to the doctor because when the flu is going around, you are going to work. Of course there are other precautions you can take too but the natural vitamins and minerals will fight for you from the inside out.

By: Gregg Hall