subject: Optimal Living And Healthy Lifestyle [print this page] Vitamins and minerals are substances that are found in foods we eat.Your body needs them to work properly, so you grow and develop just like you should. When it comes to vitamins, each one has a special role to play. There are two types of vitamins: fat-soluble and water-soluble. When you eat foods that contain fat-soluble vitamins,the vitamins are stored in the fat tissues in your body and in your liver. Fat-soluble vitamins stay stored in your body and are only used when your body needs them. Some stay stored for a few days, some for upto 6 months!
Then, when it's time for them to be used, special carriersin your body take them to where they are needed. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat-soluble vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins are different.When you eat foods that have water-soluble vitamins, the vitamins don't get stored in your body. Instead, they travel through your bloodstreamand whatever your body doesn't use, is excreted when you urinate. This crowd of vitamins includes vitamin C and the big group of B vitamins -B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), niacin, B6 (pyridoxine), folic acid, B12(cyano-cobalamine), biotin, and pantothenic acid.
VITAMIN D - Helps calcium absorption
Food that contains traces of Vitamin D:
*Milk and other dairy products fortified with vitamin D
*Fish
*Egg yolks
VITAMIN E - Necessary for normal growth and development
Food that contains traces of Vitamin E:
*Whole grains, such as wheat and oats
*Wheat germ
*Leafy green vegetables
*Sardines
*Egg yolks
*Nuts
VITAMIN K - Forms part of your body's blood clotting cascade
Food that contains traces of Vitamin K:
*Leafy green vegetables
*Liver
*Pork
*Dairy products, like milk and yoghurt
Immune Booster
The best way to better your immune system is by eating raw foods. Try to incorporate your raw foods by drinking
smoothies, this works well in terms of sports nutrition also.
1.Make your own salsa by chopping chilly, garlic, green, red and yellow peppers, parsley and tomatoes. This can be used moderately over your meals to make it more interesting and to give it more taste.
2.Blend oranges, carrots and other citrus fruits for a refreshing drink.
3.If you want to indulge yourself, mix strawberries and raspberries with non-fat plain yoghurt and a little bit of skim milk for the smoothest smoothie.
4.Instead of plain mash, include sweet potato (full of beta carotene and vitamin E) and pumpkin for a more interesting smoothie.
5.Skimmed milk or soy with added non-fat plain yoghurt. Fruit according to your taste. Flax seed oil (about 1 tablespoon). Oat bran for added fibre. Add 10mg of zinc, 100mg of selenium and 50-100 IU of vitamin E.
Add the following to your smoothie to make it even more nutritious and healthy:
*Vanilla extract. This flavour capturing ingredient can be added to nearly everything, making your smoothie/meal taste better and also filling your house with a full aroma.
*Pumpkin is not necessarily the best tasting vegetable (without added sugars) for any man (especially the ones that live on meat and only eat vegetables at Christmas), but added to a smoothie, the story changes. One cup delivers about 7-8grams of fibre that is essential for muscle building and high protein diets.
*About one cup of peaches will increase your shake's vitamin C concentration by about 235mg. Unknown to most, this will also increase cytokine levels in your blood that will keep you from getting sick as often.
*Make your smoothie sweeter (obviously not for those who need to count the calories) by adding condensed milk. This added calcium will help increase the strength of your bones.
Immune Boosting Nutrients
Carotenoids
Except for being a powerful antioxidant that aids against free radicals clotting your body, beta carotene increases the amount of infection-fighting cells. Our body converts beta carotene to vitamin A.If your body has enough vitamin A, the conversion will stop to avoid vitamin A toxic levels.
Benefits:
* Cardiovascular
It interferes with fats and cholesterol that can be found in thebloodstream and cause arterial plaques (through oxidation).
* Cancer
Beta carotene also stimulates macrophages that produce a product (tumornecrosis factor), which has been found to kill cancer cells. Betacarotene also increases the ability of the body's natural killer cells to attack cancer cells.
Bioflavonoids
This is part of the phytonutrients that protect the body againstpollutants that are found in the atmosphere. These pollutants areattracted to the body's cell membranes and gather in the receptor sites(spaces along the membranes of the cell).
Bioflavonoids fill these spaces to protect the body against pollutants adhering. Bioflavonoidsreduce cholesterol's ability to form plaques in the arteries that decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
ZINC
*Zinc increases the production of white blood cells and antibodies.
*Just make sure not to get in too much Zinc as this may inhibit the immune function.
VITAMIN C
Vitamin C can be seen as the number one immune booster. Vitamin C canbe found in different fruits and vegetables. This immune booster increases white blood cells and an antibody called interferon (preventsthe entrance of viruses into the body). Vitamin C increases HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), lowers blood pressure and reduces colon, prostate and breast cancer. When taking your vitamin C supplement, rather space the intake throughout the day to ensure that it does not get excreted in the urine.
VITAMIN E
Vitamin E increases the production of natural killer cells (attack the germs in your body). They also increase B-cells that are responsible for destroying bacteria in your body. This vitamin plays an important role in reversing the signs of ageing. During a study in the Harvard School of Public Health, 87 000 nurses were shown to have a 50%decrease in heart attacks. It is advisable to get in around 100-400milligrams of vitamin E during the day. For people that smoke or don't exercise, higher amounts will be needed. It is also advised that elderly people increase their vitamin E dosage to help them reduce the chance of infection.
ALCOHOL
Alcohol is an:
1.Anti-nutrient nutrient
Alcohol is a nutrient that interferes with your body's ability to absorb and store other nutrients. This will lead to your body having too much of an anti-nutrient and too few real nutrients.
2.Empty nutrient
Alcoholic beverages contain tons of calories (about 7 calories per gram), but no vitamins and minerals. 7 Calories per gram classifies alcohol as being almost twice as high in calories as carbohydrates and protein, but 2 calories less than fat.
3.Addictive narcotic
Alcohol is very addictive and the misuse of alcohol is a problem all over the world. Although the initial sensation of alcohol is usually exhilaration, you usually experience depression later on.
Regular usage of alcohol will lead to weight gain because your liver is a vital organ that metabolises protein and fat, continued misuse of alcohol will interfere with protein and fat metabolism.
CONCLUSION
It is necessary to leave behind the stigma that is attached to healthy living as something that's boring. Healthy living can be easy and immensely rewarding if you know how and what to do, and if you enrich yourself with more knowledge every day.
