Healthy Choices

The term Nutritional Health, implies that our health status is in someway reliant on our nutritional intake. There is a very well known saying “you are what you eat”. In other words if you eat healthy nourishing food you will heave a healthy well nourished body, but if you eat junk food then your health will in someway be compromised.

This statement is broadly true, although in reality nutritional health is a far more complex issue. I am sure you will also have heard the saying “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” implying that one person may eat a particular diet and feel fit and well, whereas another person can eat the same food and react negatively to that food, resulting in some unpleasant symptoms.. Our biochemical individuality means that nutritional health is very different for different people.

Apparently our bodies were designed to live until 120 years of age. Most people live just over half of that age or less and die from the effects of our civilized world rather than from natural causes of aging. In the 21st century we may feel qualified to applaud some of the advances of modern medicine regarding treatment of infections, but we have also to accept that the causes of the majority of present day illnesses and diseases are due to lifestyle factors. This may include lack of exercise, poor nutritional health or the effects of an accumulation of factors such as alcohol abuse, heavy smoking or recreational drug use.

Of course there are also other factors that are out of our hands such as the deterioration of the nutritional state of our food, drink and air that we breathe. Processed and fast foods have become more and more popular, locally grown seasonal fruit and vegetables have been superseded by food that is shipped thousands of mils and is available to us all year round. Fresh free range meat is a thing of the past. Chemical fertilizers have become the norm and poor farming habits are affecting the mineral status of the soil and consequently the nutritional value of our crops.

Finding a way to ensure good nutritional health has become more and more difficult, and many people are resorting to supplementing their diets with good quality nutritional products. Multivitamins and antioxidants are a top priority for many people as they try to protect their bodies from the onslaught of poor quality water supplies, often contaminated with chemical additives such as fluoride; polluted air and light.

Dr Paulus Lining two times Nobel Prize winner said

“You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency”

Nutritional health is totally reliant on the best quality foods. So apart from supplementing your diet with multivitamins and antioxidants, the first thing to do is to find ways of ensuring that you feed your body with good quality, fresh, organic food where ever possible. Find out if there are any foods that are detrimental to your health and avoid them until your body learns to tolerate them. If your body is reacting by displaying the symptoms of a disease state, then you are not eating the right foods for your body type and you need to take the appropriate steps to find out what foods you can eat that will keep you healthy.

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Vitamin C – otherwise known as Ascorbic Acid is an essential nutrient for human beings. A lack of vitamin C can cause a deficiency disease called scurvy, which is characterized by pale skin, sunken eyes, tender gums, muscle pain, loss of teeth, and internal bleeding.

Vitamin C is water soluble and is not stored by the body. Consequently we need to have a daily dose to ensure that we are not deficient. Vitamin C is found in fresh fruit and vegetables and in particular, peppers, watercress, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, lemons, kiwi fruit, oranges, grapefruit, limes and tomatoes.

Vitamin C has many uses within the human body including:-

• It is an antioxidant
• It strengthens the immune system and fights infection
• It lessens oxidative stress
• It is required for 8 different enzymes
• It is required for the integrity of the artery walls
• It enhances the absorption of iron

Most animals and plants have the ability to synthesize their own vitamin C by utilizing 4 enzymes to convert glucose to vitamin C. Humans do not have the ability to do this and instead they rely on a daily intake of vitamin C from their food sources. It is also possible to ensure that adequate vitamin C is absorbed on a daily basis by taking a supplement. This can be taken in the form of ascorbic acid, but as this can be mildly acidic it is often preferable to take it in the form of calcium or magnesium ascorbate. A therapeutic dose for an adult can be anything from 1000mg to 10,000mg. This may cause diarrhea if taken in excess of the bodies needs, but this soon subsides as the dose is reduced.

Because vitamin C is water soluble it is very easily lost from food when it dissolves into the cooking water. Vitamin C is leached from some foods more than others, but one way of ensuring you get the best from your fruit and vegetables is to eat it raw, preferably juiced to release the enzymes.

Over the years there has been much speculation about the therapeutic effects of Vitamin C ranging from curing the common cold to curing diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Although we can be sure that Vitamin C prevents scurvy the other claims on its efficacy are inconclusive and rely on anecdotal evidence. Many people find Vitamin C is helpful for a range of conditions and its ability to enhance the immune system would appear to be a likely fact. Despite the efforts of the renowned scientists such as Linus Pauling two times Nobel Prize winner, who wrote the book called “Vitamin C and the Common Cold” there will always be skepticism on behalf of the medical profession who seem reluctant to accept the validity of most natural remedies.

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

An antioxidant is basically something that reverses the effects of oxidation. Although oxygen is a vital nutrient needed by every cell in the body every second of the day, it is also chemically reactive and highly dangerous. In normal biochemical reactions oxygen can become unstable and capable of oxidizing neighboring molecules. This can lead to cellular damage which in turn triggers cancer, inflammation, arterial damage and aging. Any chemical that is capable of disarming these free radicals is termed an antioxidant.

The main antioxidants include vitamins A, C and E, beta carotene, selenium, glutathione and bioflavanoids. These vitamins and minerals tend to work synergistically in the body and are best taken as an antioxidant supplement for the best result.

The balance between your intake of antioxidants and your free radical damage can be crucial. You can make some significant changes to your dietary habits to reduce the oxidation as well as eating natural foods with high antioxidant properties.

A diet high in fruit and vegetables is very important as this will provide plenty of vitamin C and beta carotene. Vitamin C is water soluble and acts as a roaming scavenger and occurs in high concentrations in the brain, lungs and adrenal glands. Vitamins A and E are fat soluble and provide the main antioxidant protection within the cell wall. Vitamin A is found in organ meats, fish, eggs and dairy products, whereas vitamin E is found in nuts, seeds and unrefined vegetable oils.

Glutathione has been termed the body’s master antioxidant and detoxifier. It is manufactured inside the cell from its precursor amino acids, glycine, glutamate and cystine. Natural foods that boost glutathione levels include asparagus, broccoli, avocado and spinach. Raw eggs, garlic and fresh unprocessed meats contain high levels of sulphur containing amino acids that help to maintain optimal glutathione levels

Selenium is a trace mineral and is found mainly in plant foods and also in some meats and seafood. It is required in small amounts to enhance antioxidant activity and prevent cellular damage from free radicals. The selenium content of foods is wholly dependent on the selenium content of the soil in which the plant was grown. Or where the animals where raised. In the UK the soil in Norfolk is know to be rich in selenium whereas in the USA northern Nebraska and the Dakotas have a high level of selenium.

Bioflavanoids belong to the polyphenol family. They are the antioxidants that are found in foods such as fruit, vegetables, soy products, green tea and red wine. They are thought to be responsible for the antioxidant protection of body fluids and they may be able to help to reduce the risk of degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Including these antioxidant rich foods in your dietary regime is a wonderful way of ensuring that your body has the protection it needs from the daily attacks that can result in free oxidizing radical damage. Because of the modern ways of living it is virtually impossible to avoid the causes of oxidative damage, but we can take steps to ensure that the damage is limited.

Ref
The Glutathione Report –Priya Shah – July 2004

Patrick Holford’s 100% Health 7DD

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables is seen a top priority by the organizations around the world who are promoting a healthier diet. Many serious illnesses are caused by nutritional deficiency due to a diet made up of poor quality food.

Research indicates that nine or ten servings of fruits and vegetables a day is optimal, whereas dietary guidelines tend to recommend a minimum of five servings a day. However it would appear that most populations are consistently not reaching even half this goal. Attempts to increase the intake of fruit and vegetables is proving to be a major public health challenge.

It is a well documented fact that people who eat a diet rich in plant foods have a reduced incidence of heart disease and cancer, but despite this fact the message doesn’t seem to be getting through to certain sectors of the community.

So why are vegetables so beneficial to our health?

Apart from the obvious fiber content in fruit and vegetables, which ultimately aids the digestive process, they contain many vitamins and minerals .

Vitamins

Vitamin C and the B complex vitamins are found in all fruit and vegetables whereas vitamin A is found in read yellow and orange fruit and vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes.

Minerals

The minerals copper, iron, zinc, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and potassium are found in certain fruit and vegetables

Phytonutrients

More recently research has been focusing on a different set of nutrients called phytonutrients. These bioactive substances are found in all plants – not just fruit and vegetables but also in flowers, herbs spices, seeds, nuts, oils, cereals, pulses, chocolate as well as beverages such as tea and coffee. Many but not all of these nutrients are highly coloured. There are 20 top phytonutrients each with their own special name and properties

Professor Heber, the director of the University of California Los Angeles Center for Human Nutrition, divides foods into 7 colour groups: red, red/purple, orange, orange/yellow, yellow/green, green, white/green.

• The red group eg tomatoes, provide lycopene; believed to have anti cancer properties
• the red/purple group eg grapes, provide anthocyanins; believed to have antioxidant and protective effects on the brain and heart functioning
• the orange group eg carrots, provide alpha and beta-carotenes; believed to help against lung cancer and support the immune system
• the orange/yellow group eg tangerines provide cryptoxanthins; believed to help with the maintenance of healthy vision, reproduction and body tissues
• the yellow/green group eg avocado provide lutein and zeaxanthin; believed to reduce the risk of macular degeneration
• the green group eg broccoli provide isothiocyanates and indoles; believed they may have anti cancer properties
• the white/green group eg celery provide allicin; believed to act as an antibiotic in the body and have anti cholesterol benefits

A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can provide the body with all these phytonutrients provided they are consumed on a daily basis.

Ref “The Optimum Nutrition Magazine” Winter 2007

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Natural Health

With so much information in the media about junk food and drink that is detrimental to our health, many people are starting to realize that natural health is the only way forward if we are to be fit and healthy into our 3rd age. With so many baby boomers currently becoming OAPs there has been an upsurge of interest in how to reach and maintain optimal health through natural means.

Natural health implies that we want to become healthy using the tools that nature provided us with. Natural food as opposed to processed food, natural medicine instead of drugs, natural skin care instead of chemically laden products, and natural cleaning agents instead of chemical cocktails.

There is no wonder we are breeding nations of sick individual when you start to look seriously at the way we treat our bodies. The natural health approach has the ability to change all of that and enables us to live life according to the laws of nature.

If we would only stop and think for ourselves we would realize that nature provides it all. Everything we need is there for us in abundance. Of course the big issue for most people is that nature doesn’t provide in such a convenient time effective manner as many of the products that are available to us. Gone are the days when women made their own face creams and cosmetics from natural ingredients. Only a small percentage of us grow our own vegetables, even fewer enjoy cooking a meal from scratch. Despite the many side effects related to prescription drugs most people would prefer to have a quick fix from the doctor than take time to convalesce or even concoct an herbal brew using herbs from the garden.

So is natural health a thing of the past? For many people, sadly, I think that may be true. However there is quite definitely an active body of people both young and old that want to integrate some of the “old fashioned” ways into their modern lives. More and more people are taking on allotments and choosing to have organic vegetables delivered to their doors. Organic chemical free skin care products are becoming more popular as concerns for the numbers of chemicals in many commercial brands are being highlighted. There are websites online that sell the raw ingredients for those who would like to make their own face creams. More people are turning to more gentle cleaning products and even good old white spirit vinegar and basic lemon juice are being used for cleaning and stain removal.

One of the biggest increases in the area of natural health can be seen in the purchase of nutritional supplements as an alternative to drugs. More and more people are realizing that they can get the same benefit from supplements without the unpleasant side effects.

So it would appear that natural health has come back in a slightly different guise, but is never-the-less a valuable alternative to the processed, chemical laden industries that bombard us as consumers on a day to day to basis.

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Embarking on a detox is usually our attempt to make up for the times when we have abused our bodies with fast foods, alcohol, too many chocolates or simply not enough health promoting foods. And so we detox for health!!

Although this is very commendable, many people fall into the trap of believing that their detox for health will automatically result in them feeling fit and healthy and ready to take on the world once again. This is always the case. It is important to be aware that as the body is working hard to detox you may be feeling decidedly unwell and unhealthy. Remember that toxins are being transferred to your various organs of elimination and the presence of them can make you feel very ill indeed.

The type of unpleasant symptoms that you may experience during your detox for health, are:-

• Frequent headaches – often due to dehydration
• Hunger
• Low blood sugar
• Withdrawal symptoms from caffeine or alcohol
• Constipation due to a lack of fluids and fibre

Dehydration is a common occurrence during a detox and care must be taken to ensure that this doesn’t happen as it can lead to very unpleasant symptoms caused by a disturbance of your electrolyte balance.

People who Should not Detox for Health

It is not a foregone conclusion that a detox for health is in everyone’s best interest and certainly there are many categories of people who either shouldn’t embark on a detox or who should only attempt it with the backing and support of their medical practitioner

So who would not be advised to detox?

• Anybody who has any form of acute illness
• Immediately prior to or post surgery
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women, as detoxification will potentially result in the toxins passing through the unborn or newly born child.
• Anybody with an eating disorder – such as anorexia.

People who should seek medical advice before detoxing are those with:-

• Diabetes
• Other chronic illnesses
• On prescription medication

An unsupervised detox for health is essentially for people who are already relatively fit and healthy, but even so, it should not be undertaken lightly. Remember that regular meals are essential to maintain stable blood sugar levels. Suitable snacks such as fruit, raw vegetables, nuts and seeds are ideal to maintain balance and in order to avoid the unpleasant effects of dehydration at least 1.5 to 2 litres of filtered water should be drunk each day

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

We live in a polluted society, where exposure to toxins is inevitable. Our food is sprayed with toxic chemicals and we breathe in toxic fumes as we walk or drive along our busy roads. This is just an example of two of the many ways in which our bodies are dealing with pollution on a daily basis. In addition to this we have mercury fillings, pharmaceutical drugs, tobacco smoke, alcohol and numerous chemicals in our water supplies.

Over the years our bodies have made some adjustments to deal with these pollutants but at a cost to our overall health. We now accept ill health in old age as an inevitability, despite the fact that we know more about health and wellness than ever before.

Every so often it is advisable to give our bodies a helping hand and provide an opportunity for us to get rid of the toxins that are actually making us ill.

The main organs of elimination of toxic substances are the liver, the kidneys, the gut, the skin, the lymphatic system and the lungs

The Liver

It is important to ensure that the liver is well supported as this is the main processing organ. It is the job of the liver to detoxify all potentially harmful substances. Once disarmed, these substances can then be eliminated via the kidneys, lungs and the bowel. This work is carried out by thousands of enzymes that require certain nutrients to help them to do their job.

Foods that can help the liver to detoxify are cruciferous vegetables ( broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower); brightly colored fruit and vegetables (tomatoes, apricots, peppers, berries); sulphur containing foods (onions, garlic) and lemons

The Kidneys

The job of the kidneys is to filter the blood, removing excess water and water soluble toxins that are then passed out in the urine. The kidneys require plenty of water to dilute the toxins and to help them to carry out their job more efficiently.

Foods that help the kidneys to detoxify are water; all fruit and vegetables; parsley leaf; herbal teas

The Gut

Harmful ingredients from the stomach are filtered out here and sent to the liver to be processed. Fibre helps to mop up some of the toxins, stopping them getting absorbed into your body and carrying them to the bowel. The main function of the bowel is to excrete processed toxins in the faeces. If the bowels function is sluggish the faeces linger there and the toxins can actually be reabsorbed into the blood stream

Foods that help the gut to detoxify are all fibre rich foods; fruit (especially apples, prunes, berries, dried fruit); vegetables (especially carrots, broccoli, cabbage) flaxseeds(linseed); beans; lentils; oats; and barley

Skin

The skin is the largest organ of the body and plays a big part in getting rid of toxins. Some toxins are eliminated in your sweat, others in your skin oils and others via the shedding of dead skin cells.

Foods that help the skin to detoxify are water; fruit and vegetables; flaxseeds; essential oils (flax, walnut, pumpkin seed) or pumpkinseeds

The Lymphatic System

The lymphatic system is like the drainage system. It is a series of tiny vessels that run into all areas of the body and transport nutrients in a fluid known as lymph. The lymphatic system also helps to detoxify by removing waste products from the body. toxins that are too large to enter the bloodstream are processed in the in the lymph nodes and then passed back into the blood stream where they are taken to the liver to be detoxified

The main food that helps the lymphatic system to detoxify is water. Lymphatic drainage, dry skin brushing and Epsom salt baths are also know to help

Lungs

The lungs remove carbon dioxide from the body as well as other toxic gases that you breathe in.

Foods that help the lungs detoxify are fruit and vegetables (especially apples, onions, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)

Detoxification is a complex process and needs to utilise its natural detox system to avoid being poisoned not only by the chemical toxins mentioned above, but also the natural toxins, including waste products from food, dead bacteria and debris from the millions of new cells produced each day.

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

What we can Understand from the Inflammatory Response

According to Wikipedia, the word inflammation comes from the Latin word inflammation meaning to set on fire, (anti-inflammatory meaning to put out the fire) Inflammation is a necessary part of the healing process without which wounds and infections would never heal. It is, in simple terms, a response of the bodily tissues to a pathogen, damaged cells or an irritant.

However, although that is a “simple” definition, the word simple can rarely be applied to any process within the human body. The sign that an acute inflammatory response is taking place on the surface of the skin is normally characterized by a reddening of the skin, heat, swelling, pain and even loss of function. These signs are less obvious when the internal organs are inflamed during an acute phase.

The majority of the inflammatory responses of an acute nature are usually short lived. The tissues are gradually repaired by the body itself and normal cellular function is resumed.

However this is not the so straight forward in the chronic inflammatory condition. Chronic inflammation is generally an immune response that can last for weeks, maybe even years if the cause of the inflammation isn’t treated and dealt with. Chronic inflammatory conditions are usually systemic rather than localized and result in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or hypersensitivities caused by an inappropriate immune response resulting in inflammation. Because the body’s response to chronic inflammation is to release toxins to attack the invading agent, it then inadvertently attacks its own tissues causing permanent destruction. Thus we get the term autoimmune disease which is basically describing the fact that the body is attacking its own cells.

In most cases of chronic inflammation the person is treated with non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However as with all prescription drugs there are some unpleasant long term side effects, including stomach ulcers and kidney problems. There are in fact several natural alternatives to prescription drugs which should be explored first and preferably early in the condition.

Learn More

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Fats and Oils – Omega 3 essential fatty acids are very powerful anti-inflammatory agents. They are converted into hormone like substances called prostaglandins. They are found in cold water oily fish such as salmon, mackerel or herring, flaxseed (sometimes called linseed) and their oil. Omega 6 fats are also responsible for reducing inflammation and pain and they can be found in pumpkin, sunflower, safflower and sesame seed oils.

Fruit and Vegetables – Green and brightly coloured vegetables and fruits can help the inflammatory process. The pigment in brightly coloured fruit, vegetables and in particular berries, contain many phytochemicals and anti-oxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties. For example quercetin which can be found in the skins of red apples and re onions is a natural anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory.

Pro-inflammatory Foods

If you are suffering from an inflammatory disease, it would also be wise to avoid pro-inflammatory foods that might increase your pain and inflammation.

Foods to avoid include any junk food and fast food, especially trans-fats and saturated fats. Too much saturated fat means too much arachidonic acid which although essential in the right amounts can be responsible for making your inflammation worse if you consume too much.

Diets high in sugar have also been associated with inflammation and so should be avoided. Another possible cause for concern is foods that come from the deadly nightshade family. Foods such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant have been known to aggravate the pain of inflammation.

Adjusting your diet in this way is the first line of defense for any anti-inflammatory regime. Such dietary changes ideally, need to be initiated early on in the disease if they are to have any noticeable effect.

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Oxygen is the basis of all plant and animal life. It is a vital nutrient for our bodies and is used by every cell every second of every day. Oxygen is needed to release the energy in the foods we eat so that we can perform our bodily functions and go about our everyday work. However, oxygen is also chemically reactive and highly dangerous as it can be come unstable and can cause oxidation, which in turn can cause cellular damage. This can lead to a myriad of illnesses such as cancer, inflammation, arterial damage and aging.

In order to counteract the effects of oxidation, it is necessary to utilize substances called anti-oxidants, which can literally disarm the oxidants and render them harmless. The balance of oxidants to antioxidants is crucial if we are to protect our bodies from long term damage and serious illness.

The main antioxidants

Vitamins A.C and E (easily remembered as ACE).

Vitamin A comes in 2 forms, retinol and beta carotene. Retinol is the animal version and whereas beta carotene is found in plants usually re/orange/yellow vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes. Beta carotene is the more powerful antioxidant of the two.

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin and can be found in most fruit and vegetables. However it is very easily destroyed by heat and so as it is also water soluble it is best eaten raw.

Vitamin E is fat soluble and is found in seeds including nuts, seeds and their oils. It can also be found in some vegetables like peas broad beans, corn and whole grains all of which are classified as seed foods

Vitamins C and E work synergistically together to protect the tissues and the fluids in the body. Combining all three has been shown to half the risk of cancer and protect against many other degenerative illnesses.

Zinc and Selenium

Zinc and selenium have a very important antioxidant role to play, as they are responsible for activating two very important antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase, which is selenium dependent and superoxide dismutase, which is dependent on zinc. Seeds and sea-foods are the best all round dietary sources of selenium and zinc.

Anthocyanidins

Anthocyanidins are powerful antioxidants that come from the flavonoid family. They are found in plants that have colors such as purple, red, orange, yellow and green. A diet that is rich in colorful fruits and vegetables is likely to deliver a goodly amount of these important nutrients. Other colors that will provide anthocyanidins are the blacks and deep purples and reds found in grapes, bilberries and cranberries.

Glutathione

Glutathione is the main ingredient of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. It is probably the most important antioxidant offering protection against the harmful effects of carcinogens. It also helps to detoxify the body and helps to protect it from the negative effects of excessive alcohol, tobacco smoke and infections. It can be found in whit meat, tuna, lentils, beans, nuts and seeds.

CoQ 10

CoQ10 is a vital antioxidant in that it helps to improve the cells ability to utilize oxygen. It is able to control the flow of oxygen, improve the production of energy and thereby prevent cellular oxidation. CoQ10 is found in meat, fish, nuts and seeds

Lipoic Acid

Lipoic Acid is a sulphur-containing vitamin-like substance which has very effective antioxidant properties. It is one of the few antioxidants that is both water and fat soluble which enables it to protect a wider range of molecules. It is found in liver and yeast.

Antioxidants have a vital role to play in protecting our bodies. As you can see each antioxidant has its own role to play. However if we wish to protect our bodies from all kinds of oxidation then it is important to ensure that we include all of these antioxidant foods in our diets on a daily basis.

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Healthy choices have taken on a new life as wellness campaigns and prevention strategies are promoted in a variety of ways. It is not uncommon to see or hear television and radio commentaries on the benefits of making healthy choices in all areas of your life.

Ongoing research proves and then expands on the health benefits of natural products. Our ancestors knew from experience that certain foods and habits were beneficial for staying healthy. They did not know why, just that they were good practices to follow. Science is now unearthing the explanations and proof for the extensive practical knowledge that was handed down generation after generation.

Breakthroughs and new information is so abundant, it is sometimes difficult to keep up. The Internet has helped to keep people informed of up to date information from the latest scientific studies and research that can improve your health and wellness. Readily available information at your fingertips has more and more people making healthy choices.