Vitamin D- The Sunshine Vitamin

The body produces vitamin D as a response to sun light. Many foods also contain vitamin D, such as fish, egg yolk, fish liver oil and in dairy and grain products that have been fortified.

The body needs vitamin D in order to maintain strong bones by allowing the body to use calcium food in food. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets, which is a disease that affects bone tissue leading to soft bones.

Vitamin D can help prevent and treat conditions, such as type 1 & 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, hypertension and glucose intolerance.

Causes of Vitamin D deficiency:

• not consuming daily recommended levels of Vitamin D
• you have dark skin
• not getting enough sun light exposure
• the digestive can't adequately absorb vitamin D
• the kidneys can't convert vitamin D
• obesity

A simple blood test can be done to determine the level of vitamin D deficiency. Taking the daily recommended dosage of vitamin D is a simple treatment for vitamin D deficiency.

The recommended dosages are:

• Adult and Children up to age 50- 5 mcg or 200 IU
• Age 51-70- 10 mcg or 400 IU
• Over 70- 15 mcg or 600 IU

Spend some time in the sun and soak up all the free vitamin D your body can handle. Why let it go to waste? Remember that sun screen blocks the absorption of sun light that is needed to be converted.

Use moderation when out in the sun. Too much can be harmful to the skin.

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Charles

The Importance of Vitamin B12

The human body needs B12 in order to make red blood cells, which are needed to carry oxygen through the body. If the body does not have enough red blood cells, as condition called anemia will develop.

Anemia causes you to feel weak and tired. B12 deficiency can be caused by not eating enough foods containing B12, such as eggs, milk, meat and cheese. B12 deficiency may also occur if the vitamin is not able to be absorbed by the stomach or intestines.

Other causes could be from the result of taking heartburn or ulcer medication over an extended period of time. Other conditions that block the body's ability to absorb B12 are Crohn's disease, bacteria growth in the small intestine, a parasite or celiac disease.

Taking a daily supplement of B12 may be needed for many people lacking the vitamin. Some may require B12 injections in order to get the vitamin into the system faster.

Some of the symptoms related to B12 deficiency are:

• feeling weak or tired
• light headedness
• bleeding gums
• sore tongue
• pale skin
• weight lose
• upset stomach
• diarrhea/constipation
• nerve damage

Nerve damage can result if B12 deficiency is allowed to go unchecked for prolonged periods of time.

Some symptoms of nerve damage are poor sense of balance, numbness or tingling sensation in fingers and toes, depression, or loss of mental abilities.

A simple blood test can be done to determine if a person is low on B12, as well as, folic acid, which is another B vitamin that may also be low as well and can cause similar symptoms.

Treatment for B12 deficiency anemia is usually a B12 shot once a month or daily B12 pills. If you are experiencing the previous mentioned symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor and get tested.

Remember to sign up for my free news letter to receive free related information.

Charles

Beware of Energy Drinks

Energy Drinks such as Rockstar, Red Bull, etc., have become the rage. I personally know several adults who think they can’t get through the day without them. My concern is that children and teenagers are drinking them, not my children, but maybe yours!

Most of these energy drinks have as much caffeine as a cup of coffee (around 80 mgs). One 12 ounce can of soda contains approximately 16 to 50 mgs of caffeine. Not only does some of these energy drinks contain caffeine, they also have large doses of legal herbal stimulants as well.

Caffeine can make you have anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, and insomnia, as well as causes your kidney to remove extra fluid from your body. Starting to get the picture?

Children, when in school or not, do not need to be consuming any type of liquid that contains caffeine and stimulants, especially when also combined with sugar. Some of these drinks contain as much as 31 grams of sugar per serving.

Let there be no mistake about it, these drinks are advertised with children and young adults in mind. Walk around one day and count the number of children, teenagers (who are also children by the way) and young adults sucking on an energy drink. You can see the monetary stakes involved here.

Another issue is the use of herbal extracts in these drinks. There is no guarantee that the herbs used by these manufacturers are not non-toxic herbs or herbs not sprayed with pesticides, or the water source they use in the manufacturing process.

Since Energy Drinks are classified as food, the whole food grade manufacturing process does not provide for a guarantee in quality of the product. In fact, manufacturers of energy drinks are not required by law to list whether or not the herbs they use have been sprayed with toxic pesticides or manufactured with contaminated water sources. There is just no telling what toxins remain in the finished product.

By the way, the same problems reside with off the shelf, food grade nutritional products as well. If you become an avid reader of this site, you will read about pharmaceutical grade nutritional products verses food grade nutritional products, time and time again.

Another common ingredient is Taurine, which is a free form amino acid contained in foods and manufactured in the body from the amino acid cysteine. Synthetic Taurine is implicated in illnesses ranging from high blood pressure to strokes and seizures to heart disease.

Taurine has been banned in some Scandinavian countries, and Switzerland, after being linked to the deaths of three consumers. Some scientists believe that excessive Taurine has a sedative effect on the brain.

Some people, including teenagers, mixed alcohol with energy drinks as it makes them feel alert and energetic, even when they are drunk. Both dehydrate the body and a night out with alcohol and energy drinks can severely dehydrate a young or older person alike.

We recommend all people avoid energy drinks; they do nothing to add energy and can only add more toxins to an already toxic body and decrease or inhibit our body’s natural detoxification processes.

For an energy drink that is all natural and avoids the above listed problems try REV3, which can be found purchased from this site: http://tinyurl.com/rev3drink

Sign up for my free news letter and receive free information regarding high grade nutritional supplements, natural herbal remedies for home cures and many other helpful and healthful tips and information. People are paying for the information you are receiving for free.

Take Care!

Charles

Importance of Staying Hydrated

Approximately half of the human body weight consists of water. Not too many people realize that water is also a nutrient. Water is one of the most important nutrient required to sustain a healthy body. Not getting enough of this important nutrient can lead to all kinds of health problems.

The human brain has the largest concentration of water on the about at about 85%. Your cells need adequate water on order to function properly. Water is an important component in the blood and is needed to break down certain chemicals within the body. The human body uses and requires water to detoxify itself, as well as, regulate body temperature.

When the body is low on water it will tell you by the thirsty feeling you get. When you do really get the thirsty feeling, it may be a sign that you are already becoming dehydrated to a certain degree. Your urine may be darker than usual with a stronger odor.

Some symptoms that many people are currently experiencing may be a reaction to being in a dehydrated state to some degree and may not even be aware of it. By simply re-hydrating yourself and staying in a healthy hydrated state may amazingly relieve one from these symptoms that I will cover later in this article.

Water is an important element in losing weight. When your body needs H2O and is not getting it, it will retain what water it has to a certain degree. Many of us drink fluids such as coffee, tea, sodas, and beer and believe that we are getting the water and fluids that we need from that when in fact beverages containing salt and caffeine are zapping our bodies of fluids.

The many beverages that I loved to drink on a daily basis were loaded with water zapping caffeine and salt which were keeping me from my potential to being healthier. These water stealing beverages, and some foods, were my down fall as I was always in a low grade state of dehydration until I learned the importance of drinking plenty of water and taking my daily nutritional supplements.

When I started to increase my daily intake of water to an average of 8 glasses a day, more if I exercised, and cut back on salty and caffeinated beverages, I noticed some of my symptoms improving. I began to think clearer, had more energy and I did not get as many headaches as I used to. My blood pressure readings also improved dramatically.

Below are some symptoms commonly related to being dehydrated. If you are experiencing these symptoms and finally come to realize that you are not drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day, try cutting back or eliminating beverages containing high salt levels or caffeine.

You should start seeing results within 48 hours. For those with medical conditions that were told by their Doctor to cut back on fluid intake should stick with that advice and consult with your Doctor if you feel you are dehydrated.

Here are the symptoms related to being dehydrated:

• Headaches
• High Blood Pressure (when the body is low on fluids, it compensates by increasing blood pressure)
• Tiredness/Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Foggy or Hazy Thinking (hard to concentrate)
• Heart Palpitations
• Irritability/Easily Stressed
• Kidney Pains
• Weight Gain
• Skin Rashes
• Muscle Cramps (really dehydrated at this point)
• Lack of sweat when exerting energy (severe sign)

Got Water!

Until next time.

Charles

Welcome to My Blog

If you are the type of person that believes nutrition should be as natural and as healthy as can be, then you have come to the right place. I am dedicating this blog to those in search of healthier ways of taking care of their nutritional and alternative medicine needs.

I believe, like many of you, that nutrition, as natural and clean as we can get it, is important to staying healthy. I believe that any nutritional supplements taken should be of the highest pharmaceutical grade as possible.

I also believe that there are many natural ways that we can take care of ourselves through the use of natural herbs and foods, sometimes not having to rely on drugs that can cause side effects worse that what they are treating for.

In my blog I will talk about nutritional supplements, natural cures and remedies and various techniques that I have used successfully over the years that have worked for my situations. Understand that what may work for one, may not work for another. This blog is in no way meant to replace the expert advice of a doctor. When in doubt check with your doctor. I am not a doctor. I have researched many of these topics, some of which worked for me and some that I know worked for others that I have talked to. Use these techniques and information at your own risk.

With that said, I will attempt to supply you with the most reliable information on each subject that I talk about. I'm the type of person who cares what goes into my body. The less harmful drugs that I can keep out the happier I am. I believe whole heartedly that many of life's ailments can be corrected through natural herbs and remedies, good pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements, a healthy diet, and adequate exercise.

Always remember that there is no magic pill, especially in weight loss. If you noticed, most every weight loss pill or gimmick is accompanied by a diet and exercise chart or plan of some type. This is what I call a clue. Here is a tip many people are paying good money to hear, but I present to you for free- "Exercise and eating healthy is the secret to losing weight".

Many of you like me are probably in a situation where health concerns are a critical issue. My younger daughter is in stage 4 renal failure. Her kidney's did not fully mature while growing up and now needs a kidney transplant. The donor waiting list is long and unpredictable. I want to donate one of my kindneys, but I must get into better physical shape.

I am on a quest to better my health and life style so that when the time nears I can save my daughters life. I want to lose weight, gain more strength and purge my system of toxins so that I may provide the healthiest donor kidney for my daughter.

Soak that in for a while and I will see you right here for the beginning of our journey together. Pass this blog link on to your friends and loved ones so that we can get them started on the right path to a healthier life style. They will thank you for it later.

For a happier, healthier you!

Charles