Zinc Can Help Prevent Pneumonia In Over Sixties

Zinc is certainly an essential ingredient in your diet for fighting infection and something that I supplement with every winter to keep colds at bay and now my anecdotal experience has been medically validated.

That is probably a first, but a new report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that zinc plays a very important role in health maintenance, particularly for the over 60s. Simin Nikbin Meydani, DVM, PhD of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Massachusetts studied over 600 people from 33 different nursing homes in the Boston area.

What they found was that those with healthy blood levels of zinc are 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with sub-par levels. The study was a follow-up to a previous one which found that people given 200 international units (IU) of vitamin E every day for one year are 20 percent less likely to develop upper respiratory infections, including common colds. But after a follow-up, the trial also revealed that a majority of those same participants had low levels of zinc in their blood. As we saw in the previous item, zinc is a necessary mineral for maintaining immune health, regulation of blood pressure and the mineralization of bone and as well as being essential For the eyes and prostate.

The study’s conclusion is that daily zinc intake can help nursing home residents who are susceptible to pneumonia as it can reduce the risk of developing pneumonia by about 50%. Plus – bearing in mind the previous item – not only did those participants have a higher risk of developing pneumonia when they did become sick, they did not recover as quickly and required a longer course of antibiotics.

Another factor to bear in mind is that they also found that those who were taking regular zinc supplements also had a 39% lower rate of deaths from all causes than a comparable group who were not taking supplements.

Food sources:

Best sources of zinc are the protein foods including beef, lamb, pork, crabmeat, turkey, chicken, lobster, oysters, clams and salmon. Other good sources are dairy products, yeast, peanuts, beans, and wholegrain cereals, brown rice, whole wheat bread, potato and yogurt. For vegetarians and vegans pumpkin seeds offer one of the most concentrated non-meat food sources of zinc.

If you have a good and varied diet then your body getting enough zinc, the RDA for adults is around 11 mg a day, but the actual amount your body can absorb may be as little as 15 to 40% but you can improve this if you are taking Vitamins C, E and B6 and minerals such as magnesium as they can increase zinc absorption in the body.

The Benefits Of Eating A Raw Food Diet

So I guess by reading this article, you may be asking what are the benefits to eating a raw food diet ? Well, the benefits of eating more raw foods are numerous and once you understand them you’ll probably wonder why you haven’t eaten more raw in the past. You’ll also think twice about eating dead cooked foods ever again.

Raw Foods Give You More Energy

I can’t tell you of one person I know that follows a raw food diet that doesn’t have more energy than the average person . I know that when I transitioned away from eating a diet made up of breads, dairy, and cooked foods, and adopted more of a raw foods diet, my energy went through the roof. And I’m not talking about the quick surge you would get from an espresso but alternatively long-lasting energy that enables you to do more with less.
An example, eating raw foods will allow your body to sleep less and have far more energy than you’ve ever felt before . When I’m eating at least 80% raw, I can easily function on just 4-5 hours of sleep. I literally bounce out of bed and don’t require any naps throughout the day. Oh yeah, did I mention that I workout every single day as well? Sometimes, even twice!

Energizing Enzymes
When following a raw food diet, there are several reasons why it will give you more energy . First, raw foods are rich in food enzymes. Enzymes are compulsory for every single reaction in the body. Unfortunately, our bodies only have a finite number of these enzymes, so when we run out, we run out of life! To add to this, when you heat foods above 118 degrees fahrenheit, you destruct the food enzymes that are naturally present in all raw foods. Therefore, if you eat a predominantly cooked foods diet, you’re not getting enough food enzymes, which means that your body will have to produce and use more of its own to digest and metabolize your foods.

The less energy you will have for activities if your body requires more energy to divert towards digestion . You will feel more lethargic and tired as your body is trying to breakdown “dead” foods and figure out what to do with them.

So the food enzymes apparent in raw foods are a big reason why it boosts your energy . They are the spark plugs and are intricately related to the next property that make raw foods so energy-boosting.

Life Force

When raw foods are left intact, they are also known as living foods . They are named “living” because they carry an incredible amount of life force.

Now, since every living being has an aura or energy field illuminating from their body, which foods do you think would enhance yours? Cooked foods that are dead or high energy raw foods ? I think we both know the answer.

As I like to say, “eat alive and you will thrive”.

Weight Loss and Beautiful Skin

The other highly sought-after quality of a raw foods diet is its ability to help you lose weight and beautify your skin . Almost all raw foodists have reported losing weight they could never lose. At the same time, they notice an instant improvement in their skin. They look younger and have a natural glow that comes about because of the “living” nature of raw foods, their abundance of enzymes, and of course the plethora of nutrients that are ingested when eating more fruits and vegetables.

You will find it easier to lose weight on a raw food diet because your getting more nutrients and, therefore, your body won’t crave “dead” foods. Second, the enzymes help to breakdown the foods you are eating and excess energy and fat stores in your body. Third, raw foods are water-rich, which helps you feel more satiated, as well as hydrated.

Many of these reasons also help us explain why living foods make you look younger and beautify your skin. Enzymes, life force, water, and high quality nutrients all play a role in natural skin care.

We could talk about the benefits of a raw food diet for hours but the only to truly understand them is to experience them for yourself. So why not take action today and enjoy the health, the body, and the vitality that you deserve!

Unknown Facts About Lowering Cholesterol Revealed By The Experts

You don’t know how much poison you swallow day in and out. Much of it won’t kill you right away, but it is accumulating over time, you could just drop dead one day and that would be the end of it, so you need to start to reduce high cholesterol right now. That’s the way it works with cholesterol.You don’t want to die young, do you? Well, that is exactly what is going to happen to you if you don’t do something about all that cholesterol in your system immediately. Talk to a doctor and take some action to get it under control. They should be able to work something out for you that will help to lower your cholesterol.

Folks make a big deal out of lowering cholesterol, and they are right to do so. Do you want to die, or don’t you? If you don’t, then you want to lower your cholesterol, and you can do that by paying attention to this article and taking action.

Increase your fiber! This is an important piece of information that I have to give a lot of Americans today that can help in reducing high cholesterol, because too many people don’t even have a clue about it. Increase your intake of fiber foods and check out the dietary alternatives you have available.With a healthy diet, you can lower your cholesterol to more acceptable and healthy levels. A detox diet, I know, could actually do the magic. Why don’t you try a detox diet and focus on eating only fruit and vegetables, and drinking water for a week.

Fiber is roughage, and is a kind of food that is good for you. In consuming roughage you get to get rid of cholesterol in your system. Your cholesterol levels aren’t going anywhere but up as long as you continue to eat all that junk food. The only way to do it is to lay off the grease and eat more healthy foods.

The level of cholesterol in your system is bound to affect you whether you like it or not. Besides the fact that it makes you susceptible to a lot of illnesses, it can actually end up killing you by blocking your blood vessels. That’s why you have to lower it.Your system can only take so much cholesterol before it shuts down and tries to reboot. The problem is that rebooting a human being is not that easy; oftentimes the fellow winds up dead. So instead of letting you body try to restart itself, why not restart on a diet that will lower your cholesterol levels but not bring you down.

How To Reduce Winter Flu by 50%

Given that we seem at the moment, and perhaps for the foreseeable future, to be experiencing any combination of the four seasons in one day I thought it would be useful to give you a heads up on avoiding Winter flu the natural way. Before you head off to the doctor for your antique flu jab you might like to know that recent research has proven that a vitamin D supplement is more effective at reducing the risk of flu infection than vaccines or antiviral drugs.

The study was conducted by researchers from Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition based on a double-blind, randomized study on 354 children between the ages of six and 15 during the winter of 2008-2009. Half the children were assigned to take a daily supplement of 1,200 IU of vitamin D, while the other half were given a placebo pill.

After one month, influenza infection rates in the two groups remained the same, but by the second month those who had been given vitamin D were 50 percent less likely to become infected than participants in the control group and this drop in infection rate corresponded with an increase in their vitamin D blood levels.

In contrast, antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir and zanamivir reduced rates of infection by only 8 percent. Even vaccines had success rates significantly lower than the 50 percent achieved by vitamin D.

When the analysis excluded children who were being given vitamin D supplements at home, the results were even better and supplementation was found to reduce the risk of infection by a staggering 67 percent.

Because vitamin D is an essential nutrient, it normally has no side-effects if taken in normal doses but at very high doses can raise calcium levels in the blood.  Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which plays an important role in having a well-regulated immune system, and an overall lower risk of infection, heart disease, cancer and autoimmune disorders.

Before supplementing you should check with your doctor if you are taking any over-the-counter items such as magnesium-containing antacids or mineral oil or prescription medication particularly barbiturates, digoxin, phenytoin, verapamil D. Do not start or stop any medicine without doctor or pharmacist approval.

The best way to get good Vitamin D levels is to have safe and limited exposure to the sun as that is how it is naturally synthesized by the body. Using very high factor sunscreen and more limited sunlight in winter can play a part in the majority of people in the UK being deficient so if you want to add extra, without supplements, then oily fish and eggs are two of the best sources. Personally, I also always start taking Echinacea tincture in September in order to boost my immune system in preparation for the winter.

Ways to get rid of belly fat

How to get rid of belly fat? This is one of the most common health-related queries performed on the Internet. Overweight affects millions of people all over the world because of the lack of physical activity, the food saturated with chemicals and the individual poor living choices.

You should consume fewer calories if you really want to stay slim and healthy. I don’t support crash diets, I’m only pointing to the fact that you are eating a huge amount of calories that serve for nothing. Depriving your body of nutrients together with the calorie excess can have very serious consequences for you body. No more fizzy drinks, sweets and junk food, and ‘the world will change for you’. Eat green food, natural drinks, fruits, cereals, seeds and lean meat.

The diet usually needs to be adapted to your specific individuality. Women have different needs than men, because of the different energetic requirements and the anatomical structure. Men depend on protein to achieve muscle strength, although they need to balance meat with fruit and vegetables. Women will often have chicken and fish, when men order red meat.

Starving yourself is not the same thing with keeping a diet. You will most likely react in a negative way if you can’t follow personal preferences. How to get rid of belly fat when you hate what you eat? The food choices are endless as long as you just aim at balancing your diet and eliminating all the artificial elements from it.

Beer is an enemy! This is one answer to the ‘how to get rid of belly fat‘ question that men find it unpleasant and often turn a deaf ear to. But, let’s face it! There is a very good reason why abdominal fat is also known as beer belly. Beer contains very many calories, but there is one other major problem about it. It causes the inflammation of the liver and the pancreas thus leading to bloating. Quit drinking and you’ll see a big difference in a matter of weeks. Then, your belly fat will stop being such a problem.

You won’t flatten your belly by working your abdominal muscles at the gym. Then, how to get rid of belly fat if exercises don’t work? Choose physical activities that work the entire body: this is case with cycling, swimming, stair climbing or jogging, or in other words, with anything that stimulates the cardiovascular system. You’ll see how the beer belly drops and the abdomen flattens nicely.

How to build Rid of Acne Quick in your house – That is the best Way to build Rid of Acne at home Quickly!

Acne is likely the greatest aesthetic dilemma of young persons currently.

But, how does acne occur and why?

The whole surface of our epidermis is covered by pores, which include glands. These glands create a a number of form of fat called sebum. When the glands produce the proper amount of sebum, every thing is okay. But once they turn into stimulated and begin to develop excessive sebum, the pores become clogged. This benefits from the accumulation of sebum and bacteria for the pores and skin, which leads towards the formation of pimples. The reason why acne happens while in puberty is mainly because at this age the sex hormones that stimulate the glands are most active.

At times, acne is really a chronic sickness (a lot of adults suffer from acne till the age of 30 or more), which thankfully seriously isn’t a serious dilemma as much as the physical well being is concerned, but regrettably can lead to a important blow towards the self-confidence of people. What’s a lot more, acne can cause ugly scars about the deal with or other parts in the human body which will continue to be there for the rest to your existence.

Thankfully, the scenario is much from hopeless. You’ll find one or two issue you can do to build rid of acne:

    * Wash your face 2 times per day with soap and warm water (rubbing the skin color is usually a incredibly bad thought, simply because you might irritate it).<br> You also must wash your confront following operating out to obtain rid of every one of the sweat and dirt. Soon after washing your deal with, you really should dry it gently, but thoroughly having a clean dry towel.

    * Do not let hair gels and hair sprays arrive into contact with your pores and skin.

    * Ladies ought to stay away from employing cosmetics that are too oily.

    * Stay away from touching or popping your pimples, because the bacteria will penetrate deeper to the pores and skin resulting in a lot more pain, redness and possibly even scars.

    * Steer clear of meals that might have a damaging impact on your skin color. No study to date has shown that eating certain foods can aggravated acne, but if you have observed that a distinct food causes difficulties to you personally, it really is greatest to avoid it.

    * Prevent strain, due to the fact even though it doesn’t actually lead to this ailment, it could aggravate it.

    * Generally set sunscreen through the summer, as the sun tan might temporarily hide the redness of one’s pores and skin, but it may make the problem worse from the lengthy operate.

They are one or two very helpful ideas that could help you see some improvement, but the only way to have rid of this dilemma after and for all is usually to eradicate the root result in of this disease. You need to adhere to a holistic system that should increase your immune program and restore the natural hormonal balance of your respective entire body.

Wish to find out much more about remove acne. Then go to Sandy Jameson’s site on how you can select the finest acne face for your wants.

Cool Down with Sun Tea

Ever optimistic I see the sun and immediately break out the long-standing sun tea recipe! Tea brewed in the sun really does have a lovely gentle flavour and once in the fridge with lots of ice cubes you will find it a very refreshing, and healthy, drink on a hot day. So instead of reaching for a can of fizzy or a hot cup of tea try this recipe from the southern United States where they know a thing or two about staying cool in extreme temperatures. I first came across it when I was doing an exchange with a women’s’ college in Missouri as a writer in residence and have been making it ever since.

Sun Tea Recipe

The first and most important thing to say is that you must use a glass container that will hold around a litre of water — never, ever, plastic as the sunlight will leach toxins from it into the water. So one large glass container with a lid or cover the top with a saucer if you don’t have one. It could not be simpler, put 4 to 6 teabags into the jar and top up with cold, preferably filtered, water. You can use any teabags, but what I think works best is either green tea or herb tea and personally I use a mixture of the two..

Leave it to brew and steep for 3-6 hours and you will know your tea is ready when the colour has reached the colour of tea as if it was brewed in a tea pot with boiling water.

Sun Tea tends to be a bit milder tasting than normal brewed tea and although you can serve it warm from the sun, I prefer it served with ice and a lemon slice and a few sprigs of mint. Once brewed, but it in the fridge and enjoy it over the next day or two and if you are not sure about what herbal teabags to use then fennel gives an interesting aniseed taste along with the green tea, lemon balm is nicely mild, or any of the spiced tea bags such as the Ayurveda is detox teas. If you are concerned about your high blood pressure, then try mixing the green tea with a couple of Hibiscus teabags as they are known to help reduce it.

AnnA’s Solution to Breakfast

I am the world’s worst at getting organised for breakfast. What I do know is that unless I have some protein first thing in the morning I really don’t function very well, but I am also not up for cooking or spending a lot of time preparing. As I dislike most grains and certainly muesli, I have been experimenting with finding a breakfast that is fully sustaining, quick and easy to prepare.

I have settled on a combination that is part green, part fruit, part protein and certainly delicious. I have shared this recipe with others who seem to have agreed with me so I thought it would be good to share it with you in case you have one of those mornings too!

The ingredients are very variable, depending what’s on what’s in the fridge, but here is the most common combination:

Organic yoghurt — vanilla in my case

Soymilk or oat, or rice milks

Banana and/or avocado

handful of young spinach or watercress leaves

Tablespoon of protein powder from Higher Nature or a vegetarian source

Tablespoon each of Linwoods milled flaxseed and almonds and flaxseed cocoa and berries

The amount of yoghurt and milk is a matter of taste – the yoghurt makes it thicker and the milk will thin it so experiment to get your personal blend. Stick everything in a blender with a few ice cubes and blast it until it’s smooth. Adjust the liquid to your taste, and I usually add more liquid at the end. This makes enough for two, so if you are dining alone just put the rest in a sealed container in the fridge and it will be fine for 24 hours – just stir before drinking. In summer I will add strawberries or raspberries and in winter I will often use frozen berries as they give it a wonderful coldness and colour. Very healthy, delicious and sustaining. If you try it, let me know what you think.

The Benefits of Krill the Crustacean – and a Vegetarian Alternative

I almost said the thrill of the kill, but that would’ve been a pun too far! Maintaining good levels of EPA and DHA, the fatty acids which play a key role in heart and brain health and lowering the risk of depression. What the latest buzz is from across the pond, these watery metaphors have got to stop, is that a good if not the best source of these elements is to be found in a tiny crustacean in Antarctica. The krill is a mini powerhouse of nutritional benefit and when its oil is harvested it delivers a potent blend of antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and phospholipids.

I am always wary of the phrase ‘super food’ but this does seem to be a new way of getting the benefits of fish oil in supplement form and without the corresponding fishy smell or taste. CardioRedTM has a pure high-strength krill oil that is sourced from sustainable live krill harvests using the latest eco-friendly technology – and with 100 per cent traceability it comes from a single source, euphausia superba. –

Unlike traditional fish oils, the lipids in CardioRed Krill Oil capsules take the form of bound phospholipids, which are more easily absorbed by the body. They also contain astaxanthin, a powerful natural antioxidant. You should be able to find CardioRed Krill Oil capsules, in your local health store that if you have any difficulty go to their website at www.cardiored.co.uk.

For vegetarians, add plenty of walnuts to your diet as they are a rich plant source of omega-3s, the fatty acids also found in cold water fish like salmon and krill. Also men who are concerned about their prostate, should include walnuts as part of a balanced diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables as they have been shown to help reduce the risk and help to treat the condition.

How Juice Can Help Prevent Alzheimer’s

Well I told you how orange juice can help make that fast food meal healthier, and now it seems that drinking juice more than three times a week can lower your Alzheimer’s risk by76 percent. This comes from a ten-year study named the Kame Project where researchers followed 2,000 Japanese Americans in Hiroshima, Japan; Oahu, Hawaii; and Seattle. Participants underwent a physical examination beginning in 1992, and their mental function was tested every two years.

Those who drank juice three or more times per week experienced a 76 percent reduced risk for Alzheimer’s whereas those who drank juice once or twice a week experienced a 16 percent reduced risk. They don’t say whether the juices were commercial, or freshly made, but certainly the skins of fruit and vegetables are high in phenols, the chemicals that “mop up” free radicals that are believed to cause the damage seen in Alzheimer’s. These results suggested to researchers that polyphenols, a type of anti-oxidant, might have a protective effect on the brain, preventing or reducing dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Certainly we already know that there are certain dietary factors that are high risk for the onset of Alzheimer’s such as high fat and high calorie diets, alcohol, salt and refined carbohydrates. The top three recommendations from the US Alzheimer’s Society for reducing your risk are to increase fruit and vegetable juice consumption to at least two or three times per week (and I would be juicing organic fruit and vegetables for the maximum benefit), increasing vitamins, minerals and fluids, and increasing fibre to reduce constipation.

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