Benefits of Vitamin A

Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 1:48 AM | Posted by kamran Saeed

Vitamin A, also called retinol, helps your eyes adjust to light changes when you come in from outside and also helps keep your eyes, skin and mucous membranes moist. Vitamin A mostly comes from animal foods, but some plant-based foods supply beta-carotene, which your body then converts into Vitamin A. It also has antioxidant properties that neutralize free radicals in the body that cause tissue and cellular damage.

Early information from scientific studies suggests that beta-carotene might help people who already have Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The American Heart Association doesn't recommend taking supplements of beta-carotene until more is known, however.

Nutritionists categorize vitamins by the materials that a vitamin will dissolve in. There are two categories: water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamins—vitamins A, D, E and K—are stored in the fat tissues of the body for a few days to up to six months. If you get too much of a fat-soluble vitamin, it can be stored in your liver and may sometimes cause health problems. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin.

Some people take mega-doses of fat-soluble vitamins, which can lead to toxicity. Eating a normal diet of foods rich in these vitamins won't cause a problem. Remember, you only need small amounts of any vitamin. In the case of vitamin A, overconsumption has been linked with an increased risk of fractures in postmenopausal women.

Some health problems can make it hard for a person's body to absorb these vitamins. If you have a chronic health condition, ask your doctor about whether your vitamin absorption will be affected.

How Much Vitamin A Is Enough?
It's recommended that women consume 800 mcg and men consume 1000 mcg of vitamin A daily.

Sources of Vitamin A
Top sources of vitamin A include:
  • Beef liver
  • Egg yolk
  • Cheddar cheese
  • Fortified milk

Top sources of beta-carotene include:

  • Sweet potato
  • Carrots
  • Pumpkin
  • Cantaloupe
  • Broccoli
  • Apricots
  • Spinach and collard greens

Can You Have Too Much or Too Little?
Vitamin A deficiency is rare in the United States, but it can cause night blindness, eye inflammation, diarrhea and other problems. Overconsumption of vitamin A can cause nausea, irritability and blurred vision in its mild form. In addition, the palms of the hands and the bottoms of the feet can turn orange if a person has a high intake of Vitamin A. Vitamin A toxicity can cause growth retardation, hair loss and enlarged spleen and liver in its more severe form. Vitamin A overdose can also cause birth defects and has been linked to increased risk of bone fractures in some people.

Vitamin Storage
If you want to get the most vitamins possible from your food, refrigerate fresh produce, and keep milk and grains away from strong light. Vitamins are easily destroyed and washed out during food preparation and storage. If you take vitamin supplements, store them at room temperature in a dry place that's free of moisture.

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Benefits of Vitamin C

at 1:44 AM | Posted by kamran Saeed

The Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most effective nutrients, experts say. It may not be the cure for the common cold (though it's thought to help prevent more serious complications). But the benefits of vitamin C may include protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling. A recent study published in Seminars in Preventive and Alternative Medicine that looked at over 100 studies over 10 years revealed a growing list of benefits of vitamin C. "Vitamin C has received a great deal of attention, and with good reason. Higher blood levels of vitamin C may be the ideal nutrition marker for overall health," says study researcher Mark Moyad, MD, MPH, of the University of Michigan. "
The more we study vitamin C, the better our understanding of how diverse it is in protecting our health, from cardiovascular, cancer, stroke, eye health [and] immunity to living longer." "But," Moyad notes, "the ideal dosage may be higher than the recommended dietary allowance." How Much Vitamin C Is Enough? Most of the studies Moyad and his colleagues examined used 500 daily milligrams of vitamin C to achieve health results. That's much higher than the RDA of 75-90 milligrams a day for adults. So unless you can eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you may need to take a dietary supplement of vitamin C to gain all the benefits, Moyad says. He suggests taking 500 milligrams a day, in addition to eating five servings of fruits and vegetables. "It is just not practical for most people to consume the required servings of fruits and vegetables needed on a consistent basis, whereas taking a once-daily supplement is safe, effective, and easy to do," Moyad says. He also notes that only 10% to 20% of adults get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Moyad says there is no real downside to taking a 500-milligram supplement, except that some types may irritate the stomach. That's why he recommends taking a non-acidic, buffered form of the vitamin.
"The safe upper limit for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams a day, and there is a great track record with strong evidence that taking 500 milligrams daily is safe," he says. Still, American Dietetic Association spokeswoman Dee Sandquist, RD, suggests doing your best to work more fruits and vegetables into your diet before taking supplements. "Strive to eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily, because you will get a healthy dose of vitamin C along with an abundance of other vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that are good for disease prevention and overall health," she says. While a cup of orange juice or a half-cup of red pepper would be enough to meet your RDA for Vitamin C, here are all the foods and beverages you'd need to consume to reach 500 milligrams (mg):

Cantaloupe, 1 cup: 59 mg Vitamin C
Orange juice, 1 cup: 97 mg
Broccoli, cooked, 1 cup: 74 mg
Red cabbage, 1/2 cup: 40 mg
Green pepper, 1/2 cup, 60 mg
Red pepper, 1/2 cup, 95 mgKiwi, 1 medium: 70 mg
Tomato juice, 1 cup: 45 mg

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Benefits of Morning Walk

at 1:37 AM | Posted by kamran Saeed

Morning Walk

There are many things in life that require one’s undivided attention, which we seem to completely ignore. A great walk in the morning is one of these.

Ordinarily, in today’s hectic world, its quite possible that amidst so much that’s happening around you, making you feel that an ideal life is but a living dream, (which may remain as one), you tend to lose out on great many things that the future holds for you. A great walk in the woods while admiring nature talks to you in many ways than one. For many of us this may be one of those things for which you either need luck or perhaps the time. And most of us believe that these are never in one’s grasp.

There are many ways you could possibly benefit from an exercise as simple as morning walk. Up front, in today’s irritatingly fast world, you deprive your self of the much needed oxygen, that is anyways getting depleted with time. The earliest hours in the morning would probably give you this and the quality time to spend with the greenery around you, and observe around you things that only perhaps writers and poets around you seem to notice.

The oxygen that you get earliest in the morning also gives great amount of energy especially to your joints. The movement in your legs releases the good cholesterol in your blood, opening up some of the "chakras" or channels of energy, constantly moving your joints and increasing your blood circulation in a way that can only be completed with your daily morning walk.

Benefits of a great stroll

Besides a lot of things put together, a lot of people have noticed that despite the universally addictive feeling of laziness to leave their cosy bed, realize that a stroll helps in reducing stress. The wintry air in the morning that is at its coolest, soothes your nerves and allows your toxins to get cleared.

A naturally available medicine, your morning walk also allows you to get rid of any gastric blockages that might not allow you to get a sound sleep, and also adding to the excesses of pain to your body. Most diabetics have noticed a remarkable decline in their blood sugar levels, thanks to their regular promenades, especially the one taken earliest in the morning.

A boon to those who thanks to their heredity are blessed with diabetes, the morning walk is supposed to be the best option only next to their insulin injections. By and large these people who have to make the insulin injections their best friend have noticed that regular walks in the morning can also let them bid farewell to these forever! If you don’t believe me, just try it once for at least a month, I can guarantee you that you shall observe a marked difference in your entire lifestyle.

Its true that the things that work best in this world are expensive, and it cannot be more true than in the case of getting up early. What’s really the additional benefit is that morning walks are most of the time responsible for inducing great sleep. Titillating the pituitary gland, the oxygen which is best given to us by our green friends, (plants) the entire bodily system is revitalized helping the skin glow at its maximum. The facial muscles are royally treated with the windy atmosphere, lowering your blood pressure and helping you deal with a normalcy that you thought medicines would allow you to! Well, let me tell you that you thought wrong! And if you’ve already had a good walk in the morning, your cardio vascular exercise is completed and your body has completed its full circle, making you look at life rather differently and bringing in some harmony too!

Walk and the Woman

Most women complained of the excessive work that bogs them down and also that for at least four to five days in a month when they are going through their menstrual cycle, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to cope up with this routine. For them my advise to them is that you could include a special diet of bananas in your diet earliest in the morning for breakfast. Corn flakes and bananas are known to be the killers of PMS. Once the initial depression that menstruation brings in is battled, you can be sure that your walk may not be all that stressful, instead you can take it as a good stroll in the morning, making you enjoy your days and relieve you of the unnecessary hassles of being a woman! Think about it! Some food for thought!

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