Did you eat a rainbow today?

Foods for beauty

Beauty Foods

While beauty is very much in they of the beholder, there are several traits that seem to be generally acknowledged as appealing.  Clear skin, strong teeth, bright eyes and shiny hair ar the indicators of good health.  They are attractive traits regardless of individual or cultural origins.

Foods to enjoy for beauty:
Grapes, strawberries, pineapple:
Use these fruits as topical skin exfoliants, as the contain alpha hydroxyl acids that help dissolve the dead skin cells that clog oil glands and cause pimples, whiteheads and blackheads. Eating all sorts of fruit in general is great for skin, as fruit is both nutritionally dense and hydrating.

Almonds, beets, cashews and Swiss chard:
wile poisonous in larger quantities, small amounts of the oxalic acid contained in these foods have been shown to clear the skin and heal blemishes.

Apple cider vinegar:
Apple cider vinegar is a natural tooth whitener and contains mild acids that remove stains from the teeth.

Barley, crimini mushrooms and Brazil nuts:
These foods contain selenium, a mineral essential to immune function that can protect the body from cell damage. Sufficient selenium intake also encourages healthy thyroid functioning, which prompts the growth and regrowth of hair and nail cells.  

Goji berries:
Research has found a link between goji berries and the reversal of skin damage, particularly damage caused by sunburn and UV radiation.

Foods to avoid:
Those looking for a glowing appearance should avoid smoking, refined sugar, and processed foods. The chemical in cigarette smoke narrow blood vessels in the top layer of your skin, which limits the blood flow and thus the transportation of nutrients to those areas.  This causes premature aging and wrinkles.  cigarette smoke also yellows the teeth, and may reduce the body's overall nutrient absorption. 

Others: Avocado, Cucumber, Radishes


Did you know?
Drinking 3 cups of oolong tea a day can suppress symptoms of the imflammatory skin disorder eczema.

Digestion takes more energy than any other body function

Nourishing your digestive system

Role of the digestive system

The digestive system allows us to eat, breakdown, and absorb our food, as well as eliminate food waste. It converts compounds in the foods we eat into the energy that supports all of our other bodily functions.

When fed properly, the digestive system powers us through life, but it is not magic. It can’t make quality fuel out of unhealthy ingredients, which is why we must eat healthy foods if we want to run at optimum health.

Digestion itself uses more energy than any other process physiological in the body, making it even more important to consider the nutritional value of everything we eat. Although a cupcake may be delicious, it contains few nutrients and is not worth the effort required to the digestive system to break it down. All of the energy exerted in digesting the cupcake literally gets flushed down the drain, without any benefit to other areas of the body. The better the fuel be consumed, the better we will operate.

Did you know? The intestine replaces its lining every 72 hours.

Components of the digestive system

Made up of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus, and liver, each organ of the digestive system plays a specific role to ensure that the body receives enough nutrition.

Digestion begins in the mouth, where we chew food into smaller pieces, break it down the saliva, and swallow it through the pharynx. Once past the pharynx, the swallow food moves down through the esophagus into the stomach. In the stomach, food mixes with hydrochloric acid that kills potentially harmful germs and starts to break proteins down to be absorbed. This acid – food mixture, known as chyme, then passes through the stomach into the small intestine where food is further digested, and nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. Any food particles left unabsorbed move through the small intestine into the large intestine. A large intestine pulls water out of the unabsorbed food, and condenses the remains into solid waste that is removed from the body through the rectum and anus.

Why consume nutrient extracted food?

Even the healthiest foods require a lot of digestive work in order to be broken down into particles small enough for the body to absorb. This is especially true of fruits and vegetables, which contains half, rigid fibers that are difficult to digest. Consuming nutrient extracted food is a great choice for anyone in any state of health, because extracted food is virtually predigested – allowing your body to effortlessly absorbed and utilize all the nutrients the food has to offer. When we extract foods we consume them in their most observable states, receiving optimal nutrition without having to rely on showing, stomach acids, or digestive enzymes to break down her food.

Digestion part 3

Common digestive disorders

The digestive system involves many organs, and issues can develop in any of them. Some, like stomach ache and constipation, can be self-contained problems or symptoms of more serious disorders.

Here are several of the most common digestive disorders:

dry mouth

Gerd/heartburn

bloating

indigestion

nausea

dyspepsia or stomachache

peptic ulcer

appendicitis

colitis

celiac disease

constipation

Crohn’s disease

diarrhea

diverticulitis

hemorrhoids

irritable bowel syndrome in the large and small intestine.

Prevention of disorders of the digestive system

while some digestive issues are caused by disorders and other areas of the body, many can be soothed or healed with proper dietary eating habits. In general, eating more fiber from low – calorie fruits and vegetables and drinking more water can help food move through the digestive tract efficiently.

Certain foods can also trigger unpleasant digestive reactions, and it is extremely important to pay attention to your body’s response to eating. Even healthful foods like tomatoes, whole wheat, nuts, and garlic can cause issues and people with sensitive digestive tracts.

Food intolerances can cause quite a bit of discomfort and can lead to other more serious problems, like chronic inflammation, so please consult your doctor regarding any specific food issues you may be experiencing.

Digestion part 2

Keep your Digestive tract healthy

Role of the liver:

• ·     Produces bile – liquid that helps break down fat and remove chemicals produced by dead red blood cells from the blood.
• ·     Breaks down nutrients so they can be absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to the organs.
• ·     Converts all foods into glucose for energy to be released through the bloodstream via insulin.
• ·     Detoxification – breaks down harmful chemicals that have entered the body from here, food, cigarettes, alcohol, into smaller, water-soluble compounds to be eliminated through the vial or urine.

Though not part of the gastrointestinal tract, the liver plays a large role in delivering the nutrients from food through the bloodstream to fuel other organs. The liver also plays a huge role in detoxifying the body.

Risk factors

Because the digestive system processes all of the food that enters your system, what you eat affects its function and efficiency. With digestion, it is equally as important to monitor how you eat as it is to monitor what you eat. 

Fiber is extremely important and digestive functioning, as it maintains regular elimination, which keeps the: claim. A lack of fiber in the diet may cause bells to back up, causing pain and discomfort in the short term, and contributing to the development of more serious disorders like colitis and: cancer down the line.

It is also important not to overload your system by overeating or swallowing too much air, as both put strain on the digestive tract. Overeating FX digestion at every stage, from contributing to acid reflux in the esophagus to decreasing nutrient absorption and causing constipation or diarrhea in the intestines. Swallowing too much air can cause painful gas and bloating in the stomach and intestines.

Staying hydrated is also very important in the digestive process, as proper hydration keeps food flowing through the system smoothly.

Like with other organ systems, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol can interfere with the digestive process. Both activities increase the chance of developing acid reflux and ulcers, and may keep the body from absorbing key nutrients.

Did you know? Each gram of soluble fiber consumed may reduce LDL or bad cholesterol levels by 2.2 MG/dl.

Got Healthy Veins and Heart?

Nourishing your circulatory system

The circulatory system is made up of a collection of vessels and organs that distributes life-giving fluids throughout the body. These fluids deliver nutrients to the tissues of your body, giving each solve the energy it needs to survive and thrive. The circulatory system can be divided into two parts: the lymphatic system and the cardiovascular system.

The lymphatic system produces and nourishes blood cells. It also plays a huge role in the immune functioning.

The cardiovascular system refers to the complicated network of veins and arteries that carry heart pumps blood through the body. The heart serves as the hub of this network, and each heartbeat transports blood to nearly every part of your body. The heart supplies your organs with oxygen, nutrients and chemicals they need to carryout their unique functions. This intricate system requires constant motion, and because every other organ system in the body depends so heavily on the blood, any interruption in the blood pumping process can have dangerous consequences.

The circulatory system can be divided into the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems. The lymphatic system consists of lymph fluid, lymphatic vessels, the lymph nodes, the tonsils and the spleen. The cardiovascular system is made up of the blood, heart, arteries, and veins.

Did you know?

If you lined all the branches of the average person’s blood vessels in a straight line they would total over 60,000 miles. That’s 2 ½ times the circumference of the earth.

Cardiovascular risk factors

Cardiovascular disorders are the most widespread health issues in America. From heart disease to blood clots, clogged arteries to your regular palpitations, dangerous heart and blood vessel problems hospitalize and kill millions each year. While some of these problems are present from birth, most result from unhealthy lifestyle choices. Smoking, inactivity, and poor diet are known to contribute to a variety of cardiovascular problems.

Smoking raises blood pressure, narrows the blood vessels, and increases the likelihood of developing dangerous blood clots. Lack of exercise fails to raise the heart rate slowing the rate at which blood circulates through the organs. This leads to fatigue, weakened heart muscles, and high blood pressure.

Unhealthy eating habits pose a huge risk to cardiovascular health. Eating a diet low in nutrients and high in sugar, salt, cholesterol, and fat, can trigger the buildup of bad cholesterol in our arteries. This cholesterol hardens into plaque that lines the blood vessels, leaving less room to blood flow through and increasing blood pressure. Arteries can become completely blocked with plaque – a condition that leads directly to heart attack.

According to the American Heart Association data collected in 2008.

• Over 780,000 people die from heart disease each year in America
• Coronary heart disease causes one out of every six deaths in the United States.
• On average, someone will die from heart disease every 39 seconds, someone will suffer a stroke every 40 seconds.
• Over 76 million people, or one in three adults over the age of 20, have high blood pressure.
• Heart disease and stroke cost patients over $173 billion annually.

Did you know?

The average heartbeats 100,000 times each day to pump roughly 2000 gallons of blood through the body.

Preventing cardiovascular problems

While age and genetics factor into a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, eating a diet rich in nutrients can fight the buildup of harmful plaque and can even reverse existing cardiovascular damage. Abstaining from tobacco products, getting plenty of exercise, and perhaps most importantly, eating a healthful, nutrient dense diet can help to prevent future heart troubles and reverse problems like high cholesterol and high blood pressure that can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, and stroke.

Did you know?

Women’s hearts tend to be faster than men’s – a woman averages 78 bpm while a man averages 70 bpm.

Keep your brain healthy

A recent study has minted a new diet that may significantly reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease. The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay ( MIND ) diet encourages regular consumption of 10 brain healthy food groups, which include green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries and whole grains, and limited consumption of five unhealthy food groups, which include fried or fast food and pastries ans sweets.  

Rush University Medical Center researchers studied the food intake of 923 people between the ages of 58 and 98 and scored how closely the participants' food intake matched the MIND diet, the Mediterranean diet or the DASH diet.  Next, they measured the incidence of Alzheimer's over and average follow-up of 4.5 years.
  
Th conclusion?
Those who followed one of the three diets had a lower risk of Alzheimer's. 
Those who moderately adhered to the MIND diet saw a 35% lower risk of the disease while those who moderately adhered to the Mediterranean or DASH diets had no reduced risk, giving the MIND diet the top spot.  

Bottom line: Stay with your clean diet by eating lots of dark leafy greens, nuts and berries, but if the disease runs in your family, it might be worthwhile to try the MIND diet. 

Article Thanks to Clean Eating Magazine June 2015

Immune System Part 2

Disorders of the immune system

Because it fights to ward off disease and infections every day, the immune system plays an essential role in protecting our health. It is involved in every thing from repairing a paper cut to killing life-threatening parasites. Every illness, injury, and threat to the body requires an immune response in order to heal.

When compromised, however, the immune system may lead in bacteria and viruses, which cause conditions like coals and flus.. If overworked, protective immune responses may even harm the body – causing issues like chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease, which occur when the immune system attacks healthy body tissues. The development of cancer is also links to a compromised immune system.

Common viral and bacterial infections

the immune system is the body’s first line of protection against viruses like the common cold and influenza, as well as bacterial infections like pneumonia, salmonella, urinary tract infection, and ear infection. While some of these conditions can eventually sort themselves out, others can be quite serious and demand medical attention.

Inflammation

inflammation is part of our normal immune response. When the body is harmed, it says lymph and white blood cells through the lymphatic system to flood the area of concern. This fluid uses chemical reactions to separate and remove the harmful substances, restoring the cells back to their normal state.

While brief periods of inflammation – known as acute inflammation – work to heal the body, inflammation that extends for long periods of time or chronic inflammation puts a strain on the circulatory and immune systems, damages body tissues, and destroys cells. Chronic inflammation can be attributed to a diet high in processed foods and/or to food sensitivities and allergies. Chronic inflammation makes the body more prone to contracting other illnesses that may cause autoimmune diseases – health problems that occur when the immune system attacks healthy tissues in the body. 

Autoimmune diseases include celiac disease (gluten), cirrhosis of the liver, Crohn’s disease, lupus, anemia, psoriasis, arthritis, and type I diabetes among others. Eating properly can drastically reduce and reverse chronic inflammation, while eating processed foods can cause its development.

Cancer occurs when mutated cells reproduce uncontrollably, forming malignancies tumors that can invade and eventually take over other parts of the body. There are over 100 types of cancer, and the disease can occur in virtually any body part.

The risk of developing cancer depends on both genetics and your surrounding environment. Having a family history of the disease, smoking, being exposed to radiation, and eating a poor diet all increase a person’s risk of cancer. However, much evidence suggests that eating natural, high nutritious foods can swing even the most at risk individuals back to the other side of the spectrum.

Free radicals and antioxidants

The theory that links the presence of free radicals in the body to an increased cancer risk is gaining support in both medical and holistic healing circles. Free radicals are molecules taken in from the environment that lack an electron. This missing electron makes the free radical molecule unstable and prone to stealing electrons from other surrounding atoms. When ingested, free radicals steal electrons from the Adams of healthy cells. This process has been cited as a cause of premature aging and a host of illnesses and diseases including cancer.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals. They do this by donating one of their own electrons to the free radical, so the free radical stops looking for an electron to steal. Antioxidants remain stable, even after they give an electron to a free radical. Certain nutrients, like vitamin C and E are particularly good for protecting the body against destructive free radicals. The best way to ensure you are getting a sufficient intake of antioxidants is by eating a balanced diet can of at least eight servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Immune System Part 1

Nourishing your immune system

 

The immune system protects the body from illness, infection, and disease. This complex system uses different body tissues and chemical reactions to defend our bodies from harmful invaders like bacteria, viruses, microbes, free radicals, and parasites. Different types of invaders trigger immune responses and produce antibodies – proteins produced by the immune system to defend the body. Over time, the body builds memory of which antibodies to use for each kind of invader, so protection becomes routine.

Components of the immune system

The lymphatic system plays a large role in the immune function. When vessels circulate and drain body fluids known as lymph to one from our organs. Lymph transports nutrients to the organs and removes any excess substances from them. Lymph also contains white blood cells – the soldiers of our body that kill a wide range of harmful invaders. White blood cells are manufactured in the finalists and bone marrow, then released into the lymph and circulated through the lymph vessels to their final destination.

Your blood contains roughly 50 billion white blood cells with the sole responsibility of maintaining your body’s natural defenses.

Risk factors for the immune system

Diet and lifestyle play a huge role in our immune system’s ability to keep our body functioning at its best. Unhealthy habits significantly increase the number of harmful chemical compounds our body takes in. These compounds, known as free radicals, are present in abundance in processed foods and alcohol. Free radicals also enter the body when we breathe in cigarette smoke, paint fumes, exhaust fumes, and other gasses and pollutants in the air.

Free radicals destabilize healthy atoms in the body, causing cell damage they may eventually lead to disease and illness. When our immune system constantly works to defend against free radicals, it has fewer resources available to fight off other invaders like viruses and bacteria, which is why we tend to get sicker when we fail to eat healthy or live a wholesome lifestyle.

Basically, the more free radicals we take in, the harder it becomes for our immune system to keep us healthy. If you are free radicals be taken, the more available our immune system is to seek and destroy other harmful invaders.

Immune statistics

• The immune system is closely linked to cancer – the second leading cause of death in the United States. CDC 2011
• An estimated 23.5 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease, and incidences are on the rise. US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010
• Autoimmune diseases collectively rank as a top 10 causes of death in women from ages 10 – 64. American Journal of Public health, 2000.
• Approximately one in two males and one in three females will contract cancer over the course of their lifetime. American Cancer Society, 2011
• Over 40 diseases have been classified as having autoimmune roots; these diseases can be both chronic and deadly. National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases, 2004.

Keep your Brain Healthy

The role of the nervous system

The central nervous system is the body’s communication and control center. It controls all mental activity including thought, learning and memory. Using receptors, the nervous system detects both external (temperature, light, sound,) and internal(blood pressure, pH, glucose levels) input. Your brain makes decisions every second based on all of its inputs. Your central nervous system has a huge responsibility for sending the appropriate signal to the appropriate muscle or gland to produce the proper response to the data received. It is the nervous system that sends signals telling you to jump away from a moving car instead of in front of it.

This complicated organ system needs to be well fed! Eating too much or too little of the certain nutrients can have a huge impact on brain chemistry. The chemicals that transfer signals between the cells of the nervous system can either stimulate or calm the brain. This has a significant effect on digestion, focus, sleep and mood. Because of what we eat plays such a large role in dampening or improving mood, this section will list some mood balancing foods.

Common neurological disorders:

meningitis, ADHD, multiple sclerosis, Bell’s palsy, brain tumor, stroke, epilepsy, ADD, dementia/Alzheimer’s, migraine, Parkinson’s disease, and cerebral palsy.

Nervous system disorders

With the system as complicated as the nervous system, one small problem can spell major consequences for the brain and the rest of the body. There are several factors that can lead to neurological disorders including genetics, trauma, and sell DK that naturally occurs with aging. While some of these factors cannot be avoided, others can be delayed and even prevented with a highly nutritious diet. In this section we focus on using nutrition to maintain overall brain health.

Stroke is the number one cause of neurological damage

One of the leading causes of death nationwide, strokes occur when the brain does not receive enough blood. This results in a swift and possibly permanent loss of brain function. Strokes can develop when blood vessels leading to the brain become blocked, or when blood vessels within the brain rupture. Clogged arteries, blood clots, or head trauma can be responsible for this interruption of normal blood flow. Suffering from a stroke may lead to hearing loss, paralysis, loss of speaking ability, or death, if not treated immediately.

Those strokes occur in the brain, they are also a disorder of the circulatory system. Individuals can reduce their risk of a stroke by following the diet, exercise, and lifestyle that is healthy.

Did you know? Roughly 250,000 neurons or nerve cells are produced each minute in the developing human fetus.

Dementia is the number two cause of neurological damage

Dementia is the term used to describe a gradual decline in healthy brain functioning. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Medical experts are still trying to pinpoint exactly what causes Alzheimer’s(and dementia in general) , but they have observed that the tangled neurons and plaque buildup in brain tissues generally accompany the condition. These defects may cause some of the problems associated with the disorder.

Alzheimer’s disease tends to run in families but may also result from gradually hardening arteries that limit blood flow to the brain over time. Symptoms become worse as a sufferer ages, and he or she may grow more confused, disoriented, restless and unable to carry out normal human functions as time goes by.

Nervous system disorder risk factors

A family history of stroke, mental illness, or vision problems can increase a person’s risk of developing similar health issues. However, this can be delayed, prevented and/or possibly reversed with proper nutrition.

Strokes are often caused by cardiovascular problems. A healthy diet free of artery clogging trans fats, processed foods, and LDL or bad cholesterol can reduce the risk of cardiovascular issues that can lead to stroke. Also it is important to avoid smoking. Smoking damages the lining of the blood vessels and increases the likelihood of developing blood clots.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain disorders are also associated with a high risk lifestyle. Like with stroke, smoking, drug use, and the load – nutrients, high-fat diet can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Poor diet also plays a huge role in depression and other mood disorders, as mood – lifting neurotransmitters or happy chemicals in your brain can only be made from specific food-based proteins. Diets that do not include these foods restricts the brain’s ability to make and release these certain chemicals, leaving us open to developing a mood disorder.

Finally, vision and degenerative eye disorders are often tied to conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. Both of these conditions relate to diet and lifestyle choices and are often brought on by eating processed foods and foods that are high in sugar.

Prevention

Like with almost all potential health problems, these nervous system disorders can be delayed, prevented and even reversed by eating a nutrient – rich diet. There are even certain foods, that have been shown to specifically help maintain healthy brain tissue.