Archive for the ‘ Supplements and Vitamins ’ Category

Are you worried about facing hair loss or are you concerned that your hair is not going to grow back ever again? If you are in this type of position, you should certainly be looking into the many natural hair loss treatment options that exist for re-growing lost hair. You can also use these techniques if you simply wish to have a fuller head of hair.

As you will see, as you research natural remedies further, most of the methods incorporated into natural remedies target the type of foods you are consuming through your diet. If you are consuming healthy foods through your average diet, you will be in a much better position to grow your hair. Also, healthy foods contain more minerals and vitamins that may be essential for help her growth than unhealthy foods do.

Generally speaking, a lack of hair growth, or even the loss of hair, is due to a diet deficiency. If you are facing a poor diet, your body may be deficient in a variety of vitamins minerals, and other important elements for the body’s health as well. If you are consistently deficient in these elements, you may be at risk of specific health risks, while also facing possible hair loss.

One easy way to promote hair growth and increase your body’s overall health can be done through consuming more vitamin A. You can either consume vitamins through a pill form, or you can eat foods containing the vitamins you need the most. The benefit of consuming foods that contain the vitamins you need is the fact that you will also be able to consume other important vitamins as you target the vitamins you need the most for hair growth. Vitamin A is a particularly good vitamin for promoting hair growth due to its ability to increase the health of the scalp in general.

Vitamin B is another important vitamin because this vitamin assists the body with absorbing oxygen. If your body contains a deficiencies in vitamin B, your hair may not be able to grow in full and thick as it would naturally. Another good vitamin for the body is vitamin C. As you consume vitamin C, your body will be able to absorb oils, fats, and oxygen in greater quantities, which puts your body in a healthier state for growing hair naturally.

Mineral consumption is also particularly important when it comes to promoting hair growth. Minerals are often incorporated into modern-day shampoos due to their ability to promote hair growth.

This is why many shampoos and shampoo companies are creating products that contain these important elements to promote hair growth. These products are also incredibly popular due to the minerals they contain.

The easiest way to increase your overall health, and add important elements to your body to support growing hair, is through eating specific foods. Eating foods like chickpeas, roast beef, soybeans, almonds, whole wheat, fish, and even oats and oranges can help promote hair growth. As you consume more of these types of foods, you will be consuming important trace elements that are commonly considered to be essential for hair growth and healthy hair in general. These natural hair loss treatment options are very safe and commonly considered to be very effective.

For a FREE bottle of Provillus natural hair loss treatment, please visit http://provillusinfo.org

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Caffeine, like chocolate, often receives bad publicity. Whilst in some instances, and in excess, these can have negative effects on our body, they can also be quite beneficial.

I am not disputing that some people are more sensitive to the negative effects of either caffeine or chocolate. For example, excess caffeine can create anxiety, nausea (particularly if taken on an empty stomach), an increase in heart rate, and even depression in some people. And chocolate is certainly not something that should form the mainstay of one’s diet. If struggling with sugar addiction, or wanting to lose weight, there are more nutritionally complete foods that are available.

But scientists have turned up some interesting facts on caffeine. For example, caffeine actually blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter in the brain (adenosine) that otherwise makes us feel tired. This is why it works so well to keep us awake. It also encourages the release of another brain chemical, dopamine (as well as adrenaline). Dopamine contributes to a feeling of well being.

Two studies, one a population based study (which are not as specific or rigorously defined as other types of studies, but nonetheless valuable indicators) found that drinking caffeine containing drinks like coffee and tea had a protective effect for those at risk of developing liver disease. Issues that the study participants had that increased their risk of liver disease included alcoholism, hepatitis B or C, obesity, or other complications.

And the results indicated that people who drank more than 2 cups of coffee a day had a 44% lower chance of showing actual liver damage compared to those who drank no caffeine. This was not a clinical trial, and the reason why coffee and tea had such an effect is not known. Coffee and tea contain a range of plant chemicals (phytonutrients) that could be responsible for this. A 2005 Norwegian study also found similar benefits for coffee with regards liver disease. This study found that drinking 3 cups of coffee a day could lower the risk of death from liver cirrhosis.

Even if you’re not at risk of liver disease, caffeine still has some advantages. Recent research from Austria showed that caffeine may actually enhance short term memory. Researchers found that there was an increase in brain activity (as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging) in the parts of the brain that were associated with memory and attention. These parts of the brain were the frontal lobe and the anterior cingulum. This was a placebo controlled study, meaning that some people were not given any caffeine. Another, earlier study (2004) found that caffeine did support short term memory, but only when it was in relation to a topic that people were already thinking about. This study found that when testing coffee’s effects on unrelated subjects, short term recall was actually inhibited.

Everything does have a flip side though. Adenosine, which is blocked by coffee, is also calming. This could be why it can also cause anxiety in excess, and in some individuals. After all, the balance of our brain chemistry is unique. And when we are addicted to stimulants like caffeine, we lose the sensitivity to our own natural stimulants (dopamine and adrenaline).

Tristan Andrews is a freelance author who writes about various topics for http://kitchenaide.net

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When the cold and flu season is in full swing, it’s essential to take extra precautions. Along with a healthy diet, plenty of rest, staying hydrated and exercise, effective supplements are an extra step necessary to keep viruses at bay. Antioxidants that have been proven to be an effective immune booster are the key to staying healthy.

Taking supplements including herbs, minerals and vitamins can be the difference between getting sick and staying healthy. Proven immunity boosters include Echinacea, garlic, vitamin C and Zinc.

The Immune Booster That You May Not Be Familiar With

An immune booster that is gaining attention from scientists is Elderberry extract. Elderberry is a fruit-bearing shrub found in temperate zones around the world and it has been used for food, drink and medicine for countless centuries. In the early 1900’s elderberry elixirs were given to school aged children to prevent illness.

The polyphenolic and phenolic compounds now known to be found in elderberry fruit are the antioxidants that help to boost the immune system. Elderberry extract is the best way to get the benefits of the immune boosting abilities. The extract has an unusually rich content of phytochemicals known as flavonoids. Anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids that is found among all fruit, but with the highest concentration in elderberries, act as powerful antioxidants that boost the immune system and protect the body’s cells from harm. They have a significantly greater antioxidant capacity than the better-known antioxidant, vitamin C. One study demonstrated that the anthocyanins found in elderberry actually modulate the production of cytokines, the proteins that act as messengers within the immune system and thereby serve to enhance the body’s response when a virus enters the body.

Attack The Virus At Its Source

While elderberry extract is an excellent immune booster, it’s also an effective flu remedy that attacks the flu virus at a cellular level. When the flu virus enters a cell and starts to multiply, antibodies immediately go to work to destroy the virus. If one’s immune system is working optimally, then the virus may not take hold and the person won’t even be aware of the fight that’s going on at a cellular level. But if one hasn’t been getting enough antioxidants, free radicals are formed which start chain reactions that damage other cells.

The discovery that has scientists so excited is that elderberry extract can work after the flu virus has already multiplied and the person has started having symptoms of the seasonal flu or H1N1 flu.

In a double blind, placebo-controlled study, 93 percent of the people in the group treated with elderberry lozenges were relieved of their flu-like symptoms within 24 hours. Fever and headaches were greatly reduced or eliminated completely, while the placebo group’s symptoms became worse.

Another study conducted at the University of Oslo demonstrated that products containing elderberry extract aide in the prevention of the influenza virus by preventing viruses from attaching to host cells, thereby preventing infection. In a 2005 London based study, researchers found that elderberry extract was 99% effective against the Avian Bird flu.

Get The Benefits

Eating elderberries doesn’t pack the same punch as taking concentrated elderberry extract. One excellent way to ingest elderberry extract is in the form of elderberry lozenges. Elderberry lozenges work by inhibiting viral invaders from entering into host cells, thereby halting their spread within its human subjects. Elderberry lozenges can be chewed or allowed to dissolve in the mouth, quickly delivering to the bloodstream a consistent dose of the proprietary elderberry extract.

While the CDC touts vaccination as the best prevention of coming down with the seasonal flu or H1N1 strain, boosting one’s immunity can be an outstanding precaution for maintaining respiratory health. Vitamin C, Echinacea and garlic are excellent immune enhancing aides, even though data on their ability to fight influenza A and B is inconclusive. Elderberry extract is an excellent immune booster to have on hand to reduce the symptoms of the flu.

Chris Harmen is a writer for Respiratory Guard Elderberry Lozenges (http://www.respiratoryguard.com/product.php). The lozenges deliver elderberry extract to the bloodstream and are an effective immune booster (http://www.respiratoryguard.com).

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Eye vitamins include vitamins A, C, E, B2 and they usually work in combination with minerals like zinc and selenium. They help our eyes stay healthy for a longer period of time, not to mention that they also function for the prevention of many diseases. They are inexpensive and they are available as over the counter medication. Even so, the administration of eye vitamins and any other supplements should not be taken lightly because of the risks of side effects and possible other drug interferences.

In more modern supplements, traditional eye vitamins are also combined with the popular lutein, an antioxidant that prevents the decay of the eye tissues triggered by free radicals. Specialists recommend consumer awareness for the use of these nutrition elements. For example, while beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) is considered highly effective for eye health, in the case of smokers it may lead to the development of disease. Beta-carotene and smoking make a dangerous association.

Eye vitamins can indeed reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts, while also improving other vision ailments. Antioxidants bring quite a lot of benefits here; thus, vitamin A helps people with myopia, vitamin C prevents or alleviates glaucoma while some essential fatty acids protect the eye against macular damage and alleviate the discomfort of the dry eye syndrome. The alternative to using eye vitamins is to have a balanced diet rich in all the necessary nutrients.

Eat leafy greens, yellow fruits and oranges, nuts and at least two servings of fish per week. Salmon, mackerel and trout are the richest sources of fatty acids that you can include in your daily diet. There are also some bad food choices that affect the health of the eyes in particular while unbalancing the functions of the entire system in general. This is the case with too much refined white flour and carbs. Even if you use eye vitamins, you should pay attention not to counteract their effect by very bad food choices.

Finally, the way you shop for eye vitamins is relevant here. You may come across very tempting product offers on the Internet, but don’t think of saving money first, but rather consider your health and safety. There are many issues at stake here, and the wrong choice of supplements could have a very serious impact on your health. Make informed decisions, talk to your doctor and supplement only if you do not assimilate enough nutrients from your diet.

Penny Mena covers everything you need to know on nutrition and how to improve your general overall health. For more information on nutrition and Eye Vitamins check out her latest website on Vitamins http://articletalent.com/vitamins

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Also known as niacin or nicotinic acid, vitamin B3 is one of the eight B vitamins. Like all the other vitamins in its category, this vitaminic element plays an important part in the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose. Without glucose, the body would not have any energy to perform common functions. Skin, hair, eyes, liver, nervous system and glands depend on the B complex for proper functioning.

The benefits of vitamin B3

Niacin regulates the secretion of stress-related hormones and sex hormones. It also plays an important part in the blood circulation and the reduction of the cholesterol levels.

Since niacin acts against cholesterol, this nutrition element is a major defense against atherosclerosis.

In the treatment of diabetes, it seems that niacin delays the passage from diabetes type 1(non-insulin dependent) to diabetes type 2 (insulin dependent).

For people who suffer from joint diseases such as osteoarthritis, vitamin B3 seems to enhance mobility, and reduce the need for the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or the used amount of such medication.

Vitamin B3 deficiencies

In today’s society it is pretty uncommon to get vitaminic element B3 deficiency because of the variety of modern man’s diet. Alcoholism is the primary cause for such deficiencies. Normally, niacin is a vitamin that we take from meals. In the past, severe deficiency of vitaminic element used to cause pellagra characterized by scaly skin, diarrhea and even dementia. Most of the symptoms of such a deficiency are digestive, but only medical investigations can lead to diagnosis.

Dietary sources for vitaminic element B3

The foods with the highest content of vitamin B3 include beef kidney, beef liver, salmon, tuna, swordfish, peanuts and sunflower seeds. All bread and cereals are presently fortified with niacin. There are some foods like eggs, red meat, poultry and dairy products that contain an amino acid, tryptophan that the body converts into this vitaminic element B3.

Vitamin B3 supplements

In case the doctor recommends you to use a niacin supplement, you can choose from tablet, capsules and timed-release forms. With timed-released supplements there are hardly any side effects, however, they may have a toxic impact at the liver level.

Niacin should only be used under medical supervision particularly since it may interact with other medications and dietary supplements. You may experience a burning tingling sensation on the chest and face after taking a vitamin B3 supplement. This side effect can be prevented by taking an aspirin half an hour before the administration of the supplement.

Penny Mena is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and quality health supplements. More information about Vitamin B3 visit Penny Mena’s website http://articletalent.com/vitamins/

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Vitamin B17 is extracted from apricot kernel and has made a reputation as one of the most powerful alternative-cancer therapies. The Food and Drug Association has not approved all supplements that claim to cure cancer based on this nutrition. Besides apricot kernels there are other food sources that contain this vitaminic element: bitter almonds, barley, bamboo shoots, blackberries, flax seeds, lentils, cashews, cranberries, strawberries, gooseberries, brown rice, walnuts, raspberries, spinach and lots of others.

At the moment, vitamin B17 preserves its reputation for the prevention of cancer, and the most common remedy extracted from it is Laetrile. Lots of doctors and clinics now offer Laetrile as part of their anti-cancer treatment. It seems that this modern day medical practice has deeper roots in traditional Chinese medicine. Masters of traditional Chinese medicine used apricot seeds to make teas for the treatment of throat tumors, infections and ulcers. This nutrition element is not inactivated by heating, nevertheless, anyone can consume fresh seeds. They taste quite pleasantly, and you just have to buy some fresh apricots to get kernels too.

Studies indicate that vitamin B17 does not prevent the DNA changes that transform normal cells into tumorous cells. It actually prevents the spread of the cancer once it has appeared in the body system. After treatments with this vitaminic element, tumors have been reported to shrink in size even if the cancer has not disappeared completely. Moreover, there is reliable evidence that this element can relieve the symptoms and prolong the life of cancer sufferers. Despite the controversies related to cancer and its treatment, doctors continue to consider alternative therapies useful and supportive.

This means that the anti-cancer treatment with vitamin B17 has received quite a lot of negative publicity. Almond seeds are non-toxic, and they do not represent a threat to your health in any way, nevertheless, there have been cases when the association with high dosages of vitaminic element C has led to cyanide poisoning. The relevant thing here is that you should not self-treat for serious conditions like cancer. A balanced, non-toxic diet that can include foods with a high content of vitamin B17 can help a lot, but it is imperative that you follow your doctor’s orders.

For healthy people, vitamin B17 should not be supplemented. The quantity we take from food is enough to help the body function optimally. Stick to a balanced lifestyle, a healthy diet and lots of physical exercises and you have all chances of being safe from chronic disease.

Penny Mena is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and quality health supplements. More information about Vitamin B17 visit Penny Mena’s website http://articletalent.com/vitamins/

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Prenatal vitamins are a category of nutritional supplements designed to meet the special body needs of pregnant and nursing women. They represent blends of nutrients that sustain the pregnancy and provide all the substances necessary to the growth of the baby. They should always be supported by a balanced nutrition in order to be efficient. The highest benefit of these nutrition elements is that they contain folic acid, a vitamin in the B complex that is vital for the growth of the fetus in the uterus. The health of the unborn baby depends on the mother’s folic acid intake.

The right moment to take them!

Most doctors recommend that women start taking prenatal vitamins a few months before they decide to conceive. Yet, since half of the all pregnancies are unplanned, future mothers should start the administration right away, following their doctor’s orders. These ones are available as pills, liquids and capsules, and they should be used according to the instructions.

The tolerance to prenatal vitamins!

Although the benefits of prenatal vitamins are widely acclaimed, there are women who don’t tolerate them too well. Among the common side effects of such supplements we can mention constipation and an aggravation of the morning sickness. Nausea and unpleasant gastric reflux are also possible. You should be careful with some elements, because beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) could cause birth defects to the child.

Tricks to make prenatal vitamins more pleasant!

Lots of future mothers discover that chewable prenatal vitamins are better tolerated. Get some gummy nutrition elements, because they could be just what you need. Talk to your doctor to change the type of supplement, or use natural herbal extracts that are especially designed to meet the extra-nutritional needs of pregnant women. Only purchase supplements from trustworthy sources and manufactured by well reputed brands. A manufacturer with a good reputation is the guarantee for supplement quality.

Be very careful with prenatal vitamins ordered on the Internet. If we are to follow common sense advice, I’d say to only use supplements you can put your hands on and read the label. The risk of scams is too high online, and with pregnancy, one cannot take any risks. Ask for a prescription from your doctor, and go to a local pharmacy to get everything you need. That is the safest and best course of action you could take under the circumstances. May you have a healthy and safe pregnancy!

Penny Mena covers everything you need to know on nutrition and how to improve your general overall health. For more information on nutrition and Prenatal Vitamins check out her latest website on Vitamins http://articletalent.com/vitamins

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