All About Vitamin A

Vitamin A was first discovered back in 1912, by a Polish biochemist named Casimir Funk. He came up with the word vitamine, which was later given the name vitamin. Funk was the first to discover vitamins as we know them today...

Good Food Health Vitamin Intake

It is essential that a person is aware of what constitutes good food health vitamin intake. The federal drug administration produces a recommended daily allowance for the majority of vitamins which it regards as a good food health vitamin intake...

A Guide to the C Vitamin

The c vitamin has got to be the most widely known vitamin these days. It is not surprising because the body needs c vitamin for over 300 functions. In fact, the c vitamin has been proved to help protect against heart disease, cancer and other serious illnesses. Without the c vitamin the body would not be able to heal itself either. This is because the c vitamin is vital for the formation of collagen...

Liquid Vitamin Supplements

Several years ago, liquid vitamin supplements were never heard of. In the past, tablets and pills were the ideal way to take supplements...

Discount Vitamins

Instead of paying full price for the vitamins and supplements you need, you can always save a bit of money and go with discount vitamins...

A Guide to Natural Sleep Aids


Everyone has experienced occasional lost sleep. But, lost sleep on a regular basis is a cause of concern and might be a symptom of insomnia. If you are one of the many suffering from insomnia, you can choose from a wide variety of sleeping aids. One such option you can choose is by using natural sleep aids. These all-natural sleeping aids are usually herbs, foods, or methods that are used to promote sleep. Some of the most popular natural sleeping aids include the following:

Valerian

This herb's use as a sleeping aid can be traced back to centuries ago. Interestingly, valerian works similarly to conventional sleeping pills. By increasing the levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter in the brain, valerian induces drowsiness and sleepiness. You can take valerian an hour before bedtime as an extract, tea, or capsule. You can experience its full effect after a week or two of regular intake. 

Light

The level of light the body is exposed to produces different reactions. A lot of light signals the body to wake up while a decrease in it induces the body to sleep. However, slight differences in the level of exposure may confuse the body and cause irregular sleep. For example, if you stay indoors with minimal lighting during the day, the body might not recognize the shift between night and day. To increase chances of better sleep, expose yourself to more light by walking around the neighborhood in the morning or early afternoon.

Aromatherapy

This form of therapy relies on your body's response to certain olfactory signals. Scents like lavender, chamomile, and ylang ylang work well in calming your body and mind. You can try putting lavender sachets in your pillow or adding lavender oil to your bath water. You can also try sipping chamomile tea before going to bed.

Relaxation Techniques

Insomnia or lack of sleep is often due to the stress you feel. Practicing relaxation techniques prior to your bedtime increases your chances of having a better sleep. Some methods you may want to consider include deep breathing, visualization, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation.  

Sleep-friendly Diet

Different foods have varying effects on your sleeping pattern. Whereas caffeine and sugar-rich foods can disrupt your sleep, foods rich in tryptophan and magnesium can help you sleep better and longer. Including foods like milk, turkey, legumes, dark greens, and nuts in your diet is a good way to boost your body's tryptophan and magnesium levels.

Music

According to studies, slow and soft music can soothe and relax the body. By playing soft tunes before bedtime, your body becomes primed for sleep. Sounds of nature like water flowing through rocks or chirping birds are also good choices.

Exercise

Regular physical activity boosts your body's endorphin levels. Endorphins, also known as the body's feel-good hormones, relax and soothe the body. Exercise also relieves muscle tension and stress which promotes deep sleep. However, keep in mind not to exercise close to one's bedtime as this can increase adrenaline levels and induce insomnia.


What Is the Best Protein Supplement?



This can be a query in which experienced bodybuilders are commonly asked by those who are just starting out, and it is a question that really doesn't have a simple answer…or does it? The truth is that the greatest necessary protein product is often the one which anyone be, usually with a combination of other protein supplements. Furthermore, the best protein supplements are those that are consumed immediately after your workout.

Don't listen to the carb hysteria! Carbohydrates are very important to bodybuilders. They will not make you fat, as long as you are taking in the right carbs, at the right time, in the right amounts. In fact, without carbs, your body will burn protein for fuel, and you need that protein to feed your muscles. Let carbs fuel your body instead. The best protein supplement will contain about 25 of your daily intake of protein, post workout. Whey protein is the best protein for this purpose.

You must add glutamine! While you have your insulin levels high, this is the perfect time to restore the amount of glutamine in your body. This glutamine plays a vital role in muscle repair. 2 to 5 grams of glutamine needs to be added to the best protein supplement for your post workout. You'll be amazed at how great your feel.

Hopefully, you understand that creatine is important pre-workout, but you also need to realize that it plays a vital role post workout as well. When used with water, which should be a part of your post workout protein supplement, creatine flows into your muscle cells, and helps to rehydrate them. It also starts up stimulating anabolic processes. 3 to 10 grams of creatine are recommended, post workout.

There you have it. The best protein supplement, used after your workout, will contain all of the previous mentioned nutrients. Again, finding one product that does it all is just about impossible. Learn to mix products for the best results.


Your Physical Exercise and fitness




It is very important possibly be match, everyone understands of which. Your physical fitness has a big impact upon how you feel about yourself, and how much effort your body has to expend in order to keep working. Lack of physical fitness has supposedly reached an epidemic proportion in America, though the truth is that Americans are obsessed with physical fitness, and TV doctors and celebrities alike make a fortune through selling fitness videos and books to the public. Unless you’re planning to buy ‘em all and use them as weights to lift up and down every day, none of these will ever do your physical fitness any good at all.

The best way to improve your physical fitness is by incorporating regular activity into your daily routine. It is not necessary to take out full membership of your local gym, or even attend one exercise class. What it does mean is choosing an activity that increases your heart rate, or improves your strength and general flexibility. Walking a few more blocks, doing some gardening or housework, climbing the stairs, are all examples of something that can fit quite easily into your routine, but which can also increase your physical fitness. Taking the elevator, driving the car to the shop at the corner of your street, and spending more time in bed are all things that will not improve your fitness level.

A healthy lifestyle cannot be a fad, or something that you will do ‘next year’. It should be on your ‘to-do’ list all year round, not just as a New Year Resolution that you never intend to keep. Once you start on an exercise regime, you will need to keep that up for the rest of your life; or your physical fitness will be lost, and you will have to start all over again. Without regular exercise, the muscles reduce, and fat takes its place (muscles do not become fat, they merely move over to make more room for it if they aren’t used). It is therefore important that you choose a regime that is going to keep you interested in the long term; every year throws up a new ‘fitness fad’, but most people take them up and then discard them after a fortnight. Instead, choose something that you enjoy. If the thought of being instructed on stepping up and down on a plastic board fills you with scorn, then you might try something else – martial arts are always popular, and a physical fitness regime which incorporates some kind of team sport will also help to keep you interested.

Remember: physical activity everyday is the key to fitness, and that is what is important. Improving your physical fitness can provide you with more energy, and will help you to feel more positive about yourself.

Your Quality of Life



Your body is a living biological organism just like any plant or other animal, all your organs, fluids and cells work as a team, if one part of the team is not at its best, your body becomes diseased and illness sets in.

Think of your body as a football team, you don't have to know anything about football; all you need to know is that you have a home team and an opposing team. The football field is your life, from the moment of the first play, your birth, to the final goal, the end of your life. The opposing team, all the outside evading sources are attempting to cut your life short by stealing the ball and going in the opposite direction. I call this premature death due to disease or illness.

The opposing team is made up of some really big players, free-radicals and chronic inflammation, these players never get tired and they will never give up. From the moment you are born, free-radicals enter into your very young body with your very first breath and start their attack on your cells. Free-radicals are molecules or atoms that are missing an electron, they attack any cell they come in contact with and try to steal an electron from them. Free-radicals continue their attack until they succeed, in the process they damage the healthy cells they are attacking. Free-radicals are a part of life. They are in air and water pollution, they are in the processed foods we consume, free-radicals are also caused by traumas and injuries. Another source of free-radical damage comes from the medications we take in order to recover from illnesses; this particular free-radical damage from medications is called “side-effects”. There are times in our lives when we need to take medications to combat a serious illness, but we must keep in mind that we have to boost our immune system during the time we are on these needed medications. This will minimize the side effect damage and aid in our long term recovery. Every time you breathe, fresh free-radicals are entering your body and start playing for the opposing team. The next opposing team member is chronic inflammation; scientists are calling this player a silent killer. Our bodies are amazing organisms; if it senses an injury or illness it sends in a home team member, called inflammation, to aid in the defense of our body and help restore the area that is damaged. This is where the game gets a little complicated; free-radicals cheat, they don't just damage a cell when they steal an electron, they actually mutate the cell or deform it, the damaged cell then becomes another free-radical; when the home teams healthy inflammation tries to go in and protect the now unhealthy cell that the body senses as damaged, the unhealthy cell turns on the inflammation and attacks it stealing an electron. Now the once healthy inflammation cells become mutated or deformed themselves and become chronic inflammation attacking healthy tissues inside our bodies. Boy oh boy, this starts a whole chain of continuing events. But remember this; the football game has two teams playing on the field.

You have to breathe everyday in order to live; now you know that every time you take a breath free-radicals are entering into your body and doing damage. You can however win the game if you take in large amounts of anti-oxidants to refresh your team players. Anti-oxidants are your really big players; they are molecules or atoms that have an extra electron that they will give to a free-radical. When this happens the free-radical no longer plays on the opposing team, instead it begins to play for you. This is what I call building your team forces, your team force is your immune system. Your team works together but your immune system is your coach, if your immune system is strong it can send in the needed players at the right time to fight any invaders that your body may encounter. But you have to feed your immune system; it requires necessary minerals and vitamins as well as large doses of anti-oxidants everyday. If you starve your immune system of the required nutrients, then the players on the field do not get the reinforcements they need to win. Most people start taking multi-vitamins when they get older, but parents should start their children on multi-vitamins as soon as possible and teach their children about nutrition starting at a very young age. People as young as 20 years of age are being diagnosed with diabetes in this country due to their poor eating habits. This is a very scary trend that is taking place. Many 30 year olds have heart disease also due to their poor eating habits, “hardening of their arteries”. Scary!

What did you eat today? You are breathing in polluted air as you are reading this article, what type of defense did you provide your immune system with today? I hope you took your vitamins and minerals; did you eat any fresh fruits, or fresh vegetables? What about your children?

Most plants contain about 1,000 to 1,500 anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals also contain large numbers of anti-oxidants. Vitamin C and E contain the largest amount of anti-oxidants. You can take as much vitamin C as you want without harming your body, but vitamin E has a recommended dosage per day, take much more and you can cause yourself problems, do not exceed any recommended dosage for your weight. Fish also have high numbers of anti-oxidants, try putting that into your diet a few times a week. Now think about this, you can destroy the anti-oxidants in your food through your cooking habits. Do not microwave your vegetables or fish, either steam or broil; do not cover in fats and fry. Foods are delicate and you can destroy any health benefits through any improper preparation. Foods are also biological organisms just like you. Now if you are like me and have a tendency to burn things, then do what I did and invest in a juicer and juice your vegetables and fruits, juice your way to healthier living. The amazing thing about juicing, there are so many combinations you can get your kids to drink their vegetables by adding sweet fruits to the mix. Wow!

Now let's look at the numbers, because of our ignorance, we as a population of people, have caused serious pollution problems on this amazing planet we live on. So we end up taking in roughly one billion free-radicals per day, in the form of pollutants. Let's see how many anti-oxidants we can take in; if we have one whole grape fruit and two eggs and one piece of toast for breakfast, and let us not forget our multi-vitamin, we will take in about 3,600 anti-oxidants. For a snack we have a banana and a glass of milk that's about, let's be generous, 1,800 anti-oxidants. Lunch we have fish with steamed spinach and one cup of whole grain rice, that's about 4,000 anti-oxidants. Dinner comes and we do very well and have a nice cut of steak and some steamed broccoli with red onions and mushrooms, we now add a yam to that meal and we take in 9,500 anti-oxidants. For the day we did not do very well at all, only 18,900 anti-oxidants. We are losing the football game and we thought we were winning. What can we do? You can drink a lot more fruits and vegetables, by juicing them instead of trying to eat them, and you will not lose the anti-oxidants in these life saving foods. There is also a newly discovered fruit from South East Asia called the Mangosteen Fruit.

The mangosteen fruit has be used in South East Asia for centuries for all types of aliments.  To date there is a significant range of known traditional uses such as; anti-diarrheal, anti-inflammatory, pain control, treatment of infections, fever control, gastro intestinal problems, skin rashes and burns, headaches, anti-parasitic, musculo-skeletal and joint problems, control of blood sugar and diabetes, infections - viral, bacterial and fungal, as well as mouth ulcers, prevention of atherosclerosis, dementia, anxiety and depression, cancer and anti-aging concerns, and there are many, many more. The list of health benefits continues to grow as more clinical studies and scientific research is done on this fruit.

For the last 20 years independent universities and scientists have been doing studies on the mangosteen fruit, they wanted to understand why the people of South East Asia did not suffer with the same diseases that we experience in this country.  The serious diseases that are killers here in America are barley seen in South East Asia. As the scientists were beginning to study this particular fruit they found out it has the ability to help with disease control. A chemical compound called xanthones was discovered inside the skin of this fruit in record numbers, another amazing thing was the record number of anti-oxidants found in this fruit. The mangosteen fruit contains the highest number of anti-oxidants ever found in one food source, an unbelievable 25,000 per fruit. Wow!

In nature xanthones are very restricted in their occurrence, what I mean is look at the Aloe Vera plant, it contains only one xanthone, yet it is used for medicinal purposes in a variety of ways. When the news came out about how good the Aloe Vera was for burns and skin problems, people began to grow Aloe Vera in their yards and break pieces off when ever they had a skin problem. Over 200 hundred xanthones have been identified in nature to date and 41 of those are in the mangosteen fruit alone, that's almost a full 25% of all the xanthones that are known.

What can xanthones do for you? Xanthones are a new class of chemical compounds with biologically active plant phenols. Xanthones are a unique, biologically active group of molecules with a six-carbon ring; this structure makes the xanthone very stable and also allows it to be extremely versatile. Each xanthone has a unique chemical formula that permits the xanthone to perform a specific biological function when consumed. Xanthones are so stable that they can defeat more than one free-radical at a time and render it harmless while still performing a biological function. Xanthones show several beneficial properties such as, anti-inflammatory, anti-tuberculosis, anti-tumor, anti-platelet stickiness and anti-convulsive. Scientific studies are making it evident that xanthones are responsible for a wide range of medicinal benefits experienced by people using this juice. The mangosteen fruit is a food, not a drug, and therefore dose not have the inherent dangers associated with medications. The thousands of people now drinking mangosteen fruit juice for medicinal reasons are reporting positive beneficial effects on their conditions. The mangosteen fruit has three components, the skin or pericarp, the fleshy fruit and the seeds, all of the components have the powerful xanthones and anti-oxidants, but the majority are in the skin or pericarp. Another thing you need to know is usually xanthones must be eaten into their natural type. The mangosteen fruit juice is the whole fruit ground up in order to make a juice out of it; nothing is wasted, so you receive the full benefit from this amazing fruit. To learn more you can call 1-888-374-4148 and listen to a recorded message about mangosteen fruit juice.

By changing your diet to a healthier menu and adding mangosteen fruit juice, you will enhance your team players by supporting your immune system so they can defend your body against the outside invaders.
You will have a wonderful quality of life!

Should You Take Vitamins Supplements?



In nowadays very accelerated paced world we do not ingest a proper diet all of the time. Whenever you lead a engaged life and do not acquire sufficient vitamins for your body to function decently then you should be compensating with natural vitamin supplements.

Vitamins are the most common diet nutritional supplements; they are required by the body for essential metabolic reactions. Different vitamins have different uses and can have multiple reactions and functions. There are thirteen human vitamins divided into two groups: the nine water-soluble vitamins (eight B vitamins and vitamin C) and the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).

Naturally, the virtually obvious welfare to accepting multi vitamin supplements is convenience. It is far easier for a person to take one dosage of a multi vitamin supplement that contains all of the necessary vitamins compared to accepting each one one by one. This is specially the case for children as it could be difficult for them to take a large number of vitamin supplements but one dosage of a multi vitamin supplement is far easier.

Nutrient content claims for dietetical supplement vitamin describe the level of extraordinary type of vitamin or vitamins in that supplement. For instance, accordant to numerous health organizations, a dietetical supplement vitamin with at least 12 milligrams per serving of vitamin C might deliver the following expressed on its label: "Excellent source of vitamin C."

To make the decision less complicated there are now a lots of multi vitamin supplements made for particular people. For instance, there are multi vitamin supplements that are made for children. These multi vitamin supplements contain the particular nutrients that children demand for them to grow and develop decently. Pregnant women have singular nutrient requirements to ensure that their baby receives the essential nutrients and there are multi vitamin supplements developed for pregnant women.

Problems with the digestive tract can be improved quite a bit if you slowly increase your intake of quality nutrients. A diet that is high in organic matter is the preferred way to improve your digestion, although you may need to use nutritional supplements as well.

Vitamin supplements are accesible in a number of different forms, including capsules, tablets, liquids, and even chewable tablets. Also, there is a great variety in the brands and the real content of the vitamin supplements.Do some research and find out what these vitamin supplements contain. Pay attention to dosages, ingredients, safety precautions, and other significant info.Buy the right supplement for you, and when in doubt, refer a physician or your health professional before ingesting any vitamin supplements.

Origin of Yoga: Connection With The Mind, Body, And Spirit


Yoga's purpose is unifying the body, mind, and spirit. A series of postures,
breathing exercises, and meditation achieve this connection. With the
integration of the body, mind and spirit, you can attain a physical and mental
balance in your life as well as abundant inner peace.

 The practice of yoga begins in the mind. It doesn't matter your physical
strength, flexibility, weight, or experience. Yoga is a practice that you are
encouraged to work at your own pace, never requiring anything more than you have
to give at that particular moment. Yoga is completely for yourself. Practice can
be as intense or as simple as you need it to be. Yoga teachers never push you to
do more than you can do. It's completely your practice, your 30 minutes - 1 1/2
hours (depending on the type of yoga) you are giving to yourself. It is a giftto you!

When your mind is able to concentrate fully on your yoga practice the
unification of body, mind, and spirit takes place. This is the beneficial
intention of practicing yoga. There are many situations where you may be
struggling with problems and are continuously thinking about them. The problems
keep you awake even at night. Your sleep deprived, stressed, and miserable.
There aren't any immediate solutions and most of your time is spent worrying.
Your mind is so preoccupied and full of difficulties. You are no longer living
in the present moment and find that your happiness is suffering. Along with many
other psychological medical conditions depression may be setting in. Does this
sound familiar? Do you question yourself about being depressed? You may find
yourself taking those quizzes in the doctor's office and notice you answered
"yes" to most of them.

Pilates is a wonderful software to have an overactive mind in addition to remedying 
depressive disorder. Pilates any time applied adequately, quiets your head in addition
 to grows peacefulness in addition to relaxed atmosphere pertaining to this body-mind. 
You should try producing pilates practice a regular routine in your
existence. 

Dealing with life's troubles and a unsettled mind may appear less stressful. 
You can be superior geared up to cope with these kind of issues as a result of
greater mental manage in addition to patience. When you trying to find a thing to help you
superior handle stress while increasing your actual system as a result of tightening,
defining in addition to treatment you should not go wrong commencing a new pilates program.
Any pilates program may help you discover methods to issues you might have in no way
thought to be. Deep focus in addition to inhaling in the course of pilates grows remarkable
hearing ability, patience in addition to pleasure permitting your thoughts to be able to bare. You may
end up in a quieter position.

3 Ways To Drink More Water

After a little research it is apparent that nobody really knows where the saying that you need to drink 8 cups of water per day comes from. Some people trace it back to a study in the 1980's, and other people claim that doctors starting telling people that amount because it was a good goal, but didn't have any scientific research to back it up with.

Either way, the point is clear, water does wonders for your body, and your brain. Water is well known to cleanse your body of harmful chemicals through your intestines and also throughout your urine tract. Without proper water intake, our bodies break down very quickly, in a matter of days. Without food, however, some people can live for a week or two. That just shows how important water is to our bodies.

Here are 3 quick tips for taking in more water.

1. Always have water available.

I like to buy the 12 ounce bottles of water and keep them in the fridge. Whenever I go to the gym I grab a bottle. On my way out the door to work, I grab a bottle. Before a trip that will be 30 minutes or longer, I grab a bottle. When I watch a movie, I grab a bottle.

Whenever I am sitting watching TV or a movie, I will keep the bottle in my hand with the lid off. I take a lot of little sips until the bottle is gone. A great way of making sure you drink more water is to make sure it is easily accessible.

2. Keep it cold.

I don't know many people who like to drink room temperature water, I sure don't. If you keep your water cold, you will drink more. I make sure there is always ice in my freezer, this make it very easy to have a cold glass of water anytime.

3. Chose water in restaurants.

Whenever I go out to eat, I always drink water with some lemon. The lemon adds a little spunk to the taste and the water is always nice, cold and refreshing. After a short time you will stop craving your old drink of choice and will begin to appreciate the taste, or lack of taste, that water provides.

Give water a shot and your body will be thankful!