Why is Vitamin C Important
Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, maintains the ligaments, tendons,
and other supportive tissue. It is found in fruits and in potatoes.
Because it’s an antioxidant it helps regulate your blood cells, keeping
blood cells from becoming deformed from the toxics in the air, which in
some cases can cause cancer.
The best function of vitamin C is the formation of collagen, a protein
substance that keeps the cell together. Vitamin C enhances the
absorption of iron. It is needed for buoyant health, vitality and
endurance. It keeps your skin clear, with a fresh complexion and
healthy gums and teeth. It is very important for the functions of all
glands and organs. This vitamin maintains the bones and proper
functioning of the adrenal and thyroid glands. It promotes healing and
protects against all forms of stress – physical and mental.
So what happens if you don’t take enough vitamin c? If you become
deficiency of vitamin C you will have soft gums, skin haemorrhages,
capillary weakness, deterioration in collagen, anaemia, and slow
healing of sores and wounds. You will see yourself aging faster,
thyroid insufficiency, and your resistance to all infections will be
very low. Its deficiency enhances the toxic effect of drugs and
environmental poisons. Mild deficiencies of vitamin C may appear in the
form of lassitude, fatigue, anorexia, muscular pain, and greater
susceptibility to infection. Long deficiency may cause scurvy, which is
very dangerous.
Scurvy is a disease that results from insufficient intake of vitamin C.
This can leads to formation of livid spots on the skin, soft spongy
gums and bleeding from mucous membranes. A quote from Enchanted
learning.com, “Many sailors on long trips got scurvy, which at first
debilitates and then kills the victim. When the cause of scurvy was
determined to be a dietary deficiency, limes and other foods high in
vitamin C were brought on long sea journeys, putting an end to the
problem of scurvy. Bringing limes aboard is why sailors used to be
called “limeys.”
You can find vitamin c in fruits and vegetables. But most food fall
short or loose their source when it is cooked. To get the full benefits
you will have to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Taking vitamin c
supplements is also another great way, taking a supplement can help you
get the require amount you need everyday.
About The Author
Steve Parker a specialist in health and fitness.
Mr. Parker also is a freelance journalist and partner of
http://www.nutritionmountain.com, a website that offers dietary supplements.
Lose Weight by Eating More — Food that is Virtually Impossible to Store as Body Fat
Certain foods are extremely difficult for the human body to convert into body fat – not impossible but damned near impossible. By consuming calories derived from these foods, the anabolic margin of error is extended dramatically, which means it will be easier to lose fat and gain muscle, if you choose.
Lean protein, protein devoid of saturated fat, has been the staple, the bedrock nutrient of elite athletes for 50 years. Why? You can eat a mountain of lean protein and not get fat – assuming you train with intensity sufficient enough to trigger muscle growth. Lean protein is difficult for the body to break down and digest. As a direct result of this digestive difficulty, the body kicks the metabolic thermostat upward to break protein down into subcomponent amino acids.
The human body wants to preserve stored body fat as a last line of defense against starvation. If overworked and under-fed, the body will preferentially eat muscle tissue to save precious body fat.
Obese people that go on crash diets, precipitously slashing calories, might lose 100-pounds of body weight, yet still appear fat. Despite losing from say 350-pounds to 250-pounds, they still appear fat because they still are fat. The body has cannibalized muscle tissue and saved the fat. Though they might weigh 100-pounds less, they still possess 25-40% body fat percentile.
Lean protein is the bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it supplies muscle tissue battered by a high intensity weight workout with the amino acids needed to heal, recover and construct new muscle tissue. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it causes the basal metabolic rate (BMR) to elevate; the metabolic thermostat, the rate at which our body consumes calories, increases when digesting protein. Lean protein is a bedrock nutrient in the physical renovation process because it is damned near impossible for the body to convert it into body fat.
The other bedrock nutrient in the physical transformation process is fibrous carbohydrates: carrots, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, spinach, cauliflower, onions, asparagus, cabbage, salad greens, Brussels sprouts and the like. Fibrous carbohydrates, like lean protein, are nearly impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Fibrous carbohydrates require almost as many calories to digest as they contain. A green bean or carrot might contain 10-calories yet is so dense and difficult to break down that the body has to expend nearly as many calories to break down that bean or carrot as the vegetable contains.
Fibrous carbohydrates have a wonderful “Roto-Rooter” effect on the internal plumbing: as they work their way though the digestive passageways they scrape mucus and gunk off intestinal walls and help keep sludge buildup to a minimum. For this reason fibrous carbohydrates are the perfect compliment to a lean protein diet. Too much protein can cause bile buildup: fiber is the Yin to protein’s Yang. The two nutrients should be eaten together.
Both protein and fiber have a beneficial dampening effect on insulin secretions. It is no accident that professional bodybuilders, the world’s best dieters, capable of reducing body fat percentiles to 5% while maintaining incredible muscle mass, construct their eating regimen around protein and fiber.
The best way to eat is to eat often. If you eat 3,000 calories a day the best way is in five 600-calorie feeding or six 500-calorie feedings instead of a breakfast containing 400-calories, a lunch of 1000-calories and a late dinner of 1,600-calories. Avoid calories easily converted into body fat.
Eat multiple small meals in the 400-600 calorie range comprised exclusively of foods near impossible for the body to convert into body fat. Plus, these foods cause the metabolism, the BMR, the body thermostat to elevate in order to digest them. Optimally you should eat every three hours: in about the time the nutrients from the previous meal have dwindled, been expended and exhausted, in about the time the elevated metabolism is ’settling back down to normal,’ eat another small protein/fiber meal. This reestablishes anabolism, kicks the metabolism upward once again and gives the body more practice at assimilating and distributing quality nutrients.
They say practice makes perfect and by eating small, power-packed, tough to digest meals every three hours, the metabolism is kept elevated, anabolism is established and maintained and the individual never feels hungry. A person who is not hungry is far less inclined to binge on sweets and treats, junk and trash then the crash diet/calorie cutters who always feel hungry, deprived, listless and lacking energy.
The small meal/protein/fiber approach has been used successfully by elite athletes for decades and is not some untried dietary abstraction – rather it is the proven method of choice, one that has withstood the test of time, one that has been used for decades and been proven effective time after time.
If a person is able to establish a multiple meal schedule comprised primarily of lean protein and fiber eaten every three hours, then adds to this eating schedule some serious weight training and a cardiovascular regimen, physical transformation is a biological certainty.
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Vitamin D The Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, has proven to partake a great role in one’s health. Popularly acquired through taking in enough sun or drinking enough milk, vitamin D is more than for healthy bones. It was found to conserve muscle strength and can be protection for certain diseases.
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D dissolves in and is stored in fat. Sources of vitamin D include sardines, salmon, fortified foods like milk, breakfast cereals, and vitamin supplements. It is also created in the skin when exposed to sun. It affects various processes including the regulation of calcium.
Benefits of Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps in the regulation of cell growth, immunity and energy metabolism
Vitamin D prevents leg / muscle weakness. Leg weakness is a symptom for vitamin D deficiency. Researches showed that persons who have high concentrations of vitamin D tend to have decreased susceptibility for muscle weakness.
Vitamin D decreases the risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Studies found that the incidence of MS was lower in places near the equator thus abundant vitamin D.
For healthy bones! Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium from the food. Rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults, both described as softening of the bone is associated with Vitamin D deficiency.
Beyond bone protection, vitamin D has also been found to have promising effects to guard against diseases such as colon, breast and colon cancer.
It was found that children who had vitamin D supplementation were less susceptible to developing type 1 diabetes.
How much Vitamin D should you take?
The recommended amount of international units of vitamin D per day is between 200 to 600 IU, for children and adults up to age 50, 200 IU, up to 400 IU for adults aged 51-70 and 600 IU for adults over 70. However, most people do not even reach that range.
During summer, this amount is easily attained because the body can create 12,000 IU from just thirty minutes of sun exposure. Then again, it is hard to reach this recommended amount during winter times because people just acquire vitamin D from food. In addition, those who live further from the equator find it difficult to get enough vitamin D.
With the exceptions of people with the history of skin cancer or conditions related to sun exposure, moderate UVB exposure is a part of achieving the right amount of vitamin D in the blood.
It is worth mentioning that UV light is carcinogenic. Thus, protection from the sun is always necessary.
There is no need for prolonged sun exposure to stimulate abundant vitamin D production. Vitamin D experts say that for a mere 10 minutes of sun exposure a couple of times a week would produce thousands of units of Vitamin D.
The Sunshine Vitamin
Many dietary supplements are available in the market. Vitamin D is one of them. Although vitamin deficiency can be a concern, remember that too much of something is not also recommended.
The best advice would always come from your doctor. Consult your doctor and ask for recommendations on which brands to buy, if you choose dietary supplements, what other supplements he can recommend, and perhaps a meal plan that could maximize your vitamin intake.
Remember that the proper nutrition, right amount of exercise and enough rest is more important than dietary supplements.
Joyce Dietzel writes articles for-your-vitamins.com a website dedicated to vitamins -supplements -herbs- minerals
http://www.for-your-vitamins.com/VitaminD.html