Boost Your Immune System with Antioxidants

There is probably no group of nutrients in the food supply today more celebrated than the antioxidants. It boosts the immune system, prevents disease, and even help slow down the aging process. As a matter of fact, they may be the most powerful health enhancers in the food supply.

Antioxidants seem to be more effective when working in combination with other immunity-boosting, cancer-fighting nutrients present in food. The best way to get your supply of antioxidants is to eat plenty of leafy greens, broccoli, and fruits like apples, oranges and cantaloupe. You can also get it from brown rice, olive oil, and many other delicious foods. Simple by eating these foods, you can protect yourself from allergies, the common cold, flu, arthritis, heart disease, cancer and even cataracts, to name a few. In most cases, these potent nutrients can help you prevent and overcome chronic illnesses, as well as keep you younger and healthier.

Antioxidants attack the very causes of illnesses, aging, and depression of the immune system. The most common diseases people suffer from today happen because cells, tissues and organs break down, or decay, through oxidation. This process of oxidation creates free radicals, destabilized molecules that form scar tissue at very sensitive locations throughout the body. This includes the skin, eyes, arteries and brain. Damaged tissue replaces the normal ones, but can’t fulfill its intended function. When scar tissue manifests itself in collagen in skin, you get wrinkles; when it manifests itself in the brain, it can result in Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases.

The antioxidants in your body hunt free radicals, stopping them in their tracks. They restore stability to molecules, cells and tissues by giving electrons to decaying molecules. With this, antioxidants slow down the oxidative process, which is one way to prevent diseases and slow the aging process.

Dude, your breath stinks!

Say you're trying to flirt with a hot girl, and she seems like she just wants nothing else but for you to go away. You wonder, why? Ever think that it wasn't really you that she's trying to get away form but it's your breath. Humiliating, right?

Bad breath or halitosis, in the most common cases, can be traced back to smoking, drinking alcohol or eating foods notorious for their lingering odours such as garlic, onions and anchovies. But sometimes the problem is caused by an underlying medical condition.

So, what causes it? The real culprit, odour causing bacterias that tend to multiply in the mouth due to dry mouth. The less saliva produced, the more bacteria thrives. Bacteria may also hang out on the tounge, in food debris that accumulates on dentures, and on the teeth. Also, underlying gum disease, a chronic sinus infection or poor digestion of foods is often the cause.

As we learn since we were kids, oral hygiene is important. Brush your teeth at least twice a day and don't forget to floss. But what they never teach us is, supplement could also do wonder to combat bad breath. Place just a drop or two of peppermint oil on the tounge a couple of times a day. Remember, too much of it could cause digestive upset. Drinking peppermint or spearmint teas, as well as plenty of plain water, may also help to fight bad breath by keeping the mouth moist.

Another approach is to chew on several fennel seeds, anise seeds, or cloves to freshen the breath. Fresh parsley has the same effect, as it is high in chlorophyll, which has been proven to be a powerful breath freshener and also detoxifies odours caused by poorly digested foods. Spirulina, wheat grass, chlorella, all of them also contains chlorophyll. Or try chewing on spirulina tablets, that helps too.

Your Immune System Could Use Some Help

The thing is, we're no doctors. So, how would we know? I found these set of questions that could help you to determine whether or not your immune system need some help. Answer these questions using true or false.

1. I often get colds, sore throats or the flu.
2. My ilnesses typically last for two or more weeks.
3. I usually feel tired throughout the day.
4. I frequently travel long distances for short stays.
5. Recently, I experienced great stress: loss of a job, the death of close relative or relationship problems.
6. I've recently taken long course of antibiotics.

SCORE

How many times did you answer TRUE?

NONE The chances are that there are few stresses on your immune system and that it is working well. A healthy lifestyle will help you to stay healthy and well.

ONE OR MORE Your immune system could be under stress, which by all means that you are prone to disease. Revitalise your body to make it better able to fight disease aggressively and help to keep you fit and healthy.

Help! I Got Zits!

We usually call it zit, the book call it acne. Occurs when the sebaceous glands at the base of the hair follicles of the skin secrete too much sebum. This thick, oily substance is normally released from the pores to keep the skin lubricated and healthy. If the sebum backs up, it can form hard plugs that block the pores that cause pimples. If one of these oil plugs ruptures beneath the skin's surface, a localised bacterial infection can develop.

Hormonal imbalances can lead to an overproduction of sebum, which is a common problem during adolescence, especially for boys. For women, menstrual periods or pregnancy can also create acne-producing hormonal disturbances. Other than that, emotional stress, the friction or rubbing clothes against skin, and certain medications, particularly steroids, contraceptive or drugs that effect hormone levels could triggers acne. However, sayings about eating chocolate, nuts, fatty snacks or drinking soft drinks could cause acne are totally a myth.

So, how can supplements help? Vitamin A is important because it controls the overproduction of sebum, which is the main cause of acne. While Vitamin B6 may be useful for acne aggravated by menstrual cycles or menopause. And Vitamin C boosts the immune system, helping the acne-causing bacteria in check. Taken with any or all these vitamins, zinc enhances immune function, reduces inflammations and promotes healthy hormone levels. But keep in mind that copper should be taken with zinc to avoid anaemia. It may also help to take along zinc with essential fatty acids such as flaxseed oil and evening primrose oil in order to dilute the oily sebum, reducing the likelihood of clogged pores.

What else you can do? Well, firstly, wash daily using ordinary soap and water. Next, eat a balanced diet. You should also choose cosmetics labelled 'noncomedogenic' or 'oil-free'. Most importantly and we all know this, do not pick on your pimples!

New Age of Nutritions

Today, dietary supplements or complementary health-care products, as they are officially called in Australia - encompass a dizzying array of vitamins, minerals and herbs, as well as other compounds that have been extracted or created from natural sources.

Since most are available without prescription, supplements are available in every supermarkets and pharmacies. Most shopping centers have health-food sections that stock a wide selection of supplements. You can even order supplements from the catalogues or the Internet. Do you know that the annual supplements sales in Australia are estimated at close to $2 billion, and in New Zealand at $150 million? One crazy industry, huh?

You can see the public interest in supplements through the media, which carry regular reports about them. With all the attention and the sky high sales of supplements, there's no surprise that millions of people around the world, including doctors and scientist, have come to believe that substances such as garlic, echinacea and grape seed extract, along with vitamins and minerals, are as beneficial to health as low-fat foods, exercise and aspirin. That's right, supplements are as good! Cool, huh?

Garlic Not Only to Keep Vampires Away

I read a true story in a magazine about a 25-year-old lady. She was diagnosed with a high cholesterol levels. Doctor warned her that she only have a few months to lower her cholesterol levels naturally or else she needs to be put on medication. At that time her cholesterol level was 280.

Then she found a recipe. She ate one clove of roasted garlic every day for three months and her cholesterol levels dropped very quickly. The truth is, consuming garlic was believe to interfere with the metabolism of cholesterol levels in the liver, and lowers the amount of cholesterol released into the bloodstream. Studies have shown that people who regularly consume relatively large amount of garlic and onions have lower cholesterol levels than people who don't.

Now, the lady's cholesterol levels drop to 170. Cool, huh?

Anyway, the recipe is to take one clove of garlic, one teaspoon of olive oil and one bay leaf. Place them on a sheet of aluminum foil, tossing in salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 180º Celsius, then spread on bread or add to any dish that calls for garlic.

Would you striptease?

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kirsten Dunst and Carmen Electra have one thing in common. They are all practicing a new sexy cardio workout, Cardio Striptease! It's fun and unique exercise practiced with clothes half on or half off and involves a series of circular movements that engage the whole body, putting emphasis on the core and glute areas. All movements are low impact and modelled after actual strip club dance moves. Well, now we know why all those strippers' got gorgeous bodies.

Now, do you have to get naked in cardio striptease? No.. But then, what you do behind closed doors is entirely up to you..*Wink.

Indigestion: Do's and Don'ts

Ever feel discomfort in the upper middle part of the abdomen, sort of feeling bloated, nausea, then the uncontrollable burping came, and heartburn? These kind of feelings are often associated with belching wind. If you do, then you may be experiencing indigestion which usually results from eating too much, eating too quickly, eating high-fat foods, or eating during stressful situations.

During this time, you also feel kind of feverish, in other word, not fun! Trust me, i know. Because i just had one of these yesterday. So, what did i do and didn't do? Allow me to share it with you.

Do's

1. Do work out what foods make the pain worse and avoid them.

2. Do avoid alcohol.

3. Do avoid stress.

4. Do raise the head of your bed or stack up a few pillows under your head.

Don'ts

1. Don't skip your meal.

2. Don't smoke.

3. Don't stoop and bend.

4. Don't take aspirin or any drug containing it because aspirin irritates the stomach.

It may sound simple but it helped me a lot. These are valuable simple guidelines.

Shall we take a walk?

May i ask, how did you go to work today? Did you drive? When was the last time you took the stairs instead of the elevator? You can't recall? How often do you take a stroll around the park? You don't have the time?

Do you realize that walking is one of the easiest activities to fit into a busy day? Especially if you divide it up into three 10-minutes sessions. For example, 10 minutes walk to get to the corner store near where you live. Another 10 minutes walk to get home and another 10 minutes in the evening, enjoying the air and the scenery at the park. Doesn't sound so hard, doesn't it? Then, why not?

Walking could increase your heart rate and burn sky high amount of kilojoule. Besides, study show that walking could fight insomnia and depression. And it's a cheap work out too. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes, properly fitted to get started.

Do you know that in New Zealand, walking is the most popular activity with 59 percent of men and 80 percent of women taking part. They walk for 10 minutes for exercise and enjoyment. Studies also shows that women who starts walking as a work out method will keep it up. On the other hand, those who take up other activities such as swimming and running call it quits within the first week!

It's time to lace up those shoes and take a walk, don't you think?

Dear Ladies.. (Part 2)

Hello, ladies. How are you doing today? Healthy and fit, I hope. Because if not, then I’m afraid I’m not doing a good job here. Anyway, as promised, I would share more tips for women out there in order to maintain your fitness and your health.

Lets start with quit smoking. If you are smoking, I urge you to stop. And I do have to stress out here that it’s a big No-No for pregnant ladies, as it will not only affect you but the health of the baby too. Here’s a fact that you might want to look into; recent studies have shown that women smokers are more prone to disease than men smokers. You are prone to a high risk of getting breast cancer. And ladies, please limit your alcohol intake. Plus, there’s nothing graceful about a drunken lady anyway, am I not right?

It is important for you ladies to also include exercises in your daily routine. If you do not have time for exercise, a short walk to work, choosing to use the stairs instead of the elevator or playing with your kids at home would do wonders. And for those who couldn’t find the time to go to the gym, home exercises could be as effective, such as Yoga and Pilates. Let me tell you that exercise not only ease up stress but it also help in limiting the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Other than diamond, sunscreen is also a women’s best friend. Protect your screen from the harmful rays of the sun. Wear hats if you have to. There’s only so much sun your skin can tolerate. Too much, your skin will be prone to cancer and it could also speeds up the aging process of skin cells, which in other word, wrinkles!

And last but not least, visit your Gynecologist. If you are eighteen and above, it is important to get your Physical Examination annually for the Pap Smear test. And for those who are forty and above, get your mammograms. Breast self-exam should be a done religiously.

And that, ladies, conclude my advice for the day!