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Iron Is One Of The Body’s Most Vital Minerals – But You May Well Be Getting Too Much Iron is probably the best known of all the essential minerals found in the human body; and this is not surprising since it is vital for the formation of hundreds of the proteins and enzymes on which health depends. But iron deficiency is nevertheless one of the commonest nutritional problems seen worldwide and is surprisingly prevalent even in the affluent West, particularly amongst vegetarians and those who consume little or no red meat. Unfortunately the solution is not ... Why You Need To Be Aware Of Your Copper Levels The human body contains more copper than any other mineral, except iron and zinc, and has been known to be essential for both human and animal health since the earliest days of Western medicine. Yet even now the full range of copper’s many functions is believed to be imperfectly understood, and researchers are still learning more. Copper principally acts within the body as a key component of many of the enzymes which govern its vital physiological processes and biochemical... Zinc - The Brain’s Anti-Oxidant Although dietary zinc has been known since the 1960s to play an important role in human health, it was not until as recently as 1990 that its role as an important ant-oxidant was identified. Perhaps not surprisingly, early attention focussed on zinc’s role as an essential mineral for sexual and reproductive health, particularly in the male; but it is now known that its functions are much more numerous. Indeed some nutritional practitioners go so far as to claim that plentiful... The Gifts And Benefits Of Myrrh The role of myrrh in the traditional Christmas story is well known, but the many benefits of this powerful herbal compound perhaps less so. Yet myrrh is far from being just an expensive gift of Kings in a long ago time. It has been used for several thousand years as a potent weapon in the battle against various types of infection, including bacteria, viruses and fungi. Myrrh is also an anti-inflammatory and appears to act as a general stimulant for the immune system. The n... Why Cat’s Claw May Be One Of Nature’s Most Powerful Healers Cat’s claw, known as una de gato in Spanish, is a herb derived from a vine-type plant which grows widely in the countries of Central and South America, and is particularly common in the Amazon rainforests and Peru. So vast and botanically rich are the wilds of the Amazon rain forest that many herbal practitioners still look to it as a potential source of powerful, but as yet undiscovered, herbal remedies. Although this hope might seem to some like wishful thinking, the exampl... The Health Benefits Of Flavonoids As Anti-oxidants Flavonoids are highly beneficial anti-oxidant compounds found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, red wine and even beer, and it’s now well established that a plentiful intake of anti-oxidants through foods, drinks and supplements is vital for optimal human health. Anti-oxidants operate to neutralise the activity of so-called “free radicals”; compounds produced in the body as by-products of normal biochemical reactions, but which may nevertheless be highly damag... Powerful Anti-oxidant Flavonoids Found In Red Wine And Chocolate There’s now good evidence that it’s not just in fruits and vegetables that health promoting anti-oxidant flavonoids are to be found. These powerful compounds have also been identified in tea, particularly green tea, red wine, beer and even chocolate. So if you’ve ever suspected that many of those who advocate healthy diets are motivated more by denying you your little pleasures than a genuine interest in your well being, now may be the time to take a little revenge. Fl... Coenzyme Q10: The Anti-Oxidant In Every Cell In human beings, coenzyme Q10 is the most common occurring form of coenzyme Q, needed by and found in every cell in the body. Perhaps its primary function is to ensure the production of adequate energy within the cell mitochondria, but coenzyme Q10 is also a powerful anti-oxidant, and is particularly important because it is the only fat-soluble anti-oxidant which can be manufactured within the body. Like other fat-soluble anti-oxidants, such as vitamin E, coenxyme Q10 is vita... Green Tea Or Black – The Choice Is Yours Whilst increasing attention is now rightly being paid to the health benefits of white and green teas, the virtues of the much more familiar, and still much more common, black tea, should not be neglected. All three are products of the camellia sinensis plant and as such have many common attributes, particularly in their anti-oxidant functions; the difference between them being entirely attributable to the differing methods by which they are produced. So-called “herbal teas... The Little Known Micro-Nutrients That Are Crucial In The Battle Against Ageing Nutritional science is becoming increasingly interested in the potential of certain micro-nutrients, which appear to be of particular significance in the battle against ageing. These so-called anti-ageing micro-nutrients include lipoic acid, and the amino acid, carnitine. Both lipoic acid and carnitine are manufactured naturally by the body through the normal metabolism of food, but what is particularly interesting to anti-ageing researchers is that the body’s ability to s... Just What Are Your Optimal Levels Of Vitamin C Intake? Amongst the general public today, vitamin C is probably the most popular of all nutritional supplements, perhaps principally because it is widely believed to be effective as a cure for the common cold. But there is much more to the nutrient than this, as was demonstrated by the celebrated Dr Linus Pauling, whose pioneering work hailed optimal intakes of vitamin C as a powerful weapon against flu, heart disease and even cancer. Pauling’s books became extremely popular, but ... How Minute Quantities Of Selenium May Have A Massive Impact On Your Health Selenium is one of those micro-nutrients which although required by the body in only tiny quantities are nevertheless vitally important for the health and well-being of the human organism. There’s now compelling evidence of selenium’s significance as an anti-oxidant, in fighting cancer and heart disease, and as a stimulant for the immune system. Selenium’s importance as an anti-oxidant lies principally in its necessity for the production of the key anti-oxidant enzyme, ... Lutein And Zeaxanthin For Healthy Eyes “Carotenoids” is the term which describes the large range of more than 600 phytochemical pigments from which many plants derive their characteristic red, orange or yellow colourings. Those most commonly found in modern Western diets are alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene. Alpha and beta-carotene have traditionally attracted most attention as they can be synthesised by the body to form vitamin A, one of the body’s most powerful anti-oxidants, im... Vitamin C: Why You Can’t Assume You’re Getting Enough Many benefits of vitamin C have been identified since the consumption of citrus fruit was first recognised as the immediately effective cure and preventative for the scurvy which so dreadfully afflicted the long distance sailors of a few centuries ago. Numerous studies have recognised the vitamin as a possible protector against coronary heart disease, stroke, atherosclerosis, hypertension and cancer, to name but a few, and it is possible that all of these effects stem ulti... Why Is This Natural Compound The World’s #1 Best-selling Muscle Building Supplement If you’ve been working long and hard in the gym but find that it’s weeks or months since you saw any appreciable gains in strength or muscularity, you may well get used to hearing that these sticking points are entirely normal and that there’s no alternative to working ever harder until your body somehow miraculously trains its way through the problem. But unfortunately when it comes to activities such as lifting weights, body-building, field athletics, sprinting or contac... Why Freedom From Disease Is Not The Same Thing As Optimal Health It’s now several centuries since fresh fruit and vegetables were discovered to be effective in preventing and curing scurvy, and such acute nutritional deficiency diseases are thankfully now extremely rare in affluent Western societies. But freedom from the overt symptoms of disease is not at all the same thing as the optimal state of health to which everyone fortunate enough to live in such a society can and should reasonably aspire. There’s now an abundance of evidence t... Don’t Neglect The Anti-oxidant Micro-nutrients When Taking Vitamin E Since its discovery in 1922 Vitamin E has become generally regarded as one of the body’s most powerful, versatile and useful anti-oxidants. And as such its importance should not be underestimated, because anti-oxidants are the principal defence against the free radicals which are responsible for much of the degeneration and consequent disease which afflicts the human body as it ages. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of vitamin E in protecting against and r... The 200 Essential Enzymes That Prove Zinc Is Vital For Health Zinc is one of the many trace minerals required by the body, but the fact that it’s required in relatively small amounts should not be allowed to obscure its significance. It’s required by the body for the production of more than 200 essential enzymes, one of the most crucial of these being superoxide dismutase, a vital anti-oxidant. The particular importance of superoxide dismutase lies in its role in mopping up the superoxide free radicals which are released upon the met... Why High Cholesterol (And High Choline) Foods May Be Good For Your Blood Choline is an essential nutrient but not, strictly speaking, a vitamin although it is often mistakenly thought of as a member of the B complex, with which it has numerous functions in common. Choline should be found in abundance in a normally healthy diet, but deficiencies have been linked with cardiovascular and liver disease, as well as impaired cognitive function. Until as recently as 1998 it was believed that the body could manufacture an adequate supply of choline fro... Why Ginkgo Biloba Is The Best-Selling Booster For Brain Function The preparations of ginkgo biloba commonly sold as herbal supplements are derived from the leaves of the ginkgo trees, which are probably the longest living in the world Individual trees are believed to live for up to 1,000 years and are found most commonly in southern and eastern areas of the US, southern France, China, and Korea. Traditional Chinese medicine has made use of the nuts of the ginkgo tree for around 5,000 years, but the use of the leaves is a relatively rece... Why The Magic Of Manganese Isn’t Just In The Name Manganese is one of those elements commonly referred to as “trace” minerals within the human body, because they’re found and required only in relatively tiny quantities. But that description should not be taken as reducing the importance of manganese in any way. Indeed the very name is derived from the Ancient Greek word for magic; evidencing the special powers which they attributed to it. Modern science is probably too cautious to go as far as that, but there’s no doubt that... Why Arginine Is A Non-essential Amino Acid You Can’t Do Without The subject of a great deal of intense research by conventional medicine, nutritional therapists and sports scientists for at least fifty years, arginine is now regarded as one of the most important and potentially beneficial amino acids. Technically it’s known as one of the “non-essential” amino acids, but the term in this sense means only that it can be manufactured within the body and therefore need not necessarily be obtained from the daily diet. “Non-essential” does n... Cut Through The Marketing Hype And Taurine Can Still Be Of Great Benefit Taurine is one of those perhaps lesser known amino acids which are known to medicine as “non-essential”. But “non-essential” in this context simply means that it is not essential to ensure a daily intake from diet, because the compound can be manufactured by the body, albeit in fairly small quantities. It should not be taken as lessening the importance of taurine or the other non-essential amino acids in any way. Much publicity has recently been given to taurine as a way o... How Methionine May Serve As A Natural Anti-depressant Methionine is one of the 10 essential amino acids which cannot be manufactured in the body, and must therefore be obtained from the diet. Like other amino acids, methionine is vital for the formation of the countless proteins which make up not only the body’s dry tissue, but many of its vital enzymes. Logically enough, as it is an essential component of protein, it is protein foods which are the best source of dietary methionine. Meat, poultry, fish and dairy products are kno... Get To Know Lycopene: The Little Known Anti-Oxidant “Carotenoids” is the term which describes the large range of more than 600 pigments which give many plants their characteristic red, orange or yellow colouring. Amongst those most commonly found in modern Western diets are alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and lycopene. Most attention has been paid to alpha-carotene and beta-carotene as these can be synthesized by the body to form vitamin A, which is one of the body’s most powerful antioxidants, immune sys... How Resveratrol Packs Red Wine With Health Resveratrol has recently attracted great interest in connection with the the so-called “French Paradox” which has long puzzled medical science. As a polyphenol type flavonoid it is in any case a very useful anti-oxidant, but many now believe it also to be the explanation of the relatively low rates of cardiovascular disease enjoyed in France despite a national diet traditionally rich in cholesterol and saturated fat. The French, of course, are also known as high per capit... Does Resveratrol In Red Wine Solve The French Paradox? Resveratrol is a polyphenol type flavonoid currently exciting great interest as a potential boon to health. Like other flavonoids and polyphenols, it is a very useful anti-oxidant in its own right, but resveratrol has attracted particular attention as a potential solution to the so-called “French Paradox”. This is the term used to describe the phenomenon, which has long been a puzzle to medical science, by which rates of cardiovascular disease in France have ... Discover The Magical Powers Of The Siberian Ginseng “Ugly Plant” In Russia, herb extract of Eleutherococcus, also known as eleuthero or Siberian Ginseng, was approved for human use as early as 1962 and many subsequent scientific studies have examined its effects upon thousands of people. Siberian ginseng is consequently known to be a powerful adaptogen, a term believed to have been first used in Russia in the late 1940s which describes substances found to help optimise physical and mental performance, and to normalise the body’s functionin... Go Three Days Without Food But Never A Day Without Green Tea Green tea became well known in China during the period of the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907) and was quickly prized as a promoter of health and vitality. There’s good evidence, however, that its many benefits had already been known to the elite for thousands of years by then. In fact legend tells of a stray camellia blossom, drifting on the breeze one day in 2737 BC, which found its way into the Emperor Shen Nung’s steaming drinking water and quickly infused it with all the charac... Use Tryptophan To Boost Your Levels Of The Feel-good Hormone Tryptophan is one of the “essential” amino acids; “essential” in this context meaning that it cannot be produced by the body, and must therefore be obtained from dietary sources. The best dietary sources of tryptophan are the animal proteins known as first class proteins because they contain all ten essential amino acids; principally meat, including poultry, fish and dairy produce. Second class proteins are typically obtained from vegetables, grains, nuts and beans, and con... Why Glutamine Is Vital – And Not Just For Athletes Glutamine is one of the amino acids which are described as “non-essential”, but this should not in any way be taken as implying that it is unimportant. In this context the term “non-essential” simply means that the amino acid in question can be synthesized within the body and therefore need not necessarily be obtained from food sources. Along with the other twenty or so amino acids which have been identified, glutamine is required for the formation of the thousands of protein... Why Calcium Is Vital For Far More Than Just Strong Bones It’s well known that adequate calcium is essential for the maintenance of strong, healthy, bones and teeth, and indeed this is where around 99% of the approximately 1.2 kg stored in the average adult human body is to be found. But this is not in fact this vital mineral’s most important function within the body, because calcium is also needed in the blood in very precise quantities to ensure that certain vital physiological processes can carry on unimpaired. These include t... How Phenylalanine May Help You Get Over A Setback In Training You’ve probably heard that around two–thirds of your bodyweight is comprised of fluid, principally water. But did you know that half of the remaining third (ie about 17% of your total body mass) is made of protein. And this is not just your muscles, important though they are. Protein also forms your skin, hair and nails; the collagen that literally holds your cells together is a protein, as are many of the countless enzymes that govern your body’s vital biochemical reactions,... Significant Deficiencies Of Dietary Magnesium Are Surprisingly Common Magnesium is one of the most important minerals for human health and is required throughout the body; but by far the largest quantities are found in the bones and muscles. Almost all the body’s enzymes are dependent to some degree on adequate supplies of magnesium, and these enzymes are essential for several hundred vital metabolic reactions; amongst the most important being the production of energy within cells through the metabolism of dietary proteins, carbohydrates and... Chromium May Not Help Your Body Shape But It’s Still Vital For Your Health Chromium is one of the lesser known of the trace minerals which are essential to human health, but there are two types you need to know about. Hexavalent chromium has wide applications for industry, but is toxic to humans both on external skin contact and through internal consumption. Trivalent chromium, however, appears to be not only completely safe, but potentially highly beneficial to health, and all mentions of chromium in the remainder of this article will relate onl... Boost Your Body’s Health And Performance With Adaptogens The term adaptogen was first used in Russia in the late 1940s to describe a number of herbal compounds which research suggests can act as powerful tonics and stimulants for the body’s systems; may help normalize the body’s functions in response to stress; and provide a powerful boost to the immune system. Adaptogens such as siberian ginseng have also been shown to help regulate the levels of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and important hormones. Adaptogen compoun... You Don’t Have To Believe In Miracles To Benefit From Aloe Vera If you take any kind of interest in the world of alternative health you’ve no doubt heard of aloe vera. The plant is native to Africa, but there are now hundreds of species growing around the world. Authorities differ on the question of for how long the large, fleshy leaves of the plant have been used medicinally, but none suggest that it’s less than several thousand years. And you’re probably very familiar with its traditional gel form, in which it is used externally on t... Is This Simple Drink Nature’s Most Powerful Anti-oxidant? The news today is all about the extraordinary growth of the Chinese economy, but is there a danger that in importing Western affluence the Chinese may also import our levels of the characteristic diseases of affluence – obesity, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and even cancer? Perhaps, but probably not, so long as traditional Chinese medicine retains its focus on promoting the balance and harmony of the entire human organism; on unleashing and then harnessing the body’s ow... Optimal Performance With This Stress-busting Natural Stimulant Eleuthero herb extract, or Siberian Ginseng, is just one of the many herbal supplements that so-called “experts” will tell you that you don’t need. And if you get a regular eight hours of unbroken good quality sleep a night; always eat a well balanced diet supplying all the nutrients your body needs; find your employment or business life both personally and financially rewarding; and take regular time out for relaxing breaks and vacations, those experts are probably right... The Crucial Benefits Of Vitamin A Vitamin A is probably best known for its role in eye health and promoting good vision and the legend that eating carrots is helpful for night vision, in particular, is based on the high levels of betacarotene that they contain. It is indeed true that retinol, one of the products of beta carotene within the body, is essential for the production of adequate amounts of rhodopsin, a substance also known as “visual purple”. Adequate amounts of visual purple in the light receptor c... Coenzyme Q10: Here’s The Least You Need To Know About This Vital Anti-oxidant Coenzyme Q10 is found within every cell in the body for the very good reason that it’s absolutely essential for the production of energy within the cell mitochondria. But the value of coenzyme Q10 goes far beyond its role in the production of energy, vital though this is. To give just one example: coenzyme Q10 has been widely used in Japan since 1974 as a drug for the treatment of the congestive heart failure which is a characteristic degenerative disease of old age, and ... Vitamin E: Why There’s No Need To Fear Nature’s Great Protector It would be a great pity if recent media scare stories highlighting the supposed risks of vitamin E supplementation prevented people, particularly the elderly, from ensuring that their diets include adequate supplies of this vital nutrient. These stories all centred on a single study, which was not new research but a meta-analysis of 19 previous reports focussed on subjects already identified as suffering from chronic diseases. The applicability of its findings to the usef... Beating The Free Radicals: Why Your Diet Alone May Not Be Enough Fail to ensure that your diet is adequate in anti-oxidants and you’re asking for your body to be attacked by free radicals. And the potential severity of this attack should not be underestimated, because free radicals are strongly implicated in the aging and degeneration of our cells and therefore of our bodies as a whole. If you’re at all interested in diet and nutrition you’ve probably heard of free radicals and gathered that they’re regarded as highly damaging. You may ... Use Carnitine As A Versatile Anti-ageing Nutrient L-carnitine is a compound derived from lysine, one of the eight essential amino acids required by the body. Although it is often described as a vitamin, L-carnitine is better thought of as a micronutrient which can be manufactured within the body. Dietary sources are important, however, because the amount of L-carnitine required by the body may sometimes exceed its ability to produce it. The very name “carnitine” is derived from the Latin “carnus”, which also of cours... How Vitamin D May Help In The Battle Against Cancer Vitamin D’s importance in maintaining strong, healthy bones through its interaction with the essential mineral, calcium, is well known. But the vitamin is also vital for the health of the nervous and immune systems, in regulating insulin levels and blood pressure, and even as a possible protector against certain common cancers. The best known and most serious disease associated with vitamin D deficiency is rickets, which arises when the deficiency causes blood calcium lev... Devotees Of Liquid Nutrition Hail The End Of The Horse Pill It’s perhaps one of the sadder ironies of our time that the astonishing affluence we enjoy in inessential luxuries should be accompanied by increasing poverty in the most basic necessity of all – the very food we eat. The one thing in which our modern Western diet is not deficient, of course, is calories, as a glance at our surging rates of obesity and diabetes will quickly confirm. But these calories are largely provided in the form of refined carbohydrates, sugar and fat... Try Bilberries In Your Diet For Long Term Eye Protection Like other anti-oxidants, plant flavonoids (or bioflavonoids) are important protectors against the cellular damage and associated degenerative diseases caused by free radicals. Flavonoids are also the compounds which give fruits and vegetables their colour, and the juice and skin of the bilberry, like that of cranberries and elderberries, is particularly rich in a type known as anthocyanidins, which impart their distinctive blue pigment. Recently hailed by nutritionists as...

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