Vital Wellness

Some doctors who treat people with allergies recommend that their patients get the Daily Value of magnesium, which is 400 milligrams. That’s because population-based studies have suggested that low levels of dietary magnesium are associated with an increased risk of airway reactivity and respiratory symptoms. Research also indicates that high intake cf this essential mineral can improve lung function and reduce the risk of wheez­ing. Read the rest of this entry »

Research suggests that long-term alcohol use causes the liver to excrete vita­min A and impairs the body’s ability to convert

Vitamin A Food Source

beta-carotene to vitamin A.

So it should come as no surprise that people with cirrhosis of the liver, a disease commonly caused by chronic alcohol use, are frequently deficient in vitamin A. Vitamin A plays an important part in helping you to reproduce, to grow new cells, to fight infection, and, because of its important role in the retina, to see at night. Read the rest of this entry »

The unsteady gait, confusion, and poor memory that many of us associate with someone who drinks excessively are also symptoms

Thiamin Food Source

of brain damage caused by long-term alcohol abuse. Alcohol not only affects the brain indirectly by impairing absorption of vital nutrients, but it’s directly toxic to the brain as well. Studies using brain imaging have consistently found that alcoholic men and women have greater brain shrinkage than non-alcoholics. The cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for coordination and some forms of learning, seems to be especially vulnerable to alcohol. The cerebellum is also affected by the body’s stores of thiamin, which regulates the metabolism of brain cells. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Value: 18 milligrams

Good Food Sources: Beef, Cream of Wheat cereal, baked potatoes, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, clams.

Description:

There’s no doubt that many of us can use more iron than we’re getting. Roughly 20 percent of Americans are deficient in this mineral. The group most likely to be coming up short: women in their reproductive years.

Iron, which is absorbed in the intestines, comes in two forms: heme and nonheme. Found in meats, the heme form is well absorbed. Men get about two-thirds of their iron needs met by heme iron; the amount varies for women. Nonheme iron is found in vegetables and isn’t as well absorbed. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Value: 400 micrograms

Good Food Sources: Fortified cereals, pinto beans, navy beans, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, okra, brussels sprouts.

Folic Acid Food Source

Description :

Folic acid is a nutritional powerhouse that makes things happen within the body. It works with approximately 20 different enzymes to build DNA, the material that contains the genetic code for your body, and is essen­tial for normal nerve function.

It also seems to prevent heart disease and stroke by reducing the body’s levels of homocysteine, an artery-attacking chemical that accumulates in the blood of people who eat meats. Read the rest of this entry »