Vital Wellness

Doctor recommends other nutrients: vitamin A, selenium, and zinc. These nutrients play important roles in the health of mucous membranes, your body’s internal skin.

Nutrients Chart

If you have healthy mucous membranes, your chances of having signifi­cant allergy problems will be less. The mucous membrane is a layer of cells that secrete the slimy substance we all know and should love, because it contains an array of infection-fighting bio-chemicals. Mucus also shields cells from direct contact with pollen and other allergens, sub­stances that trigger allergies.

This mucus layer protects cells from the damaging effects of air pollu­tion. Studies show that people who are exposed to both air pollution and allergens are more likely to have severe allergic reactions than those exposed only to allergens. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Aside from a thiamin deficiency, excessive drinking can also cause a defi­ciency of vitamin B6, a nutrient needed for formation of red blood cells as well as reactions involved in normal cell functions.

Pyridoxine, or vitamin B6, is more rapidly eliminated from the body during heavy drinking, over 50 percent of those who drink excessively seem to have defi­ciencies. Eating a well-balanced diet that includes 1.3 milligrams of vitamin B6 can correct the problem, but only if no further alcohol is ever consumed. Good food sources of pyridoxine include meat, fish, poultry, or fortified cereals. Read the rest of this entry »

At age above 35, woman who lies on beach for sun bathing, sunscreen carefully smoothed over her wrinkle-free skin, her naturally dark hair tucked under a scarf and a pair of dense wraparound sunglasses shielding her lovely blue eyes from the morning sun.

Beside her is a cooler containing several bottles of spring water and a fresh fruit salad of watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew for lunch. Next to her on the sand is a pair of well-used sneakers for the 2-mile walk she takes along the water’s edge every day.

There are no wrinkles or stretch marks marring her perfect body. And she’s determined that there never will be. She’ll do whatever it takes to defy aging until the day she dies.

What are the odds that she’ll make it? Better than they were a decade ago. Back then scientists had already found the reasons that we deteriorate into wrinkles, bags, age spots, flab, and life-threatening conditions. The reasons were, and still are, genetics, disease, environmental factors such as smoking and diet, and the aging process itself. Today these scientists also know that every single one of these factors may be directly influenced and perhaps even altered by getting enough of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. Read the rest of this entry »

If vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin, then vitamin C is the sun block vita­min, say some researchers—many of whom also proclaim it the healthy skin vitamin.

In general, vitamin C is important for keeping the skin younger look­ing, recommends a safe daily vitamin C intake of about 300 to 500 milligrams to maintain skin quality.

Studies have shown that just a minimal amount of ultraviolet rays can deplete exposed skin of vitamin C by 30 percent. Exposure to the ozone in a polluted city can decrease levels of vitamin C by as much as 55 percent. Med­ical researchers have also found vitamin C to be of some help when applied topically. It has been shown to significantly reduce the amount of so-called free radical damage that occurs from sun exposure. Free radicals are naturally occurring unstable molecules that steal electrons from the body’s healthy mol­ecules to balance themselves. Unchecked, they can cause significant tissue damage. Read the rest of this entry »