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 »

Allergies are versatile. They can show up just about anywhere in your body and create an incredible variety of symptoms. They can

Allergic Reaction

affect your nose, eyes, throat, lungs, stomach, skin, and nervous system. They can make you itch, wheeze, and sneeze, make your nose run and your eyes weep, give you a headache or a bellyache, and even bring on fatigue and depression.

Allergy symptoms occur when your body’s immune system overreacts to substances in your environment. Most people can live with a little cat dan­der, dust, or pollen, for example. But people with allergies have immune systems that can react to just about anything that comes along. 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 »

Ours is a culture with little appreciation for spots. None of us like getting a spot on our record, on our reputation, or on our shirt. And we cer­tainly don’t like seeing spots when we’re looking into a mirror!

But as we age, many of us do begin to see spots, especially on our hands, feet, and face.

And whether we call them liver spots, age spots, or sun spots, the reac­tion is likely the same: We want a spot remover.

Technically known as lentigines, age spots are the result of excess pig­ment being deposited in the skin during years of sun exposure. So along with treatment, dermatologists also recommend avoiding exposure to the sun. 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 »