Posts Tagged ‘Vitamin’
50 Nutrients Essential For Body
There are about 50 essential nutrients the body needs to be able to function with normal or optimal that can not be replaced with other substances. In routine, essential nutrients that are removed from the body through excretion process, therefore we must must always maintain the existence of essential nutrients in the body through our food daily.
Nutrients can be regarded as an essential substance if it meets two criteria as follows:
* Is a substance that is important for health, and
* The body can not reduce in adequate amounts. Thus, glucose, although the “essential” for normal metabolism, are not classified as essential because the body is usually able to synthesize all that is needed, from amino acids, for example.
In addition, the amount of essential nutrients that must be present in foods to maintain health is not a criterion for determining whether the substance is very important. Every day need about 1500 grams of water, 2 grams of the amino acid methionine, but only about 1 mg per day of vitamin thiamine is required by our bodies. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Health Info | 
Tags: Calcium Ca, Chlorine Cl, Cobalt Co., essential nutrients, fatty acids, Iron Fe, linoleic, Magnesium Mg, oxidative phosphorylation, Phosphorus P, Potassium K, Sodium Na, Sulfur S, Vitamin, water balance | 
2 Comments »
Functional Foods: Fortified For Your Health
The little time we spend on planning and preparing a healthy and balanced diet, fast food and the tempting choice of snacks of all kinds are to reduce the consumption of fruits and vegetables, among other products essential. This is an increase of cholesterol, obesity and lack of nutrients. The intention to avoid these harmful effects is causing the rise of so-called functional foods, those that provide beneficial substances to the body, such as minerals or vitamins, which have been enriched, apart from its own nutrients.
Emerged in Japan in the 80s: with increasing life expectancy of the population, increased health spending, so it is proposed to help health through food. These serve to prevent various diseases, vitamin deficiencies and mitigate cardiovascular problems and even birth defects. Read the rest of this entry »
What Causes Health Problems to the Immune System?
There is no simple answer to this question. There are a number of things that could be what causes health problems to the immune system. Immune system defense mechanisms can be weakened by a host of factors. Here we look at how the immune system functions and some of the issues that can lead to a compromised immune system.
The first immune system defense that bacteria and other invaders encounter is the skin. The skin contains keratin (which inhibits bacterial growth) and the sebaceous glands, from which hairs grow and sebum is secreted. Sebum is composed of fatty acids and inhibits the growth of some types of bacteria and fungi. If the skin is healthy and good health habits are practices, such as washing hands before touching the face, then many invaders can never enter the body proper.
Certain viruses, germs, bacteria and fungi are airborne, but there is an immune system defense built into the lungs and upper respiratory tract to fight them. Cilia (tiny hairs) lining the nose, throat and lungs can trap and help expel foreign bodies through coughing and sneezing. Cigarette smoking can be what causes health problems to the immune system, because the nicotine paralyzes these tiny hairs allowing bacteria or viruses to remain in the respiratory tract longer than they should. Cigarette smoking also inhibits the body’s ability to absorb vitamin C and other essential nutrients. Vitamin C plays numerous roles in proper immune system function.
White blood cells are the primary infection fighters in the immune system defense mechanisms. Any disease, condition or chemical which affects the body’s ability to produce adequate white blood cells can be what causes health problems to the immune system. Additionally lack of proper nutrition necessary for the body to produce white blood cells can lead to immune system problems.
Diseases which can lead to a compromised immune system include HIV/AIDS and a number of congenital abnormalities that relate to the lymph nodes and other portions of the immune system defense mechanisms. Treating these diseases may not always lead to the healthy function of the immune system.
In other cases, the treatment of some diseases leads to a compromised immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease and a number of other diseases are theoretically caused by a dysfunction of the immune system, in which white blood cells attack healthy disease-free cells of the body causing inflammation. Treating these diseases with immuno-suppressant drugs is what causes health problems to the immune system in some cases. These drugs limit the body’s natural ability to fight infection.
Anti-cancer drugs, corticosteroids and antibiotics can all lead to a general weakening of immune system defense mechanisms. Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, exposure to radiation and/or environmental toxins can all be what causes health problems to the immune system. If health problems of the immune system is defined as a weakened immune system response, then any of the things mentioned here could be the cause. Additionally, studies have shown that stress, depression, age, lack of sleep, lack of exercise or excessive exercise can all impair the body’s natural ability to defend itself.
There are natural products which have been proven to boost the immune system, even in cases where the immune system defense mechanisms have been compromised by any of the problems listed here. These products may contain beta glucans, andrographis paniculata or a variety of other ingredients.
Posted in Immune System | Tags: bacteria, HIV / AIDS, Immune System, respiratory, Rheumatoid arthritis, Vitamin | 2 Comments »