Researchers at Oregon State University are calling for the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C to be doubled to 200 milligrams a day in a new article in Critical Reviews in Food Science in Nutrition. Led by Professor Balz Frei, the article describes the current levels of vitamin C intake as the minimum amount to prevent scurvy. He calls for raising the current 75-90 milligrams minimum but 100% to increase cell and tissue saturation.
We know all to well how important healthy diet is.
Consuming healthy, nutrient dense foods have a direct positive impact not only on the way we feel, but also on our appearance.
Unless we are dealing with issues of heredity, certain medications or an underlying medical condition, the health of our skin, nails and hair is a reflection of our nutritional status.
According to four-time Ironman champion and guest coach for CNN Health’s Fit Nation, Chrissie Wellington, the most important part of your body to train is your mind. Having seen the obsession over logbooks, cardio training, weight training, and everything inbetween, when it comes down to it, every athlete realizes that “a strong mind is the most powerful weapon of all.”
Wellington says that she really learned this from her coach who told her “You have to get over your [mental weakness] the same way as you improve your athletic weakness – by knowing and training it.” Chrissie believes that it was not simply her heavy muscle and cardio training but her mind that carried her to her toughest victories.
Among her tips for training minds, which she will use as a coach on Fit Nation, is the power of positive attitude. It is important for people to think positively and fill their minds with positive images and thoughts rather than worry, fear, or other negative thoughts. This also helps you develop focus and discipline as you are being driven by your positivity, not being weighed down by negativity.
Wellington suggests creating a mantra for yourself. Her’s is “Never, ever give up – and smile.” but everyone is different. Smiling is also important because it puts you into the right positive attitude. A mantra also helps you stay focused on your goal and is a constant reminded of why you are doing what you are doing.
Most importantly, Wellington says, is to develop the habit of training yourself to be strong minded. This includes a continual self-assessment of both your attitude and your body language. You can’t suddenly decide you are strong-minded, you have to train your mind like you would any muscle. Ultimately, Chrissie says the top thing to remember is to focus on your goals and why you are going for them. Oh, and an uplifting song like Cool Runnings really helps too.
This fascinating video from Ted.com discusses how much our body language can actually shape our destiny. It’s a bit long – 21 minutes – but it could really make a difference if put into practice!
Those who have dealt with hair loss at some point in their lives understand how frustrating it can be to deal with this condition. The underlying issue is often not obvious, and even when the cause has been successfully identified, hair loss can be difficult to reverse.
Amino acids are a vital component to hair growth. They are even more than that, they are the building blocks from which the body creates the proteins necessary for life. They link together to form short chains, otherwise known as peptides which then form larger structures called proteins.
For most of us it is extremely difficult to talk about hair loss. It is understandable, as this issue affects millions and it is a highly sensitive subject amongst men and women alike. Our hair is one of the key elements of our appearance, which is worn with pride by those who are blessed with a full head of beautiful hair. Those, on the other hand, suffering from excessive hair loss often lose their self-confidence as a result. If you are one of the many losing his or her hair for seemingly no reason, you may wonder why all this is happening. While millions of people experience hair loss, and some will see their hair re-grow without doing anything, many will need treatment.
If you are one of the millions suffering from mild to severe hair loss, otherwise known as alopecia, or you simply want longer and healthier hair, you might have been researching the options available to you. Many people are taking biotin supplements, as biotin is often regarded as the “hair growth vitamin.”
A new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin shows that high-protein diets can rob your body of calcium, even if you get plenty in your system. In fact, the study further shows that vegetables are a better source of calcium than cow milk because it doesn’t have the same protein that would absorb the calcium that your bones should be getting. Read more
A recent study that monitored 14 trained male cyclists under age 45 has found that bananas are equally beneficial to sports performance as the popular sports drink Gatorade. The study, aptly titled ‘Bananas and Exercise Metabolism’, was performed to research how Gatorade, which is the drink of choice of most athletes, stacks up against more natural fruit alternatives in giving athletes that extra metabolic kick.
The study was broken down into cyclists that consumed Gatorade before, during, and after a 75 kilometer time trial and those eating bananas instead. All of the cyclists had an average diet with a moderate amount of carbohydrates and no supplements. Although the characteristics of bananas and Gatorade are so different, both produced very similar results in athletes’ blood glucose levels, inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic functions.
Researchers particularly focused on athlete liver function and how their bodies utilized the carbohydrates and various acids as fuel. Ultimately, they found that there was no difference between the help Gatorade gives you versus the banana. At the same time, researchers did find that bananas were a better source of antioxidants and dopamine, but neither had any effect on the athletic functions.
While bananas are obviously more cost efficient than Gatorade, one would have to consume bananas at the same rate as they would drink Gatorade. That means eating 6-7 bananas over a two to three hour period. Though this has no adverse effects, six bananas take up a lot more space than Gatorade and can cause bloating. That’s also because of the large amount of fiber that your body receives from the fruit. Researchers expect a big rise in banana-peel based supplements as a great way to help athletes’ endurance and metabolic functions, especially in a high-energy event.
New research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is the bearer of good and bad news. The bad news: over 90% of African-Americans have a vitamin D deficiency. The good news is that adding a 4,000 IU daily Vitamin D supplement can eliminate the deficiency in as little as one year.
The study compared vitamin D levels and supplementation with 47 African-American and white males with an average age of 64. At the onset of the study, 90% of the African-American men had a vitamin D deficiency and 66% had “very low” levels. There were also significant disparities between vitamin D levels in the blood between African-American participants and white participants.
There are two reasons for the disparity. First, various studies have shown that darker skin limits a person’s ability to produce vitamin D. Second, most people who live in northern countries are not able to get the necessary sun rays to get vitamin D, particularly in the winter. This means you really find yourself at a vitamin D disadvantage if you have darker skin and live in a northern country like the United States.
Researchers provided all 47 participants with 4,000 IU of vitamin D and found that disparities in the concentration of vitamin D in the blood between white and African-American participants was gone in one year.
Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer, the lead researcher on the study, hopes for a “Vitamin D3-based intervention targeting adult African-Americans.” Certainly with studies claiming that as many as 90% of African-Americans suffer from a vitamin D deficiency, there is a growing need for African-Americans to supplement their diet with vitamin D3 to help reverse the adverse effects of deficiency.
Vitamin D deficiency is closely related to osteoporosis, muscle weakness, bone weakness, common cancers and leaves your body at a larger risk for auto-immune diseases, infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and type-1 diabetes.
