Month: July 2015

Zinc supplements provide a much needed mineral that is needed by each and every cell in your body.

The body is unable to produce zinc on it’s own, which is why we need to makes sure we eat enough food that contains the mineral, drink enough water, or use the proper supplements that will give our cells the zinc they need.

Why Do you Need Zinc Supplements?

Zinc is very important, as it plays a crucial role with hundreds of processes in the human body.

The most prominent functions include support of the immune system, joints, tissues, along with aiding in cell growth.

Zinc supplements have also been proven to eliminate sexual dysfunction, boost sexual function, aid in the health of the hair, and help with skin wound healing.

The Role Of Zinc In The Body

Zinc Supplements

No matter how you look at it, zinc plays an important role in the function of most of our senses, which includes the ability to taste, smell, and also sight.

Research has indicated that zinc can counter vision loss in the event of macular degeneration.

A deficiency of zinc on the other hand can lead to dulling of the taste buds, along with the ability to detect scent.

Do Not Take Too Much Zinc Supplements

Although zinc is an essential vitamin for our bodies, taking too much of it can be a bad thing. Research has proven that taking more than 100 mg daily for an extended period can cause damage in the immune system.

Older folks on the other hand, can benefit from taking zinc if they have a deficiency. The supplement can actually help older people bring their intake back up to the levels they should be at.

When taking zinc supplements, you should always remember that zinc can indeed interfere with your absorption of copper. For this reason, a lot of experts recommend that they should be taken together.

Anyone who takes a zinc supplement should take it as part of a well balanced diet, to ensure that other vitamins and minerals work together with the zinc.

With most dietary supplements in the U.S. being unregulated, you should always choose a manufacturer who is GMP compliant.

Manufacturers that are GMP compliant will always follow the manufacturing standards of zinc, in order to minimize and quite possibly eliminate the risk of contaminants that you could be getting from the supplement.

If you choose your supplement wisely, you shouldn’t have to worry about any problems. You can buy zinc supplements at GNC, online, or other nutrition stores.

Zinc Supplements aren’t expensive either, which makes it a welcome edition to your diet.

You should always consult with your doctor if you suspect that you have a zinc deficiency, so that he or she can tell you exactly how much zinc you need on a daily basis.

This way, if you aren’t getting enough in your normal diet – you can get the supplements you need.

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It is no secret that childhood obesity is on the rise. Truth to be told, obesity has been around for sometime now, but childhood obesity is more of a recent phenomenon.

Now let me tell you the root cause behind obesity. Almost everyone would say that you become obese because of following unhealthy eating habits, but WHY do your kids follow unhealthy food habits?

Is it just to satiate their tastebuds?

If that would have been the case, then they would be eating those “bad” foods only once in a while and not daily at breakfast, lunch and dinner; also eating moderate amount of fast foods doesn’t make anyone obese.

The Cause of High Calorie and Fattening Diets

 

The root cause behind the increasing consumption of junk food is fast lifestyle. As years pass, we become busier than ever. We are so busy that we don’t even have time to cook our own meals.

Under such circumstances, we feel that buying that cool white bread, cake or burger from the local store is far more convenient than trying to cook stuff at home.

In other words, we are more or less living a “buy, eat and go” type of lifestyle.

Most parents don’t stuff children’s lunch boxes with home-cooked meals (as used to be the norm at the time of our parents); instead they are asked to buy this or that food from the store and as you might have guessed, almost always these foods turn out to be calorie-rich junk foods.

Children learn only from adults; no wonder then that they too have become ‘busy’ as well. They have their school projects to finish, dozens of books to read, video games to watch, etc.

So where is time for them either to take a walk outside or even to play sports just for fun?

How To Control How Much The Kids Snack

That said, there are still ways to control your kids’ lifestyle provided that you are willing to implement them. Here I offer you a simple tip you can use to keep them from adding tonnes of extra pounds to their bodies.

Children are habitually accustomed to eating in small quantities. They prefer spending more time on grazing and sucking foods than eating them, and usually favor snacks over large meals.

Snacks are one of the best foods for your kids. This doesn’t however mean that you should hand over a huge can of soda or a big box of cookies to them; rather you should take the time to cook healthy snacks which are low on sugar and calories.

Remember that these snacks, unlike burgers and French fries, would not only keep your kids full but also help them maintain their normal weight.

Unlimited Low Cal Snacks?

Speaking of low-calorie snacks, many people wrongly assume that since they’re low on calorie, it is okay to eat as many of them as you like.

That is not true at all.

Let me show you a simple example: let’s say that your kid used to have one snack of 100 calories daily. Now you offer him 100 low-calorie snacks in its place, each of which contains an average of 1 calorie. What is the difference?

Even if it is low in calories, it is still important to snack in small quantities. Since kids are habitual grazers, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to get the kids started with this eating habit right from their childhood.

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A food allergy is a reaction by the body’s immune system. When a person is sensitive to a food, such as peanuts, the immune system overreacts when the person comes in contact with that food.

True food allergies are quite rare, affecting only about 1 % of adults and about 5% of children.

Food Allergy or Food Intolerance?

Many people think they have a food allergy, but what they really have is a food intolerance, which is a problem in the digestive tract and does not involve the immune system.

In someone with a food intolerance, either the food irritates the digestive tract or the body is unable to digest that food properly.

While the symptoms of food allergies and food intolerances are often similar, there are important differences between them as well.

Eating even a tiny amount of a food can trigger an allergic reaction, and the reaction will happen every time the person eats that food.

On the other hand, a food intolerance may not cause a reaction unless a large amount of the food is consumed.

For example, in someone with lactose intolerance drinking a cup of coffee with a small amount of milk in it may not cause a problem, but that same person might become sick after drinking a whole glass of milk.

The foods that most commonly trigger allergies are:

• cow’s milk
• eggs
• fish (such as bass, cod, and flounder)
• shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp)
• peanuts
• tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts)
• wheat
• soy

Symptoms of Food Allergies

Food allergy symptoms usually develop within an hour of eating the food, sometimes within minutes, and they can range from mild and annoying to frightening and life-threatening. People who are especially sensitive may have a reaction from simply touching the food or breathing in particles of it.

Symptoms of a food intolerance may be extremely uncomfortable, but they are typically less serious than the symptoms of a food allergy.

In severe cases of food allergy, the person may suffer from a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock. This dangerous reaction can cause:

• tightening of the airways, including a swollen throat that causes breathing difficulties
• shock, with a severe drop in blood pressure
• rapid pulse
• dizziness, light headedness, or loss of consciousness.

Treatment of Food Allergies

These are warning signs of a serious problem and require immediate medical attention. There is a medication (epinephrine) that people with serious allergies should carry at all times.

It comes in a self-injecting device, and anyone who has food allergies or knows someone who does should know how to use the device. This can, quite literally, be a life saver. Even if the reaction is controlled quickly, immediate medical attention is still necessary. A single injection is not always enough to completely control the reaction.

People with severe allergies should also wear medical identification jewelry. During a severe reaction a person may not be able to speak, and this jewelry can identify the problem for emergency medical personnel so that the proper treatment can be given quickly.

When a child has a food allergy, the parents must take special precautions. Make sure that all caregivers (including family members, teachers, babysitters, and the parents of the child’s friends) all know how to use the epinephrine injection device. Older children should learn to use the device themselves.

Parents must also impress on children how important it is not to eat the food they are allergic to. Young children should be instructed never to eat food given to them by anyone other than a family member. Older children should be instructed to ask about any food someone gives them and to make sure the person giving them the food knows about their allergy and how serious it is.

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