VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. This means that it can be dissolved in water. Water-soluble vitamins are carried throughout the body in the bloodstream. They are, for the most part, not stored in the body. The body uses what it needs and the rest is passed in the urine.

Vitamin C is essential for the manufacturing of collagen, that are necessary for tissue repair. It is needed for metabolism of phenylalanine, tyrosine, folic acid, iron. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin needed for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body. Vitamin C is essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth.
Functions and benefits of Vitamin C
Vitamin C has a number of important functions and benefits. For example it:
• It help improve male fertility
• Reduce toxic effect of alcohol and drugs
• Reduce symptoms of arthritis, skin ulcers, allergic reactions
• It also helps produce anti-stress hormones
• Help in production of red blood cells

Recommended Dosage for Vitamin C
• For adults, the usual dose of Vitamin C is 60 mg.
• For Pregnant women, the usual dose is 70 mg.

What food source is the nutrient found in?
The best sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables. Citrus fruits such as:

* oranges
* orange juice
* grapefruit
* and tangerines
* melons
* kiwi
* strawberries

Vegetables such as:

* broccoli
* sweet green and red peppers
* potatoes (with skin)
* tomatoes
* brussels sprouts

Cabbage and many dark green leafy vegetables are all good sources of vitamin C. Vitamin C can be easily lost in foods when they are cooked or handled improperly.
Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables are the best choices for getting vitamin C. Canned vegetables lose vitamin C during processing. If the canning water is thrown out, even more is lost. Freezing has little effect on Vitamin C. Cooking vegetables too long at high heats, for example boiling, can destroy vitamin C.

Most of the vitamin C is left in the cooking water, which is usually thrown away. Cutting and slicing fruits and vegetables leaves a greater surface exposed to air and light, which will also destroy vitamin C. Raw fruits and vegetables should be eaten shortly after they were cut. They should be cooked only for a short time in a small amount of water or by steaming. Aging and leaving fruits and vegetables at room temperature too long can also destroy vitamin C.

How does the nutrient affect the body?
Vitamin C is important to many body functions. It helps the body:

* build and maintain collagen, which are fibers that make up the tissue between tendons, ligaments, bones, and cartilage.
* maintain healthy bones, teeth, gums, red blood cells, and blood vessels.
* heal wounds, bruises, and fractures.
* absorb iron from plant food sources.
* protect from infection by keeping the immune system healthy.
* reduce some of the risk of certain chronic diseases by acting as an antioxidant.

Antioxidants help the body fight the effects of free radicals, which can damage the body.

Deficiency Symptoms of Vitamin C
• Beneath the skin
• Swollen or painful joints
• Nosebleeds
• Splitting hair
• Gingivitis (inflammation of the gums)
• Bleeding gums
• Depression
• Low Quantity Semen
• Impaired wound healing
• Tiredness

Information
Vitamin C has a long history. It was used as a cure for scurvy. Scurvy is a disease that causes open sores in the mouth, loosening of teeth, and soft gums. In the 1700s, it was discovered that sailors who often consumed lime juice did not get scurvy. Sailors who did not consume lime juice had a 50 percent chance of dying from scurvy. It was not until 200 years later that vitamin C was found to prevent the disease.

Severe deficiency, going for a very long time without vitamin C, can lead to scurvy.
Severe deficiency and scurvy are rare in the United States. Poor vitamin C intake is more common. Alcohol intake, stress, smoking, poor intake of fruits and vegetables, and chronic illness can contribute to vitamin C deficiency. Signs of deficiency include:

* inflamed gums.
* slow wound healing.
* stomach disorders.
* reduced resistance to colds and infections.
* skin problems.

Large doses of vitamin C can cause stomach upset, diarrhea, or kidney stones. The upper levels for vitamin C is 2,000 milligrams (mg) per day for adults. People should not routinely go above the set upper levels for vitamins and minerals. An upper level is not the recommended amount to take. It is the maximum amount of a vitamin or mineral that is likely to cause no health risks. Some scientists think not enough is known about mega dosing, or taking extremely high doses of vitamins, to claim that it has health benefits. There is debate if mega doses of antioxidants, such as vitamin C, can help decrease the risk for chronic diseases. Much of the current information is conflicting, therefore, more research is needed.

The recommended dietary allowances, or RDAs, for vitamin C were recently increased. Levels were increased to provide maximum health benefits. Levels were raised from 60 mg daily to 75 mg per day for women and 90 mg per day for men. Smokers are advised to take an extra 35 mg daily. This is because smoking depletes the body of some vitamin C. Pregnant and nursing women need slightly more, too. Many people do not get enough vitamin C. Thirty-nine percent of men and 43 percent of women fall short of the recommended amount.

Because vitamin C cannot be stored in the body; it is important to eat foods high in vitamin C. Eating a well-balanced diet, including at least five servings of fruit and vegetables every day, should provide all the body needs.

How To Get Prevent And Get Relief From Back Pain

It is a lot better to prevent back pain, than to treat it once it's there.

Therefore, there are many things that you can do to prevent back pain.

• Pay Attention When You Feel Pain
If you feel any pain or discomfort while doing any activity, it is a warning that there could be something wrong.Put a stop to what you are doing so that it may not cause further damage to your back. Also do not try to fix it by your self because it might worsen the pain.

• Work Out
Getting regular exercise everyday is very important. It can help facilitate strength and mobility. Regular exercise should be done everyday even for just 15 to 20 minutes but if you are feeling some pain, do not force yourself to exercise. Some examples of exercises are swimming, cycling, and brisk walking, though you can choose the ones that are appropriate for you and what you like. If you can't exercise everyday, at lease 3-4 times per week.

• Warm Up
In every exercise or activity that you do, warm up first by stretching your muscles to prevent any injuries, this will get your body ready for action.

• Cool Down
Same as warming up before an exercise,you should be able to cool down after working out. Do not immediately stop when doing an exercise instead just slowly relax your muscles.

• Do Proper Body Mechanics
Picking up a light object and lifting it in a wrong way can hurt your back. However you can experience no back pain from lifting a heavy object using proper body mechanics. Plus carrying an object away from your body would likely cause back pain. When you lift up something, even if it is heavy, placing it near your body allows your back to be straight. Also, daily activities such as using the vacuum, sitting, or even getting out of your car requires proper body mechanics. Keeping your back straight, and not bending in unnatural positions can prevent and unwanted strain.

• Do Some Stretching Once In A While
As you keep your body at rest, such as prolonged sitting or lying in bed, this can bring about weakness of the muscles. Take some time to stretch for at least 5 minutes especially if you have been sitting for a long period of time. Also, avoid slouching most of the time as it can tire your back.

• Choose Quality
When you are going to choose furniture in your house or in your office, make sure that you try it first. For example,if you are going to buy a chair for your office desk, make sure that you are comfortable and it will give support to your back. Better if it also has some adjustable knobs. If you don't have a good support chair, the use of a lumbar support can help. Another example is choosing a bed for your room. This is one item that is very important since it allows you to have a good night sleep.Much of our life is spent sleeping and if you don't have proper support from your mattress, this can lay the foundation to back problems. Don't trust too much when the label says orthopedic, because sometimes that is misinforming. You want to choose a bed with a firm base. The mattress must also be sufficiently soft to mould the shape of your body, but adequately firm to provide you support in the correct places.

• Sleep Right
Sleeping on your stomach places more pressure on your neck and back because it goes against the natural curves of the spine. This can cause severe back and neck pain. Sleeping on your side is the optimal position, however it is okay to sleep in your back less frequently.Make use of pillows that can support your neck and back. When you are on your side, use a good cervical support pillow and place a pillow between your knees to prevent any unwanted pressure to your hips. When laying on your back, you also need to use a good cervical pillow, as well as place a pillow under the knees to take pressure off the low back.

• Lose Weight
Excess weight causes undo pressure on the back, especially the low back. By just losing a small amount of weight, it can give relief to low back pain. So start exercising, even just a few times a week, and it can help to relieve that low back pain.

• Seek Advice From A Chiropractor
Chiropractic care is not just for people in pain. Chiropractors use spinal manipulation to keep the spine in proper alignment. Therefore, this can prevent as well treat injury. Therefore,regular visits to the Chiropractor can help to prevent back pain from even occurring. However, if you do experience back pain, don't wait for weeks before consulting a doctor. Pain is a sign that something is wrong and waiting to get treated can cause a worsening of the condition. Most pain or discomfort can be checked by a chiropractor, which will allow you to get relief and recover from the condition. Also, it might reduce the chance of having another injury and having to go back. A chiropractor will refer you to another type doctor if your condition cannot be treated by their field of expertise.

Understanding Anxiety and Anxiety Attacks

Author: Pankaj Modi

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. These components combine to create an unpleasant feeling that is typically associated with uneasiness, fear, or worry. It is a generalized mood condition that occurs without an identifiable triggering stimulus.

It is a future-oriented mood state in which one is ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events suggesting that it is a distinction between future vs. present dangers that divides anxiety and fear. Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to stress. It may help a person to deal with a difficult situation, for example at work or at school, by prompting one to cope with it. When anxiety becomes excessive, it may fall under the classification of an anxiety attack.

Someone suffering from anxiety might also experience it as a sense of dread or panic. Although anxiety attacks are not experienced by every anxiety sufferer, they are a common symptom. Anxiety attacks usually come without warning, and although the fear is generally irrational, the perception of danger is very real. A person experiencing a panic attack will often feel as if he or she is about to die or pass out. Anxiety attacks may be confused with heart attacks. Therefore only a doctor can be the only right person to differentiate between anxiety attack and heart attack.

Anxiety does not only consist of physical effects, there are many emotional ones as well. They include feelings of apprehension or dread, trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy, anticipating the worst, irritability, restlessness, watching for signs and occurrences or danger, and, feeling like your mind has gone blank as well as nightmares or bad dreams, obsessions about sensations, dejavu, a trapped in your mind feeling, and feeling like everything is scary.

There are many varieties of anxiety - existential anxiety, test and performance anxiety, stranger and social anxiety, trait anxiety, choice or decision anxiety, paradoxical anxiety etc. Anxiety in Positive psychology is described as a response to a difficult challenge for which the subject has poor coping skills.

The symptoms of a anxiety attack commonly last approximately thirty minutes. However, anxiety attacks can be as short as 15 seconds, while sometimes anxiety attacks may form a cyclic series of episodes, lasting for an extended period, sometimes hours. Often those afflicted will experience significant anticipatory anxiety and limited symptom attacks in between attacks, in situations where attacks have previously occurred.

The effects of a anxiety attack vary from person to person. Some, notably first-time sufferers, may call for emergency services. Many who experience a anxiety attack, mostly for the first time, fear they are having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown. Experiencing a anxiety attack has been said to be one of the most intensely frightening, upsetting and uncomfortable experiences of a person's life.

Article Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_1348603_23.html

Cant get pregnant? Some facts on infertility and issues surrounding it

Author: Lexi

Experts define infertility as not being able to get pregnant after one year of trying. Women who are able to conceive but then have repeat miscarriages are also said to be infertile.

Most women want to become pregnant when they feel the time is right to have a child. Considering this, only about eight out of ten women will get pregnant within twelve months of trying, and about one in eight women have difficulties getting pregnant.

Fertility drops as you get older: minority of women become pregnant in the first 12 months when they are more than 35 years old.

There are various things that you can do to increase your chances of getting pregnant. If these ideas do not help, reproductive medicine units can help in many different ways.

Some usual causes of infertility are:

* Having irregular periods - includes problems with ovulation or due to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
* Past pelvic infection - for more information, research Pelvic inflammatory disease on google.
* Unusual pain with sex or when you get your periods, perhaps due to Endometriosis

The causes of infertility are many and varied. They include problems with the production of sperm or eggs, with the Fallopian tubes or the uterus, endometriosis, frequent miscarriage, as well as hormonal and autoimmune disorders in both men and women.

How long does it 'normally' take to become pregnant? Three out of 5 couples conceive within 6 months of trying; one in 4 take between 6 months and a year. For the rest, conception takes more than a year which means that there may be a problem.

Individual women have different experiences of infertility but there are several feelings that are common. Women may feel a sense of anger at not being able to have children and resentment towards other pregnant women. They may also have feelings of guilt, regarding their infertility as punishment for putting their career first, using contraception, or for a previous termination.

Infertility and, in particular, medical treatment programs can place women on an emotional rollercoaster of hope and then despair. Women may often go through a cycle of hopefulness leading to disappointment at the arrival of their period.

I have found a good site about a story of one persons infertility and how she finally got pregnant using a fast and natural process. You can Click here to visit the site

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Article Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_1348715_23.html

How to Prevent Ingrown Toenails - 4 Essential Tips

Author: abdalesales

Copyright (c) 2010 Eamon Greville

Ingrown Toenails are as anyone who has suffered with this painful condition extremely discomforting. They usually arise as a result of ill-fitting shoes, socks or hosiery. Other causative factors include excess weight, poor nail care and fungus. It is believed that approximately ten per cent of Americans have experienced an ingrown toe nail at one point in their lives, and it is the most common toenail impairment. They do need urgent treatment but preferably they should be prevented from occurring

Here are 4 crucial tips that will help to prevent the occurrence of this painful condition.

1. Clip toenails straight across so that they are just about even with the tip of the toe and file any pointed edges smooth with an emery board. Unfortunately, most ingrown toenail problems are actually seelf inflicted.g. ripping off your toenails with your fingers instead of cutting them as advised above. Improper clipping for example by cutting the nail too short or by rounding the corners can also lead to problems.

2. Examine your feet daily after washing and drying to hep prevent any potential problems in the bud. If you adopt a daily routine of foot care this will pay dividends in long-term foot health. If problems are identified then apply an antiseptic once a day, preferably after a bath or shower. It is crucial to act promptly because one of the risk factors of ingrown toenails is the possibility of infection

3. Wear comfortable shoes and socks. As a golden rule shoes and/or hosiery should never constrict your feet. Feet do need room to move and breath. Ingrown Toenails are most commonly found in children, teenagers and young adults. Young peoples feet grow so fast that sometimes they wear shoes that are too short, tight or worn out which puts pressure and friction on the edges of the toenails. Foot health is not at the forefront of their thoughts at this age either! For this reason, the advice to examine feet daily and take appropriate action promptly is particularly relevant for children and young peoples feet

4. See a physician if you are a diabetic - Be sensible - do not allow a relatively minor foot malady become a potentially life threatening. Instead make an appointment with a foot specialist immediately. Antibiotics may be prescribed to clear up an infection. If your ingrown toenail problem proves persistent, your Doctor may choose to perform a matrixectomy (removal of the germinal matrix, the source of nail growth, along with the edge of the nail plate). This is a permanent narrowing of the nail plate


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Ingrown Toenails are often painful and unsightly. There is thankfully a lot that can be done to alleviate or prevent their occurence. For more free essential advice, information and resources why not check out

http://www.sorefeetsolved.com


Article Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_1348728_23.html

About the Author: Eamon Greville has a passionate interest in providing information, resources and advice in the field of mental and physical health.

He has a particular interest in the management of foot pain, prostate cancer prevention, and the use of hypnosis to assist mental and physical well being.

http://sorefeetsolved www..com