Minerals and Health - They Go Hand in Hand

Minerals are essential for your health and nutrition. Minerals are need for the proper composition of body fluids, the formation of blood and bones, maintaining healthy nerve function, and minerals also function as coenzymes, which enable the body to build and feed cells.They are also partly responsible for your energy levels.

There are two ways for your body to get the essential minerals it needs. The best way for your body to get the minerals it needs is through food, but some people prefer supplements because of the difficulty associated with following a strict diet.

If you decide to take supplements, however, make sure they are of the highest quality and are independently regulated and tested. Most supplements are poorly made and are never broken down within your body.

Listed below are the food sources of the essential minerals your body needs on a daily basis to stay healthy:

* Copper---Soy beans, raisins, legumes, brazil nuts, molasses, and seafood
* Iron---Figs, beets, kelp, soy beans, carrots, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, watercress, raisins, bananas, grapes, and parsley
* Calcium---Figs, beans, almonds, raisins, brown rice, carrots, dates, spinach, cashews, papaya, celery, avocados, sesame seeds, brazil nuts, and garlic
* Chromium--- Clams, whole grains, brewers yeast, corn oil, and cheese
* Iodine---Dulce, lettuce, kelp, grapes, Irish moss, beets, oranges, celery, and mushrooms
* Potassium---Apples, tomatoes, spinach, bananas, strawberries, celery, mushrooms, figs, lemons, pineapple, rice, papaya, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, pecans, and raisins
* Zinc---Liver, seafood, mushrooms, sunflower, and soy beans
* Sulphur---Eggs, cheese, nuts, onions, turnips, corn, broccoli, fish, wheat germ, and cucumbers
* Manganese---Bananas, beets, celery, egg yolks, walnuts, bran, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables
* Magnesium---Honey, tuna, almonds, pecans, kelp, and green vegetables
* Phosphorus---Cashews, oats, pecans, squash, almonds, carrots, and mushrooms
* Sodium---Raw milk, cucumbers, okra, seafood, lima beans, turnips, wheat germ, and pumpkins

If you have a hard time eating a lot of the foods above, try taking supplements, but remember that you need to be careful and do your research first. Make sure that it is a reputable health company with a proven track record of success. They should have nothing to hide and should be able to provide you with all of the technical information, ingredients, research, and the results of the independent research for every product they sell.

Natural health is becoming a popular and ever growing industry. It is good that more people are becoming pro-active about their health., but you need to watch out for companies who are providing poor quality natural products to make a quick buck in the natural health trend. There are a lot of them. Good natural health companies have been around for more than thirty years--before natural health was ever a cash machine.

A good natural health company should also have clinical studies published in scientific journals. In order to get published in one of these journals, the scientific community as a whole must agree with the findings in the study. It is very difficult to get published and only a few natural health companies have ever done so. Last but not least they should offer you a money back guarantee, just in case their products aren't for you.

Please try and implement as many of the foods listed above into your diet as possible. They are loaded with the essential minerals your body needs for its health. Do your research and find some unique, healthy recipes that include the foods and minerals above.

To Your Health,
Diet Health & Fitness
'Blog Squad'
DietHealthandFitness.com

Iron and Your Health

Iron is good for you for a number of reasons, and it is an essential part of good health. Unfortunately, the intake of this mineral is notoriously low in the American diet and is considered to be the No. 1 nutritional disorder in the world, according to The World Health Organization.

Low iron seems to be especially prevalent in children under the age of two and in women ages 12 to 50. The main role of iron in your body lies within the red blood cells; this is where it combines with protein to form hemoglobin. When you inhale, oxygen is attracted to the iron in your hemoglobin and when these two elements combine, it courses through your body, converting sugar to energy and providing oxygen to your organs that keep you healthy.

A small biology lesson aside, it is easy to see why an iron deficiency can leave you feeling chronically tired and unhealthy. If the lack of iron in your blood becomes serious enough, you may develop anemia. If anemia is present, you may experience dizziness, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath.

If you suspect that you are anemic, you should not self-diagnose your condition; instead, seek advice from your medical professional, who will often suggest supplements to get you back on a more even keel. As you age, a lack of iron may cause even further problems.

One study out of Penn State suggests that a lack of iron can lowers the immune response to attacks of disease and common infections in the elderly; another one from the same school has shown that women with alopecia, or hair loss, have lower iron and hemoglobin levels than women who do not suffer the disease.

Another problem with a lack of iron in your diet may be concentration problems. Irritability, poor concentration, loss of appetite and frequent colds and flu symptoms can all be directly attributed to not getting enough of the nutrient. Current research shows that a lack of iron in ones diet, especially in children, can cause both behavioral and developmental problems.

In fact, children with iron deficiencies have shown poorer academic performance than their peers. Many parents do not recognize the problem might be an iron deficiency and pass it off to plain bad behavior. If your child is exhibiting any of these symptoms, it may be worth taking a second look. During research of the topic, it was found that some intellectual and psychomotor impairment, due to the lack of iron in children's diets, was irreversible.

Iron is easy to get in a balanced daily diet; the problem occurs when individuals vary their diets from the recommended nutritional guidelines that are offered by the USDA. Iron can be found in foods like:

* Beans
* Tofu
* Beef
* Turkey
* Plant foods.

A "good" source of iron is considered any food which provides you with 10% or more of your daily need as published by the USRDA. Many of us can remember Popeye, cranking open a can of spinach in times when he needed to put his muscles to the test. Was he right?

Possibly; spinach is very high in iron, but the problem is, our bodies can only absorb a small amount of what is found in this food. There are two types of iron in foods; haem iron and non-haem iron. The first is found in animal foods, such as beef, chicken and fish, the latter is found in plant foods like bread, beans, vegetables and cereals. Haem iron, found in meat, is much easier for the body to absorb. Hands down, lean red meat is the best natural source of iron.

What about those who are vegetarians? You should definitely seek the advice of a physician when it comes to iron and health as there can be ways to get your recommended daily allowance of iron, but you'll have to be very careful about keeping your diet properly balanced. Or, your physician may tell you that a supplement is the way to go. Either way, make sure you bring it up, as an appropriate amount of iron is absolutely critical to your health.

Overall, the message is resoundingly clear: Get your recommended daily amounts of iron to feel healthy and look your best. With a life full of things to do, you don't have time to be tired, lethargic and unhealthy. If you have young children, make sure they are getting as much as they should, and model healthy behavior and choices for them so that when they are adolescents and adults, they will know the difference between what's healthy and what's not.

To Your Health,
Diet Health & Fitness
'Blog Squad'
DietHealthandFitness.com

What Qualifies As a Natural Organic Product?

What is a natural organic product? These days the answer to that question has become a bit confusing. Although an organic product is "literally" natural, according to regulations on how the food is grown, processed and labeled, the terms, "all-natural" "natural," and "organic" mean three different things.

You, the consumer, should be aware of the differences between products that are labeled as "organic" and others that are labeled "natural." Organic food is obviously the healthiest and purest food for you to eat, but unfortunately many food companies try to fool you by labeling their products with the word(s) natural or all-natural so you think it is as healthy as organic food, when in fact it is not.

I am not saying that natural food is bad for you, it just is not as healthy as certified organic food. Pay attention to the qualifications listed below so you will know what makes a product organic, or natural.

In the production of organic foods:

* Toxic pesticides are not used
* Soil fertility is maintained and replenished using natural methods such as crop rotation, fertilizer crops, composting etc.
* Regular soil and nutrition analysis are done to test soil fertility and food quality
* Natural methods of topsoil management are used to ensure minimal soil erosion
* Organic farmers aim to preserve and protect natural wildlife, vegetation and water systems
* Organic farmers are concerned about the loss of a variety of species
* No genetically modified seeds are used
* Organic growers collect seeds from the plants in order to preserve biodiversity

You will notice when you go food shopping that most organic food has a label on it that says it is a "certified organic product." Each state has an agency that monitors and certifies organic food growers and producers.

The organic farm fields and processing facilities are inspected, and detailed records are kept. Also periodic testing of the soil and water takes place to ensure that strict standards are being met.

Don't buy any organic food unless it is certified organic. If it is not certified it is more likely to be unsanitary or carry disease.

Natural products are similar to organic food in that they:

* Use minimally processed and do not contain artificial preservatives or additives
* Use natural meats and are not typically given antibiotics, hormones, or any growth promoting products
* In most cases do not use genetically modified products

Natural products differ, however, from organic products in that they are not inspected by an independent organization. Although they are usually healthier than regular processed food, there are no guarantees about the health quality of these products. This is the main concern with many natural products.

However, there are some supplement companies that do rigorous testing on their natural products to ensure their quality is equal to that of organic products. They are few and far between, but if it is a reputable natural health company they will usually provide critical information and the results of the independent testing right on the label.

Whatever you do, don't buy into the "all-natural" phrase. It is simply a loop hole the big food companies have found to fool you that their normal (very unhealthy, processed, food) is natural, when it is not. There is hardly anything natural about it and there isn't any regulation as to what that phrase entails so they can put on just about anything.

Pick up a product that claims to be "all-natural." Read the ingredients and see how "all-natural" it really is.

It is shocking that food companies can play with our health like this. The average consumer does not know the difference between "natural," "all-natural," and "organic."

So, as funny as it sounds there is really no such thing as a natural organic product because "natural" and "organic" have taken on two different meanings. If you are wondering why we have so much confusion over this issue, just thank the big food companies that have manipulated phrases and consumers so they can make more money by jumping on the organic bandwagon.

To Your Health,
Diet Health & Fitness
'Blog Squad'
DietHealthandFitness.com