Health
Good health is more than healthy eating and exercise, it’s about having a healthy lifestyle.
Few signs of iron deficiency that even doctors miss
According to a new report, the percentage of women with more anaemia has risen. What are some key signs of iron deficiency and what can be done?
The new global report is warning that anaemia among reproductive-age women has increased from 14% in 2016 to 15.3% in 2017 and about one third, 32.8%, of women, are anaemic around the world while they’re still at the point where they can get pregnant which also puts them at a higher risk for complications of their pregnancies.
Anaemia is a deficiency in iron that can result from factors such as blood loss or pregnancy. Scientists believe that instead of the hormones changing to cause mood swings during a woman’s time of the month, it could be their iron deficiency.
A drop in iron can cause the cognitive function and strength of women to suffer, which can lead to depression and moodiness. A lack of this crucial vitamin which is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, and broccoli leads to blood loss and causes the body’s central nervous system to slow down.
Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency affecting more than two billion people worldwide.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, twenty per cent of women of childbearing age have iron-deficiency anaemia.
Despite the availability of nutrition information, research suggests that more than 80% of people in the world are not consuming a nutrient vital to their well-being.
However, according to the World Health Organization, WHO, about 10% of people worldwide are deficient in iron.
Iron deficiency is rampant in the UK, and it affects women over 35 years of age, girls aged 15-18, toddlers aged 1-2 years old and men 65 or older. Read More about “Few signs of iron deficiency that even doctors miss”…
Recommendation for Cholesterol — It’s Time to Change Our Thinking
It’s not necessary to follow a paleo diet in order to be healthy, but it might help.
Many readers have told me that they have benefitted from eating paleo for a short or long period of time, so I thought it would be important to explain more about the premise behind paleo eating to those who are curious.
I don’t currently teach or talk publicly about the paleo diet, but you can always read a lot more about it in a book “Practical Paleo,” and get over 100 easy recipes that are paleo-friendly.
The USDA has a lot to say about cholesterol in your diet.
According to the American Heart Association, individuals should eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible while consuming a healthy eating pattern.
Although the 2015 Guidelines no longer recommend limiting your cholesterol intake to 300 mg or less per day, the idea that cholesterol is bad for your health remains pervasive. The government itself has been spreading fear of cholesterol in the past editions of its Guidelines.
The fear of dietary cholesterol is linked to the notion that eating cholesterol can lead to heart disease, and therefore by avoiding dietary cholesterol, we can avoid heart disease. There are many studies that introduce this idea, but they are problematic. They were primarily based on research done on rabbits, who naturally do not eat foods containing cholesterol! How can we expect human cholesterol metabolism to mimic that of a rabbit? Rabbits don’t eat cholesterol, so it’s impossible to be sure. More reliable studies show that, contrary to popular belief, dietary cholesterol has a minimal effect on the level of cholesterol in the bloodstream. In other words, eating cholesterol won’t raise your blood cholesterol levels.
It’s believed that the idea that dietary cholesterol is unhealthy emerged as early as the 1950s in order to promote the sales of factory-made vegetable oil products. An article in Time magazine in 1984, entitled “Hold the Eggs and Butter”, was among the most influential pieces of propaganda that has molded the modern food landscape that we know today. The article claimed that cholesterol is proved deadly, and our diet may never be the same:
For decades, researchers have been trying to prove conclusively that cholesterol is a major villain in this epidemic [of heart disease]. It has not been easy. Cholesterol is, after all, only one piece in a large puzzle that also includes obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, stress, and lack of exercise. All of these play their part in heart disease “like members of an orchestra,” explains pathologist Richard Minick of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. . . . Despite its bad reputation, cholesterol is essential to life: it is a building block of the outer membrane of cells, and it is a principal ingredient in the digestive juice bile, in the fatty sheath that insulates nerves, and in sex hormones such as estrogen and androgen.
The fact that cholesterol has been linked to heart disease doesn’t mean that we should fear it. Healthy levels of cholesterol are essential to good health and the human body can produce enough of its own, so we shouldn’t fear it. Unfortunately, the image used with this article created the wrong impression for most people and led them to believe that it was a negative health article. The media has created a massive fear of dietary cholesterol, and it has the potential to do great damage to public health. Read More about “Recommendation for Cholesterol — It’s Time to Change Our Thinking”…
Improving your gut health by taking probiotics
Probiotics are hailed for the effect they have on gut health in particular, but there’s a whole range of benefits. As part of our Trendy Nutrients A-Z series Naomi Davighi tells us what probiotics are, how they work, and 7 ways you can take care of your microbiome!
“Probiotics are live microorganisms that can be found in the form of fermented foods or supplements.”
The balance of bacteria in the gut can be restored by taking probiotics. This is usually caused by an imbalance between good and bad bacteria that leads to too much candida, for example.
The natural bacteria in your gut can also help if it isn’t at the optimum level.
‘Symptoms of excess bad bacteria in the gut include bloating, flatulence, and general discomfort.
‘Probiotics are similar to digestive enzymes, they also help you get more nutrients from your food. By increasing the number of good bacteria in the gut and aiding digestion, probiotics let you absorb more nutrients.’
In addition to aiding in good digestion, probiotics also help prevent diarrhea. Antibiotic treatment can have negative effects on the balance of bacteria in the gut, which may result in an increased occurrence of diarrhea.
Taking probiotics before and during antibiotic treatment may reduce any accompanying symptoms such as diarrhea. Read More about “Improving your gut health by taking probiotics”…
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6 ways to help you fight the effects of pollution
Air pollution not only boosts lung cancer rates but is also a threat to the brain too.
Invisible to the naked eye, air pollution can have profound effects on your body.
Researchers in a recent BMJ Open study have found that those living in areas with higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have shown signs of greater dementia development after 50 than those who live in less polluted regions.
Experts are finding that even a little exposure to air pollution can have dramatic consequences. For instance, a recent study in the UK by Queen Mary University of London and the British Heart Foundation has found that even small levels of exposure can lead to changes like functional changes in the heart.
“The researchers reported that their findings were akin to being inactive for a day or with elevated blood pressure all the time,” according to Dr. Nay Aung of Queen Mary University of London, who led a data analysis study.
Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director with the British Heart Foundation explains that “what is particularly worrying about these results is that the levels of air pollution in which we saw people developing heart remodeling are not even deemed to be a high level by the government.”
And let’s not forget that air pollutants can travel to the brain and cause some serious damage.
A recent Chinese study found that chronic exposure to air pollution (especially near heavily traveled roads and intersections) can negatively impact both math and language skills.
An international study has found that people who are chronically exposed to high levels of pollution may lose the equivalent of a year’s worth of education. Elderly individuals appear to be among those who are most severely affected, losing up to two years’ worth of education- backing up this week’s findings.
The best defense your body has against harmful pollutants is provided by important in-built systems like the liver and kidneys. Read More about “6 ways to help you fight the effects of pollution”…
