Bee Pollen - A Medical Miracle?

Bee pollen has all the essential components of life. It is considered by many to be nature's most perfect complete food. It is extremely loaded with vitamins and contains nearly all known minerals, trace elements, enzymes and amino acids. Bee pollen is also considered to be a first-rate source of anti-oxidants.

Bee pollen is a complete food, and taking it helps to balance the incomplete foods that we are all used to eating in everyday life.

Additionally, bee pollen is one of the world's oldest health foods. You can find references to it in the Bible, the Torah, the Koran as well as ancient Chinese and Egyptian texts. And one of our most popular presidents, Ronald Reagan, took bee pollen for years.

And many people swear to the healing properties of bee pollen. They claim that it'll give you increased energy, boost your body's immune responses by increasing your red and white blood cells, increase longevity by repairing damaged cells, and help to cure all kinds of diseases with it's built in antibacterial qualities.

People also say that it is good for the intestines, moderating and controlling the organisms dwelling there and helping to aid digestion and the assimilation of nutrition

But it helps to keep a little perspective and remain as least a little skeptical. Thus far, I am aware of no reputable scientific study that supports the view that bee pollen is effective against any human disease.

So what exactly is bee pollen?

Pollen is created by the male part of the flowering plant. As the bee flits from flower to flower, it carries pollen with it, which cross-pollinates and fertilizes the plant. Some of the pollen also makes it back to the bee hive where bee keepers can then collect it.

And it is precisely because of this pollen that many people who have allergies will be negatively affected by bee pollen. In fact, there are documented reports of bee pollen and royal jelly triggering asthma, hives, sore throats, facial itches and even anaphylactic shock in people with allergies to specific pollens. And these reactions can occur with as little as one teaspoon of bee pollen.

But another real hidden danger is that many people will believe so much in the efficacy of bee pollen or some other nutrient of the month that they completely ignore the signs of their own body. Nutritional supplements should never, ever take the place of consultation and treatment of your doctor or competent health care professional and nutritionist.

Beans could be the answer to your diet nightmares

So you’re a healthy eating convert, and you want to start making sure all your meals are perfectly balanced. If you’re on a limited budget, though, you might have a problem. There’s a reason why most people get too much carbohydrate and fat and too little protein: most kinds of protein are expensive. Meat and cheese, two of the best sources of protein, are also two of the priciest ingredients you can buy.

So, if you want to eat healthily on the cheap, what’s the answer? Well, it might surprise you. What you need is beans.

Beans are a cheap crop, readily available in large tins for not very much money at all, and yet they are an excellent source of protein, and taste good too. There’s no shortage of variety, either: you can get everything from baked beans to kidney beans to butter beans, all lined up there in the same section for you. If you’re not sure of what to do with them, find some vegetarian recipes, which tend to be very bean-heavy, and give them a try.

It can even be nice to mix together a few different kinds of beans and have a bean salad with a sauce – a simple side dish, but an easy way to add protein to your meal. Pasta with a dairy-based pasta sauce containing beans is an example of an ideally balanced meal, as long as you don’t overdo it with the pasta, as is rice with bean curry.

Of course, I’m not recommending that you stick to beans for your protein all the time, as you’re bound to get sick of them eventually. If you can replace meat or cheese with beans even occasionally, though, you’ll save a lot of money without affecting the balance of your meal.


Tags: healthy, eating, diet

Be Healthier With Veggies.

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.

One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing every day quickly becomes boring, so why not pick a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every color of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size and texture, to give yourself a varied diet every day.

When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. Different color fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each and every day.

Finding new recipes is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and these new recipes may just provide the impetus you need to eat all those fruits and veggies.

New recipes can also provide you the important opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before. For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available.

Many people mistakenly think that they do not need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they just take a vitamin supplement. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. That is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health, so too are the hundreds of other elements that are contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamin pills. Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally. In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from the food you eat is much less expensive, and much better for you, than popping those vitamin pills every day.

So don’t forget to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this quite reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes and as meals.


Tags: Be healthier, healthy food, healthy diet

Basics Of Nutrition

There are many things to learn about when it comes to nutrition. But the basic concept is “What goes in must come out.” Your body is like a machine it takes what it needs from what you feed it and gets rid of the rest by urine and the bowels.

If you notice you have a problem about elimination, you should take it seriously, go see a doctor. Many people have this problem. Don’t be shy or anything, it can be very serous to your health.

The first step, is finding out if there even is a problem. First you should see how many bowel movements you have daily (BM). If you have one per day it’s not a problem, however it is better to have 2 to 3 BM’s a day and more if you eat more often. But if you find you are having one per week or 2 per month, then you have a serious problem.

For some people they might say they don’t find the time. The reason could be they are out all day and would prefer to have their BM at home rather then a public bathroom. But let me tell you, you will keep your colon quite happy if you go several times for the day. If you are looking for a trick it would be to eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables, steamed beets and using digestive enzymes with your meals. Do whatever you can; it will be beneficial to you.

I have just lightly touched on the subject, but if you have a problem you should consult a doctor and seek help. Because this problem is not good for your health, take care of it today and look forward to tomorrow. May you live a healthy and prosper life.

B6 Important Among the B Vitamins

When most people hear the word “anemia,” they immediately think of iron. But a shortage of Vitamin B6 can also cause a type of anemia because this vitamin is vital to the healthy generation of hemoglobin in the blood of a normal, healthy person. You may also associate Vitamin B6 with sugar diabetes, and that’s because one of the important functions of this vitamin is to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood.

Vitamin B6 is also known as pyridoxine. You may not have heard of many people who were found to have a serious Vitamin B6 deficiency, and there’s a good reason for that. B6 is so readily available in so many foods that it’s a fairly simple matter to get your daily recommended allowances of this vitamin.

Some of the common sources of B6 include tuna, roast beef, tomato juice, trout, pork loin and peanut butter. Naturally, cereals that are fortified with vitamins are excellent sources and many provide 100 percent of the body’s need for cereal. Three raw bananas also provide a full day’s supply of the necessary Vitamin B6. A medium baked potato (including the potato skin) provides about one-third of the daily requirement. Evaluating the foods rich in this vitamin reveals that many people are already meeting the daily requirements for B6.

So what are the dangers of having too little Vitamin B6 in your daily diet? Recent studies suggest that a lack of this vitamin is a factor for determining the risk of stroke and some types of heart disease. That means that people with deficiencies are more likely to suffer from these health issues than their counterparts who are getting sufficient amounts of Vitamin B6.

Depression is another problem potentially impacted by a Vitamin B6 deficiency. Though there may be some difference of opinion as to the role and the importance of B6 and depression, there appears to be a link that can’t be denied. In fact, depression is listed by some as one of the symptoms of insufficient Vitamin B6 in the diet.

There are some risks of taking too much B6. Nerves – especially in the outer extremities – are sometimes damaged by overdosing the body on vitamin B6. In the majority of cases, simply eliminating any vitamin supplements appears to eliminate the nerve problems as well. It’s unlikely that a normal person can take in enough Vitamin B6 from a normal diet to cause toxicity at this level, and more likely that these severe effects of too much B6 are caused by taking too many vitamin supplements containing B6.


Tags: vitamins, nutrition, supplements

Ayurveda and The Raw Food Diet

The word, Ayurveda, is from the ancient Indian language, Sanskrit, and literally means "Knowledge of Life".
The Ayurvedic approach to life involves listening to and addressing the unique needs of your body, recognizing and balancing your mental and emotional states and deepening your connection with your spirit, your essential self.

The raw food diet is based around the principle that eating a diet high in raw food will normalise and alkalise your body. This, in turn, connects the mind with the body; thus, Ayurveda and the Raw Food diet are very similar.

This article will hopefully provide a brief guidance on how you could connect the two in a way that is optimal to your health.

In Ayurveda, the idea is that you eat according to your ‘dosha’; vata, pitta and kapha.
Vata is composed of the elements of air and ether
Pitta is composed of the elements of fire and water
Kapha is composed of the elements of water and earth

Vata types are generally thin and find it hard to gain weight. Vatas need to get sufficient rest and not overdo things, as they can tire easily.

Pitta types are generally medium sized and well proportioned. They also tend to be intelligent, with a sharp wit.

Kapha types tend to have sturdy, heavy frames. They are prone to gain weight easily. They often tend to have a positive outlook on life.

So, what does this mean, and how does it apply to you?
In Ayurveda, it is believed that each person is governed by one dominant dosha and you should eat according to that dosha. However, this article is concerned with Ayurveda and Raw Food, so I will only mention the foods that coincide with both these diets.

Vata
Balances: Sweet fruits, apricots, avocado, bananas, berries, grapes, melons, asparagus, beets, cucumber, garlic, radishes, zucchini.
Aggravates: Dried fruits, apples, cranberries, pears, watermelons, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, raw onions.

Pitta
Balances: Sweet fruits, avocado, coconut, figs, mango, prunes, sweet and bitter vegetables, cabbage, cucumber, okra, potatoes.
Aggravates: Sour fruits, berries, bananas, plums, oranges, lemon, pungent vegetables, garlic, onions.

Kapha
Balances: Apples, apricots, berries, cherries, cranberries, mangos, peaches, pungent and bitter vegetables, broccoli, celery, garlic, onion.
Aggravates: Sweet and sour fruits, bananas, coconut, melons, papaya, sweet and juicy vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes.

There are many suggestions in Ayurveda, which are very easily translated to a Raw Food Diet.
Such suggestions are:

Eat mainly seasonal fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains
Eat according to your constitution, or dosha
Fast for one day every two weeks
Establish a regular eating routine
Eliminate or limit caffeinated, carbonated and alcoholic beverages from your life
Drink herbal tea, fruit and vegetable juices


Tags: Ayurveda, raw, food, diet, health, vegetables

Atkins Is Hardly the 'Rich Man's Diet'

Every day, Americans consume heavily processed and refined foods because they mistakenly believe that healthier, more nutritious foods are too expensive to buy on a tight budget.

"It is incorrect and damaging to characterize eating whole foods as a luxury only the rich can afford," said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of education and research at Atkins Health & Medical Information Services. "While this notion plays into the pockets of manufacturers of processed foods, it couldn't be further from the truth. Unfortunately, by perpetuating this myth about whole foods, those parties responsible support unhealthy long-term eating habits."

The Atkins Nutritional Approach and similar regimens have demonstrated their weight loss and health benefits in numerous studies, Heimowitz said. For instance, a six-month study published in the November 2004 Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cardiology demonstrated that a low-carb diet significantly reduces body weight and decreases the level of triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood glucose, and increases the HDL (good) cholesterol.

"One of the best aspects of the Atkins Nutritional Approach is that it is a program that can fit into almost any budget," Heimowitz said. "It is important for people to realize that with a little ingenuity and creativity in the grocery store and kitchen, they can reap tremendous health benefits from whole foods without having to prepare elaborate gourmet meals."

Steak, often linked with following Atkins, is not the only available source of protein.

Lower-priced cuts of meat and poultry, ideal in hearty stews and casseroles, for example, offer the same nutritional value as more expensive prime and choice cuts.

Canned fish and less pricey selections such as cod and catfish also can help you control your carbs on a budget. Tofu, another valuable source of protein, can bring diversity to meals without breaking the bank.

Frozen vegetables and fruits -- provided that they have no added sugars -- are typically less expensive than out-of-season fresh produce but still provide the same dietary value. Frozen broccoli, spinach and berries are great low-carbohydrate flavor enhancers.


Tags: Atkins Is Hardly the 'Rich Man's Diet'