Anemia

Iron Deficiency

Anemia is caused by a lack of iron in your system. Iron deficiency can be caused by many things. Unknown to many of us, the foods we consume at a given meal can make a difference in the amount of iron absorption we get.

Foods such as meat, poultry and fish contain heme iron and foods that are plant like contain non heme iron. Dietary sources of vitamin C enhance non heme iron absorption when eaten at the same meal. Calcium can decrease the amounts of heme iron absorbed at a meal. Anemia is less of a concern for healthy individuals who consume a varied diet of the guide lines for Americans.  Iron Deficiency is the major cause of anemia.  Click Here

The amount of iron inhibited by calcium is usually not a concern. Anemia could be present for vegetarian diets that are low in heme irons, but carefully planned diets can help increase the amount of iron absorbed.

Another contribution towards anemia is taking antacids beyond the recommended amount or medicine used to treat peptic ulcer and acid reflux. These can reduce the amount of acid in the stomach and the absorption of iron and can cause iron deficiency leading to anemia.

The most risk of anemia is in young children and pregnant women because of rapid growth and higher iron needs. Children between six months and three years of age with inadequate amounts of dietary iron are at risk. Babies are at risk for anemia that are given cows milk before age of twelve months and breast feed babies after 6 months that are not given iron fortified cereals. Children aged one to five who get more than 24 ounces of cows milk or soy milk per day can lose the desire to consume foods with more iron content like meat or iron fortified cereal and are at a greater risk for anemia.

Symptons of anemia are: feeling tired and weak, decreased School performance, slow social development, fluctuating body temperature, decreased immune function causing susceptibility to infections and an inflamed tongue.

If any of these symptons are present in your child your health care provider can recommend the appropriate test for a diagnosis.
Anti Aging Rebel

Wine For Your Health

Benefits, Yes or No

Wine was used as a pharmaceutical very early BC. Specific wines were recommended to purge fever, disinfect wounds, as diuretics and for a nutritional supplement around 450 BC.

The earliest known printed book about wine was by a French doctor in 1410 AD. Wine was considered safer than much of the available water until the 18th century because most of the pathogens that threatened humans are killed off by the acid and alcohol in wine.

Wine provides the body with energy and can aid with digestion and has small amounts of minerals and vitamins. Wine is a mild tranquilizer aiding in the reduction of anxiety and tension and acts as a mild euphoric agent to convalescents and especially the aged.

Even with all the positive aspects of wine, there is an entire generation of medical professionals, especially in America, that earned their medical education during prohibition, years ago, that purged and censored any mention of alcohol, including wine, for any application other than external.

In the 1970’s, the National Institute of Health suppressed evidence from the Framingham Heart Study, that showed moderate drinkers had 50% fewer deaths from coronary disease than non-drinkers. The popular thinking of drinking wine as medicine rather than wine being a toxin came back in November 1991 when it was reported on “60 Minutes”that has some medicinal value and is known as the French Paradox.

Studies in France, England and Denmark have found coronary disease to be much higher in heavy or binge drinkers and even higher in abstainers. But, the diet of people in Southern France includes a high proportion of butter, cheese, eggs, organ meats and other fatty and cholesterol foods. Also people from these countries drink wine with their meals while Americans drink water. Iced tea, milk, soft drinks or coffee and basically eat a lower cholesterol diet.

So now, with all these tests being made about wine, what is the real answer for you as an individual? I have always learned that moderation in everything, including wine, is a good practice. The choice about wine consumption is yours.

Anti Aging Rebel

Caffeine or Decaffeinated Coffee

The choice is Yours

There is much conversation concerning caffeine or decaffeinated coffee but how different are they and how do they affect our health?
There are various methods to change coffee from caffeine to decaffeinated but I have chosen the Swiss Water Process. The process is to soak a batch of (green) beans in hot water, releasing the caffeine. When all the caffeine and coffee solids are released into the water, the beans are discarded. The water goes through a carbon filter that traps the caffeine but lets the coffee solids pass through. The resulting solution is called GCE, (Green Coffee Extract). The GCE passes through proprietary carbon and captures the caffeine. This resulting solution is now available for decaffeinating coffee. New green coffee beans are introduced to the GCE. Since GCE is coffee solids without caffeine, only the caffeine diffuses from the beans. The GCE passes through proprietary carbon which captures the caffeine. The process repeats until the beans filtered are 99.9% caffeine free.

Coffee contains over 400 chemicals important to the taste and aroma of the final drink and the process is challenging to remove only the caffeine and leaving the other important chemicals.

Almost all brands of decaffeinated coffee contain a minimum amount of caffeine. Drinking five to 10 cups of decaffeinated coffee could deliver as much caffeine as 1 or 2 cups of coffee with caffeine.

Consumption of decaffeinated coffee seems to be as beneficial as caffeine coffee in decreasing all-cause mortality. According to a large prospective cohort study in women, consumption of decaffeinated coffee significantly decreases all-cause mortality with the consumption of 1 cup to 6 per day, compared to those who drink less than 1 cup per month. For men, the beneficial effects show a tendency towards significantly decreasing mortality for those who drink more than 2 cups per day compared to those who drink less than one cup per month. For anti aging information, go to "www.antiagingrebel.com."

Anti Aging Rebel

Eye Care

Protect Your Vision

Many problems can develop with your eyes in a life time. Eye Care appointments with your doctor are the most important habit to avoid problems that can occur.

Something that can happen without warning is a sty. All of a sudden you have a painful bump located at the base of the eyelid and this could be a sty. This is caused by an infection of the oil gland that helps lubricate the eyeball. When the gland becomes clogged, an infection can occur. The first signs of a sty are tenderness, redness and pain. The eye may feel scratchy and then develop swelling and cause discomfort when you blink. A common sign is a small yellowish spot at the center of the bump. Stys are common to all ages but may be more common between the ages of 30 and 50. People with chronic conditions like diabetes and chronic debilitating illnesses are more prone to develop stys. Stress can also be a factor.

An eye care home treatment is to apply a warm washcloth to the area for 10 minutes, four to six times a day. This can help rupture the yellowish spot to relieve the pain. You should never squeeze the bump because this can spread the infection. After a few days without results, consult a doctor, especially for children. Antibiotics may be prescribed by a doctor. A sty does not cause intraocular damage to the eye and complications are rare. Good eye care practice is do not share cosmetics, keep eye tools clean, discard old makeup and keep cosmetics clean as well as your hands.

A more serious reason for regular eye care appointments is cataracts. Cataracts are a progressive, painless clouding of the lens of the eye. They occur when protein builds up on the lens and blocks some of the light from passing through, making it difficult to see clearly. Over time, cataracts can cause blindness. Most cataracts are associated with age.
Routine eye exams by your eye doctor are important to check for signs of detached retina, glaucoma and any other eye abnormality.

Anti Aging Rebel

Vitamin Supplements

Are They Necessary

How do you know you are taking the correct supplements? Multivitamins are convenient to add to your daily routine but they may not contain all the nutrients you need. It is not possible to fit all the nutrients into a single pill or capsule. The content of each is normally listed on the container for your information. Also, everyone does not require the same amount of nutrients. Individual diets could cause a lack of different vitamins.

An appropriate amount of calcium is different for individuals and of course this is important for your bone density. If you lack calcium in your system, from what I have learned, our bodies automatically draw calcium from our bones which can cause osteoporosis in later years. It is always a good idea to check with your physician for the proper dosage your body requires. Also magnesium is added to calcium as an important ingredient. The intake of supplements should be spread out through the day and taken with meals. Not all at once because of the convenience.

Multivitamins are available inside a hard shell pull-apart capsule, as a liquid inside a soft gelatin capsule or as a tablet. Most multivitamins have all the ingredients mixed together. Sometimes the B vitamins react with the rest of the ingredients and the reaction is sped up in the presence of heat or moisture causing the capsule to bleed through the capsule causing a smell and discolor. Although this does not cause the capsule to become unsafe, it usually is not tolerated. For this reason, tablets and capsules should be kept in a cool dry place.

If you prefer vegetarian multivitamin/mineral supplements, they are available in tableted products. Some capsules come from vegetarian sources, but most come from animal gelatin, so read the label to be sure you are getting a vegetarian product.

Occasionally a tablet form will not breakdown adequately when it contains calcium compounds, but properly made capsules will dissolve readily.

Anti Aging Rebel