‘Mother Jai’ – Page 26

05/08/202205/08/2022

Basics of Herbal Remedies

These are supplements or products made from whole plants or plant extracts that are prepared and consumed in different ways for the purpose of nourishment, prevention, and healing.

Common Types of Herbal Remedies

Spice: ground dried plant materials used in cooking, added to foods for additional flavoring and nourishment

Tea: dried plant materials steeped in boiled water to extract nutrients and drunk, washed with, or used in a poultice on the skin.

Decoction: dried plant materials are boiled for a longer period to extract denser chemcial compounds for stronger healing medicines.

Infusion: dried plant material is soaked in a liquid base in a warm place to gently extract nutrients for use on the skin or as supplement. Ex – honey or oil.

Salve: liquid plant extracts and animal fats combined for external injury and wound healing.

Balm: dense moisturizing blend of waxes, butters, and/or oils; heals cracked skin, dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, etc.

Syrup: making a decoction of plant materials and then cooking it with a sweet base like maple syrup or honey until thick. Great for everyday remedies like for allergies or colds.

Standardized Extracts: encapsulated concentrated herbs, not always what they say, labeling often misleading

Safely Healing Herbs & Spices

Gain benefits from eating, drinking, or soaking in any of these herbs.

Basil leaf: nourishing, balancing, clearing, toning

Black Pepper: anti-inflammatory, healing, warming, calming, pain relieving

Calendula flower: common marigold; anti-inflammatory, healing to mouth and digestive tract, soothing to rashes and irritation

Catnip leaf: antianxiety, calming, relaxing, sedative, soothing

Chamomile flowers: anti-inflammatory, sedative, relaxing, pain relieving

Cinnamon bark: anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, sugar balancing, antioxidant

Dandelion Root & Leaf: nourishing to kidneys and liver, diuretic and water balancing, highly alkaline and reduces acidity

Echinacea root: antiviral, immune boosting, colds and flu, repiratory infections; should not be taken for more than 2 weeks in a row.

Eucalyptus leaf: mucolytic, clearing, opening, healing, soothing, pain relieving, calms coughs and muscle spasms

Fennel seed: digestive, great for gas, nausea, upset stomach, heartburn

Ginger root: helps relieve every digestive issue, alleviates vertigo and motion sickness, and calms the nervous system.

Jasmine flowers: antidepressant,nourishing, calming, sedative, healing, balancing, regulating

Lavender flowers: calming, relaxing, balancing, soothing, and healing

Licorice root: digestive, calming, sweet, hormone balancing, sugar balancing

Marjoram leaf: mucolytic, cough suppressant, fights cold and flu, relaxing

Nettles leaf: antihistamine, clearing, balancing, detoxifying, nourishing

Oregano: antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, healing

Passionflower herb: calming, sedative, hormone balancing, aphrodisiac, nourishing, regulating of cycles

Peppermint leaf: digestive regulator, reduces heartburn, balances peristalsis, stimulating to system

Rose petals: nourishing, calming, soothing, healing, balancing, uplifting

Rose Hips (fruit): full of Vit C, more than oranges, nourishing and healing

Rosemary leaf: stimulating, healing, and regulating to therespiratory and digestive tracts.

Sage leaf: cough suppressant, antispasmodic, fights cold and flu

Thyme: anti-inflammatory, hormone balancer, antibiotic

Turmeric: anti-inflammatory, pain relief, antioxidant, healing, balancing, tonic

Yarrow flower & leaf: anti-inflammatory, headache relief, calming, clearing, detoxifying

05/08/202205/08/2022

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS)

Causes of PFPS

Overuse
Not enough rest between exercise sessions
Improper footwear
Improper training
Improper alignment

Signs & Symptoms

Knee pain
Tight hamstrings
Tight calves
Muscular spasms in legs

Treatment

See a doctor about knee to ensure no damage is done
Give the knee 48 hour break to rest and heal before returning to exercise
Use Ice to reduce inflammation
Epsom salt soak or compress on knee to help healing process
Arnica oil or salve can assist in the healing process
Lavender and chamomile can reduce pain and inflammation
When pain is present reduce activity on the knee (avoid running and exercises on hamstrings and quadriceps)
Increase flexibility in hip, knee and ankle
Myofascial release at groin and hip with foam roller
Increase strength of glutes and hip flexors

Exercises to Reduce Pain & Improve Function

Stability Ball wall squats
Side stepping
Multidirectional lunges
Hip abductor/adductor machine
Glute machine

05/05/202205/05/2022

Regular exercise is essential to maintaining functional abilities throughout aging. Once we stop moving our muscles weaken and our joints become stiff and inflexible. The more sedentary we become the more we have to do to reverse the effects. Avoid being completely sedentary by moving at least a little every day.

These are common barriers to exercise that we can overcome.

Self-efficacy	Begin slowly with exercises that are easily accomplished; advance gradually; provide frequent encouragement.
Attitude	Promote positive personal benefits of exercise; identify enjoyable activities.
Discomfort	Vary intensity and range of exercise; employ cross-training; start slowly; avoid overdoing.
Disability	Specialized exercises; consider personal trainer or physical therapist.
Poor balance	Assistive devices can increase safety as well as increase exercise intensity.
Fear of injury	Balance and strength training initially; use of appropriate clothing, equipment, and supervision; start slowly.
Habit	Incorporate into daily routine; repeat encouragement; promote active lifestyle.
Subjective norms	Identify and recruit influential others; education of patient and influential family/friends.
Fixed income	Walking and other simple exercises; use of household items; promote active lifestyle.
Bad weather	Walk around the home; use senior centers; promote active lifestyle
Cognitive decline	Incorporate into daily routine; keep exercises simple.
Illness/ fatigue	Use a range of exercises/intensities that patients can match to their varying energy level.

Moderate exercise for 30 minutes a day has these health benefits:

Improves blood circulation, which reduces the risk of heart disease
Keeps weight under control
Helps in the battle to quit smoking
Improves blood cholesterol levels
Prevents and manages high blood pressure
Helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging
Maintains quality of life and independence longer for seniors
Helps you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly
Increases muscle strength, increasing the ability to do other physical activities
Prevents bone loss
Boosts energy level
Helps manage stress and releases tension
Counters anxiety and depression
Improves self-image
Promotes enthusiasm and optimism
Reduces risk of stroke by 20 percent
Counters the conditions that lead to heart attack and stroke
Provides a way to share an activity with family and friends
Reduces coronary heart disease in women by 30-40 percent
Reduces the overall risk of obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol levels, etc.

04/30/202204/30/2022

Why We Should Avoid Petrolatum

What is Petroleum Jelly or Petrolatum?

Petroleum jelly is a byproduct of the oil refining process. This means it is not sustainable or eco-friendly, and it also explains some of the potential problems with using it. Petroleum jelly was originally found in the bottom of oil rigs and is further refined for use in the beauty industry. According to packaging and safety info, all of the harmful components are removed before use in beauty or personal care products, but some sources argue that it still contains some harmful components (like hydrocarbons).

Petrolatum, commonly known as petroleum jelly, is a byproduct of petroleum refining. Petrolatum is a soft paraffin or wax mixture sold as a topical skin ointment. It is acknowledged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an approved over-the-counter skin protectant and is used in the manufacturing of cosmetic skin care.

Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum, soft paraffin/paraffin wax or multi-hydrocarbon, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a U.S. non-profit organization that does environmental and safety studies, says there’s petrolatum in one out of every 14 cosmetic products on the market, including 15 percent of lipsticks and 40 percent of baby lotions and oils. Plus, it is used as an active ingredient for healing cuts and burns.

The EWG says ’and governments and the CCTFA acknowledge’ there is a risk of contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), cancer-causing chemicals found in crude oil and its by-products. While no studies have ever shown a direct link between petrolatum and cancer, the European Union put numerous grades of petrolatum on a list of dangerous substances. Only highly refined petrolatum can be used in cosmetics there.

How Does Petroleum Jelly Work on Skin?

Petroleum jelly is used in everything from lotions to baby products for its ability to create a protective barrier on the skin and hold in moisture. On labels, it may also appear as Petrolatum, Mineral oil, Liquid paraffin, or Paraffin oil.

While the ability to hold in moisture may seem like a good thing, it can have its downsides as well. Since petroleum jelly is both waterproof and not water soluble, it creates a waterproof barrier on the skin. At first glance, this may sound good, but it also means that it blocks pores and can lock in residue and bacteria. This is also the reason petroleum jelly should not be used on a burn or sunburn, as it locks in heat and can block the body’s ability to heal.

Also, while it certainly gives the appearance of hydrated and moisturized skin, this may be an illusion as there is nothing in petroleum jelly that is actually nourishing the skin.

Petroleum jelly can’t be metabolized by the skin and just sits as a barrier until it wears off. This means that the body isn’t able to gain any benefit from petroleum jelly (like it can from nutrient rich substances like shea butter or cocoa butter), and there is concern that some of the components (like hydrocarbons) may be stored in fat tissue within the body.

There is strong evidence that mineral oil hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body, amounting to approximately 1 g per person. Possible routes of contamination include air inhalation, food intake, and dermal absorption.

This suggests the potential for long-term accumulation of these hydrocarbons in the body. The study found no link between nutritional habits and hydrocarbon levels in the body but did find a strong potential link between cosmetic and beauty product use and contamination, suggesting that beauty products may be a major source of hydrocarbon exposure.

As moms, this study is especially interesting, since it shows the potential for passing on these contaminants to our children during breastfeeding. We also know that we can’t metabolize these substances, so they can build up in the body and are difficult to remove.

Collagen Breakdown

Because of the barrier that mineral oil/petroleum jelly creates on the skin, there is also some concern about its potential to cause collagen breakdown (which is the opposite of what most women want!). Essentially, the concern is that when petroleum jelly coats the skin it blocks the skin’s natural ability to breathe and absorb nutrients. This can slow the cell renewal process and cause the skin to pull the necessary moisture and nutrients from within, leading to collagen breakdown over time (aka wrinkles!).

Estrogen Dominance

A growing problem in today’s world, estrogen dominance is when the body has high levels of estrogen and proportionately low levels of progesterone to balance it. It is linked to infertility, menstrual problems, accelerated aging, allergies and autoimmune problems as well as nutrient deficiencies, sleep problems and even some types of cancers.

Many products (including petroleum jelly) contain chemicals called xenoestrogens which may increase estrogen problems in the body. Studies have shown that these chemicals may act on hormone receptors in the body and lead to estrogen dominance.

Does it heal skin?

While some beauty companies are promoting petrolatum alternatives, other manufacturers swear by its ability to moisturize and heal. Petrolatum seals off the skin from water and air, as it allows the skin to heal itself.

But there’s a potential downside. A study that was published in Pediatrics in 2000 found that extremely-low-birth-weight infants treated with petroleum jelly were more likely to develop systemic candidiasis; it created a warm, moist place for fungi to grow.

Petrolatum is an occlusive barrier, locking in moisture but it does not allow moisture to be absorbed from the atmosphere. For example, lip balms with petrolatum and other petrochemicals can be less moisturizing than those with emollients that enable moisture exchange.

Alternatives to Petroleum Based Products for the Skin

Thankfully, there are many great alternatives to petroleum jelly and mineral oil that help increase moisture on the skin and provide nourishment as well. The best part? Most of them can be used alone and you don’t even have to make anything!

Shea Butter– A natural skin superfood that is high in Vitamins A, E and F. It also contains beneficial fatty acids that nourish skin and it may reduce skin inflammation and increase collagen production. It is excellent on its own or in homemade beauty products.

Cocoa Butter-A great source of antioxidants and beneficial fatty acids, cocoa butter is another great product for skin. There is even some evidence that it may reduce the signs of aging.

Beeswax– A great substitute for the waterproof and protective properties of petroleum jelly without the hydrocarbons. Though not usually used alone, beeswax can be blended into homemade beauty products for its skin-protective ability and is especially good in lip balms and body creams.

Coconut Oil– Coconut oil has so many benefits, internal and external, and it can be great for the skin. It does cause breakouts in some people, so I always suggest testing on a small area of skin first, but it is a source of skin-nourishing fatty acids, lauric acid and anti-inflammatory compounds.

Almond Oil– A liquid oil that is fragrance free and nourishing to skin.

Sunflower Oil – Another liquid oil that is full of nutrients like omega fatty acids and minerals that are essential to skin health.

Jojoba Oil – A perfect choice for skin care because it naturally resembles sebum, the oily substance naturally produced by the body to nourish and protect skin. You can mix jojoba oil into shea butter for a natural lotion.

04/29/202204/29/2022

Dealing with Stress

Stress: Your response to an event or situation that calls for a change, threatens the order or safety of your life, or otherwise places an unusual demand on your physical, mental and emotional resources.

What does stress feel like in the moment?

Adrenaline starts pumping
Breathing quickens
Heart starts pounding
Blood pressure increases
Blood vessels constrict
Blood rushes to the muscles

Physical Symptoms of Stress

Insomnia
Chronic fatigue
Headache
Grinding teeth
Muscle tics
Stomach aches
Constipation or diarrhea
Back aches
Neck pain
Shortness of breath
Skin problems such as hives
High blood pressure
Reduced sexual pleasure

Emotional & Behavioral Symptoms of Stress

Alcohol or drug abuse
Over eating
Not eating
Gaining or losing weight
Difficulty concentrating Impaired short-term memory
Decrease in productivity
Frequent mood swings
Short temper or anger
Sadness, anxiety, or depression
Isolation from positive relationships
Unproductive worry

Type of Stressors

Physical: increase your body’s need for energy; insufficient energy leads to sore muscles, fatigue, and worsening of disease/illness
Mental & Emotional: include both good and bad events; includes emotional events like joy, surprise, worry, and frustration.
Environmental: includes both good and bad exposure; sunshine is a stressor to the skin causing it to react, second hand smoke is a stressor causing damage you did not choose, and loud noises cause stress reactions whether they are kids playing or fire engines roaring.

Stress and Wellness

To protect your health, stress should be kept to a minimum and other precautions should also be taken. Mind and body affect and feed on one another, and stress strongly affects your overall physical wellness. Long-term stress can bring about significant changes in your body, and even extreme, short-term stress can temporarily decrease overall health. To increase your odds of wellness here are some important steps you can take:

Practice Stress Management Techniques. Certain techniques, like journaling, yoga and even laughter have all been found to increase immunity. Practicing stress-reducing activities, can keep your body from going into chronic stress mode, maintaining increased health and wellness.
Take Care of Your Body. Eat a healthy diet, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly to keep your body running smoothly. Taking better care of your body will keep it functioning properly and increase your ability to fight off the latest bug that’s being passed around.
Maintain a Supportive Network. Social support boosts immunity and helps you manage stress in your life, both of which will keep you healthier. By keeping several healthy relationships in your life, you’ll have friends to help you through the difficult times and increase your enjoyment of the good times, helping everyone stay healthy and enjoy life more.
Stay Organized and Maintain Balance in Your Life. Keep your home uncluttered. Become proficient at saying no to requests that aren’t in line with your priorities. Staying organized and balanced will help you keep from overtaxing yourself, and can help reduce the level of stress you experience in your life, helping you stay healthier in the long run.

Reducing and Relieving Stress

Each of us can live healthier- if we make a concentrated effort to invest in our health by learning to identify bad stress and choosing healthy strategies to overcome a lot of the negative side effects. Stress management can really promote better health.

What are some of the benefits of stress reduction?

Better immune function
Less illnesses and physical complaints
More energy
More focused, more positive
Sleeping better
Better digestion
Calmer mood
Feeling more relaxed

Stress Reduction Techniques

Identify Your Stressors: make a list of all the things that cause even some stress in your life. Identifying them helps you to recognize them to effectively deal with them. Don’t forget to analyze food and habit stressors like eating junk food, drinking, and smoking.

Sort Your Stressors: categorize them by importance to determine if they are worthy of your concern or ‘stress’ and what actions you may need to take to reduce the stress being caused.

Important and changeable: these are managed by taking action to change the situation and reduce the stress associated with it.
Important and unchangeable: these can feel hopeless when they are cannot be changed yet are a part of everyday life. Best dealt with by changing the way you think about it. Reassess and reclassify the stressor to make it easier to deal with.
Unimportant and changeable: if it’s really not important, not a part of your daily life, then let it go. If it is important and can be controlled the do it. Solving these smaller problems helps you build confidence and skills for larger problems.
Unimportant and unchangeable: these are not worth your stress, so the best suggestion is to ignore them. Do not give them your attention or energy and they will not cause you stress.

Use Problem Solving: determine what the stressor is and figure out ways to alleviate the causes by determining solutions to the problems and changing the situation. Evaluate the results of your actions for future use with other stressors.

Be Present: Stop and slow down. Take 5 minutes to focus intently on your activity, observing the behavior with awareness. Notice how the air feels on your face as your walking, enjoy the taste of the food you are eating, or marvel at the beauty of the sunrise. Spending time in the moment focused on your senses allows time for stress to leave your body.

Reach Out: Having a good support system of friends and family provides outlets for pent up stress. Talking to others is a great way to manage whatever is causing you stress.

Tune In to Your Body: Pay attention to how it feels, not analyzing or trying to change anything, but simply taking stock of how the body is functioning. The more you pay attention to your body the fewer surprises you will have when you visit the doctor. You will also begin to learn the best ways to treat yourself with minor ailments, you will feel more in control of your health, and you will recover faster.

Eat Real Food: nutrient rich foods like whole fruits, vegetables, grains, and fresh meats provide the nutrients needed by the body to fight damage caused by stress hormones and reduce toxin build-up and cellular oxidation that occurs with stress.

Decompress: Sitting up straight, wrap a warm heat wrap, blanket, or neck pillow around your shoulders or neck. The close your eyes and allow your face, neck, shoulders, and back relax and go slack, your mouth may even hang open. Breathing softly and calmly, feeling the tension melt away as your muscles relax.

Laugh Out Loud: A good belly laugh not only lightens the mental load it also lowers cortisol levels and increases endorphin levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone that when in excess causes weight gain and inflammation throughout the body. Endorphins are the feel-good hormones that uplift your mood and calm the nervous system.

Be Grateful: Keep a grateful journal by your bed, at work, or in your purse to help you remember all the things that are good in your life. Writing in it everything or some things that you consider being good experiences or celebrated accomplishments. That way when things look bleak you can go back through it and remember the good things. Being grateful for your blessings works to cancel out negative thoughts and worries.

Scheduling Your Day: The best way to ensure that everything that is supposed to get done each day, gets done each day, is to create a schedule of daily activities and follow it every day. Planned activities and doctor’s appointments should be worked into your schedule instead of working your schedule around them. This ensures you know what to expect each day and that you can feel confident in being able to get it all done.

Eat Something: When you get an anxiety attack, it may mean your blood sugar is dropping. The best thing to do is to have a quick sustaining snack, like a handful of walnuts, or a piece of dark chocolate, along with a glass of water or a nice cup of hot tea. People eat things like eggs, which are a satiating and filling protein, and are nature’s top source of choline. Low levels of choline are associated with increased anxiety.

Meditation: A few minutes of practice each day can help ease anxiety and make you more resilient to stress. It’s not difficult but it takes practice. You must train yourself to clear your mind and keep it clear for a period of time in order to focus on one thing, giving the mind a break from everyday thoughts, hopes, worries, and dreams.

Deep Breathing: 5-minute break from a stressful activity or occurrence. Stop what you are doing and sit up straight with chin parallel to the floor. Breathing slowly and deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Stop Catastrophizing. When you’re attacked by anxiety, it’s easy to get into a mindset known as “catastrophic thinking” or “catastrophizing.” Instead, take a few deep breaths, walk around the block, and consider the real probability that this problem will really spin out into catastrophe.

Sauna or Steam Bath: Ever wonder why you feel so relaxed after a spell in the sauna or a steam room? Sensations of warmth may alter neural circuits that control mood, including those that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin. Warming up may be one of the ways that exercise—not to mention curling up by a fire with a cozy cup of tea—boosts mood.

Forest Bath. You and I know it as a walk in the woods. The forest bathers had lower stress hormone levels after their walk than they did after a comparable walk in an urban area.

Crank Up the Tunes: Listening to soothing music, such as nature sounds or classical tunes, allow the mind to focus on individual instruments or sounds and causes a decrease in blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. Another good way to blow off some steam is to play rocking or upbeat tunes and sing along with them at the top of your lungs.

Get Moving: All forms of exercise, from yoga to walking, can ease depression and anxiety, by increasing the amount of endorphins released by the brain. Exercise does not have to be strenuous to beneficial, 21 minutes is all it takes.

Reach for Soothing Scents: To calm nerves in an instant, try inhaling aromas of bergamot, lavender, or peppermint essential oils. Place a drop on your wrist or handkerchief to smell as you work, have an air diffuser available to permeate the room with aroma, or drop one drop onto an unscented candle to disperse the aroma throughout the room.

Take a Warm Bath: Relaxing in a warm bath with or without scented bath salts or oils. Light a couple candles or use a night light to create a dim and relaxed atmosphere then lay in the tub and relax, allowing the water to wash away your tension. As you drain the tub imagine all of your stress going down the drain with the dirty water.

Visualize Peacefulness: Take a few minutes to imagine your dream vacation or your perfect escape: Imagine being there, feeling the breeze on your face or the sand under your feet. Imagine you are there in your perfect place enjoying the beauty of it. Sit in your peaceful place for time forgetting your worries.

Utilize Crystal Energy: Turquoise colored crystals have a wide variety of uses. They temper excesses, restore calm after a storm, relieve stress, neutralize extremes, and provide a counter to tendencies to fly off in a single direction. They help you overcome conflict, and deal with rage. They moderate aggressiveness and help you deal with cruelty. The turquoise colored crystals help you relax, rewind, and build tolerance. When you seek to reestablish your equilibrium, and get your emotions under control, use a turquoise crystal.

04/18/202204/18/2022

Vitamins & Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals

These are considered essential nutrients—because acting in concert, they perform hundreds of roles in the body. They help shore up bones, heal wounds, and bolster your immune system. They also convert food into energy and repair cellular damage.

There is a fine line between getting enough of these nutrients and getting too much.
Eating a healthy diet remains the best way to get the vitamins and minerals you need.
Although they are all considered micronutrients, vitamins and minerals differ in basic ways. Vitamins are organic and can be broken down by heat, air, or acid. Minerals are inorganic and hold on to their chemical structure.
Minerals in soil and water easily find their way into your body through the plants, fish, animals, and fluids you consume.
Vitamins from food and other sources are harder to get into your body because cooking, storage, and simple exposure to air can inactivate these fragile compounds.
Vitamin D enables your body to pluck calcium from food sources passing through your digestive tract rather than harvesting it from your bones. Vitamin C helps you absorb iron.
The interplay of micronutrients isn’t always cooperative; vitamin C blocks your body’s ability to assimilate the essential mineral copper and even a minor overload of manganese can worsen iron deficiency.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

These are packed into the watery portions of the foods you eat. They are absorbed directly into the bloodstream as food is broken down during digestion or as a supplement dissolves. Your kidneys continuously regulate levels of water-soluble vitamins; excess goes out in urine.

B vitamins: Biotin (vitamin B7), Folic acid (folate, vitamin B9), Niacin (vitamin B3), Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), Thiamin (vitamin B1), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12
Vitamin C

Here are some examples of how different vitamins help you maintain health: Generally, water-soluble vitamins should be replenished every few days.

Release energy. Several B vitamins are key components that help release energy from food.
Produce energy. Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and biotin for energy production.
Build proteins and cells. B6, B12, and folic acid metabolize amino acids; help cells multiply.
Make collagen. One of many roles played by vitamin C is to help make collagen, which knits together wounds, supports blood vessel walls, and forms a base for teeth and bones.
Can stay in the body for long periods of time; several years’ supply of vitamin B12 in your liver; folic acid and vitamin C stores can last more than a couple of days.
Very high doses of B6—many times the recommended amount of 1.3 milligrams (mg) per day for adults—can damage nerves, causing numbness and muscle weakness.

Fat-soluble vitamins

These gain entry to the blood via lymph channels in the intestinal wall and travel through the body only under escort by proteins that act as carriers. These include: Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. Together this vitamin quartet helps keep your eyes, skin, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and nervous system in good repair. Here are some of the other essential roles these vitamins play:

Build bones. Bone formation is impossible without vitamins A, D, and K.
Protect vision. Vitamin A also helps keep cells healthy and protects vision.
Interact favorably. Without vitamin E = difficult to absorb/store vitamin A.
Protect the body. Vitamin E also acts as an antioxidant.
Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your body for long periods; toxic levels can build up most likely when taking supplements, rare to get too much of a vitamin just from food.

Major minerals

These are no more important to your health than the trace minerals; they’re just present in your body in greater amounts. Travel through the body in various ways. Potassium, for example, is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, where it circulates freely and is excreted by the kidneys, much like a water-soluble vitamin. Calcium is more like a fat-soluble vitamin because it requires a carrier for absorption and transport. Major minerals include: Calcium, Chloride, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium and Sulfur.

One of the key tasks of major minerals is to maintain the proper balance of water in the body. Sodium, chloride, and potassium take the lead in doing this. Three other major minerals—calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium—are important for healthy bones. Sulfur helps stabilize protein structures, including some of those that make up hair, skin, and nails. Having too much of one major mineral can result in a deficiency of another. Here are two examples:

Salt overload: Calcium binds with excess sodium in the body and is excreted when the body senses that sodium levels must be lowered: too much sodium through table salt or processed foods means losing needed calcium as your body rids itself of the surplus sodium.
Excess phosphorus: can hamper your ability to absorb magnesium.

Trace minerals

Their contributions are just as essential as those of major minerals, they include: Chromium, Copper, Fluoride, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Selenium and Zinc. Trace minerals carry out a diverse set of tasks. Here are a few examples:

Iron is best known for ferrying oxygen throughout the body.
Fluoride strengthens bones and wards off tooth decay.
Zinc helps blood clot, is essential for taste and smell, and bolsters the immune response.
Copper helps form several enzymes; assists with iron metabolism and the creation of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood.

Too much of one can cause or contribute to a deficiency of another. Here are some examples:

A minor overload of manganese can exacerbate iron deficiency.
Too little iodine thyroid hormone production slows, causing sluggishness and weight gain as well as other health concerns. The problem worsens if the body also has too little selenium.

The difference between “just enough” and “too much” of the trace minerals is often tiny. Generally, food is a safe source of trace minerals, but if you take supplements, it’s important to make sure you’re not exceeding safe levels.

Antioxidant

A term for any compound that can counteract unstable molecules such as free radicals that damage DNA, cell membranes, and other parts of cells. Your body cells naturally produce plenty of antioxidants to put on patrol. The foods you eat—and, perhaps, some of the supplements you take—are another source of antioxidant compounds. Carotenoids (such as lycopene in tomatoes and lutein in kale) and flavonoids (such as anthocyanins in blueberries, quercetin in apples and onions, and catechins in green tea) are antioxidants. The vitamins C and E and the mineral selenium also have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are able to neutralize marauders such as free radicals by giving up some of their own electrons.

Free radicals

Are a natural byproduct of energy metabolism and are also generated by ultraviolet rays, tobacco smoke, and air pollution. Free radicals have a well-deserved reputation for causing cellular damage. When immune system cells muster to fight intruders, the oxygen they use spins off an army of free radicals that destroys viruses, bacteria, and damaged body cells in an oxidative burst. Vitamin C can then disarm the free radicals.

Author: 'Mother Jai'