Vitamins: To Be or Not to Be?

    Nutrition as it applies to our daily lives means that we take in what we need to maintain our body’s healthy state. Nutrition has become an important word thanks to the involvement of the USDA in our daily food requirements, and the FDA’s involvement in determining what is and is not dangerous for us to consume.

    But what is our responsibility in the nutrition game? Do we understand what our nutritional requirements are, how to fulfill those requirements, and how to look for real nutritional value in our foods? I’m not sure that nutrition has been successfully addressed in its own right. We hear nutrition in relation to our vitamin intake, our fortified cereals and milk, and in the context that we need “nutritional value” from our food choices. But we don’t often stop to think, what do we really need in nutritional supplements?

    Vitamins and minerals are more readily available to us than ever before, and we’re still no better equipped to actually determine what we need to take, than we were forty years ago. Just because we see the latest advertisement about a particular vitamin and decide the symptoms of deficiency apply to us, does not mean we need to rush out and purchase the product. The symptoms of deficiency for lots of vitamins and minerals are the same or overlapping. What we need is a way to detect, on an individual basis, what our body’s lack, and then plan a suggested nutritional solution.

    The complete lack of unity between our medical field and the herbal field, (this is the field that vitamins and minerals belong to) is a disgrace in a country so forward thinking as the United States. But it is also where we fall short in providing our citizenry with the tools they need to make better, informed decisions. The medical field has long resented any contact that patients might make with herbalists, vitamins and minerals, or any other proposed health aid, that wasn’t directly related to medicine.

    Thanks to this prevalent attitude among most all doctors, we have missed great opportunities to advance a generation’s health. If you were to take a cross section of the population, and check for adequate levels of the most used and fortified vitamins and minerals, you would probably find the as high as 80% or the population is lacking in a least one of the vitamins and minerals. Now, that doesn’t sound too bad, until you stop to think, what if it’s calcium? A calcium deficiency brings on osteoporosis, a deteriorating of the bone. This disease alone costs millions in medical expense to the population.

    Can you see how a little more cooperation and open-minded participation on the part of our medical field could result in far fewer health problems? It would also have provided the general population with a viable way to discern their vitamin and mineral needs, accurately. Blood tests, urine tests, and other simple office procedures would provide the vast majority of the information needed for us to arm ourselves, and head off to the health store. Preventive medicine comes in all shapes, forms, and tablets!

Is There Health Without Water?

    Water makes up 98% percent of our body, and without this life-giving fluid, you and I would not survive. The human body can survive for up to 3 weeks on water alone. Try surviving without the water and you might make it 4 to 5 days. It’s a truly amazing and health sustaining fluid, and it’s just water!

    What really do we get from water, that our body must have, and can’t live without? It’s the benefit of the fluidity of water, and what it does for our bodies that is the most important part. All of our bodily functions rely on the cells in our bloodstream to supply them the nutrients and minerals that they need to carry out those vital functions. How do our cells achieve that end? They absorb the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients we take in during our digestive process. But they also absorb water, or liquid fluids that are a product in direct water intake or the digestive process, but either way, water must be a part of the formula. Since cells are also made of mostly water or fluid, it’s necessary to keep lots of water coming, and make sure that we include at least 64 ounces in our daily intake.

    Ask any health and fitness instructor, and they will tell you that you must consume plenty of water during your exercise routine, weight lifting, and physical activity requires us to take in water or some sort of sports drink. Most of the instructors will recommend just plain water. Why must we keep our bodies so hydrated? In order for the metabolic and muscle burn to occur, there must be plenty of water and plenty of oxygen. Oh, wait a minute, there’s another benefit of water. It contains oxygen, a substance our body cannot get enough of. Water also helps to flush the lactose acid that accumulates in our muscles when we work out, or use the excessively. The lactose acid can build up and cause soreness, stiffness, and muscle pain.

    So, if you look at the benefits that water supplies, and you are trying to maintain health and fitness, you can not ignore the fact that water needs to be a part of your daily intake. But how much water do we need to adequately supply our bodies, and help fuel our metabolic processes? The most often recommended quantity is 8 eight ounce glasses each day. Personally, I believe that amount should be closer to 10 eight ounce glasses each day.

    What other benefits can water provide, other than the obvious ones of adding fluid to our bodies? Water helps keep our skin healthy and glowing. It helps in the reduction of wrinkling, and aids in our ability to flush fat, toxins, and any other unwanted or foreign substance from our bodies. Flushing our intestines with plenty of water allows us to maintain stable and safe quantities of yeast and bacteria. Plenty of water keeps our thought processes and brain function at optimal levels, and prevents headaches that are caused from not enough hydration. It’s pretty amazing what that one little glass of water can do!