The mineral Iron , (Fe), is found in every living cell. There is a total content of 5g in the body or about 50 mg/kg of body weight. This mineral exists in the body in combination with protein and its importance for health has been recognized for centuries. Its major function is to form hemoglobin (it gives cells their red color) by combining with protein and copper. Hemoglobin transports oxygen in the blood from the lungs to the rest of the body. Iron is also necessary for the formation of myoglobin found in muscle tissue; supplies oxygen to muscle cells to be used in reactions for muscle contraction.

Several mechanisms to absorb iron are used by the body and either ferric or the naturally occurring ferrous iron are utilized. Once acted on by acid in the stomach absorption occurs primarily in the duodenum and upper jejunum. In foods the mineral occurs in several forms and differ in absorption. For example heme iron; part (40%) of hemoglobin and myoglobin molecules in animal flesh, is absorbed twice as fast as nonheme iron or elemental form. Nonheme iron is also present in animal flesh, eggs, milk, whole grains and in vegetables.

Iron plays an important role in health of the body and especially those of the immune function, temperature regulation and energy metabolism. The stores in the body influence iron absorption. When it is needed is mobilized from body stores such as liver and spleen and enters the blood. Deficiency of vitamin A may impair its release from stores. Almost 70% is found in the red blood cells. If diet or body stores can not supply sufficient amount then synthesis of hemoglobin and numbers of red blood cells falls and as a result oxygen carried in the blood is decreased.

Deficiency of iron, in which the amount of hemoglobin in red cells is reduced and therefore the carrying capacity of oxygen, results in pale skin, fatigue, difficulty with breathing, constipation, weakness and brittle nails. The most common deficiency is iron-deficiency anemia with symptoms such as fatigue, low resistance to disease and paleness.

The RDA for iron is 8 mg/day for adult men and 18 mg for adult women. The upper level is 45 mg/day. While iron is a very important mineral for health and overload is not as common as iron deficiency it can lead to toxic symptoms. A single large dose such us the upper level for iron can be life threatening to an infant.

Iron, Fe, Hemoglobin

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The Importance of Iron (Fe) in Human Health is a post from: Health Issues - Health Solutions

Magnesium, (Mg), is an essential mineral that accounts only for 0.05 percent of the body’s total weight. Approximately 70 percent of the mineral is located in the bones and the rest in soft tissues such as muscles and in body fluids. Magnesium, like calcium is a cation (divalent). It is heavily involved in many metabolic processes and it is widely distributed in foods especially green leafy vegetables. It’s an essential element of chlorophyll

Approximately 50 percent of the magnesium from dietary sources is absorbed in the small intestine through passive and active absorption. The rate of absorption is influenced by the parathyroid hormones and the amount of calcium, phosphate and lactose in the body. High magnesium intake reduces the rate of absorption and low intake increases the rate. Aldosterone a hormone produced by the kidneys regulates the rate of magnesium loss through kidneys. Diuretics and alcohol increase magnesium loss in the urine.

Magnesium plays an extensive and vital role in many biological and physiological processes. It is responsible for more than 300 enzymatic reactions in the body and its presence is required in many energy-yielding compounds in cells, ATP. It also contributes to the DNA and RNA synthesis, in bone structure by abiding calcium and potassium metabolism, nerve and heart function, insulin release from pancreas, decreasing blood pressure and prevention with heart rhythm abnormalities.

Magnesium also helps to promote the absorption of other minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium and sodium and the utilization of the B-complex vitamins and C and E. The conversion of blood sugar in to energy it needs sufficient amounts of magnesium and for the regulation of body temperature. High cholesterol levels and high intake of proteins increases the need for this mineral. Magnesium also helps to prevent accumulation of calcium and phosphorus deposits in the urinary tract by keeping them soluble.

Approximately 50 percent of dietary magnesium comes from green leafy and other vegetables, fruit and grains and 30 percent from milk and its products, eggs and chocolate. The Recommended Daily Allowance is 310 mg/ day for adult women and 400 mg/day for men. Magnesium deficiency develops very slowly. The need of magnesium increases slightly with some individuals over the age of 30.

Toxicity it is not a problem in healthy people with a typical diet. However, large amounts can lead to diarrhea and toxicity can occur from not food source magnesium in older individuals, in the event of kidney failure or if kidney functions is compromised.

Magnesium, Mg, Essential Mineral Magnesium

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Magnesium (Mg) a Key to Good Health is a post from: Health Issues - Health Solutions

Mineral nutrients are non-carbon nutrients or inorganic. These nutrients are present either as cations ( positively charged) or anions (negatively charged). Cations are derivable from metallic elements, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, copper, cobalt, chromium, manganese, molybdenum (molybdate), zinc, sodium and selenium (selenate).

Nonmetal elements give Anions: chlorine ( chloride), iodine ( iodide) sulfur (sulfate) phosphorus ( phosphate) and fluorine ( fluoride). Combination of both cations and anions give salts including sodium chloride, sodium iodide and calcium phosphate.

The body needs many different minerals, more than 40, for its function . One mineral category is required in greater quantities and is classed as macro-minerals.

Micro-minerals or Trace minerals is a second category of minerals required in much lower amounts. The daily requirements could vary from that of some micrograms (mcgs), to that of some milligrams (mgs).

A third categorization is called micro trace or ultra trace minerals. The amount of this category of mineral nutrients required is not well known but they are usually found in tiny amounts of just parts per million.

The double Noble Prize winner, late Dr. Linus Pauling, once said. “You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral nutrient .” deficiency. Virtually everyone would think of amino acids, vitamins, and essential fatty acids before giving any thought at all to the importance of minerals.

Minerals take on almost countless roles inside the human body. Apart from being participants of just about every enzymatic reaction, they are also needed for the make of and as a component of cell membranes, connective tissue such as bones, cartilage, ligaments, sinews muscles, soft tissues including venous blood vessels, arterial blood vessels, and also brain tissue.

The trouble is that a lot of us might be lacking in many mineral nutrients attributed to the very harsh reality that these important nutrients are found in only small amounts in foods. We exist in a technological period of time able to fiddle with the genetically inherited codes of crops we grow and along the way we produced immense size of strawberries that bear little or no taste of strawberries and broccoli that holds half the amount of magnesium and calcium of its earlier cousins.

Minerals, Mineral Nutrients, Essential Minerals, Health

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Mineral Nutrients Essential for Health is a post from: Health Issues - Health Solutions

Although a daily multi-vitamin pill cannot substitute available nutrients in a balanced diet, does it give you partial protection when you drift from that “perfect” diet? In a ideal world you should get all the vitamins and minerals you need from your food, but, for the great majority of us this is not exactly the case.

According to JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association, research workers have been reporting as far back as in 2000 and advocate multivitamins as an affordable insurance against suboptimal nutrient ingestion.

Multi-vitamins could have short and long term benefits. In the short term you might anticipate to have enhanced levels of energy, better immunity to infection and coping better with stress. On the long term basis, benefits include better cardiovascular, bone, optic and immune health. Since we all live in the frantic 21st century there are a lot of reasons for potentially needing multivitamins.

Outcomes of a study by the Lewin group in 2003, US documented that daily use of multi-vitamins by older adults could result to more than $1.5 billion savings in Medicare across five years. The potential five year savings represented in part savings from reduced risk of hardening of the arteries, improved resistance to infection and less hospital stays.

The study found that daily use of multi-vitamins was a potentially effective way to improve older adults health especially heart and immune health.

A list of GOOD reasons why you may need multivitamin Supplements.

Poor Digestion: A compromised digestive system could limit the body’s uptake of vitamins from food.

Excess Alcohol Intake: Regular and heavy use of alcohol step-ups the need of B-group vitamins.

Smoking: Tobacco smoking increases the demand for vitamin C by 30% than that of a non-smoker.

Use of Laxatives: Use of laxatives speeds intestinal transit time leading in poor assimilation of vitamins and minerals.

Use of Antibiotics: while useful in fighting infections they as well kill friendly bacterial in the gut that makes some of B Vitamins.

Fad Diets: Even the low-fat diets, if aimed to extremes could be low in vitamins A, D and E. Vegetarians unless they design skilfully their diet could become vitamin B12 deficient which leads to anemia.

Cooking: Cooking especially overcooking and reheating food can destroy heat-susceptible vitamins such as the B-group, vitamin E and vitamin C. Boiling vegetables strips the water soluble vitamins such as B-group and vitamin C. Vitamin B6 could be damaged by irradiation from use of microwaves.

Food Storage: Most common sources of vitamin E such as cereals and oils are present days highly refined to increase storage life but this call for the removal of vitamin E. Also freezing food containing vitamin E could significantly reduce levels once the food gets defrosted.

Daily Stress: All three physical, emotional and chemical stressors could increase the demand for vitamins B2, B5, B6, C, and E

Teenager Years: fast growth especially among girls puts high demands on vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.

Pregnancy: It creates greater than average demands for nutrients such as B-group vitamins, especially folic acid, vitamins A, D, E and minerals calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.

Use of Oral Contraceptives: They could step-down the assimilation of folic acid and increase the demand for vitamin B complex especially B6, vitamin C and zinc.

Lack of Sunlight: Shift workers, disable individuals, the aged and those whose exposure to sunshine is lowest could suffer from inadequate amounts of vitamin D.

Athletes: Professional athletes go through substantial stress. The demand, in particular for B-group vitamins, vitamin C and iron, increases substantially.

Since Multivitamins could have short and long term benefits, each of the 13 essential vitamins providing a crucial function, first ensure that you receive the proper nutrition and additionally take a multivitamin for the numerous important reasons mentioned above.

Vitamins, Multi-vitamin, Multivitamin Supplements

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Do You Need a Multi-vitamin Supplement? is a post from: Health Issues - Health Solutions

There are more than 12 million people who have been diagnosed with asthma, in the U.S.A. alone and the number keeps growing. Numerous medical experts think that in reality asthma has reached epidemic dimensions

Noxious chemicals and pollution in the surroundings are the main contributors to the growth of this disease. There have been increasingly more incidents of people dying as a consequence of bronchial asthma, for the most part due to neglecting the warning signs.

When an attack is advancing, the lung’s air passages become swollen and release mucous secretion. Before long they will begin to constrict. As the respiratory tract gets more constricted, it becomes also more challenging to be able to take a breath. The commonest symptoms of an asthma attack are wheezing, pain, breathlessness, cough, congestion, fever, and dry out mouth.

Simply it is almost anything that could start out an attack. The most likely triggers include allergic reactions, an infection of the upper respiratory tract, stress, excessive exertion or a poor nutrition. However, allergic reactions are the commonest trigger.

A lot of bronchial asthma attacks are the symptom of close contact with all kind of irritants including pollen, smoke, and exhaust fumes. Attacks could also be induced by foods like dairy products, corn peanuts and chocolate. They could as well be caused during a treatment with antibiotic drugs, tranquilizers or hormone therapy.

There are several vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements that have been employed with success to treat asthma. The most important of these is Vitamin B complex. It could cut down the severances of a bronchial asthma attack and also help to maintain your body’s biochemical equilibrium.

If you take vitamins E and A together they will work to support your respiratory tract from the effects of pollution. Additionally, Vitamin C will be highly useful infighting an attack.

Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) is also effective in improving breathing and assisting with your lung problems. Garlic (use odourless for social reasons) is an additional great pick, with its content of anti-inflammatory factors will help to scale down such a risk.

Any time you think might have bronchial asthma attack see your physician right away to get examined. Till then, eat a protein high diet with lots of veggies and fruits and steer clear of acknowledged triggers.

Asthma could be very trying, but there are means that you could fight back and assist to rid of. If your physician tells you that you do have asthma, ask him any questions that come to mind and get his advice on what you ought to do.

You could also help to prevent an attack of asthma by employing natural products like vitamins and nutritional supplements and keep enjoying your regular activities.

Since bronchial asthma troubles millions of individuals around the globe, if you are a person that suffer asthma attacks you should find out more about what causes the condition, how to prevent it, and for Natural Relief of Acute Asthma.

Asthma, Bronchial Asthma

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Bronchial Asthma Attack Natural Approach is a post from: Health Issues - Health Solutions