Folic Acid, The News Keeps Getting Better

National press has recently taken an interest in the benefits of folic acid, with coverage increasing throughout the media. Folic acid, a B vitamin and other folates helps the body to form red blood cells and aids in the formation of genetic material within every body cell. Folic acid also helps to prevent birth defects. Proponents of dietary supplements have encouraged the use of folic acid by women who are of the child-bearing age for a long time.

The public is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of this nutrient to prenatal development. In a survey done by U.S. Health and Human Services in 2007, about 40% of all women surveyed reported the daily consumption of a supplement that contained folic acid, while about 42% of women surveyed reported that folic acid is the most important vitamin for women of child-bearing age. This study also found that awareness of the benefits differed by age group. Younger women were the least likely to know about the benefits of folic acid, and therefore, were the least likely to consume folic acid. These younger women were also more likely to hear about folic acid from a magazine or newspaper or school or college, rather than their health-care provider.

On the contrary, the women who aged 25-34 and 35-47 were much more likely to hear about folic acid and its benefits from their health-care provider. Because of these results, the U.S. Health and Human Services considers it vital to increase young person education and awareness. Folic acid has long been known to help prevent birth defects. Recent research on folic acid shows that it may also help in preventing premature births, boost baby weights, prevent preeclampsia, reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and even cut male smokers’ stroke risk.

Folate is determined from the term “foliage,” and is a member of the B vitamin family where it can be primarily found in dark leafy green vegetables, legumes, citrus fruits, beets, meat, and wheat germ. Folic acid does not occur in nature and cannot be found in unfortified foods. It is not an active form of the B-vitamin. However, it is the most common form of folate used is supplements and in fortified food products due to the fact that it is highly bioavailable and chemically stable. It is also readily reduced to tetrahydrofolate, which is the active coenzyme form of folate. One study, comparing folic acid from orange juice and folic acid from a supplement showed that the supplement had a better absorption rate than the fortified orange juice.

Although folic acid is not generally associated with side effects, there have been some clinical reports that high level of folic acid can mask a deficiency of vitamin B-12. However, a deficiency of B-12 is very uncommon and it has been determined that only amounts about 3000 – 4000 micrograms per day of folic acid for extended periods of time may have this masking effect, which can in turn be eliminated by supplementing with a few micrograms of B-12. For more information about folic acid and its benefits to your body, contact your local health food retailer.

Why Can’t I Lose Weight

Eating Too Much
Being a strong believer in sound nutrition and always preaching that nutrition is not only how much you eat but when, what, and why? These three words determine if you lose or gain weight. Let’s break them down really quick.

When, What, and Why? Eating at certain periods in the day is crucial for healthy nutrition and satisfying weight loss. For starters, the two most important meals of the day are breakfast and dinner. These two meals are the jump start and hibernating factors of your fat storing or burning metabolism. Eating a big breakfast will ensure you are burning calories all day while elevating your metabolism as much as possible without exercise. Dinner is the hibernating factor as it should be your last meal of the day and I might want to add that it should be your smallest one as well.

You have two choices on what your dinner will do for you. If you eat a low carb, low fat, and high protein meal equaling in fewer calories, your metabolism will most likely burn fat throughout the night while you are sleeping. If you eat a high carb and calorie dinner your metabolism will do it’s best to try burning all those calories you just ate but most often they will go straight to your fat storages.

So are you having your body turning your food you ate during the day to fat while you sleep? I am pretty sure this is not what you want so force your body to burn fat all day and all night long.
Not Eating Enough
Not eating enough calories will decrease the amount of calories your body burns during the day by itself which also indicated having a sluggish metabolism. Personally, when someone tells me they want to lose weight while only eating 1200 calorie or less per day, it automatically has me saying in my head that it is a sure-fire way to ensure that they don't lose a pound and pack on more than when you started. Determining the right amount of calories to consume for weight loss is very important, and is the most effective method for losing weight for the long term.

Exercise Is Not Efficient
I don’t like to step on anybody’s feet on this section but most people don’t know how to exercise that will actually give them satisfying results. I love to see people walking around town with friends and family or doing lap swim at the city pool as they are having fun while exercising. On the other hand; if their goal is to lose weight as fast as possible, than just walking is not effective enough for their desired results.

I’m not saying you have to go through hell but a little intensity is the key for success. Besides encouraging you to increase the physical activity in your daily life, your workouts should consist of weight training and cardio together.

Depending if you are going to workout 3, 4, 5, etc. days in a week, remember that you only have to be in the gym no longer than hour when you increase your intensity. Some simple tips for increasing your intensity are super sets in the weight room to lift more in less time. Another tip is lifting the appropriate weight, so if your going to lift around 15-20 reps than your muscle should be burning between 15-20. Keep shorter rest periods as this will keep your heart rate up, and your fat burning accelerated.

There is so much more you can do to get the most out of your workouts, and if you want the best results I recommend the #1 natural bodybuilder Tom Venuto's book, “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.”

Diet Is Not Efficient
Even if you take the time by motivating yourself to increase your exercise intensity and frequency, you must consider cleaning up your diet as nutrition is 80% responsible for losing weight. Healthy eating consist of eating balanced meals, eating the right portions at the right times, and one of the most important, having the right foods at the right times.

Some simple tips you hear all the time are to consume more fruits and vegetables while making sure to eat a heart healthy breakfast to jump start your day. With that, I also recommend increasing daily protein in take as it speed up the metabolism 35% more than carbohydrates and fats, and is less likely to be stored as fat. Another tip that should be followed is to consume enough water during the day to keep your body hydrated and can also help decrease your hunger cravings.

A few tips I am going to leave you with are eating less-processed foods, stick with whole grain carbs, and purchase extra low fat ground beef/steak so the fat in take is not excessive. Your day should consist of more carbs in the morning and decreasing throughout the day till dinner that should be low carb and high protein.

Don’t cut yourself short of your weight loss goals with poor eating.

“Eating clean makes your body adjusts to being lean.”


Too Much Stress
Having too much stress in your life can make weight loss seem impossible and it’s not all your fault. When you are stress your body releases a hormone called cortisol. This stress hormone regulates blood sugar, energy production, inflammation, and healing. Too little of cortisol can leave you fatigue and basically feeling like crap. If that’s not bad enough, if you have to much cortisol your body mobilizes the energy into mostly fat making weight gain every easy. There are many types of form of stress but let me list out some ways to decrease this effect.

• Get enough sleep preferably 6-8 hours
• Eat a balanced diet
• Exercise regularly to relieve stress
• Take 30 minutes and do something relaxing
• Drink mostly water and decrease consumption of caffeinated beverages

We all have every busy lives and stress is one of the things that many people don’t think of when they can’t seem to lose any weight. Life is too short to be stressed out all the time, so give it your best shot and good luck.

Can Aromatherapy Heal Depression?

Most people who are affected by depression become very flat, lifeless, stressed out and easily agitated. Some individuals even have trouble getting out of the bed. This makes it very difficult to recover or bounce back. The essential oils used in aromatherapy, may help to reverse this by positively affecting the brain. Essential oils can provide an emotional lift and help to alleviate some of the tension and anxiety associated with depression.

Some common essential oils that are believed to help chase away the blues include: Geranium, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Rose, Peppermint and Ylang Ylang.

Although counseling and medication have been the mainstays in the fight against depression, there are many side effects associated with pharmaceutical meds and many people stay in counseling for years without any significant progress. Others do experience relief using these methods and that is great. However, there are groups of individuals who would rather not use pharmaceutical drugs to cure their depression, or may be simply looking to supplement their drug regimen. They may be interested in experimenting with natural remedies. Aromatherapy gives them that option. It can be added as an additional tool in the fight against depression. To increase the effectiveness of this approach, changes in diet, physical activity, and supplementation can really help to multiply the effects of aromatherapy.

A 17th century herbalist by the name of John Gerard, believed that clary sage was good to use when individuals were suffering from mental tiredness, depression and other mental disorders. Today, many aromatherapists tend to agree. According to research conducted at the International Flavors and Fragrances in New Jersey, fragrances of orange are also believed to be helpful in reducing anxiety

Aromatherapy is generally more effective in people who are only having mild bouts of depression, and that either do not require medication or who are being weaned off of it. . This is because there is no threat of dangerous drug interactions. Now while aromatherapy can be very helpful, it is important that one doesn’t suddenly stop using their medications. This could potentially be quite dangerous. It is vital that one works closely with their doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist, so that they can safely create an effective game plan to be weaned off prescribed medications as a health professional sees fit.

Probably the most effective forms of aromatherapy to treat depression are bath and massage oils. These allow you take advantage of both your sense of touch and smell. Aromatherapy is a fantastic way for individuals to treat mild depression. Lavender, geranium, rose and peppermint are some of the very best essential oils to use when one has the prolonged blues.

Hair Loss Natural Treatment

Thinning hair, hair loss and especially baldness are stressful and traumatic issues for men as they grow older. At least 50% of male population of earth suffers from hair loss problems and this percentage is higher for men in developed world, due to tense life, unhealthy nutrition and pestiferous climate. Moreover, if your father had hair loss then you probably encounter with the same hair condition because “male pattern baldness” is a hereditary disease.

Treating hair loss has interested physicians and scientists through out history and many natural and pharmaceutical cures has been proposed. Recently, medical researches have finally proved the overall cause of hair loss. An androgenic hormone (named dihydrotestosterone or DHT) gradually increases in the receptors at hair follicles as men grow up and as a result, hair follicles shrink, hair becomes thinner, progressively falls and eventually no new healthy hair grows.

The understanding of the cause of hair loss does not mean that there has been success in discovery of hair loss treatment. Many pharmaceutical, beauty products and natural remedies “promise” to improve hair health but nothing can be considered as panacea. Below there are some natural treatment (some have been used for centuries) that concern hair loss. Of course, treating hair loss may last long and therefore you should be patient and determined. You will not see a new head full of hair after just one or two treatments Nevertheless, repeated use will probably offer you a better looking, healthier and fuller hair.

A widely used home remedy is with use of herb Aloe Vera. It is believed that by rubbing your head with leafs of Aloe Vera, you achieved balanced scalp’s Ph, improved circulation to the area and stimulated hair follicles able to provide new healthy hair.

Another popular treatment with essential oils suggests before going to bed, to apply to head a blend composed of 4 essential oils and 1 vegetable oil: 2 drops of lavender oil, 2 drops of rosemary oil, 2 drops of thyme oil and 2 of cedarwood oil based in 50 ml of jojoba vegetable oil. After applying, massage your scalp for half an hour or more, in order the blend to have the time to take action and then give it a rinse. If you are not experienced with aromatherapy blends, you can benefit from essential oils by just adding 4 drops of bay oil to your normal shampoo.

Finally, follow these everyday advices for stronger and healthier hair. After shampooing your hair, you dry it naturally or use a hairdryer. Remember that you should never rub or wring your hair with a towel to dry it. This will damage the brittle and breakable hair. You can also wrap a large and thick towel around your hair and wait until the towel absorb the water. Moreover, if you choose the hairdryer solution, do not overdo with it, because too hot or too much drying leads to undesirable results. Additionally, keep in mind that sleeping in a tight braid can cause hair breakage or loss of hair over time.