Holistic Wellness for Life North of 50

Posts Tagged ‘health and wellness’

WebMD had several articles on probiotics and their uses for holistic health and wellness. Here is that article:

Probiotics are microorganisms such as bacteria or yeast that are believed to improve health. They are available in supplements and foods. The idea of taking live bacteria or yeast may seem strange at first. After all, we take antibiotics and use antibacterial substances to fight bacteria. But  our bodies naturally teem with such organisms.

The digestive system is home to more than 500 different bacterial species. They help keep intestinal linings healthy and assist in breaking down food. Beneficial organisms are also believed to help regulate healthy immune response.

How Do Probiotics Work?

Researchers believe that some digestive disorders result when the balance of friendly bacteria in the intestines becomes disturbed.  This can happen after an infection or after taking antibiotics. Intestinal problems can also arise when the lining of the intestines is damaged. Introducing new beneficial organisms in the form of probiotics may help.

“Probiotics can improve intestinal function and maintain the integrity of the lining of the intestines,” says Stefano Guandalini, MD, professor of pediatrics and gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. These friendly bugs may also help fight off diarrhea-causing organisms.

Probiotics and the Immune System

There’s also evidence that probiotics assist in maintaining a strong immune system. “In societies with very good hygiene, we’ve seen a sharp increase in autoimmune and allergic diseases,” Guandalini tells WebMD. “That may be because the immune system isn’t being properly challenged by pathogenic organisms. Introducing friendly bacteria in the form of probiotics is believed to challenge the immune system in healthy ways.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Some more quick health tips I picked up from TRICARE Communications.

Something as simple and inexpensive as beans can help with diabetes control.

Beans digest slowly, resulting in only a small rise in blood glucose levels. Several studies have shown that eating 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 cups of cooked beans daily improves diabetes control.

Beans also are an excellent source of folate, which is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a common diabetes complication. Eating 1-3 cups of cooked beans a day will lower total cholesterol 5%-19%.

Put beans in soups and salads, or eat them as a side dish, but introduce them gradually into your diet, the American Diabetes Association says. Chew thoroughly, drink plenty of liquids to aid digestion and take enzyme products such as “Beano” to avoid gastrointestinal distress.

For convenience, go for canned beans, which require less preparation time and, although have higher salt content, are as healthy as dried.

Pistachios: This green nut is full of gamma-tocopherol, a potentially cancer-fighting type of vitamin E.

People who ate 2 ounces of pistachios a day showed higher blood levels of gamma-tocopherol than those who did not eat pistachios, according to a recent study by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

But that’s not all: They’re also rich in phytosterols, which give a double boost with its anti-cancer and heart-health properties. Plus, they provide a hefty amount of fiber and blood pressure-loving potassium.

Don’t go nuts for them, though. Pistachios are high in calories, so account for that in your diet.

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Technorati Tags: health and wellness, holistic wellness

Lately, vitamin D is showing up in the news more often. It used to be the ho-hum vitamin that you got from drinking your milk and playing out in the sunshine. Apparently, this vitamin is much more important to our health and has many previously unknown attributes that can enhance your holistic wellness. Vitamin D is naturally produced by the human body when exposed to direct sunlight. Many factors including season, skin coloration, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen affect UV ray exposure and vitamin D synthesis in the skin, and it is important for individuals with limited sun exposure to include good sources of vitamin D in their diet.

As civilization and the industrialization enabled humans to work indoors and wear more clothes when outdoors, these cultural changes reduced natural production of vitamin D and caused deficiency diseases. In many countries, foods such as milk, yogurt, margarine, oil spreads, breakfast cereal, pastries, and bread are fortified with vitamin D₂ and/or vitamin D₃, to minimize the risk of vitamin D deficiency. In the United States and Canada, for example, fortified milk typically provides 100 IU per glass, or a quarter of the estimated adequate intake for adults over age 50. Fatty fish, such as salmon, herring, catfish and sardines are natural sources of vitamin D. Other natural sources include: fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, whole eggs, cooked beef liver, and UV-irradiated mushrooms. In the United States (U.S.), the 100% Daily Value used for product labels is 400 IU/day.

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My last post talked about changing your life using some research , some planning and some determination. This post is just a list of healthy foods that you can use to move toward that goal of holistic wellness and some reasons why you might want to choose them.

Whole Grains

• Whole wheat bread, wheat bran cereals, and whole wheat pasta contain high levels of insoluble fiber for gastrointestinal health.
• Oatmeal is rich in soluble fiber to help lower cholesterol levels.

Nuts

• High in monounsaturated fat to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Tomatoes – fresh, canned, juice or sauce

• Lycopene is an antioxidant found in tomatoes that may decrease the risk of cancers — particularly prostate cancer and, more recently, breast cancer.
• Lycopene is most able to be used by your body when it has been cooked.

Salmon and Tuna – fresh or canned

• Rich in omega-3 fatty acids that may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Olive Oil

• Rich in monounsaturated fats to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Green Leafy Vegetables – fresh or frozen (spinach, kale, chard, green leafy lettuce)

• Contain flavonoids to help prevent memory loss.
• Rich in carotenoids which help to ward off macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.
• Eat these greens with avocado to help your body absorb these nutrients better.

Garlic

• Can help decrease cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and perhaps prevent cancer.
• Acts as an antibiotic.

Dried Beans and Peas – dry, canned or frozen

• Loaded with soluble fiber to lower cholesterol, and help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Broccoli — fresh or frozen

• May decrease the risk of breast cancer.
• Extremely rich in antioxidants to help protect body cells from disease and aging.
• Excellent source of vitamin C, an antioxidant that helps maintain a strong immune system and may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
• Good source of potassium, an important mineral for healthy blood pressure.
• Steam your broccoli lightly to help your body absorb these nutrients

Fruits of various colors – fresh or frozen

• Loaded with vitamin C, an antioxidant that may reduce the risk of heart disease.
• Loaded with soluble fiber to lower cholesterol, and help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
• Extremely rich in antioxidants to help protect body cells from disease and aging. Each color is indicative of the different kinds of antioxidants.
• Good source of potassium, an important mineral for healthy blood pressure.
• Eat the whole fruit not just the juice. The solid part of the fruit has fiber that helps regulate your blood sugar and many of the nutrients are in the pulp.

Hopefully this will give you some starting information for your research toward better health.

Be well.

Related Posts:

http://www.northof50.us/holistic-wellness/change-your-life-your-way

http://www.northof50.us/health-and-wellness/something-fishy-in-our-diet

http://www.northof50.us/holistic-wellness/truth-about-juice

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