Building Immune System Strength
April 24, 2009 by rosie
Filed under Natural Remedies, Nutrition
Building immune system strength is important at all times, but particularly as cold and flu season approaches. Everyone can benefit from boosting immune system responses, some more so than others. People who live or work in a high risk environment, such as a hospital or nursing home are exposed to more germs, viruses and bacteria and in order to avoid numerous colds and other bugs should be concerned about building immune system strength.
People who work with the public, have children in school, university students or even those who eat out frequently are exposed to hundreds of different viruses. A healthy immune system identifies and destroys these viruses, often before a person experiences any symptoms. Building immune system strength can also shorten recovery time when viruses are not immediately destroyed by initial immune system defenses. Boosting immune system defenses can be helpful, both for preventing illness and for treating illnesses, once symptoms are noticed.
In addition to good health habits, which include washing hands frequently and avoiding touching the nose or mouth after contact with the public, good nutrition and adequate rest are helpful for building immune system strength. There are many natural products that are believed to be good for boosting the immune system. Herbs, botanicals, essential minerals and certain vitamins can all be helpful for building immune system strength.
Vitamin C is important for building immune system strength. Vitamin C strengthens blood cells and helps the body assimilate iron and other important nutrients. Strong white blood cells are key factors for overall immune system health. Specialized white blood cells called helper T-cells identify those things that do not belong in the body, such as viruses, while others, killer T-cells, destroy them.
Vitamin C supplements can be helpful for boosting immune system strength if dietary amounts are inadequate. In addition those who are under stress, taking antibiotics, aspirin, sulfa drugs or using tobacco products, may need additional Vitamin C for building immune system health. Stress and the other substances mentioned have a “canceling” effect on Vitamin C. Vitamin C is most effective at boosting immune system responses when taken with calcium and magnesium. Calcium and magnesium help the cells of the body absorb Vitamin C and other essential nutrients. Most people have heard of Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium, but many people are unfamiliar with herbs, botanicals and plant components that can help the body by building immune system health.
Beta Glucans are plant components that have been the subject of numerous scientific and clinical studies. In one clinical study, patients who were given Beta Glucans had an increased number of helper T-cells circulating in the blood stream. In the scientific community, Beta Glucans are known to be effective for boosting immune system responses and are being studied for their potential use in diseases which affect the immune system, cancer treatment and cholesterol control. Some health supplements for building immune system strength contain Beta Glucans.
An interesting herb for boosting immune system health is Andrographis Paniculata or AP for short. AP has a history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for the effective treatment of infection, cold, fever and inflammation. Scientists who study herbs used in traditional medicine have shown that AP may be effective for the treatment of influenza, by reducing recovery time and the risk of complications. While some herbs recommended for building immune system help may be toxic when used for extended periods of time, AP has been shown in animal studies to have very low or no toxicity.
There are a number of herbs and botanicals which are believed to be effective for boosting immune system responses. Green tea, Siberian ginseng, piperine, olive leaf are a few more. Some of the better health supplements for building immune system strength contain all of the ones listed here and more. For more information about supplements for building immune system strength, visit www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.
Author: Patsy Hamilton has more than twenty years experience in health care and currently writes informational articles for the Immune System Booster Guide. Read more at www.immune-system-booster-guide.com.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Acai Berry Information – How Does Acai Berry Work?
April 23, 2009 by rosie
Filed under Natural Remedies, News, Nutrition
Acai berry is all the rage these days thanks to Oprah’s endorsement. This little purple berry from the Amazon rain forest is being snatched up by thousands of consumers each day. The benefit claims from this berry are remarkable. But exactly how does acai berry work?
The acai berry’s claim to fame is the high level of antioxidants that it contains. It has the highest ORAC rating of any other food known to man. So what does this mean? ORAC stands for oxygen radical absorption capacity. This rating was developed by a chemist and physician named Dr. Guohua Cao. He developed this rating system to compare the antioxidant properties of different fruits and vegetables. But why are antioxidants so important?
When your body goes through it’s normal process of metabolism or when it is exposed to outside pollutants such as cigarette smoke, pollution and pesticides it will produce free radicals. These little molecules will contain at least one unpaired electron. Therefore, what does a free radical do? It scavenges other molecules to steal away their electron. This process can produce a chain reaction which can eventually cause cellular damage. Cellular damage leads to all types of diseases and health problems.
How does the acai berry work in preventing cell damage? The antioxidants that the acai berry provides will act as a defense against the free radicals. They will course through your body and collect and destroy the free radicals before they can bind with other molecules. You can think of an antioxidant as your body’s own assassination team that is assigned to protect you at all costs.
However, acai berry does much more than just provide antioxidant protection. This powerful little berry contains many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function properly. It also contains a significant amount of Omega fats. In fact, nearly 50% of the berry is fat and 74% of these fats are unsaturated fats such as Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9. The importance of these types of unsaturated fats cannot be stressed enough.
You have heard the claims that acai berry can help you lose weight. So how does acai berry work for weight loss? This berry is high in fiber, and it has appetite suppression properties. When you decrease your calorie intake and regulate your digestive system you are going to lose weight. Keep in mind that not all people will respond to the weight properties as well as others.
If you are wondering how acai berry works then I hope this article answered that question for you. The next question is, are you willing to try it to see how well it works for you?
Discover more on the health benefits of Acai Berries. Please check out InformationAcaiberry.com where you’ll find out the truth about this amazing Amazon superfood/superfruit.
Author: George Sepich is an internet marketer with a particular interest in the health benefits of acai berries.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
How to Start Living Your Yoga
April 9, 2009 by rosie
Filed under Fitness & Exercise, Holistic Wellbeing, Yoga
It’s the end of the week and while you managed to make it to two yoga classes, you haven’t unrolled your yoga mat once. Family, work, and household commitments make finding a 90-minute slot during the day next to impossible. Short of getting up at 5am, or re-prioritizing your life to ditch other commitments, there are other ways to regularly practice yoga. After all, home practice is where the deeper rewards of yoga blossom.
Start by realizing that you don’t have to wait for a 90-minute window to unroll your mat. Take 20 minutes in the morning, or 30 minutes after dinner. Use whatever space you have in your day for a practice. Allow your internal teacher to guide you through the appropriate postures for you in that time space – without any attachment to fulfilling a particular sequence of postures you may not have time for. Stepping into daily time gaps with your yoga mat cements your commitment to home practice, and often you’ll find that time begins to expand. You naturally wake up 30 minutes earlier, or you realize you don’t have to watch the news every night.
The second way to integrate yoga into your daily life is to practice whenever the opportunity arises. Let yoga spill off your mat and permeate everything you do.
Doing the dishes? Connect with your breath, ground the four corners of your feet, engage your quadriceps, align your pelvis and open your heart.
Having a shower? Practice back bends and forwards bends with breath and mindfulness as you shampoo your hair and shave your legs.
Working at your desk? Take five minutes to breathe mindfully and work through a short shoulder opening sequence.
In this way, yoga becomes not just something contained within the confines of your yoga mat, but something that infuses the way that you move about your day.
Now you are not just practicing yoga, but living yoga.
Author: Kara-Leah Grant, once a Queenstown-based yoga teacher, now teaches in Wellington where she’s discovered the joy of Prana Flow Yoga. Read more of her articles on yoga and the art of living at Prana Flow NZ.
Organising Cold Temperature Tips
April 9, 2009 by rosie
Filed under Holistic Wellbeing
You may even save yourself some money from our friend Katy Mcpherson of Kinetica organising yourself through the cooler months:
Welcome to the April organising tip from Kinetica, on this chilly Wednesday morning.
With the definite signs of winter here in Wanaka today, my thoughts turn to preparing for those colder months.
Being organised and prepared for winter can help keep you warm and look after those precious cents. Remember the dollars then look after themselves … apparently!
My tip this month is to put together a list of five things you are going to do over the long weekend to help prepare you for winter and then at the bottom put a note of how you are going to treat yourself when all five tasks are completed. That coffee (and muffin!) meeting with a friend you keep meaning to catch up with or time out on the settee with your favourite book (how often do the Mums of this world do that during the day!) or whatever takes your fancy.
Here are a few ideas for tasks on your list …
- Order in the firewood; having good quality dry firewood that burns well and a long time is more value for money than wet heavy wood that gives out limited heat
- Take the outside shade sails down, so that the little sun that we have, on the shorter winter days, can heat up the house
- Spend some time in the garden preparing for the winter months, time spent now, saves hours in the spring
- Put up the winter thicker curtains and any extra curtains you have across doors and large windows. Keep that precious heat in
- Wasn’t the Earth Hour such a success for those here in Wanaka – well done to all involved – but don’t just turn off the power for an hour, look carefully at your electrical items around the house. Can you turn more off rather than leave on standby. Encourage everyone in the house to conserve power. Especially with the huge charges imposed by the electricity supply companies during the times we most need it!
- Check your doors and windows for seals – do any need replacing?
- Dig out your winter sports gear and check it fits. If it doesn’t clean it up and sell through Trade me or give to the Op Shop. If you need replacements, buy them now – you may be getting last season’s but they’ll be a great deal cheaper than they will in July!
Have a good weekend and don’t forget to have some time out for YOU.
Author:Katy Macpherson runs office and home organising consultancy Kinetica. She’s available to help you get your paper in order with a personalised consultation. Contact Katy today: 03 443 6224, 021 154 5511, katy@kinetica.co.nz or check out www.kinetica.co.nz
‘Get Real’ National Plastic Bag Campaign Launched
April 9, 2009 by rosie
Filed under News, Sustainable Living
As many of you know I have been working locally on plastic bag reduction for a few years and in this time Wanaka has embraced the change with 40% of shoppers saying no to plastic bags. However our efforts here could be extended to inspired change on a national level.
I have been working with Wanaka Wastebusters on a National GetReal Plastic Bag campaign which we launched last week.
We are lobbying strongly for the major NZ retailers Progressive (Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown) and Foodstuffs (New World, Pak n Save, 4Square) to stop giving away plastic bags for free. By charging a small amount for plastic bags countries such as Ireland and Taiwan have achieved 80% reduction in plastic bags in 3 months. Even The Warehouse is following this lead and will start charging from 20th April this year.
In our first week we have grabbed the attention of national media and even John Key has made a statement on the issue.
Now what we need is your support. Do you want supermarkets to stop giving away plastic bags for free? Then I urge you to log onto the site and spend 5 minutes online to join our campaign.
If you have friends or family who also take an interest in environmental issues please pass on the link to the site so they can join us too. The more support we have, the more likely we are to have a good outcome on reducing plastic bag usage and the ability to go on and build a series of effective campaigns around packaging issues.
This is important and will lead the way to much greater change on the packaging front. We hope that you will add your voice of concern at www.getreal.org.nz
Gluten Free Hot Cross Buns
The more you send the more chances of winning $100 Organic Food Vouchers!
Hot Cross Buns for People With Wheat or Gluten Intolerance!
Ingredients:
2 cups white rice flour
2/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour ***
1/3 cup sugar plus 2-teaspoons for yeast
2/3 cup powdered milk
3-1/2 teaspoons Xanthum Gum **
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/2 tablespoons rapid rise yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
Three eggs
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup yellow raisins
1/2 cup mixed peel (optional)
2 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
Dissolve 2-teaspoons sugar in warm water. Add yeast and let proof. Combine dry ingredients in bowl of mixer. Mix eggs, oil and vinegar and add to dry ingredients. Add proofed yeast and beat on high speed for three minutes. Stir in raisins and mixed peel.
Grease two round pie pans. Rice flour hands, cut dough in half, and roll eight buns per pie pan, placing one in the center and seven around. With a knife blade dipped in rice flour, cut an X on top of each bun, and brush with melted butter. Let rise in a warm place for 35-40 minutes. Bake at 375-degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
*** Potato starch flour is obtained by grinding the tubers to a pulp and removing the fibre by water-washings. The dried product consists chiefly of starch, but also contains some protein. Potato flour is used as a thickening agent. When heated to boiling, food added with a suspension of potato flour in water thickens quickly. Because the flour is made from neither grain nor legume, it is used as substitute for wheat flour in cooking (thanks to Wikipedia for that one).
** Xanthum Gum is produced by a fermentation process using the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. This bacteria actually grows on plants found in the cabbage family where the gum was actually discovered. Xanthan Gum is actually the cell wall surface of the bacteria that is separated by a complex enzymatic process. During the fermentation process the bacteria is fed corn syrup and minerals.
The easier-to- handle granules mix well with liquids, resulting in better volume for your baked goods.
