Should You Take Vitamin C Supplements?

Vitamin C supplements have been trendy for a while, but doctors are changing their tune on why and how you should take them. What do the most recent studies say about the benefits of vitamin C?

What does vitamin C do for you? Vitamin C has long been rumored to shorten the length of a cold (and to prevent colds), but recent studies suggest otherwise. Even better than fighting the common cold, Vitamin C is believed to bolster your resistence to heart disease, cancer, and macular degeneration, three serious health conditions.

What is the best way to get vitamin C? You can get vitamin C from fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits. So many foods are fortified with vitamin C these days that you are probably getting a good amount from food and beverages as well. Make sure you estimate how much vitamin C you are getting from natural and fortified sources when you calculate out how much you might need from a supplement.

How much is enough? Adults should aim to get anywhere between 75-2000 milligrams of vitamin C per day. Anytime you take over 2000 mg, you will risk unpleasant side effects. When dosing children, consider age, weight, and how much vitamin C the child gets through food and beverages, since many child-friendly products are fortified. Pregnant women should show extra caution not to exceed recommended amounts, since mega-dosing has been loosely linked with preterm birth and scurvy in newborns.

Are vitamin C supplements of value? Doctors currently feel you benefit most from natural sources of vitamin C, although they don't discount the secondary value of supplements. It seems that our bodies make best use of natural sources of vitamin C, but it's challenging to eat and drink enough of this nutrient. Try taking a vitamin C supplement along with food for best results.

Vitamin C supplements are currently still considered a good idea, but you should still try to eat as much vitamin C as possible through your meal plan choices and use supplements to close the gap.

Healthy on the go Breakfast Suggestions

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Finding time to make a healthy breakfast may seem next to impossible in our on the go world. Honestly this could not be further from the truth, it is easy to get a healthy breakfast even on the busiest of mornings. If you think a bit out of what is considered a "normal" breakfast, it is easy to have a quick bite that is healthy.

One healthy breakfast can consist of trail mix and Kefir.  Thisis easy to eat in the car even. Kefir is a liquid yogert that is full of healthy probiotics. You not only get the calcium from the yogert but you also get immune system helping probiotics. By mixing your own trail mix you can create a breakfast that is full of antioxidents, vitamins, and minerals. Your body will thank you for all of the great things it can gain from eating dried fruits such as banana chips, pineapple, raisins, and cherries. You will be filled and satisfied further when you add a nut protein source along with some granola for fiber.

Another great on the go breakfast is a half-inch slice of cheddar cheese, a grapefruit or orange, a banana, and two hard boiled eggs. The most amount of time this breakfast can take is the amount of time it takes to peel your citrus fruit. To help speed things up you can boil a dozen eggs on sunday night, before bed and store them in your fridge, allowing you a few days worth of eggs. Eggs make a great source for vitamin A and protein. High in magnesium and potassium, bananas are a great choise to add into your on the go breakfast. Citrus fruit are high in both dietary fiber and vitamin C.  These are both great for our bodies health.

Consider finding foods that can be easily eaten on the go that are healthy.  You don't have to survive on a cup of coffee alone in the morning. Breakfast is an incredibly important meal of the day to get your metabolism going and to get your blood sugar levels up. Eating reasonable meals helps to boost your metabolism and gets you ready to go for the day.

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Foods To Eat For Lowering Your Cholesterol

If you have high cholesterol, you are putting yourself at a number of health risks that could be easily avoided. In addition to being bad for the heart and the circulatory system of the boy, high cholesterold has also been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's. You can avoid the cognitive and bodily degeneration that can result from high cholesterol if you learn to lower your cholesterol, or - if your cholesterol is already at a good level - to keep your cholesterol where it is.

By paying attention to what you eat, you can easily and effectively lower your cholesterol. These four foods are all good for lowering your cholesterol.

1) High fiber foods such as oat bran and oatmeal: you can lower your cholesterol by eating these foods, because these food have soluble fiber in them. Bananas, pears, and apples are among the other foods that have soluble fiber. Five to ten grams of soluble fiber each day can be enough to dramatically improve your cholesterol levels. One bowl of oatmeal contains six grams of soluble fiber; one banana contains four grams of soluble fiber.

2) Omega-3 fatty acids: the place where you will most commonly find omega-3 fatty acids is in fish. Fish can reduce your blood pressure and lessen the risk of blood clots; for this reason, doctors generally recommend eating a minimum of two servings of fish per week.

3) Walnuts and almonds: As long as you are not eating nuts that are salted or sugar-coated, such nuts as walnuts, almonds, and other nuts can reduce the risk of heart disease.

4) Olive oil: by taking two tablespoons of olive oil per day, you can leave your good cholesterol untouched while lowering your bad cholesterol. Search specifically for extra virgin olive oil, as this is the least processed and is, therefore, the best for your body.

Even outside of changing your diet, you can do a lot of different things to lower your cholesterol and improve the overall health of your lifestyle. But learning the good foods to eat, as well as the foods that you should avoid, is a good starting point for lowering your cholesterol, and to lead a healthier lifestyle as a result.

Ways to Help Kids Deal With Stress

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If you have a child who is easily stressed out, you will benefit from learning stress relief tips for kids. Use these suggestions to come up with ideas as to how to help your child deal with stress.

Try dancing. Children need to be active, especially when they’ve been stressed out all day. Try putting on dance music and getting the family dancing. The more active you both can get, the better.

Give your child something to squeeze. Stress balls aren’t just for busy executives. Buy your child a squishy stress ball and teach him to squeeze it when he’s upset or angry.

Try a gentle backrub. When you give your child a massage, you're communicating how much you love her and want to help. Give lots of hugs as well. Try turning bedtime into snuggle time.

Turn the lights out. When stress is intense, your child may not be able to tell you how she feels while looking at you, but she may be able to talk once the lights are out and you're sitting at the foot of her bed. Listen, ask leading questions, and be careful not to judge. Aim to become your child's "safe place" emotionally.

Play a tune. Play soothing music in the background as your child does homework or reads. Music affects our heart rate and mood; playing the right music may help your child let go of that ball of stress she’s kept clenched inside her all day.

Laugh it out. There's even such a thing as laughter therapy! Make jokes, or if you aren’t funny, buy a joke book. Find ways to laugh with your child, even if you have to get creative.

When times get tough, remember this: you are teaching your children essential life skills what will help them cope with stress forever.

How To Replace Ice Cream With A Healthier Option

Everyone knows that ice cream is a wonderful treat to enjoy at the end of dinner; at the same time, however, it is not exactly healthy! Ice cream is not a bad treat to have every once in a while, especially if you are a real ice cream lover. But you should also make sure ice cream is not part of your nightly routine, and you can do this by uncovering some of the great alternatives to ice cream.

Most people who crave ice cream start to find (as they try to cut ice cream out of the routine) that what they really crave is something cold and either creamy or juicy. Of course, something that is cold and creamy/juicy, as well as being sweet, probably works best as a replacement. But if you want to start out trying to replace ice cream with the opposite extreme, you can try something such as watermelon or pineapple. In addition to both of these being very healthy options, they are also both cold and juicy, and they each have an element of sweetness!

A lot of people also feel that a satisfactory after-dinner replacement for ice cream on most nights is yogurt. You will want to look for yogurt that is made organically and that is not full of sugar; otherwise, it would be just about the same to have a bowl of ice cream!

Popsicles are another treat that many people find to be an enjoyable replacement for ice cream, and you can even make healthy popsicles if you make them on your own! All you need is some ice cube trays and toothpicks; freeze some of your favorite juice in the ice cube trays, and use the toothpicks as popsicle sticks!

And finally, you can replace something cold and creamy with something that is hot and creamy, trying some after-dinner coffee instead of some after-dinner ice cream. As long as the coffee will not keep you up all throughout the night, this can be a great way to go for any coffee fan.

Of course, you do not need to cut ice cream out of your diet entirely; but you should at least make sure that you are not eating it every single night!

How Does Redbull Work?

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Honestly, everyone needs a little shot of energy every once in a while to make it through the day. Some of us decide to get this energy from lots and lots of coffee. Some of us decide to go with a cup of tea. Others of us try to go a more natural route, getting energy from vitamins and healthy foods. But sometimes, even though we might hate to have one, an energy drink just sounds like the right option! The only issue is, we don't really know what is in such drinks, nor do we know what makes them work. Are they all right for our body? Do they actually work? And if they do work, how do they work?

Redbull is one of the most popular energy drinks in the world, and unless you are a regular energy drink consumer, the name recognition that Redbull provides means that you are likely to go with this option if you ever decide you need the boost an energy drink provides. Maybe you know that Redbull is banned in Denmark, France, and Norway. Maybe this makes you (justifiably) nervous!

The reason why these countries have chosen to ban Redbull is because the drink contains taurine. While taurine is made by the body naturally, there has been some debate as to the advisability of adding extra taurine to the body. Taurine moves such minerals as potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium throughout the cells in your body, which helps to generate nerve impulses. This is one of the things Redbull uses to help you stay awake when you are tired.

What should concern you more than the taurine in Redbull, however, is the glucose content. Of course, glucose is sugar; because the drink contains sugar, it leaves you with that "sugar crash" you would prefer to avoid.

Otherwise, Redbull contains a small amount of caffeine and a variety of vitamins. A better option than regular Redbull is sugar-free Redbull. The taste is similar, and you can avoid the sugar crashes you get from regular Redbull. Other than this one problem, Redbull is fine to drink, and it can be very good for keeping you awake.

Tips For Getting Vitamin C

Vitamin C is among the most important vitamins for your body, and it is one of the most essential elements for keeping you healthy. Not only does vitamin C act as an antioxidant, but it also boosts your immune system and helps to fight off diseases. But many people fail to get the proper amount of vitamin C each day, even though vitamin C is relatively easy to get, and even though it is so important! It will make it much easier for you to avoid this mistake yourself - and to consequently remain healthy - once you understand the places where you can easily get vitamin C.

The best place to get vitamin C, as you might very well know, is in oranges or orange juice. In fact, you can get 180% of your recommended daily dosage of vitamin C in a single cup of orange juice - that's right, just one single cup! Not only that, but - if you choose to drink all-natural, fresh-squeezed orange juice - you will be able to also pump your body full of other essential elements.

You can also get your vitamin C from vitamin C tablets, if you do not care for orange juice or if you simply do not want to buy orange juice all the time. These are usually relatively inexpensive, and even though most of them do not taste great, they will get you all the vitamin C you need! You can also try multivitamins, instead of vitamin C tablets, as these will get you a lot more than just vitamin C. In fact, one multivitamin can be enough to get you all of the vitamins that you will need for the day - every single day!

If you are looking for some different fruits that will get you your intake of vitamin C, do a bit of research, as you will likely find that some of your favorites make the top of the list! Among the fruits that are high in vitamin C are kiwi, papaya, guava, grapefruit, and mango! Once you start to pay attention to the easy ways by which to get vitamin C into your body, you can start to lead a much healthier lifestyle.