Tag Archives: Vitamin C

AFT Features, Women's Health

Running While Pregnant

Is running during pregnancy safe?

Pregnant ladies shouldn’t exercise because it could affect the baby’s health.

Is that a fallacy or just a cultural belief? So should pregnant women just restor lay down all day?!There’s been no evidence to say that women should stay still while carrying a child. Scientific progress has allowed us to better understand the human anatomy and in fact, there’s more evidence to show that remaining active is good for your health and your baby’s health as well.

Whether you are an athlete or not, it is fine to partake in sport while pregnant as long as you take some precautions. Your running distance will depend on your sports background.

First on the precautions list – before starting or keeping on exercising, it is highly recommended to checkwith your doctorbefore you proceed with any activities.

 

I’m pregnant…

A typical pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. So a common practise is to divide it into three trimesters:

During the first trimester your body doesn’t considerably change. The weight you gain isn’t too high so you won’t experience backaches… yet. However, you may experience other symptoms that are part and parcel of the usual “pregnancy pack” such as extreme fatigue, nausea and vomiting, food cravings or aversions, mood swings, constipation, frequent urination, and other unpleasant side effects. These may affect your daily schedule.

When pregnant, your body may also suffer from a lack of vital nutrients. That is why many advocate additional prenatal vitamins to supplement your body’s needs.

What kind of vitamins?

Folic acid, also known as folate, is a B-type vitamin that helps from preventing neural tube defects.Neural tube defects are birth defects of the brain, spine, or spinal cord. They happen in the first month of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant. That is why if you intend to be pregnant or if you are, make sure you have the daily right amount of acid folic.Youneed at least 400mcg/day before conceiving and600mcg/day during pregnancy according to USA standards.

Iron is important because it is a necessary component for the production of haemoglobin, which enables the transportation of oxygen in your body. But beyond this primary function, it is essential throughout the 9 months.

For you: During pregnancy, your body works more intensely and many organs (uterus and kidneys in particular) are working at full capacity. This increased activity requires more blood volume.

For your baby: Iron is essential not only to ensure proper development of the baby, but also for pregnancy-related organs such as the placenta or the umbilical cord. If iron stores are missing, you run the risk of giving birth to a premature or a low weightbaby.

Vitamin Ccombined with a daily intake of iron increase the absorption of the latter.

Fibre and fluids: During pregnancy, hormones cause a slowing of the digestive system. Fibre and liquids like water will lower the risks of constipation. Remember that being well hydrated is important for your health and your baby’s health. Dehydration can decrease the blood flow to the uterus, which may lead to premature contractions.

Vitamin D and Calcium: Your needs in Vitamin D and calcium will increase, as they are necessary to the development of the baby. Otherwise the baby might draw on your stores living you in short supply. A recent study has shown that vitamin D rate by the mom influences the baby’s strength later in life.

(Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24178796)

The first trimester is when the baby’s major organs are forming, and overheating’s a real issue. If a woman’s core temperature gets too high, it could cause problems with the baby. So during hot weather, better run early morning hours or in the evening when it is cooler.

(Source: http://www.runnersworld.com/fuel-school/healthy-running-during-your-first-trimester)

During the second trimester&third trimester,the recommendations for the first trimester remain to be followed. What you can add to your schedule is Kegel exercises. Certainly, pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, aging, being overweight and so on, can weaken your pelvic floor muscles, which support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum.Kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor muscles to help you prevent or control urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor problems.

Indeed, the weight of the baby, or childbirth later on has probably weakened your pelvic floor muscles. That is why Kegels are not only important during pregnancy but throughout your life after having a baby.

 

How to do Kegel exercises

To get started:

  • Find the right muscles.To identify your pelvic floor muscles, stop urination in midstream. If you succeed, you’ve got the right muscles. Once you’ve identified your pelvic floor muscles you can do the exercises in any position, although you might find it easiest to do them lying down at first.
  • Perfect your technique.Tighten your pelvic floor muscles, hold the contraction for five seconds, and then relax for five seconds. Try it four or five times in a row. Work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.
  • Maintain your focus.For best results, focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.
  • Repeat three times a day.Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day.

Don’t make a habit of using Kegel exercises to start and stop your urine stream. Doing Kegel exercises while emptying your bladder can actually lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder — which increases the risk of a urinary tract infection.

(Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283)

During the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, you can carry on running. However, consider running shorterdistancesand decrease in the duration and intensity as your due date approaches. You can slow down your running for lower impact activities like swimming and walking.

 

Postural changes – Muscles imbalances

Your body will experience many changes while pregnant. Indeed, your hips have probably tilted forward (Lower CrossedSyndrome – LCS, also know as distal or pelvic crossed syndrome) and your shoulders are probably rounded (Upper Crossed Syndrome – UCS, also known as proximal or shoulder girdle crossed syndrome).

Graphic Source: http://www.chrcentre.com.au/blog/blog/upper-crossed-lower-crossed-syndrome/)

 

This misalignment is the source of pain you might be suffering. Indeed, certain muscles becoming tightened, while other muscles become lengthened and inhibited in order to stabilize the body, and to adaptto the growing foetus and uterus.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/postural-changes-pregnancy-beyond-teresa-chartrand and http://www.active.com/fitness/articles/why-your-workout-should-change-with-pregnancy

After birth

Returning to sport after giving birth takes time and it’s always a good idea to see your good doctor before engaging in any form of sport.

After childbirth, like any major operation or hospitalisation, it’s advisable to rest, get plenty of sleep and simply recuperate. This includes NO heavy lifting nor intensive movement of the body especially in first three to six weeks. You can, however, work on your pelvic-floor exercises and walk. Take it easy; and allow your body the chance to recover.

Once past the 6-week postnatal check-up, you can then consider starting with low impact exercises.

By the 16th week, most women have been able to resume their previous sport activities. Listen to your body as you might feel tired due to the lack of sleep, breastfeeding.

(Source: http://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/pages/returning-to-sport-or-exercise-after-the-birth.html)

Some tips

Some tips when running:

  • Keep well hydrated
  • Run during the coolest hours of the daylight, early mornings or in the evening, as your body temperature gets higher while pregnant.
  • Don’t run a marathon while pregnant. You could put your health and the baby’s health in danger.
  • Never run to the point of exhaustion or breathlessness. If you feel tired, don’t push yourself, and just take a break.
  • Wear a heart rate monitor to help limit excessive speed and effort.
  • As your due date approaches, slow down your running for lower impact activities like swimming and walking.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, while you can still run when pregnant, take some precautions and listen to your body. If you are not sure, discuss it with your doctor.

Running while pregnant is good; it improves your sleep quality, prevents you from gaining excessive weight, lessens back pains, and reduces delivery complications and time spent in labour. However, don’t exceed your capacity and don’t raise the bar too high.

Enjoyyour run, your pregnancy and stay safe!

Diet & Nutrition

SELF IMPROVEMENT After You See What Happens, You’ll Freeze Lemons For The Rest Of Your Life!

So why should we freeze lemons?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0u7dBoqUg0

“A new study has shown for the first time how limonoids, natural compounds present in lemons and other citrus fruit, impede both ER+ and ER- breast cancer cell growth. This sheds new light on the importance of citrus fruit for breast cancer prevention and supports past studies which showed fruit consumption may lower breast cancer risk.(1)”

All kinds of people are saying that the entire lemon should be used with nothing wasted. Not only for the obvious health benefits but also for the amazing taste! How? Simple, take an ORGANIC lemon, wash it and then put it in the freezer. Once it is frozen you get whatever is necessary to grate or shred the whole lemon without even peeling it first. Then sprinkle it on your salad, ice cream, soup, cereals, noodles, spaghetti sauce, or whatever. No holds barred. What you will experience is that whatever you sprinkle it on will take on a taste you may never have experienced before.

Why would I do this? Because the lemon peel contains 5 to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself and the peel is the part that is usually wasted. Not only that, but the peel helps to get rid of toxins in the body. But wait, there’s more. Lemon is effective in killing cancer cells because it is allegedly 10,000 stronger than chemotherapy. This has not been revealed because there are people out there that want to make a synthetic, toxic version that will bring them huge profits. Shades of Monsanto. The good news is that the taste of lemon is pleasant and does not deliver the horrific effects of chemotherapy. What’s bizarre is that people are closely guarding this fact so as to not jeopardize the income to those that profit from other’s illnesses. Another interesting aspect of the lemon is that it has a remarkable effect on cysts and tumors.

Some say the lemon is a proven remedy against all types of cancer. It doesn’t end there. It has an anti-microbial effect against bacterial infections and fungi; it is effective against internal parasites and worms; it regulates blood pressure, which is too high; it acts as an anti-depressant; it combats stress and nervous disorders. The source of this information, although not specifically named, is one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world. They further say that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that it destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreas and that the compounds of the lemon tree were 10,000 times more effective than the product Adriamycin, which is a drug normally used chemotherapeutically in the world to slow the growth of cancer cells.

Even more, this type of therapy with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and does not affect healthy cells. The process is simple: buy an ORGANIC lemon, wash it, freeze it, grate it, and put it on everything you eat. It’s not rocket science. Nature has put stuff on the planet to keep the body healthy. The corporations hide this information and create synthetics to treat disease.

The synthetic chemical creates other symptoms from its ingestion requiring another drug to combat these symptoms. And so the cycle continues, which equates to enormous profits coming from an overt intention to keep a body ill and suppressing natural healing foods, minerals and modalities, all withheld by the mainstream media to not jeopardize their advertising dollar income, and payoffs to the politicians to not pass laws that will greatly benefit the people. If we do not take responsibility for ourselves and go against the mainstream grain, we will inevitably remain a “trick” our whole life.

Aloha!…

P.S. There are doctors who published studies and experiments in the 1940’s using liquid Vitamin C for the treatment of Cancer, and found that 40-60,000 units of liquid Vitamin C administered intravenously not only cured the big “C”, but also left behind none of the side effects that chemotherapy does. The “frozen lemon” idea works on this same principal. You’re not likely to find too many Oncologists who are practicing the Vitamin C therapy due to two things: 1- the lack of knowledge of the natural world and how it pertains to our health, and, 2- there’s not a lot of income in the use of Lemons or Vitamin C in the treatment of Cancer. Look up Linus Pauling or Gerson Therapy (Dr. Max Gerson and the Gerson Institute, San Diego, CA. His daughter Charlotte has carried on her father’s legacy), and I’m sure you will eventually find what you are looking for. They did a lot of research with vitamin C during their lives.

Diet & Nutrition

Chili peppers nutrition facts

Chili peppers nutrition facts

Chili peppers, despite their fiery hotness, are one of very popular spices known for their medicinal and health benefiting properties. The chili, actually, is a fruit pod from the plant belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), within the genus, capsicum.

Scientific name: Capsicum annum. Some of other common members in the Solanaceae family are tomato, aubergine,potato, etc.

Dry chilli peppers with seeds. Raw green chilies in acapsicum annum plant.


Chili plant is a small, perennial shrub with woody stem, growing up to a meter in height. It is native to Central American region where it employed as one the chief spice ingredients in Mexican cuisine for centuries. Later, it was introduced to the rest of the world by Spanish and Portuguese explorers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Today chili pepper is grown widely in many parts of the world as an important commercial crop.

Several cultivars of chili peppers grown all around the world. Depending upon cultivar type, it bears flowers which subsequently develop into fruit pods of variable size, shape, color, and pungency. And again, depending on the cultivar type, their hotness ranges from mild, fleshy (Mexican bell peppers) to fiery, tiny, Nag Jalokiya chili peppers of Indian subcontinent. The hotness of chili is measured in “Scoville heat units” (SHU). On the Scoville scale, a sweet bell pepper scores 0, a jalapeño pepper around 2,500-4,000 units, and a Mexican habañeros may have 200,000 to 500,000 units.

Inside, each chili fruit pod features numerous tiny, white, or cream colored, circular, flat seeds which clinging on to the central white-placenta.

To harvest, chilies can be picked up while they are green, or when they reach complete maturity and dry on the plant itself. In general, the fruits are ready for harvesting once they mature and turn red. They are then left to dry under sunlight and srink in size.

Chilies have a strong spicy taste that comes to them from the active alkaloid compounds: capsaicin, capsanthin andcapsorubin.

 

Health benefits of chili peppers

  • Chili pepper contains an impressive list of plant derived chemical compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.
  • Chilies contain health benefiting an alkaloid compound in them, capsaicin, which gives them strong spicy pungent character. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.
  • Fresh chili peppers, red and green, are rich source of vitamin-C. 100 g fresh chilies provide about 143.7 µg or about 240% of RDA. Vitamin C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant. It is required for the collagen synthesis inside the human body. Collagen is one of the main structural protein required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps protect from scurvy, develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity), and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
  • They are also good in other antioxidants such as vitamin-A, and flavonoids like ß-carotene, a-carotene, lutein, zea-xanthin, and cryptoxanthin. These antioxidant substances in capsicum help protect the body from injurious effects of free radicals generated during stress, diseases conditions.
  • Chilies carry a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
  • Chilies are also good in B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1). These vitamins are essential in the sense that human body requires them from external sources to replenish.

Chili peppers have amazingly high levels of vitamins and minerals. Just 100 g provides (in % of recommended daily allowance):

240% of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid),
39% of vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine),
32% of vitamin A,
13% of iron,
14% of copper,
7% of potassium,
but no cholesterol.

Sun-dried red chili peppers.

Chili peppers can be available year around in the markets either in the fresh, dried or powdered form. In the stores, buy fresh chili peppers instead of powder since, oftentimes it may contain adulterated spicy mixtures.

Look for raw, fresh chilies featuring brilliant color (green, yellow, orange, red depending on the variety), with healthy stalk, wholesome and compact. Avoid those with spots or those spoiled tips and inflicted by molds.

Once at home, they should be stored in the refrigerator inside a plastic bag where they will stay fresh for about a week. Completely dried red chilies are also available in the markets. Dry chilies can be stored at room temperature in a cool, dark place, inside airtight containers for many months; and can be milled to powder using mixer/grinder as and when required. If you want to buy dry chili powder instead, go for authentic and branded products. Powdered chili pepper should be stored in cool place inside an airtight container.

 

Medicinal uses

  • Chili peppers contain chemical compound, capsaicin. Capsaicin and its co-compounds being employed in the preparation of ointments, rubs and tinctures for their astringent, counter-irritant and analgesic properties.
  • These formulations have been in use in the treatment of arthritic pain, post-herpetic neuropathic pain, sore muscles, etc.
  • Scientific studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese persons.

 

Culinary uses

Red chili pwder.

Raw, fresh chilies should be washed in clean water before used in cooking in order to remove any residual fungicides, and sand. Chilies, either fresh or ground, can cause severe burning sensation to hands and severe irritation to nasal passages, eyes and throat. Therefore, it may be advised in some sensitive individuals to use thin hand gloves and face masks while handling chilies.

 

Here are some serving tips:

Red chili sauce.
  • Fresh raw bell peppers and other sweet, mild variety peppers are being used as vegetables in cuisines in many parts of the world.
  • Chopped peppers are being used in the preparation of chili sauce, pizzas, rolls, and in variety of dishes using fish, meat and chicken in many Central American and European regions.
  • Dried chili powder is an important ingredient in the spice mix known as curry powder in many Asian countries.
  • Hot chilies used as a condiment in the preparation of soups, chili sauce, spicy water, vinegar-spice mix, etc.
  • Chilies, soaked in yogurt and then dried under sunlight, are used as condiment side-dish which served during dinner time in south-Indian states.

 

Safety profile

Chili peppers contain capsaicin, which gives strong spicy pungent character. Capsaicin when eaten causes severe irritation and hot sensation to mouth, tongue and throat.

  • Capsaicin in chilies initially elicits local inflammation when it comes in contact with mucusa of oral cavity, throat and stomach, and soon causes severe burning sensation that is perceived as ‘hot’ through free nerve endings in the mucosa. Eating cold yogurt helps reduce the burning pain by diluting capsaicin concentration and preventing its contact with mucosal walls.
  • Avoid touching eyes with chili-contaminated fingers. Rinse eyes thoroughly in cold water to reduce irritation.
  • Chilies may aggravate existing gastro-esophageal reflux (GER) condition.
  • Certain chemical compounds like aflatoxin (fungal mold), found in spoiled chilies have been known to cause stomach, liver and colon cancers. (Medical-disclaimer).