As the first official week of summer is now behind us, we find ourselves outside more and more. You may be wanting to get your daily dose of Vitamin D. You might be training for that next 5K, marathon, triathlon or playing in a summer softball league. We want to make sure we protect ourselves from injuries, but also protect ourselves from sunburns! Damage from the sun can lead to early skin aging, wrinkles or skin cancer. Sunscreen is an important way to protect your skin from harm, and because of this, the industry is about to get a major overhaul.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed new regulations that will change the way information on sunscreens is presented to you, the consumer. Currently some of the information can be misleading and
confusing.
Read Full Post >
Are you bad to your bones? There is a growing trend in the United States and Canada: calcium and vitamin D deficiency. Bone mass reaches its peak around age thirty so calcium and vitamin D are critical in helping you to prevent breaks or fractures down the road. As important as strong muscles are to your overall health, bones are what hold us together. Otherwise we’d just be a puddle on the ground. I’m hoping I can shed some light on all the benefits that calcium and vitamin D have to offer.
What is vitamin D and why do I need it?
Vitamin D is key in helping to produce strong bones. It also helps absorb calcium from the intestines so that is why you find so many products with the two in combo. The current recommendation depends on age, but for a woman age 18-30 you are looking at around 600 internal units (IUs) per day. Our bodies naturally convert vitamin D into a usable form from midday sun (between 10 am and 2 pm). People like me who live in northern parts of the world and get to see old man winter usually do not get enough midday sun to make our own vitamin D.
Read Full Post >
Water is boring. Why drink flavorless H20 when your tongue can be excited by bubbles or, well, flavor?
Unfortunately, with that flavor everyone craves usually comes a lot of excess calories and sugars, and despite the fact they come in liquid form, flavored beverages like tea and soda (even diet soda, which people seem to think because it is calorie free, it is an acceptable substitute for water) can dehydrate you rather than re-hydrate you.
Neuro has heard the plight of the under-hydrated adult craving flavor without junk, and offer a large array of tasty, hydrating waters that focus on every area of your health.
Not sleeping well? You’re covered. Libido needing a boost? Neuro’s got the stuff. Looking to drop a few pounds? You got it.
Read Full Post >
This guest post comes from Gale Tern, author, alternative health proponent, and blogger at Arthritis Pain Central.
According to the National Diabetes Fact Sheet, approximately 8% of the U.S. population, or 26 million people, have diabetes. And 79 million people are prediabetic (blood sugar levels higher than normal). As you can see there are a lot of people who suffer from this disease or are at risk of developing it.
While most of us refer to diabetes as the sugar disease, diabetes mellitus (it’s technical name) is actually a group of diseases where blood sugar levels are elevated. They are elevated either because the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, or because the body does not respond to insulin which is produced by the body. Elevated blood sugar levels produce the classic symptoms of diabetes- increased thirst, frequent urination, and increased hunger.
Type 1 diabetes refers to insulin-dependent diabetes where the body does not produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes, or insulin resistant diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes. In this type of diabetes the body fails to properly use insulin.
Read Full Post >
Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin known as “the sunshine vitamin,” helps the body absorb calcium and prevents a number of diseases, particularly those relating to bone health. While the amount of vitamin D recommended in your diet will vary from person to person, it is widely regarded as an important part of nutrition and wellness.
While vitamin D is naturally present in only a select few foods, most people know that our bodies can absorb vitamin through exposure to sunshine. As we head into the summer months, most skin health experts caution sunbathers everywhere against relying on the sun alone for their daily dose of vitamin D, as excessive amounts of sun can cause potentially fatal types of skin cancer.
Dr. Brooke Jackson, a board certified dermatologist and founder of the Skin Wellness Center of Chicago tells her patients to practice smart sun habits all year round, but especially as the weather heats up.
Read Full Post >
