Women's Health

Magnesium Health Benefits Include Reduced Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke

People in the Western world have more food availability and eat more calories than ever, as evident by our expanding waist lines. However, many of us still are not getting the vitamins and minerals that we need. This can have extremely detrimental health effects, especially when it comes to magnesium. This mineral plays an important role in so many different cell processes that if you aren’t getting enough, you may be at higher risk of devastating diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

What Is Magnesium?

Magnesium is a mineral that is present in our foods and also used as a medicine in some cases. You may be familiar with Epsom salts, which are made of magnesium salts and a popular home remedy for constipation, muscle aches and a wide variety of complaints. Magnesium plays a crucial part of more than 300 biochemical processes in the human body, including protein synthesis, nerve function, muscle function, maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm and maintenance of cardiovascular health. Magnesium is essential for building and maintaining strong bones and teeth as well as synthesizing DNA and RNA. It is part of the process of oxidative phosphorylation, which converts the calories we eat to energy our cells can use. Magnesium also functions as an electrolyte, helping to maintain the ionic gradients that allow optimal nerve, muscle and cardiac function.

It is impossible to live without magnesium. However, even a minor deficiency in this mineral can deprive you of the many magnesium health benefits and leave you functioning at less than optimal speed. People who have low magnesium may have chronic pain including migraines, headaches, joint pain and muscle cramps. They may also suffer from insomnia, depression and fatigue. When people have critically low levels of magnesium, they can develop seizures as well as cardiac arrhythmias, both of which can be fatal. Unfortunately, our modern diets tend to have substandard levels of this critical nutrient, leading many health experts to call low magnesium the “silent epidemic of our times.”

Magnesium Health Benefits

According to new research, magnesium may have more long-term health benefits than we previously realized. People who get the required amount of this mineral, which is 300 mg a day for men and 270 mg a day for women, may actually have a lower risk of diseases including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Researchers followed people from around the world and tracked their dietary intake of nutrients. People who ate magnesium-rich diets over the course of their lifetimes had a lower overall risk of these diseases. This was true even when controlling for variables such as overall dietary quality and socioeconomic factors.

Getting enough magnesium is especially important for women of childbearing age. Magnesium is essential to a developing fetus’s needs and also important for breastfeeding infants. Many women do not get the additional magnesium that they need to support reproduction, which means that they can end up with immense deficiencies even while eating what they believe to be a reasonable diet. Getting enough magnesium is also important for people who are in the process of growth or healing, such as children and those who have recently been ill. Magnesium is essential to manufacturing proteins, muscle and other essential elements of the human body.

Do You Need More Magnesium?

If you suspect you may be low on magnesium, you are not alone. Experts estimate that around one in 50 people in the Western world is seriously deficient in this mineral. Magnesium can be found in a variety of foods such as fish, soybeans, avocados, nuts and seeds, dark leafy greens, yogurt and even chocolate. People who need more magnesium can also take a supplement or even a multivitamin, as these usually contain a healthy range of minerals. Popular antacids contain this mineral because it quickly coats and soothes heartburn and ulcers. Soaking in Epsom salts is also believed to act as a supplement because magnesium can be absorbed through the skin. Regardless of how you choose to take in this mineral, the magnesium health benefits are too powerful to be passed up.

If you are trying to get more magnesium, health benefits may await you both now and over the course of your lifetime. Not only will you have a lower disease risk, but you will enjoy more energy and less aches and pains over the course of your life. Consider adding magnesium-rich foods or a supplement that contains magnesium to your diet if you believe you may be deficient in this very important element.

Crash Diet After the Holidays Linked to Increased Weight Gain

Dec 12 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Many people indulge during the holidays with the intention of losing the pounds by embarking on a crash diet later. Recent studies show this may be devastating for your waistline.

Are you already packing on the winter weight? For most people in the Western world, the holiday season is a time for stretchy waistbands. The parties and celebrations that brighten the season bring a seemingly endless parade of cookies, candy, creamy beverages and hors d’oevres. Many of us give in to temptations with the intention of embarking on a strict diet in the New Year. While this seems like a viable plan, going on a crash diet can actually make you fatter in the long run.

Is Your Crash Diet Bad for Your Brain?

Until recently, weight loss was thought of as a matter of simple math. You eat less calories and exercise more, forcing your body to supplement your diet with the calories it has stored as fat from times of surplus. However, weight loss is not this simple for most people. There are lifestyle factors that lower your metabolic rate, leaving you exhausted and making weight loss an uphill climb. A diet that severely restricts calories, also known as a crash diet, is one of these factors.

When you eat fewer calories, your brain perceives you as being in a famine. It wisely decides to lower your metabolic rate to store as much fat as possible for lean months ahead. This was beneficial to our ancestors, who often had to live through long food shortages. However, for modern people, it can mean that your crash diet simply leads to more weight gain. For this reason, experts recommend that people who want to lose weight make sensible eating decisions every day, even during the holidays, and let the weight come off slowly.

The Psychological Impact of Dieting

Dieting has become a national pastime as so many Americans struggle with being overweight or obese as well as the myriad health problems that those extra pounds can cause. However, this behavior can have a negative effect not just on your weight, but on your emotional health.

People who crash diet tend to gain back any weight they have lost, and often even a few pounds more. This is incredibly discouraging and can lead to low self-esteem. In addition, it gives many dieters a sense that they are failures and can even create a disordered relationship with food. Crash diets are also bad for your heart, causing cardiac stress, heart palpitations and lifelong damage to blood vessels. The simple joy of eating becomes an emotional struggle, creating physiological and psychological stress that can be devastating over a lifetime. People often respond to weight gained after a crash diet with even more food restrictions, creating an endless cycle of yo-yo dieting and disappointment.

What is the answer to this endless cycle? Experts recommend finding a middle road in which you are mindful of what you eat but enjoy occasional treats. Healthy people do this all year long, including during the winter season so full of temptations.

Natural Ways to Lose the Pounds Without a Crash Diet

There are ways to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight for a lifetime, but these are not crash diets so much as permanent lifestyle changes. Here are a few ways that you can begin a lifelong journey toward a trim figure and a healthy relationship with food:

Eat a healthy number of calories every day. This will keep your brain from thinking it is in a famine.
Get plenty of exercise. This burns calories and also builds muscle, which is responsible for much of your body’s thermogenesis and basal metabolism.
Enjoy treats in moderation. Choose one treat to enjoy at that Christmas party rather than sampling all of them.
Take a supplement that supports a healthy metabolism. There are many natural herbs and vitamins that can help your body to turn calories into energy at an optimal, healthy rate.
Get plenty of sleep. Your body needs around eight hours of sleep per night or it will go into energy conservation mode.

If you want 2017 to be your healthiest year yet, put away the cookies and the plans of beginning the new year with a restrictive crash diet. Cutting too far back on calories will only lead to weight gain and unhappiness. A healthy lifestyle is not just a one-time decision, but a journey of self-care that will last your entire lifetime.

Cognitive Health Found to Be Important Determinant of Lifespan

Dec 02 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

There is a common assumption that people lose their cognitive abilities as they age. We expect to see our memory, intelligence and brain function slowly decline in our later years. However, some people do not suffer from this cognitive decline, while others do, but much more slowly than average. Now, surprising new findings indicate that your cognitive health as you age is one of the most important determinants of your lifespan. Luckily, there are things you can do to improve your mental function at any age.

Cognitive Health: A Powerful Determinant of Lifespan

There are many factors that can predict how long a person will live. Of these, genetics, socioeconomic status and overall health are probably the best-known. While these are all important, there is one lesser-known but just as important factor: cognitive health. Elderly adults who have slower decreases in mental processing speed are likely to lead longer and healthier lives. A quicker decline in memory and mental function as you age, on the other hand, appears to predict an earlier death.

It is not surprising that good cognitive health is crucial to living a long life. You have to be able to think quickly in order to care for yourself on a daily basis, to manage your health care and to avoid dangerous situations. In addition, people who are taking care of their cognitive health by taking measures to prevent age-related decline are more likely to take equally-good care of their bodies.

Cognitive Decline in Your Golden Years: Is It Just Aging?

Many people plan to spend their retirement years relaxing with loved ones and exploring the world. However, health matters all too often get in the way—especially health matters related to mental and functional decline. A certain amount of cognitive decline is to be expected as we grow older. It is natural for your brain to become slightly slower in processing and for it to be harder to remember phone numbers and other details. However, this decline should be extremely limited and represent more of a slowing than a loss of actual information or skills.

Unfortunately, many elderly people experience more decline in their cognitive health than this. Even people who do not have dementia may find themselves dealing with a condition known as Mild Cognitive Decline, in which they have a sharp decline in cognitive function but are still able to take care of their own basic needs.

While it may be normal to experience a mild decline in your memory and cognitive health as you age, new research shows that even this is hardly inevitable. Age may not be the cause of this mental decline, but rather lifestyle factors such as retirement or even side effects of medications that many elderly take. Even if some degeneration is natural for aging people, it is not as severe as we believe. There are likely many yet unstudied factors playing a role.

Keeping Your Mind Sharp at Any Age

If living a long and healthy life is important to you, there are a few ways that you can preserve your mental function and memory to give yourself the best possible chances. Consider the following measures:

Take a supplement containing herbs proven to improve mental function, such as gingko biloba.
Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fish, fruits and vegetables.
Take supplements with omega-3 fatty acids and a multivitamin containing B vitamins, vitamin E and other antioxidants.
Drink more tea, especially black and oolong teas.
Care for your mental and emotional health.
Get plenty of exercise at least three times a week.
Play games that challenge your brain, such as logic puzzles.

Any simple lifestyle measure that you take to stay healthy in body, mind and spirit will likely contribute to better cognitive health over your years and a longer, happier lifespan.

We all want to enjoy old age and to retain the faculties and abilities to truly get the most out of our retirement years. Taking care of your mental function is crucial to achieving these and other health goals. It is important to spend as much time exercising your brain as exercising your body so you can enjoy not just good physical health but good cognitive health as well.

Feel Tired All the Time? You Could Be Low on Iron

Nov 30 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency and affects 1.2 billion people worldwide, with around 183,000 dying from a shortage of this nutrient every year. Iron deficiency in women is especially common due to the high iron needs of the female body. If you find that you are often fatigued, have trouble concentrating or have other vague and insidious symptoms, you may simply need more iron.

Why Do We Need Iron?

Iron plays a variety of vital roles in the human body. First and foremost, it is one of the basic building blocks of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood from your lungs to the cells that need it. Iron is also important in the manufacturing of ATP, the molecule that cells use for energy. It is part of many different enzymes involved in growth and metabolism. Iron is also used by cells of the immune system to help fight infections. Last, iron is used in muscle cells to store oxygen for times when it is needed faster than the bloodstream can supply it.

Because our bodies use iron in so many ways, we have very high needs for this mineral. When people do not get all of the iron that they need, they have trouble converting food energy to cell energy, cannot carry oxygen to their cells and cannot perform a variety of crucial functions. In severe forms, iron deficiency can even be fatal.

Iron Deficiency in Women: A Common Health Problem

There are three basic ways that iron deficiency can occur: either not enough iron is being taken in, it is not being absorbed effectively or it is being lost somehow. Many people do not get enough iron-rich foods in their diet, which includes red meat, eggs, shrimp and the dark meat of poultry. In addition, people can get iron from vegetables such as legumes and leafy greens, although this kind of iron needs to be eaten with acidic foods in order to be absorbed by our bodies.

Even if you eat enough iron, you still may not be absorbing enough. Inflammatory conditions of the gut can make it difficult to absorb iron. In addition, you may simply be losing more iron than you naturally take in through diet. People lose iron mainly through bleeding, which is why people with ulcers or intestinal parasites are at high risk of anemia. This is a very important reason that you see high levels of iron deficiency in women, especially women who menstruate or have recently had a child.

Signs You Have Iron Deficiency

The signs of iron deficiency can be subtle and yet have a huge effect on your quality of life. The most common symptom is fatigue, because your cells are not making enough ATP and also are not getting optimal levels of oxygen from your blood. In addition, iron deficiency in women and men can manifest in a variety of other ways, such as:

dizziness
shortness of breath
heart palpitations
headache
pale skin
cold hands and feet
odd food cravings, especially for things that are not food (pica)
brittle nails
hair loss
muscle aches
difficulty concentrating
restless leg syndrome

When your body does not have the nutrients that it needs to performs all of the cell processes that iron supports, you will feel the effects in a variety of ways. Many people blame the effects of iron deficiency on not getting enough sleep, growing older, or having a hectic schedule when in fact they simply need to take in more vitamins and minerals.

Treating Iron Deficiency Safely and Naturally

If you believe that you are suffering from a deficiency of iron, there are several ways to quickly build up healthy levels of this vitamin. Many people simply add more iron-rich foods to their diets and take care to eat vegetarian sources of iron with an acidic food such as lemon. However, it can be difficult to get the iron that you need from diet alone, especially for women of reproductive age and young children who are growing quickly. For these people, taking an iron supplement or a multivitamin with their daily allowance of iron is the answer.

Getting enough iron is crucial for good health. However, iron deficiency in women and children is, unfortunately, only too common. While it can be difficult in the modern world to get all of the iron that you need to sustain optimal health, a well-balanced multivitamin ensures that you are always covered.

Not Getting Enough Vitamin B12 During Pregnancy Boosts Disease Risk for Baby

Nov 16 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Many people have are familiar with the importance of getting enough folic acid or folate, also known as vitamin B9, when pregnant. However, getting enough vitamin B12 during pregnancy is also important. New research underscores the importance of getting all of your B vitamins—especially vitamin B12—if you are pregnant or planning to conceive soon.

What Is Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is an essential water-soluble vitamin that is used in a wide variety of cellular reactions. Essentially, it is a puzzle piece among many vitamins that are important for metabolism, energy production and other vital processes. People who do not get enough of this vitamin suffer from depressed mood, poorer memory and mental function and even a higher risk of infection. A long-term deficiency can cause permanent dementia and a variety of other serious illnesses. Pregnant women who do not get enough vitamin B12 during pregnancy are at a higher risk of giving birth to a baby with serious—and sometimes deadly—neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly.

Because vitamin B12 is water soluble, our cells do not store it in any significant amount. Going even a short time without foods or vitamins containing B12 can result in noticeable health effects. Most people who eat animal products usually get enough of this critical vitamin in their diets, as it is present in high levels in meat and eggs. However, there are times in life when your vitamin needs increase sharply, beyond what a typical Western diet can support. Pregnancy is one of these times. Pregnant women, especially those who do not eat a lot of animal products, are at e high risk of a B12 deficiency.

The Importance of Vitamin B12 During Pregnancy

According to new research, a vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy may have more effects than previously realized. Even babies who are born appearing to be in good health may suffer the consequences over their lifetimes. In one study, vitamin B12 levels were measured in pregnant women and both their and their babies’ health was analyzed. Babies born to mothers with a B12 deficiency had markedly lower levels of leptin, which is known as the “satiety hormone.” Low levels of leptin cause a person to need to eat more to feel satisfied, predisposing them to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other diseases. They also stored more fat. While extra fat stores are generally healthy in an infant, they can be a health problem later in life. Even worse, babies whose mothers had low vitamin B12 during pregnancy were more likely to become diabetic later in life.

This was a small study so it will need to be repeated to confirm the results. However, researchers and doctors are already calling for an increase in the recommended intake of vitamin B12 during pregnancy to ensure that women get ample amounts of this critical vitamin. With a large proportion of the population struggling with obesity, diabetes and the many related health problems, it is important to ensure we have the basic building blocks we need for a healthy metabolism. This is especially true when we are eating for two, such as when pregnant or breastfeeding.

I Thought Eating Too Much Meat Was Bad for Me?

The irony of this and other studies underscoring the importance of vitamin B12 during pregnancy and throughout one’s life is that many people believe they must cut back on meat and other B12-rich foods to improve their health. While eating a lot of animal products can negatively affect your health, these foods do contain nutrients that we need to be healthy and to bear healthy children. Ultimately, a well-balanced diet appears to be the key to leading a healthy life both in pregnancy and beyond. Pregnant women should eat a variety of foods and also take a high-quality prenatal multivitamin supplement to ensure their high nutritional needs are met. This is especially true for women who are vegetarian or unable to get enough animal products in their diet.

It is important for pregnant and breastfeeding women to talk to their doctors about any supplements that they are taking. However, during pregnancy, most doctors recommend taking a prenatal vitamin formula to ensure that you always have the building blocks that you and your baby need to enjoy optimal health. Eating a well-rounded diet and taking vitamins is an important way of giving your children the best chance at leading long, healthy lives.

Timing is Everything: Using Chronotherapy in Cancer Treatment

Nov 03 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases in the world, killing an estimated 7.6 million people every year. While there is a constant flow of new treatments, the number of deaths nonetheless demands more research and, hopefully, an eventual cure. Many people use all available treatments but still die of this disease. For many, the treatment itself is part of the problem, as chemotherapy side effects can be quite serious. Until there are ways of stopping cancer in its tracks, we may be able to improve outcomes and reduce the tide of deaths by using chronotherapy in cancer treatment.

What Is Chronotherapy?

Every cell in our bodies runs on an internal clock called a circadian rhythm. Chronotherapy is the practice of timing treatments so they are taken at the most effective time of day. Giving medications at the right time can increase efficacy while reducing the actual amount of medication that patients need. For example, if a person who has high blood pressure primarily at night takes their medication before bed, not only will it be more effective, they will also need less medication than if they took it in the morning or another random time of day. This, in turn, reduces side effects, medication interactions and the chances of developing toxicity from high levels of medication.

We do not currently know all of the diseases that respond best to chronotherapy. However, research suggests that allergies, heart disease and a wide range of illnesses may be treated more effectively when treatments are given at specific times. According to new research on chronotherapy in cancer treatment, chemotherapy may be among the growing number of medications where timing is everything.

Using Chronotherapy in Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy aims to kill cancer cells, but unfortunately kills many of the patient’s healthy cells as well. Balancing side effects and toxicity is a major challenge for both doctors and patients. What if there were a way to increase the efficacy of chemotherapy while decreasing side effects and toxicity? It appears that chronotherapy may be the answer.

A recent study found that chemotherapy and other cancer treatments are more effective when timed to coincide with the most active times of the circadian rhythm of cancer cells. In other words, timing the medications to stop growth exactly when the tumor is actively trying to grow. This study did not discover only a small difference in efficacy; the chemotherapy administered at the right time of day was actually twice as effective in treating cancer. The perfect time to give a drug depends on the type of cancer and the type of medication, but there appears to be a perfect time for most cancer drugs. Giving medications at carefully-determined times also reduces side effects and toxicity, which are two major reasons that patients often cannot continue with an otherwise successful treatment.

The Circadian Rhythm of Cancer Cells

How can timing the administration of a drug make such a difference? Cancer cells tend to have a circadian rhythm that is different from that of healthy cells. They have often lost many of the checkpoints to growth that are present in healthy cells, which means that they can grow almost continuously. While they may grow faster at certain times of day, they are growing or preparing to do so almost constantly. On the other hand, human cells grow only for very small periods of time during the day.

With many types of cancer, it is possible to identify a time when cancer cells are extremely active while normal cells are not. When a drug attacking that part of the cell cycle is administered at these times, it is likely to have a huge impact on cancer while affecting normal cells very little, which means fewer side effects.

Your Circadian Rhythm and Your Health

While most people are not aware of their circadian rhythm, your internal clock plays a huge role in your health. The amount you sleep—or don’t—can affect whether you feel rested but also your risk of developing serious diseases. Because a poorly-regulated circadian rhythm is essential to health, it makes sense that working with your own innate timing would play a role in recovery from serious diseases such as cancer.

If you or a loved one are facing a battle with cancer, chronotherapy may give you an advantage. It’s important to talk to your doctors about the best time to take your medications to maximize treatment and reduce adverse effects.