Functions and Food Sources of Some Common Vitamins

Vitamin	Function	Food Sources
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)	Helps with energy production in your body.	Whole grains, enriched grains Liver, pork, dried beans, nuts and seeds
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)	Helps with energy production in your body. Helps your body use other B vitamins.	Soybeans, meat and poultry, liver and eggs Mushrooms Milk, cheese, yogurt Whole grains, enriched grains
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)	Helps your body to use protein, fat and carbohydrate to make energy. Helps enzymes work properly in your body.	Mushrooms Peanut butter, meat, fish, poultry Whole grains, enriched grains
Biotin	Allows your body to use protein, fat and carbohydrate from food.	Sweet potatoes Nonfat milk, yogurt Peanuts, almonds, eggs, liver, soy protein *The biotin content in food can vary greatly
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxin)	Helps your body to make and use protein and glycogen which is the stored energy in your muscles and liver. Helps form hemoglobin which carries oxygen in your blood.	Potatoes, bananas 100% bran, instant oatmeal Meat, fish, poultry, liver, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, pistachio, nuts, sunflower seeds
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)	Works with the vitamin folate to make DNA. Helps to make healthy blood cells. Low levels of vitamin B12 can cause a type of anemia. Keeps nerves working properly.	Milk, cheese, yogurt, fortified soy or rice beverages Meat, fish, poultry, liver, eggs, fortified soy products
Folate (also known as folacin and folic acid)	Helps to produce and maintain DNA and cells. Helps to make red blood cells and  prevent anemia. Getting enough folic acid lowers the risk of having a baby with birth defects like spina bifida.	Asparagus, cooked spinach, romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts, beets, broccoli, corn, green peas, oranges, orange juice Bread, enriched pasta, wheat germ Liver, dried beans, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds *Folic acid is the type of folate found in Vitamin supplements and fortified foods.
Vitamin C	May help prevent cell damage and reduce risk for certain cancers,heart disease and other diseases. Helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps gums healthy. Protects you from infections by keeping your immune system healthy. Increases the amount of iron your body absorbs from some foods.	Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits and  their juices, kiwi,strawberries, mangoes, papaya Red, yellow and green peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes,raw dark leafy vegetables
Vitamin A	Helps you to see in the day and at night. Protects you from infections by keeping skin and other body parts healthy. Promotes normal growth and development.	Liver, some fish Milk, cheese
Carotenoids: alpha, betacarotene and betacryptoxanthin	Carotenoids are not vitamins but some types can turn into vitamin A in the body. Act as antioxidants which protect your body from damage caused by harmful molecules called free radicals.	Cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, tomatoes, broccoli, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, beet greens and Swiss chard, dark orange vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes
Vitamin D	Increases the amount of calcium and phosphorus your body absorbs from foods. Deposits calcium and phosphorus in bones and teeth, making them stronger and healthier. Protects against infections by keeping your immune system healthy.	Milk, fortified soy and rice beverages Fortified margarine Some fish, eggs, organ meats, fish liver oils
Vitamin E	Helps to maintain a healthy immune system and other body processes. Acts as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage.	Vegetable oils Avocados, leafy green vegetables Wheat germ, sunflower seeds, some nuts, peanut butter
Vitamin K	Makes proteins that cause our blood to clot, when you are bleeding. Involved in making body proteins for your blood, bones and kidneys.	Broccoli, soybeans, dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collards, turnip/beet greens and spinach

Reference: http://www.dietitians.ca/Nutrition-Resources-A-Z/Factsheets/Vitamins/Functions-and-Food-Sources-of-Common-Vitamins.aspx

Learn How To Relax Your Mind, And Create Inner Peace

Meditation

Meditation helps you learn how to relax your mind in a few different ways. One meditation session can calm your physiology and relax your mind, but many sessions over time can help you to feel less stressed when you face stress in the future--you can become more resilient to stress with the help of meditation! Meditation can clear your mind from thoughts that are stressing you, and over time, regular meditation can lead you to be less reactive to stress, and more resilient in the face of your stressors. Mantra meditation, one of many useful meditation techniques, is a good place to start because it's simple.

Gratitude Journaling

Shifting your focus from what stresses you, to everything you have to be grateful for, is one of those "how to relax your mind" tips that works quite well. Research on gratitude shows that cultivating an attitude of gratitude brings many benefits, and maintaining a gratitude journal is an easy way to accomplish this shift in focus. After a few weeks, you should find yourself zeroing in on the things in life that help you feel grateful instead of stressed, and a more relaxed mind will follow.

5 Foods You Should Be Eating For Your Best Body—Inside and Out

1. Green Beans

Filling up on green beans, and other high-fiber foods, can help you prevent weight gain or even promote weight loss—without dieting—suggests new research in The Journal of Nutrition. Researchers found that women who increased their fiber intake generally lost weight while women who decreased the fiber in their diets gained. The scientists boiled the findings into a single weight-loss formula: boosting fiber by 8 grams for every 1,000 calories consumed resulted in losing about 4 1/2 pounds over the course of the study. Try it for yourself. If you’re consuming 2,000 calories per day, aim to increase your fiber by 16 grams. Raspberries, chickpeas and strawberries can also help you get your fill.

2. Salmon

7 tips for a healthy lifestyle

• We all stand together

We spend our lives sitting – at our desks, in front of the TV, in a meeting or on the phone.New research is emerging highlighting the potential risk to health from all our sitting behaviour. So break your sitting time by standing for five minutes and reap the health benefits.Every little bit counts and it all adds up to burning more calories.

If you’re overweight, making small changes in your daily exercise routine can benefit your health. In fact one study has found that just a 10% drop in weight helped overweight people to reduce their blood pressure, cholestrol and improve their well being.

• Eating healthily

When it comes to healthy eating, there is an overwhelming array of theories, diet books and online information about what to eat – which is often conflicting. Although the research is still ongoing and developing, what the experts all agree on is that our diets are too high in sugar, our portions are too big and we should eat a variety of whole natural foods.

• Sweet enough

From sugary drinks to breakfast cereal, it’s hard to get away from sugary foods. Often the sugar is hidden in canned goods or pre-packaged foods, or even in foods we think are healthy for us, such as fruit juice. The average person takes in about 22 teaspoons of added sugar each day. According to the American Heart Association the daily target should be no more than six level teaspoons for women, and nine for men—that’s for both food and beverages combined.

The easiest way to limit your sugar intake with one small change is to cut out sugary fizzy drinks. This alone can help you to lose or maintain a healthy weight, which in turn will reduce your risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes. 

• Portion distortion

Our food and drinks portion sizes have dramatically increased over the past 30 years. In the 1950’s a chip packet was 28g from a take-away restaurant - today it’s 154g – and that’s not even the supersize, which is a whopping 196g!

Portion size increases doesn’t only include the take-away portions, but packaging of goods in the supermarket, dinner plates and glasses in restaurants and even fridge sizes! Simple ways to cut your portions include:

• Eat your main meals off a smaller plate

visually the plate looks full so you will be satisfied, but technically you’ll be eating less.

Dish up in the kitchen, rather than have the serving dishes at the dining table – it’s much easier to have seconds when it’s right in front of you.

Eat small regular meals (at least every four hours) so that you’re never starving – if you get to this point of hunger, it’s very difficult to stop before you overeat.

• Colour me beautiful

Choosing whole foods and cooking from scratch is a much healthier way to eat than buying pre-packaged or ready-meals which are high in fat and salt but very low in nutrients. To make sure you’re getting a variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals into your body every day – a quick rule of thumb is to pick a variety of colours for your meals. Be the artist of your meals and paint a colour picture with a variety of yellow, red and green fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

Your body will wear a frown if your meal is all brown.

• Choose life

There is nothing more damaging to a long, healthy life than smoking, which is estimated as the reason for death or disability in half the people who smoke. The dangers of smoking tobacco are so significant that it is the most important public health problem in the world, which ironically, is largely avoidable.

Smoking not only cuts your lifespan by affecting your internal organs, but it also ages you on the outside by causing skin damage. Tobacco smoking can give you wrinkles, create pucker lines around your mouth, stain your teeth and fingers, rob your skin of nutrients, break down youth-enhancing collagen and make your skin look grey. It makes you wonder how smoking is often marketed as glamorous and attractive.

It takes courage to quit smoking, as it’s not an easy journey – but it’s a brave and sensible choice. Some of the positive changes will happen quickly, while others will be more gradual, but all the changes will benefit your health and well-being.

REFERENCE : http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Woman/Your-life/7-tips-for-a-healthy-lifestyle-20130218

Water anD dRinKs

Your body needs water or other fluids to work properly and to avoid dehydration.

This article explains how much we need to drink, how to spot the signs of dehydration and how to choose healthier non-alcoholic drinks. For advice on alcohol, see our Alcohol section. 

Water makes up about two-thirds of the weight of a healthy body.

Most of the chemical reactions that happen in our cells need water in order to take place. We also need water so that our blood can carry nutrients around the body and get rid of waste.

How much should we drink?

To stay healthy, it's important to replace the fluid we lose when we breathe, sweat or urinate.

We get some fluid from our food but most comes from drinks.

The European Food Safety Authority recommends that women should drink about 1.6 litres of fluid and men should drink about 2.0 litres of fluid per day. That's about eight 200ml glasses for a woman and 10 200ml glasses for a man. 

However, the amount a person needs to drink to avoid getting dehydrated will vary depending on a range of factors, including their size, the temperature and how active they are. So, for example, if you're exercising hard in hot weather you'll need to drink more.

All drinks count, including hot drinks such as tea and coffee, but water, milk and fruit juices are the healthiest. It is best to avoid alcoholic drinks.

Try to avoid sugary, soft and fizzy drinks that can be high in added sugar. These can be high in calories and bad for teeth.

Signs of dehydration

When our bodies don't have enough water, we are said to be dehydrated.

One of the first signs of dehydration is feeling thirsty.

If you think you may not be getting enough fluids, check whether you have any of these other common signs of dehydration:

• dark urine and not passing much urine when you go to the toilet
• headaches
• lack of energy 
• feeling lightheaded 

See dehydration for more information.

Types of drinks

Try to choose healthier drinks as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Drink plenty of water

Water is the healthiest choice for quenching your thirst at any time. It has no calories and contains no sugars that can damage teeth. If you don't like the taste of plain water, try sparkling water or add a slice of lemon or lime. 

Drink semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk

Milk is a good source of calcium, a mineral that helps build and maintain healthy bones.

It also contains vitamins and other minerals, and doesn't cause tooth decay

For a healthier choice, choose semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk. Limit your intake of flavoured milks, milkshakes, condensed milk and milk-based energy or malt drinks because these contain added sugar, which is bad for teeth.

 Milk is especially important for young children. They should drink whole milk until they are two years old, because they may not get the calories they need from lower-fat milks.

Juices, smoothies and 5 A DAY

Fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies contain a variety of vitamins that are good for our health.

A glass (150ml) of fruit juice counts as one of your recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables. However, juice can only ever count as one portion a day, no matter how much you drink. This is because it doesn't contain the fibre found in whole fruits and vegetables.

Fruit juice also contains sugar that can damage teeth. It's best to drink it with a meal because this can help protect teeth.

The sugars found naturally in whole fruit are less likely to cause tooth decay because the sugar is contained within the structure of the fruit. When fruit is juiced or blended, the sugars are released. Once released, these sugars can damage teeth, especially if juice is drunk frequently.

When you buy fruit juice, check the labels carefully and choose 100% fruit juice with no added sugar, which counts as one of your 5 A DAY. Watch out for "juice drinks", which can contain as little as 5% fruit juice and a lot of added sugar, and do not count as one of your 5 A DAY.

Smoothies that are 100% fruit or vegetable can count as up to two portions towards your 5 A DAY when they contain all of the edible pulped fruit or vegetable. This depends on the quantity of fruits or vegetables or the juice used, as well as how the smoothie has been made. However, juices drunk in addition to the smoothie don't count as any more 5 A DAY portions in one day. This is mainly because juice contains less fibre than whole fruits and vegetables.

Fizzy drinks and squashes

Fizzy drinks, squashes and juice drinks contain lots of sugar and very few nutrients, so keep them to a minimum.

Their high sugar content means they are high in calories, and foods that are high in calories can contribute towards becoming overweight. Cutting down on these drinks is a good way of reducing the number of calories you consume, while not missing out on any nutrients.

Likewise, getting children to drink fewer sugary drinks is a good way of limiting the amount of sugar they consume. Children who drink a lot of sugary drinks are more likely to become overweight.

The added sugar in these drinks also means they can damage teeth. If you do have sugary or fizzy drinks, drinking them with meals can help reduce the damage to teeth.

The best drinks to give children are water, milk and milkshakes without added sugar.

Tea, coffee and caffeine

Tea and coffee contain caffeine, which is a stimulant. This means caffeine can temporarily make us feel more alert or less drowsy. Caffeine affects some people more than others, and the effect can depend on how much caffeine you normally consume.

It's fine to drink tea and coffee as part of a balanced diet. But it's important that tea, coffee or other drinks containing caffeine are not your only source of fluid.

Pregnant women should limit their intake of tea or coffee due to their caffeine content (see below). Neither tea nor coffee are suitable drinks for toddlers and young children.

Caffeinated drinks can also make the body produce more urine. Some people are more susceptible to this than others, but it also depends on how much caffeine you have and how often you have it.

Energy drinks and caffeine

Energy drinks often contain high levels of caffeine and are often high in sugar. They may also contain other stimulants and sometimes vitamins and minerals or herbal substances.

The caffeine levels in these drinks vary, but there is often around 80mg of caffeine in a small 250ml can. This is the same as two cans of cola or a small mug of coffee.

People who are sensitive to caffeine should consume high-caffeine food and drinks only in moderation.

Energy drinks are not suitable for babies or children.

Caffeine during pregnancy

Pregnant women should have no more than 200mg of caffeine a day. One mug of instant coffee contains around 100mg of caffeine.

High levels of caffeine can result in babies having a low birth weight, which can increase the risk of health problems in later life. High levels of caffeine might also cause miscarriage. Check the labels of energy drinks as they often say that the drink is not suitable for children or pregnant women.

For more detail on how much caffeine is safe during pregnancy, see Foods to avoid when pregnant. 

Sports drinks

Sports drinks can be useful when you're doing high-level endurance sports and need an energy boost.

However, they are no different to any other sugary soft drinks, which means they are high in calories and contribute to tooth decay.

Unless you're taking part in high-level endurance sports, water is the healthier choice and the best way to replace fluids lost through exercise.

Reference: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/water-drinks.aspx

8 Health Benefits Of Laugh

What can laughter do?:

1. Lower blood pressure.
2. Increase vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood.
3. Give a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles.
4. Reduce certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.
5. Increase the response of tumor- and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells.
6. Defend against respiratory infections–even reducing the frequency of colds–by immunoglobulon in saliva.
7. Increase memory and learning; in a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores.
8. Improve alertness, creativity, and memory. 

Humor and creativity work in similar ways, says humor guru William Fry, M.D., of Stanford University–by creating relationships between two disconnected items, you engage the whole brain.