Empowering Your Optimum Health

By the time you are diagnosed with a serious illness, you may already be missing out on the healthy and active life you deserve.
I'm not talking about just staying healthy, but staying healthy through out your whole life. This is what I mean by Optimum Health.
As promised in my earlier blog, I'll talk about Food first.
Do you really know what you are eating? Do you really understand the health benefits and the nutrients that are lacking in your food which your body seriously needs.
Foods eaten are chemically complex. Your body breaks them down into simpler chemical forms called nutrients, which are then absorbed through your intestinal walls and transported by blood to the cells. There they provide the energy and correct building materials to maintain life. These processes are called: Digestion, Absorption and Metabolism.
Food is made up of: Macro-nutrients, Micro-nutrients and Water.

Macro-nutrients are: Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates.
These 3 macro-nutrients give you Energy (measured in Calories) to maintain your life.

Micro-nutrients are: Vitamins, Minerals and Trace Minerals.
They do not provide energy, but are still important for the maintenance of your health and life.

You will suffer malnutrition from lack of macro-nutrients.
You will suffer diseases and poor health from lack of micro-nutrients.
Both are important for the sustenance of life.

Water; More than 50% of your body is composed of water.
Needless to say without water you will suffer from dehydration and death.

My story.
During my younger days I used to get frequent throat infection, about 3 to 6 months interval. Most of the time it was tonsillitis - infection of the tonsil accompanied by swelling and pain in the tonsil.
I was really ignorant back then and my doctor always prescribe antibiotic drugs. This went on for a few years. The prescribed antibiotic drugs got stronger and stronger with each visit to him. Until I started to read up and learn about alternative cure, nutrients and vitamins.
From that day on until today I only rely on high dose of oral vitamin C (chewable or suckle type, putting in your mouth to let it dissolve slowly) and also multi-vitamins to heal my throat infections. And of course lots of mineral water.
As we already know by now, antibiotic drugs when taken kill all bacteria, the bad ones and the good ones.They are not selective. Meaning all the good bacteria in the gut die along with the bad ones. And it takes about 6 months for the gut health to fully recover.
There are a few good brands of oral vitamin C that you can buy at the pharmacy.
You can suck about 500 to 1,000 mg every few hours until your infection is gone.
In my family, none of us take antibiotic drugs and my home is always well stocked with vitamin C.
You should also always take vitamin supplements regularly to maintain optimum health.

Healthy Body. Healthy Mind.

Believe it or not, the strength of your immune system will determine how fast you age.
With a strong immune system you will be able to live a long,healthy and active life.
So, are you stressing, rather than strengthening your immune system.

More often than not we are eating processed food, and are exposed to food addictive and pesticides.
We are also exposed to detergents and a lot more other chemicals and gases, like vehicle exhaust and factory gases. The air we breathe are more polluted than we can imagine. We are living in a fast paced society, constantly over-worked and lack of sleep. Too much worries and eating food that are lacking in nutrients.

First you must know that your immune system is not a single entity, but a system. So what are the steps you need to take to boost your immune system. There are many, but basically you need to;

1) Eat a balanced and healthy diet that are high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in        saturated fat.
2) Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight.
3) Enough rest and sleep.
4) Have a positive mind-set.

Here, I would like to talk about the first one, which is FOOD.
Understanding what you eat, getting the right amount of nutrition and correctly supplementing your diet is the key to boosting your immune system. Discover how you can stay healthy, feel great, perform better and live longer. Last but not least, Look good.

In my next blog. I will talk more about nutrients and supplementing it in your meals.

Keep calm and drink smoothies.

Brand new and ready to go. The good thing about blender is that you can blend almost all kinds of raw vegetables and fruits into smoothies. Most of the vegetables we eat are either cooked or fried. And they lose valuable nutrients like vitamins E and C for instances. Blending fruits and vegetables together can create great taste and the combinations are limitless. You can put your creativity to work, if not you can follow other's recipes. They are easily available on the internet. At the same time you can also learn about the different health benefits of various fruits and vegetables on the net.
Have fun and enjoy your smoothies.

You are what you eat

You must have heard of the phrase 'You are what you eat'.
Well, apparently it's quite true.
The food that we eat basically compose of;
a) macro-nutrients :- protein, fat and carbohydrate
b) micro-nutrients  :- vitamins, minerals and trace elements
c) water
In my last post I talked about weight and sugar. All carbohydrates basically compose of some form of sugar. But here I just want to talk about one form of carbohydrate that is so common and easily available in our daily diet. Yes, you must have guessed it right, I am talking about refined sugar. Are you addicted to sugar or having sugar overload? If you want to lose weight and maintain a healthy and slim body then seriously cut down on sugar intake. Some example here, like ice-cream, sweet dessert, cakes and carbonated drinks. Give it a serious thought.