Vitamin C myths Exposed!

Vitamin C is known as ascorbic acid as well. It offers a whole slew of benefits to our health. Vitamin C helps in maintaining the balance in ligaments, tendons and other adjacent tissues. It is commonly found in fruits and vegetables such as potatoes. Vitamin C has anti-oxidant property, so it helps us fighting with the symptoms of ageing. Not only that, due to its anti-oxidant property it helps us to preserve healthy blood cells from becoming collapsed from the toxic substances in the air that may even lead to cancer in some cases.

Vitamin C Functions

Vitamin C benefits us a lot. The best benefit offered by vitamin C is collagen formation. Collagen is essentially a protein substance that helps keeping all the cells together. Vitamin C aids in the formation of collagen. Without vitamin C, the formation of collagen is interrupted. Vitamin C is present and active within the cell wall where it aids in modifying pro-collagen into collagen.

Vitamin C benefits in the absorption of iron as well. Iron is essential to keep us healthy and vibrant. It maintains a healthy and clear skin, fresh complexion and healthy gums and teeth. It offers a healthy functioning for all glands and organs including adrenal and thyroid glands. It also aids in relieving all sort of stressors, both physical and psychological.

No research has shown any effective result in treating common cold symptoms by using vitamin C supplements.

Vitamin C Deficiency

So, we can easily understand that vitamin C is important to our health system. Vitamin C benefits in various aspects. A deficiency in vitamin C may result in soft gums, skin hemorrhages, collagen deformation, Achilles' heel, anemia, and slow healing. If your diet lacks vitamin C, you may well find yourself aging a bit quicker than you had hoped!
Deficiency in vitamin C may also lead to weak immune system, so resistance to all diseases becomes very low.

Availability

Mostly you can obtain vitamin C from citrus foods such as oranges, limes and grapefruits. You can get vitamin C benefits from vegetables such as tomatoes, green peppers and potatoes. Apart from that, vitamin C is also available in various foods such as cantaloupes, honeydew melon, red peppers, strawberries, mandarin orange, mangoes and kiwifruits. However, the essential nutrient quality of vitamin C can easily be damaged during food processing. The quality can also be harmed if the vegetables are submerged in the water for a long time. So, it is always better that you use fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables as much as possible to receive maximum vitamin C value.

Precaution

Vitamin C plays a significant role in a healthy diet. However, excess intake is not at all recommended. If you take it in excessive amounts, it may cause harm to health.

So for a lifetime of fitness and health make sure that vitamin C is included in your diet...........but don't overdo it!!

A good article on 'fat burning foods!'

Marissa Lippert, R.D.

It may sound counterintuitive, but if you want to slim down, you actually need to eat. While there are no magic foods that melt fat right off your thighs, the following 20 can help kick-start your metabolism, fill you up and even lower your body fat percentage. So don’t forget to add them to your shopping list.

1. Salmon: This cold-water fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats that help reduce inflammation throughout the body and may, in turn, keep your weight down. A number of recent studies show that chronic inflammation can interfere with how your body responds to leptin, a hormone that helps regulate appetite. Choose wild over farmed when you can, and aim to eat one serving a week.

2. Coffee: Research shows that the caffeine in your morning cup of joe may help you tackle more intense workouts, which can translate to burning more calories and fending off weight gain. Loaded with antioxidants, coffee may also lower your risk of Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Steer clear of calorie-laden coffee drinks with whipped cream, chocolate and sugary syrups. Instead, opt for a latte or cappuccino made with skim milk.

3. Yogurt: Calcium is king when it comes to staving off hunger and helping you lose weight; research shows that it may help prevent your body from storing fat. Yogurt’s also high in protein, which helps you stay fuller longer and keeps blood sugar levels stable.

4. Eggs: There’s a lot of nutrition within that shell, including quality protein, B vitamins and vitamin D. Plus, research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that people who ate eggs at breakfast lost twice as much weight, stayed full longer and had more energy throughout the day compared to those who had bagels for breakfast.

5. Walnuts: Because they’re high in protein, omega-3s and monounsaturated fat, walnuts satisfy and keep you fuller longer than snacks that aren’t rich in protein and “good” fat. All you need is a handful.

6. Bison & buffalo: Good news for red meat lovers: Bison and buffalo taste similar to beef but are lower in fat, cholesterol and calories. Choose bison or buffalo instead of beef fora burger and you’ll save over 40 calories, 6 grams of fat and 3 grams of saturated fat, and get 25 percent less cholesterol.

A positive way at looking at something that could depress you!

I went to my kickboxing class last night. The class itself was good and I'm going to try it again next week. The only bummer was when we were working on our ABs at the end of class she had us working on a ball and had us stretch out our back. I pulled a muscle. Because of the muscle pull I was not able to go to my regularly scheduled spinning class this morning and weight training.

I'm so bummed that it has affected me this way, but I am having a great day with my eating and getting stuff done around the house, so it hasn't turned out so bad afterall. And I will get my workout in when we go glow in the dark miniature golfing later. We will be doing that with the kids and out to eat and turning in early for the night, so we are not asleep at church tomorrow.

Views on how to Belly Dance (a fun way of increasing your activity!)

Belly dance is simple when you learn about the parts of the body and how they are connected through your centre. I always start teaching beginners to belly dance through connecting to their feet. Dance is using the body like an instrument to feel and express music. In order to feed the rhythm of music up to your belly, you need to feel the music coming up from the earth through your feet.

So how do you move your hips from your feet?Try this really simple exercise:

Both feet facing forward about a inch to two inches apart (no duck feet please)Place your fingers tips gently on your front hip bones.Keeping the heels on the ground, bend the knees softly and notice how the hip bones move ever so subtly. Take care to not lock the knees.Keep the knees soft and juicy like squeezing a sponge.Softly bend the knees and start to feel the buttocks fall to the earth as if you’re going to sit on a stool.

As you softly bend the knees, notice the sister fold in the ankles and the fold of the groin. The three folds - ankle, knees, groin - are connected like sister joints all springing in synchronicity together. Let them open a little and close gently and notice your tailbone dropping straight down into the earth (no duck tails please).

Let go of opening and closing the joints.
Keep your knees soft, keep the fold in your groin and ankles and notice your tail pointing down into the earth.
Now – You’re ready to start feeling the rhythm through your feet (while keeping the leg joints soft)

Lifting one heel at a time, start to feel the earth with each heel. As the heel hits the ground feel the reverb into your buttock. And repeat! Using music with a beat!

Pretty soon you’ll find how hitting the earth with your heel reverbs all the way up your leg to your butt – but the key is to always keep the knees soft and juicy to let the beat travel to the butt. Imagine the feet are like a drummer’s hands communicating the rhythm to your body.
Enjoy your feet, feel the rhythm and send the beat from feet to butt.

I thought you might like the thoughts from others dealing with weightloss

I bought a used book, Eating Disorders,(a new approach to treating anorexia, bulimia,and overeating) by Gregory Jantz, PH.D.. Each chapter has a section where you have questions and various writing exercises in which you are to express how you feel about such things as people, food, and feelings.

As I got into the question section of chapter one, I saw someone had already written in the book. Reading the responses, it was obvious this person was attempting to lose weight.

I could sense the despair, loneliness and isolation of this person in their writing. She/he wrote about their fear of certain foods and their obsession with others. This person constantly thought about weight loss but felt helpless.

I flipped through the rest of the book to see if their outlook had changed. Hoping to see a glimmer of self-worth expressed. This person never went past chapter 2.

I could see this person had more issues to deal with than just weight loss. Wishing I could give them a hug and tell her/him they are not alone.

I sit here wondering....where is this person today? How do they feel about themselves? Are they working on their issues? Are they experiencing success on their weight loss journey?