You are browsing the tag archive for minerals.

Photo: mcbill / Flickr

Eating a wide range of different kinds of fruits and vegetables, paying special attention to the orange, red and dark green varieties, is one of the best ways to stay healthy. By eating this way, you give your body essential vitamins and minerals which help build and maintain bone, blood and tissue ‑ while dealing with free-radicals. Antioxidants, in the form of phytochemicals, have been found in a variety of vegetables and fruit. Here we summarise the major vitamins, their sources and benefits. (more…)

Photo: St0rmz / Flickr

Many consider tomato to be a vegetable, but few know that it is actually a fruit. Tomatoes are not only good for the body, but they are also versatile and easy to prepare. Tomatoes form a part of most salads, sauces and gravies and can be eaten in a variety of ways. If you do not like the taste, you can simply hide them in your stew or curry and it cooks within minutes. You do not have to be a chef to cook a tomato – and if you don’t want to cook them, simply eat them raw. (more…)

Photo: thebone / Flickr

It’s thought that around 3 million people in the UK have osteoporosis. It affects the bones, making them weak and fragile. People with osteoporosis have over 230,000 fractures a year because of this weakening. The good news is that bone is a living tissue that constantly rebuilds itself, meaning that osteoporosis can be prevented, and even halted if caught in the early stages. Read on to find out whether you’re at risk. (more…)

Photo: Kake Pugh / Flickr

Choosing locally produced food in season is the best way to get the most out of what you eat. When you buy local you lessen the impact your groceries have on the environment while getting the benefit of eating nutrient-packed fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course, you save money buying fresh produce in season, too. Here’s what to look out for this spring – vegetables so good for you they’re known as superfoods. (more…)

Photo: tibchris / Flickr

Did you know that the skin is your largest organ? An average person’s skin is about two square metres in size! Our skin keeps diseases, viruses and bacteria from entering our bodies, and keeps us from losing water and provides us with a sense of touch. Our skin also protects our muscles and organs. Usually, we don’t worry about what our skin does for us – we’re mostly concerned about how it looks. (more…)

Photo: c22ska87 / Flickr

Monday blues are not caused solely by the belief that the weekend was far too short or the prospect of another miserable day at the office. Sometimes, even after getting to bed fairly early, you feel tired and sluggish. There are many reasons for this lack of energy and, in turn, there are many ways to deal with it. One of the first things to evaluate would be your diet. Together with regular exercise and enough quality sleep, you should consider incorporating energy-boosting foods into your diet. (more…)

Photo: The Gifted Photographer / Flickr

If you want to stock up on superfoods that fight high cholesterol, heart disease and many other diseases, look no further than your supermarket’s display of autumn veggies. Berries (including blue berries and goji berries) have had a lot of very good press recently, but you’ll find a whole lot of goodness in foods you eat every day like sweet potato and the onion, too. (more…)

Photo: nickwheeleroz / Flickr

Do you struggle to wake up in the morning, or suffer from afternoon energy lows? You’re not alone. Fatigue is one of the most common medical complaints, but also one of the hardest to treat. While nothing beats a healthy diet, regular exercise and plenty of sleep for combating fatigue, there are natural energy boosters out there you can try if you need an extra pick-me-up to get you through the day. (more…)

Photo: Food Thinkers / Flickr

Despite the advice of many nutritionists, you may still be wondering whether or not you need a multivitamin to supplement your diet. Growing concerns about the quality of the food we eat, combined with many people not having the best diet possible, point towards multivit – or even two – a day being a very good investment in your health. While severe vitamin deficiencies are quite rare in the developed world, here are five very good reasons for taking vitamin supplements. (more…)

Photo: Pixelio

There are so many nutritional supplements on pharmacy shelves out there today, it’s difficult to distinguish between what we really need and what is, in actual fact, just a waste of money. It’s true that we don’t get all the vitamins and minerals we need from the food we eat (especially on a diet of kebabs and fish and chips), but which vitamins and minerals do we actually need to take? (more…)