Drink to Your Health!

In a very fast-paced and high-pressure world we seem to forget to eat healthy. And to make things quicker, it seems to be easier to put everything, vitamins and minerals in one gulp. Health drinks are proliferating in the market. But what is more economically efficient than making your own health drink?

If you are a person who finds it difficult to insert vegetables and fruits into your diet, then think of drinking fresh juices and vegetable juices. Freshly made juices are a great source vitamins, minerals, enzymes and co-enzymes. Enzymes serve as catalyst for the processes and chemical reactions that happen throughout your body. Enzymes are much needed when you digest, convert and absorb food into body tissue.

There are fruits and vegetables whose nutrients and vitamins are trapped in the fibers. These nutrients and vitamins get released after blending them. This make blended fruit and vegetable juices more nutritious compared to eating them whole. Also, drinking fruits and vegetables make it easier for the fibers and nutrients to get quickly into the bloodstream and system.

There are studies showing that drinking fruit and vegetable juices are best done every morning and evening. The juices drank in the morning and evening will get into the bloodstream within ten minutes after drinking it.

If you are interested in creating your own vegetable and fruit juice, here are some steps that can get you started in your healthy habit:

• Purchase a juice machine.

• Remember to juice vegetables and fruits when they are raw.

• Fruits that have small seeds like watermelon and pears can be juiced with their seeds. But papaya and apple seed need to be taken out before being juiced. Orange and grapefruit seeds can leave a bitter taste to the mouth, so you can take it out also.

• Fruits and vegetables which are not organically grown should be peeled. There may be chemical residues left on the skins of the fruits. While pineapple, kiwis, oranges, grapefruit and papaya skins should be removed even if they are organically grown.

• When choosing fruits and vegetables, make sure to pick out the fresh and ripe ones. Wilted, under-ripe, bruised fruits and vegetables are not good for you and does not taste good too.

• Follow the instructions in your juice machine. Make sure to cut the fruits and vegetables in pieces suitable for the juice machine. After juicing, remove the pulp right away. If you leave it, it would have sour smell and would have fruit flies within 8 to 10 hours after juicing.

• Drink your juices immediately. It is better to drink freshly made juice.

Do not be afraid to try out combinations. You can use different fruits in season to create a great tasting health drink, you can use bananas, mangoes and pineapple. Their tart and sweet flavor can be balanced with fruits like strawberries, kiwi fruit and oranges.

When using vegetables, it is best to use dark leafy vegetables like spinach or beet tops. For added flavor, you can even add yoghurt and ice cubes for the chill. You can even add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla extract to complete your healthy concoction.

Health juices as health drinks are not new. As early as 16th century, limejuice was used to save sailors against scurvy. But it seems like for a while, health benefits of fruits and vegetables have been forgotten and currently we are on the way to rediscover it.

Take Good Care of Your Eyes

Your eyes are very important - as you use them for reading, writing, driving, and staring for hours on the computer screen, both large and small.

No wonder why your eyes feel strained and tired at times.

It is important to give your precious little gems the relaxation they deserve, with this quick and easy technique - called Palming!

Step 1:
Rub your hands together until they feel warm;

Step 2:
Without touching your eyes, place your cupped hands over your eyes. Your fingers of each hand should overlap and gently rest on the centre of your forehead. Rest your elbows on a table if your arms get to tired.

Step 3:
Sit quietly for 2 minutes in this position. The more relaxed you become the more "blacker" the darkness you'll see.

I do this atlease once a day as I work very long hours in front of my computer and it helps.

Children and Vitamins

When it comes to your kids and vitamin supplements, you should know that most children do not need extra or supplemental vitamins or minerals. If you base your children’s diet on the food guide pyramid, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you shouldn’t need to give your child vitamin supplements. However, it is important to know that of all the age groups, children can be the one that is the hardest to control when it comes to diet.

Children don’t understand what it means when something is essential for their bodies, and they are much more prone to being picky eaters or having poor diets. If you child is eating a special diet, they might need more vitamins or minerals. These can include vegetarians, children with allergies, or children that have religions which state certain foods shouldn’t be eaten.

The most important thing for you to keep in mind when it comes to making sure that your child has a healthy diet is to ensure that they are getting the proper amounts of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. If this isn’t happening because of what they are eating, you either need to change what they are eating, or make sure that they are getting the vitamins in another way. Vitamin supplements can be purchased in kid-friendly shapes and flavors, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have your child take them.

There are several vitamins and minerals that are going to be important for your child to have enough of. These include, especially, iron, which is needed in children to prevent anemia. This usually happens if children aren’t given enough extra iron after they are six months old, which happens often if a baby drinks cow or goat milk instead of formula. Young and adolescent girls are also at a risk of having an iron deficiency.

Another important thing that children need is calcium. This is something that is completely necessary for healthy bones and teeth. If children are drinking milk and eating dairy products, they are probably getting enough calcium, but if they aren’t, you might need to supplement this in their diets.

It is also important that children are getting fluoride. This helps to build healthy teeth. However, it is important that they only get enough fluoride, and not too much, so don’t add to their intake unless your dentist or doctor thinks that you should.

If you don’t think that your child is getting enough vitamins or minerals, you should consult with your doctor to make sure that you can find a good balance and a good children’s multivitamin for them to be taking.

The Healthy and Unhealthy Drinks

Wondering why you don’t eat too much but still keep on gaining weight? Then maybe you drink is not healthy at all. There are hundreds of beverages out there that can boost your waistline.

You have to be cautious of what you drink. Coffee, although it has significant health effects, can be making you fat. If you drink coffee with full fat dairy and artificial flavorings, and do not forget about chocolate sprinkles, then it is highly likely that this is more detrimental than beneficial.

To maximize the health benefits of coffee, it is better to drink it plain or with soymilk. Or you can just switch to green tea which is much better for you since it is a rich source of anti-oxidants.

Sugary summer drinks like margarita or a pina colada doubles your sugar and calorie intake. A can or a glass of this can give you 800 calories. If you’re looking for cool, alcoholic beverage to share in a hot night, then switch to red wine or light beer.

Red wine can reduce coronary heart disease and can lower cholesterol count, thus, reducing risk of high blood pressure or hypertension. Red wine can also maintain the immune system. It also have polyphenols which is an excellent anti-oxidant.

Polyphenols lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure, risks of cancer. It also has anti-bacterial properties. Aside form polyphenols, red wine also has flavonoids which is also an anti-oxidant. Wine can also be associated in reducing stress. It has a calming influence that helps the body to relax and unwind.

Before buying your juice drink, be careful on reading the label. There is difference between “100 % juice” and “made with real juice”. There can be a big amount of artificial sweeteners and big amount of calories included in your juice drink. Drinking real juice drink can give you the necessary nutrients and vitamins, while there re juice drink which is not different from drinking a glass of sugared water.

Whether it is diet or regular soda, soda still has no nutritional value. Unfortunately, this unhealthy drink is the leading and most favorite beverage. There are studies showing soda related to obesity. Soda is known to be high in calories and sugar. Even diet soda shows no significant difference in sugar and calories. Both regular and diet sodas are associated to weight gain.

Drinking soda has also been related to tooth decay. It is still attributed to high consumption of sugars which is present in all soda drinks. Caffeine is also present in sodas. So children who drink too much sodas can develop caffeine dependence. This may interfere with the development of the brain of children. Although, this is not yet proven, several medical researchers and health care professionals are expressing concern.

Unfortunately, there are more of unhealthy drinks than healthy drinks out there in the market. More and more people are forgetting to focus on healthy drinking. Yes, we try to be cautious with what we eat but we still neglect what we drink. Then definitely, we will be missing our healthy mark.

So if you would like to create your own drinks minus the sugar and calories, then definitely go ahead. There are health guides and magazines, even the internet, can help you concoct a savory but healthy drink without the risk factors.

Red Wine as a Health Drink

Many people don’t realize it but wine—specifically red wine—is a health drink if consumed in moderation. This is because studies show that red wine is rich in antioxidants.

More and more scientific findings show that red wine owes its health benefits from the high level of antioxidants called "resveratrol," a kind of polyphenol known as "phytoalexin." This is a group of compounds plants use to defend themselves against attacks such as untimely stress, possible injuries, or UV irradiation and certain diseases such as fungus and infection.

Resveratrol is known to be present in the seeds and skins of processed and fermented grapes during the rigorous process of making red wine. And, because of the long process and prolonged fermentation of grapes in red-wine making, high levels of resveratrol are found to be present in each bottle of red wine.

Red Wine Wonders:

Nowadays, many people are using red wine as a health drink during their meals because they believe that since it is rich in antioxidants, red wine can help veer them away from certain terminal illness as well as to all forms of diseases that come with aging. The following are just some of the believed benefits of red wine as a heath drink:

- Helps in the prevention of developing various neuro-degenerative illnesses and diseases. Many studies show that because of the high resveratrol content of red wine, it can help people—especially those who are getting older—to develop diseases and illnesses that are common to them like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Red wine is also believed to suspend the possible progression of dementia especially to older ones.

- Good for the heart. Experts agree that the specific substances in red wines like tannins and flavoniods can raise the levels of good cholesterol or high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in the person's blood. The red wine's antioxidant properties can also help in the reduction of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Once LDL levels are decreased, there is lesser chances of developing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke.

- Prevents certain cancers. Many people who are prone to the "Big C" are using red wine as a health drink because of the wonders brought by resveratrol in it. Experts believe that regular but moderate consumption of red wine can help fight possible cancer cells from proliferating and thus, preventing the development of the disease eventually.

- Reduces the harmful effects of food poisoning. Another noted benefit of red wine is that it can lessen the toxicity brought by spoiled food. The properties in red wine can help cleanse the body from toxins and also help in avoiding dysentery as well as diarrhea.

- Prevents and possibly cures certain gum diseases. Smokers are the ones who are prone to gum diseases. But there are also those who also experience gum diseases that are usually caused by inflamed muscles in the gums and weakened tooth. By using red wine as a health drink, experts believe that the polyphenols present in this can help reduce the presence of free radicals that cause the infection the and bacteria proliferation inside the person's mouth.

- Serves as blood thinner. For people with high blood pressure, red wine is an ideal health drink because it contains blood pressure lowering-substances and compounds that are effective in lowering high blood pressure.

- Provides healthy skin. For people who are after maintaining youthful skin, red wine can be a good health drink option because the number of polyphenols present in average consumption can prevent the damages brought by cell oxidation processes.

The Importance of Healthy Eating

Have you ever heard the saying you are what you eat? In some sense, this is true, because if you eat unhealthy foods you are prone to be an unhealthy person. The foods we ingest are extremely important to our ability to grow, maintain function, and prevent illness. Therefore, if you value your health, you should learn as much about healthy eating as possible.

 Healthy eating is important from the day we are born. As a child, we grow quite rapidly and this is due in part to the foods we eat. Foods all contain nutrients that provide us not only with fuel to live our daily lives, but also with the very substances that build our bones, muscles, and organ tissues. Not getting enough of one nutrient or another can cause a variety of problems, including stunting our growth. For mothers who are nursing, nutrition is important because breast milk contains the nutrients a child needs to grow and develop properly. Upon growing older, these nutrients are then found in food, but don’t think that healthy eating isn’t important for growth after you’ve gone through puberty. Cells continuous break down and rebuild, so healthy eating for growth continues to be important until the day we die.


Maintaining function is also not important without healthy eating. In out daily lives, we use energy to think, walk, talk, breathe, and perform any other action. The energy it takes our body to do these things comes from two places: fat reserves in the body or our daily food intake. If you don’t eat healthy foods, you will find that you are storing more fat that necessary or that you aren’t getting enough and you feel sluggish or weak. Along with energy-providing nutrients, like fats and carbohydrates, we also need the right nutrients to allow our organs to do their jobs. Hormones and other substances in the body make sure that everything is working properly. If you don’t eat the right nutrients, your body cannot produce these hormones and, as a result, cannot function properly.


Lastly, healthy eating is important in order to prevent illness. When we do not get the right nutrients, or body’s natural defense system against diseases weakens, allowing viruses and bacteria to attack the body. It’s like a well-trained army—if the army doesn’t have enough to eat, it will not do well in battle. Without healthy foods and plenty of water, our bodies simply could not operate on a day-to-day basis. Learning how to eat healthy foods is therefore and important lesson, and one which we should begin learning as children.