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Why Does My Body Need Boron?

There are many trace elements that the body needs — but only in very small amounts. Boron is one of them. Boron is easily found in the environment: in soil, the ocean, and plants. Green veggies, fruits, and nuts are excellent food sources of boron, and most people get all the boron they need from diet alone. This mineral is thought to help the body use glucose (blood sugar), fats, and other minerals like calcium and magnesium. Boron has been suggested for treating a variety of medical conditions. However, it hasn’t done very well in clinical trials. Hormone regulation: boron … Continue reading →

Eat Cookies and Lose Weight

There are so many diets out there or diet products that have you eat only one type of thing to loose weight. For example, if you eat specially formulated shakes, bars or cookies, you’ll lose weight. Is this true? Well probably. But, that doesn’t mean that you will be fitter, healthier or actually keep the weight off. Back about 10 years ago, I inadvertently lost weight by eating mostly junk food. I was working practically around the clock on a big project and didn’t have time for regular meals. I made sure that I got some workouts in, but honestly … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Phosphorus?

Phosphorus is a mineral that has many useful roles for the body. It is used in energy metabolism, to help the body use some B-complex vitamins, for muscle and nerve function, and for kidney function. But one of the most important roles of phosphorus is to help the body maintain its calcium balance. This mineral is essential to the formation of bones and teeth, and bone and tooth health throughout all stages of life. Cool phosphorus fact: approximately one percent of an adult’s total body weight is phosphorus. However, most of that phosphorus (about 85%) lives in your bones and … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Biotin?

Call it vitamin B7 or vitamin H: biotin is a B-complex vitamin that is important for a bunch of different metabolic functions in the body. What does biotin do in the body? Get comfy: it’s gonna be quite a list. Biotin is used in cell growth, synthesizing fatty acids (those are the good ones!), and metabolizing a particular amino acid (leucine). Biotin is also important in the process of converting food into energy, known as the Krebs cycle. One more thing: biotin helps in the transfer of carbon dioxide. That’s one hard working vitamin! What’s even more awesome about biotin … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Selenium?

If you look at the list of vitamins and minerals on your multivitamin, you might find selenium there. Selenium is a “trace mineral” — one that your body needs, but only in very small amounts. What does selenium do for the body? This mineral is used by proteins in the body to make antioxidants called selenoproteins. Antioxidants are good things — they help prevent cell damage from free radicals. Selenoproteins also help the immune system function and assist in regulating thyroid function. Many people get their necessary selenium from foods — plant foods in particular. The selenium content of grains … Continue reading →

Tin in Your Vitamin?

I got caught up for a good twenty minutes at the drug store the other day, trying to decide on a new multivitamin. Usually, I take a vitamin B complex and a vitamin D supplement, and that’s it — the rest of the vitamin alphabet I can get from my diet, but I feel like I need some help with the D and the Bs. The problem began when the drug store was out of my usual brand of vitamin D. Oh no! Complicating the problem was the fact that all vitamins from the same brand were buy one get … Continue reading →

Stinging Nettle

With a name like “stinging nettle” it doesn’t sound like a good idea to use this plant internally or externally… does it? But stinging nettle has a long history in medicine. One of the earliest uses of stinging nettle was in attempts to stimulate paralyzed limbs. A paralyzed limb would be slapped with a bunch of stinging nettles — this was known as urtication. Nettle was also made into fabric; archaeologists have uncovered nettle cloth in Bronze Age burial sites. During the fifteen hundreds, stinging nettle was suggested as an antidote for some poisons. Colonists brought stinging nettle to the … Continue reading →

Treating Oxalate Crystals

Struvite crystals used to be the most common urinary crystal by far. Diets were developed to minimize the risk of developing struvite crystals; this did decrease the number of cases of struvite crystals, but increased the incidence of oxalate crystals. Struvite crystals are still the most common type, but calcium oxalate has closed the gap in the last twenty years. If your cat has oxalate crystals, treatment can include: Balancing urine pH. Calcium oxalate stones are more likely to form in urine that is acidic. The recommended pH level for feline urine is between 6 and 6.5. A more acidic … Continue reading →

Supplements That Can Relieve PMS Symptoms

There are a lot of wonderful things about being a woman… but I don’t think PMS is all that great. If you look forward to the bloating, the cramps, the aches, and the irritability, you don’t have to keep reading this one. However, if you’re looking to relieve the many and varied symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, here are some supplements that can help. Vitamin B6 can help relieve symptoms like mood swings, water retention, bloating, breast tenderness, weird cravings, and fatigue. However, in large doses, vitamin B6 can be toxic. Talk to your doctor before increasing your vitamin B6 intake … Continue reading →

Improving the Reputation of “Bad” Veggies

You’ve heard the whispers. Carrots are all sugar. Iceberg lettuce is nothing more than crunchy water, nutritionally speaking. But are these bad vegetables all bad? Even veggies that don’t make the A-list of superfoods aren’t worthless. Iceberg lettuce does have lots of water… but it also has important nutrients like vitamin A (which helps protect your eyes) and vitamin K (which can help protect your bones). Nutritional experts also point out that it’s better to eat iceberg lettuce than no lettuce at all. Celery is another veggie that gets a bad rap because of all the water involved. This vegetable … Continue reading →