Onychoschizia, or brittle nails, is a common condition, affecting about 20% of people at some time in their lives. For a variety of reasons, women are far more likely than men to suffer from brittle nails.
What do we mean by brittle nails?Brittle nails are usually thin and fragile. They break or peel in horizontal lines from the tip toward the finger. Lengthwise cracks can also appear in some cases. Often brittle nails form vertical ridges along the nail bed.
What causes brittle nails? Brittle nails can be caused by a variety of factors. Most commonly, the condition is brought about by environmental factors such as washing your hands too often, exposure to detergents or harsh soaps, and the use of chemical solvents like nail polish remover. Sometimes, brittle nails may be a symptom of a medical disorder such as Raynaud’s disease, hypothyroidism, skin diseases, endocrine disorders, tuberculosis, and Sjogren’s syndrome. Hormonal fluctuations may also contribute to causing nails to weaken and crack.
However, once environmental and health issues are ruled out, the main culprit behind brittle nails is poor nutrition. Iron and calcium deficiencies are the most common nutritional deficits that can have brittle nails as a symptom. As with all tissues and various components of our bodies, fingernails will thrive best when you eat a balanced diet filled with essential vitamins and minerals, proper amounts of protein, healthy fats, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Are there specific nutrients that can help? In addition to making sure you are meeting your general nutritional requirements, adding certain foods and nutrients to your diet may strengthen your nails. - Many studies have shown that the B-complex vitamin biotin may thicken nails, prevent splitting, and bolster the integrity of their structure on a microscopic level. Good sources of biotin include cauliflower and legumes, such as peanuts and lentils. Other nutrients in the B-complex vitamin family are useful as well.
- The mineral silicon has been praised for years as a treatment for nails. The herb horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is high in silicon.
- Foods rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin E, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, and niacin are also beneficial.
- In addition to consuming certain foods, the topical application of oils usually used in cooking can help your nails. You may soak them in vegetable or olive oil, which replenish the moisture lost through repeated hand washing. Alternately, you can fill a clean, empty bottle of nail polish with vegetable oil and brush it on your nails throughout the day to keep them hydrated. These are better alternatives to commercial nail products, many of which have harsh chemicals and alcohol containing fragrances that may cause your nails to dry out even more.
FAdding the following supplements to your daily diet may help:
- Biosil (a highly absorbable silicon), 6 to 12 drops orally.
- Vitamin E, an additional 400iu.
- Biotin, 2500 to 5000 mcg.
- Zinc, 50 mg.
- 1500 mg of L-cysteine, an essential amino acid and an important component of keratin, hair, and nails.
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What is gum disease? Commonly known as gum disease, periodontal disease starts with the buildup of plaque on the teeth. The bacteria in plaque infect the gum tissue and cause swelling, redness, and occasional bleeding during brushing. This initial stage is called gingivitis, and may go unnoticed due to the fact that it is often painless. However, if untreated, gingivitis can develop into periodontal disease, a more serious infection in which the bacteria reach deeply to the bone, causing teeth to loosen. Teeth may fall out or need to be extracted as a result.
What causes gum disease?Gum disease can be brought on by a host of causes. The major culprits include smoking, alcohol, stress, poor oral hygiene, and an unhealthy diet.
Can I prevent gum disease with proper nutrition? Diet can be very important not only in preventing gum disease, but in treating it.
Poor nutrition affects every facet of your body, from your hair to your cardiovascular system, and your teeth are no exception. Your gums are living tissue, requiring not only the proper foods to fuel cell building, but also a strong immune system to fend off infections. Eating a healthy diet of fresh, whole foods will discourage bacteria growth, boost your natural defenses, and provide the nutritional elements you need for a healthy mouth.
First, it is important to avoid sweet foods, as sugar provides energy and helps bacteria to reproduce in the mouth. Limit your consumption of cakes, pastries, soft drinks, candy, and fruit juices with added sugar. Excessively sticky foods can remain in the grooves of the teeth between brushings and provide energy and hiding places for bacteria, so they are best avoided as well.
Second, it is advisable to eat a high fiber diet rich with whole grains, vegetables, beans, and fruit. These foods not only provide nutrients important to gum and overall health, but they help to clean and exercise the teeth.
Third, including the following antioxidants and minerals in your diet will help prevent periodontal disease and may even aid to reverse a preexisting case: Vitamin C, bioflavonoids, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, a range of B Vitamins, calcium, potassium, selenium, magnesium, beta carotene, cysteine, zinc, iron and phosphorous.
Where do I find these nutrients?Any of these nutrients may be taken safely as supplements, but also many of them can be found naturally in food.
For Vitamin C, add citrus fruits and juices, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, green peppers, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, sweet and hot peppers, and tomatoes to your diet.
Unsurprisingly, dairy products are excellent promoters of periodontal health with their high levels of calcium and vitamin D.
Zinc can be found in drinking water, lean meat, oysters, poultry, and organ meats.
Vitamin E rich foods include vegetable oil, nuts, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, spinach, lettuce, onions, blackberries, apples and pears.
Beta carotene is found in foods such as carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, apricots and mangoes.
Sources of cysteine include meat, eggs, wheat, broccoli, garlic, onions and red peppers.
Additionally, other nutritional supplements have been shown to be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of gum disease. These include aloe, Coenzyme Q10, Glucosamine, and Pycnogenol. |
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Fat has long been a dietary villain, attacked by dieters, doctors, nutritionists, researchers and so on. However, in the past decade, new information has been emerging that proves that not all fats are created equal. In fact, some fats are actually good for you!
Some fats are still off limitsFirst, we will discuss the bad fats that you should always avoid.
- Saturated fats increase your risk of heart disease by increasing your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, and have been linked to other diseases. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and can be found in animal products like red meat and dairy. Coconut oil and palm oil also contain saturated fat.
- Trans Fatsare the product of a chemical process wherein liquid vegetable oil is heated with hydrogen gas, causing hydrogenation. Hydrogenating oils makes foods more consistent and less likely to spoil, which is why they have been so popular in the past. However, in recent years, it has become apparent that these fats are very unhealthy and not only raise LDL, but actually lower good cholesterol. They are found in processed foods and the main culprits are vegetable shortening, margarine, cookies, snack foods, baked goods, and fried foods.
Now, the good news
Fats are actually an integral component in a healthy diet. Your body needs fatty acids to build cell membranes and carry out process in the brain, eyes, and lungs. Your heart, nerves, digestive and immune systems also rely on fatty acids to do their job.
You should work to cut out saturated and trans fats and replace them with healthy fats. There are two kinds of healthy unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. These fats actually protect your body against cardiovascular disease along with many other health benefits.
- Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and found in canola oil, peanut oil, olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds.
- Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at warm and cold temperatures. They can be found in sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil, soy oil, flaxseed oil, nuts, seeds (especially flax seeds), and fish.
- Omega-3 fatty acids have been proven in recent years to be especially beneficial. These polyunsaturated fats are found in fatty fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel, as well as flaxseeds and fish oil supplements. They are great for your heart, protecting it against coronary artery disease, irregular heartbeats, and high blood pressure. Studies suggest Omega-3 have positive influences on liver cancer, depression, and dementia as well.
How much fat should I eat?
Of course, everyone is different and your consumption of healthy fats depends on your dietary needs dictated by your health, lifestyle, weight, and age. However, the USDA recommends as a general guideline that you limit total fat to 20-35% of your daily calories, keep saturated fats at less than 10%, and that keep trans fats to 1% of your calories.
How do I add good fats to my diet? - Instead of using butter, use olive oil.
- Make your own salad dressings with premium, cold-pressed olive oil, flaxseed oil, or sesame oil. Commercial dressings are usually full of trans fats and chemicals.
- Eat lean red meat, poultry without the skin, and replace meat dishes with fish.
- Select low-fat dairy products and savor full fat dairy only as an occasional treat.
- Use nuts or seeds in salads instead of cheese or bacon bits.
- Replace potato chips or processed snacks with nuts or natural peanut butter on celery, bananas, or rice cakes.
- Put avocado on your sandwiches instead of cheese.
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What is Kickboxing?While traditional kickboxing hails back to Asia about 2,000 years ago, modern forms include the tremendously popular discipline of cardiovascular or aerobic kickboxing. Cardio kickboxing uses components of kickboxing, other martial arts, boxing, and aerobics to create a total body workout. In contrast to traditional kickboxing, cardio kickboxing not involve competition, nor any form of violent physical contact.
What does a typical cardio kickboxing workout involve? Usually, kickboxing classes begin with 10 to 15 minute warm ups of stretching and exercises like push ups and jumping jacks. The complete duration of the warm up and the class depends, of course, on the format your instructor has created. Most kickboxing sessions consist of 30 minutes of movements like knee strikes, different forms of kicks, and a variety of punches. Sometimes punching bags, jump ropes, and other equipment are incorporated into the workout. Then, around 5 minutes is usually devoted to a cool down, leading to a 10 minute muscle stretching session.
How do I start?As with any exercise regimen, it is important that you are honest with yourself about your level of fitness and your ultimate goals. A quick checklist may include:
- Talk to your doctor before you start a new form of exercise, especially something as aerobically challenging as kickboxing.
- Evaluate your fitness level. Kickboxing can be very intense, so you don't want to just jump into it if you are out of shape. You might want to work your way into it with a few aerobics classes. Once you start, take it easy and don't overextend.
- Shop for the right class. Watch a class in action, talk to instructors about your needs and concerns. Make sure you choose a class that seems to be a good pace for you and involves some individual instruction.
- Make sure your instructor has an advanced martial arts belt as well as a fitness instruction certification from an accredited organization, such as the Amercian Council on Exercise (ACE).
- Dress comfortably in loose clothing that allows for easy movement of your arms and legs. Wear supportive shoes such as cross trainers.
- Don't overdo it. Kickboxing is all about precise, controlled movement. Trying to kick too high or hit too quickly may cause muscle pulls or strained joints.
- Hydrate yourself thoroughly before, during, and after your workout.
What are the benefits?
Kickboxing is a comprehensive workout that burns fat, tones muscle, increases lung capacity, and contributes to better mental health through stress relief. Specific benefits include: - A recent ACE study concluded that you can burn between 350 to 450 calories an hour with kickboxing.
- The aerobic nature of kickboxing gets your heart rate soaring, which helps improve cardiovascular fitness and lung capacity.
- The rigorous nature of kickboxing's controlled movements promotes alertness, focus, endurance, and discipline.
- Kickboxing is a great stress reliever, not only through its tiring physical aspects, but also as a conduit to release pent up frustrations, anger, and aggression.
- As an all body workout, kickboxing not only tones core, arm and leg muscles, but also improves your balance, flexibility, coordination, and agility.
- As an added bonus, many kickboxing moves are great for self-defense, as is the confidence boost of being in great shape.
Can I do it at home? It is recommended that you attend a few classes in order to become comfortable with the format and movements involved in kickboxing. Once you know the correct postures, poses, and movements, you may purchase instructional videos to follow at home. |
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Once only consumed by high-endurance athletes, nutrition bars (also called sports bars) have boomed in recent years into an $860-million industry. Starting with the relatively simple high carbohydrate formula of Power Bars, nutrition bars now come in a multitude of varieties designed for an endless array of uses. Not only can all the choices be confusing, but popular ideas around nutrition bars can be misleading.
Misconceptions The first common misconception is that nutrition bars are always healthy alternatives to junk food snacks. While certainly most bars are better for you than your average candy bar or pastry, some are not. The reason is that many bars today are specifically formulated for different purposes, so you if you are not a body builder and you are chowing down on body building sports bars, it will adversely affect you.
This brings us to the second misconception, that nutrition bars are inherently healthy. Actually, there are many types that are not healthy at all, with high levels of processed sugars, calories, preservatives, artificial flavorings, and hydrogenated oils. As with all food, it is imperative that you read the label before eating nutrition bars to avoid these harmful ingredients.
Another common misconception is that it is fine to add nutrition bars to your diet without subtracting any other caloric intake. For endurance athletes competing under extreme conditions, this may be true. However, for the average consumer, nutrition bars have far too many calories to add to your diet without making any changes elsewhere.
Therefore, before running out and buying a case of the latest greatest nutrition bar to hit the market, it is important to consider your objectives and needs in choosing to add nutrition bars to your diet, and to make your selection and dietary adjustments accordingly.
Overall, nutrition bars can be beneficial for: - A healthy meal replacement (only for one meal a day) for obese individuals or for busy professionals who would otherwise eat fast food or skip meals to keep up with their hectic schedules.
- A convenient method of adding protein to your diet when extra protein is required for health or athletic reasons.
- A way to add nutrients to your diet that may otherwise be difficult to obtain, i.e. flaxseed oil and certain vitamins.
How to choose the right nutrition bar for you
As mentioned above, many nutrition bars have specific ingredients targeted for different types of people. Therefore, it is important to keep this in mind when making your selection. As a general guideline, it is best to stick to the following:
- Look for bars made with whole foods, unprocessed grains, fruits, soy, and nuts.
- Avoid bars with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, refined sugar, artificial flavors, chemical additives, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners.
- Choose bars under seven grams of fat and under 230 calories.
- Make certain the bar has fiber and protein.
- As a bonus, select bars made with organic ingredients and fortified with vitamins and minerals.
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