What Are They?

A multivitamin is any preparation (EG capsule, tablet, liquid etc) which contains more than a single vitamin. Taking a multivitamin simplifies getting the nutrients you need instead of taking several individual vitamins.

Multivitamin Benefits

Multivitamins are packed with vitamins and minerals that help your body stay healthy and prevent illness. The body can’t naturally produce sufficient quantities of nutrients (vitamins and minerals) to provide the foundation for all normal biological functions. Eating a balanced diet is one way to get the nutrients your body needs. However, few of us get a truly balanced diet. In a survey of 21,000 American people not a single person obtained 100% of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance ) for each of ten basic nutrients. This highlights how important multivitamins are.

Different Types

The most popular types of multivitamins are; capsule, tablet, liquid and powder. Although you can get lesser found forms including patches you put on your body!

Are They All Equal?

No. There are different multivitamins for different bodies, for example one may be good for a pregnant women but not a teenage boy. As for different types of multivitamins some companies claim liquid multivitamins are better because they absorb into your body quicker, however some health experts question say this simply isn’t true. So forget about the type of multivitamin it is, just read what’s in it and who it is good for.

What Is The Best Multivitamin?

The truth is there is no ‘best’ multivitamin. There are lots of different multivitamins which all have different types and levels of effectiveness. To find out what is best for you always read the labels/online descriptions and compare prices so you get the maximum value for money.

Cost

You can get a pack of 30 capsules from around £2.00, although the more you buy the cheaper it gets per capsule so larger packs are better value. The price varies dependent on the type of multivitamin, the brand and the retailer.

Places To Buy in UK

Here is a selection of online shops you can buy multivitamins from, all have secure checkouts so paying is safe.
House Of Health – free delivery on orders over £20.
Home Herbs – free delivery on orders over £29.

Sources used for stats: ImmuneSupport.com. Image from sxc.

Seven Seas, the health supplements company, has launched a new range of women’s supplements called Femibion.

The range consists of 5 different products, they are designed to boost vitality and are targetted at women in a variety of situations. Here are the 5 products, a quick description and the RRP:

• Healthy Pregnancy – help naturally support your babys development – £13.99
• Energetic Mum – boosts energy, overall wellbeing and helps immune system – £9.99
• Balance – helps you feel calm and in control during your monthly cycle when hormones fluctuate -£9.99
• Radiance – maintain healthy radiant skin, hair and nails – £9.99
• Healthy Bones – for women over 50 for strong healthy bones – £12.99

They are already for sale on Boots.com and also at chemistdirect.

Source: email. Image: screenshot

I found an interesting article on MSN the other day: 10 common misconceptions which lists 10 interesting popular misconceptions, not just related to health but all things.

The very first one surpised me, the title is If you eat less food, your stomach will shrink. Straight away I was suprised this even is a misconception. I wasn’t aware anyone thought this.

Here is what the article says:

Dieters are often advised to decrease their intake of food in order to shrink the size of their stomach. However, while smaller portions will obviously help with weight-loss, the size of your stomach has nothing to do with the process. On average, the organ will maintain a constant volume throughout life, regardless of the amount of food that passes through it.

I had a little look into it and whilst you can’t shrink your stomach (well, surgery can) you can shrink your hunger. This article says “reduced-calorie diet for four weeks can help you shrink your sensation of hunger”, so after weeks of dieting I can understand why many people would think they have shrinked their stomach.

I also found someone on Yahoo answers asking for advice on how to shrink their stomach. So clearly people do believe the misconception. To clarify: it is NOT TRUE, you cannot shrink your stomach by eating less, but you can shrink your sensation of hunger.

Image: markhillary

This article looks at sugar and how it can help you reach your weight targets.

What Sugar Does
A sudden influx of sugar into your bloodstream upsets your body’s blood-sugar balance, this triggers the release of insulin. And insulin promotes the storage of fat.

How This Affects Your Weight
The more sugar you have the more likely your body is to release insulin causing you to gain weight.

Hoping To Gain Weight?
I have an Ectomorphic body type (somatotype), which is characterised by long and thin muscles/limbs and low fat storage, often referred to as slim. That means I have trouble putting weight on, I’m not underweight but it would be nice to ‘bulk out’ a little bit. So for me, having extra sugar should encourage my body to gain weight.

Dangerous Strategy
So on the surface it seems “Great! How easy is that!” but actually it isn’t without its drawbacks. Because sugar raises your insulin level, it in turn depresses your immune system. And your immune system helps fight disease so you really don’t want to be messing with it.

Hoping To Lose Weight
If you currently eat a lot of foods with high sugar content (like those little sweeties you love) then cut them out and it should help your efforts towards losing weight.

Read The Packagaing
Some foods may be a lot higher in sugar than you think. So start reading the labels of food you eat, especially those on a regular occasion and see how high your sugar intake is, then you can take the appropriate action.

Info Sources: wikipedia, healingdaily. Image credit: vox_efx

You can get Vitamin A, B (8 different types), C, D, E and K. But why the random jump from E to K? Why didn’t they just call the next classification Vitamin F?

Here’s Why
Over time some vitamins have been either; re-classified, completely discarded or renamed – as in the case of Vitamin B which became a “complex” of vitamins. When scientists described Vitamin K most of the letters from F to J were already designated, and the vitamin is involved in the koagulation of blood following wounding, so it was reasonable to give it the letter they did. However over time with vitamin classifications changing it has left a gap.

Previously Classifed Vitamins
Here is the list of vitamins which are no longer recognised. First it has the vitamin name, then the chemical name and also the reason for the name change.

• Vitamin B4 – Adenine DNA – Metabolite
• Vitamin B8 – Adenylic acid DNA – Metabolite
• Vitamin F – Essential fatty acids – Needed in large quantities
• Vitamin G – Riboflavin – Reclassified as Vitamin B2
• Vitamin H – Biotin – Reclassified as Vitamin B7
• Vitamin J – Catechol, Flavin – Protein metabolite
• Vitamin L1 – Anthranilic acid – Protein metabolite
• Vitamin L2 – Adenylthiomethylpentose – RNA metabolite
• Vitamin M – Folic acid – Reclassified as Vitamin B9
• Vitamin O – Carnitine – Protein metabolite
• Vitamin P – Flavonoids – No longer classified as a vitamin
• Vitamin PP – Niacin – Reclassified as Vitamin B3
• Vitamin U – S-Methylmethionine – Protein metabolite

Maybe in the future we will have a Vitamin Z?

Source: Wikipedia. Image: sxc

My mum and dad are both very healthy for their age, they go to the gym, swimming and other fitness classes every week. My dad can’t eat at all before he goes to the gym, not even quite a few hours before. Whereas my mum has a small meal an hour or so before she goes. And I’m in between (typical?!), I like to eat about 2 hours before any kind of workout.

It got me wondering about how long before a workout should you eat? What is best for you? Because you want the energy but you don’t want to feel sick and not able to workout.

I found an article in Reps magazine (you can get it free from supplement retailers) about the art of eating for training. It says you want to eat in good time to support growth and stave off catabolism without hindering optimum training with a full belly.

It’s recommendation is to eat a full healthy meal 2-3 hours before your workout. Everybody is clearly different as shown in my example of me and my parents. So find your best time to eat before workouts and you should get the most out of your sessions!

After the article on using a lime to treat headaches I started to think about other home remedies I’d heard of but don’t know a great deal about. “Laughter is the best remedy” is a saying I remembered. Is laughing really good for you?

Laughing is one of those things where I find it hard to believe that it is good for you. But according to research by Indiana University School of Medicine laughing helps relax muscles, lower blood pressure, relieve stress and burn calories!

Some researchers even estimate that laughing 100 times is equal to a 10 minute aerobic workout on a rowing machine. So laughing isn’t just a tiny little bit good for you, it should make a noticable difference if you increase the amount you laugh.

Not only will it give you an instant lift it might help prevent heart disease according to Cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center. In their research they found that people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh in a variety of situations.

So make sure you regularly have a good laugh to help your mind and body!

Image: wheany

Here is a video titled Truth About Vitamins by Dr Vincent Bellonzi, a certified Clinical Nutritionist based in Austin, USA.

This is a very good video to watch because it makes it clear how health supplements should be used.

To recap; in the video he stresses it is important you eat healthily to give yourself a good base and use supplements to give you the important vitamins, minerals and fatty acids you may miss from your food.

I am a fan of Innocent Smooties, mainly because they taste great. Recently I found one I’d never tried before. It was Cranberries, Yumberries and Blackcurrants flavour. I’d never heard of Yumberries before, first off I wondered if it was a joke – Innocent are known for their crazy marketing after all. It turns out the Yumberry is a real fruit!

What Is The Yumberry?
It is a subtropical fruit from China, they can be; white/pink or red/purple. The purple variety is said to taste the best (the Innocent Smoothie is purple). The Yumberry slightly resembles the Raspberry and has a beaded surface.

Yumberries Taste – Make You Say “Yum”
They have a sweet-sour flavour similar to pomegranate juice, they have quite a sharp taste. It is actually called a Yumberry because when you taste it you will only say one word, “Yum”. This isn’t a joke by the way, that is really why it gets its name!

Are They Good For You?
Yes, they are very good for you. They have been given the “superfood” tag (Goji berries, spinach etc). They may; reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, help protect eyesight and fight inflammation. They are also said to help clear up food in your stomach which is struggling to digest.

Availability To Buy
At the time of writing this article you couldn’t buy Yumberries in their raw form in the UK or USA, however they are in products like the Fruit Smoothie I drank.

So keep your eyes peeled for products with the yummy fruit in them!

Sources used: sixwise. Image credits: ullrich

It is healthy to reflect.

As we come to the end of yet another year now is great time to look back and reflect on the past 12 months. Think about what you’ve achieved in your personal life and work life.

To reflect properly you want to get into deep thought and really let your brain go on a long train of thought. No interuptions, a comfortable calm environment and time to relax should ensure you can think clearly.

Reflecting can help you:

• Feel proud of what you’ve achieved, fully apprecite how good your achievements are
• Understand why things have gone how they have
• Learn why things have gone the way they have, then you can avoid the same mistakes and build on achievements
• Lay to rest bad things that have happened, it should be easier to move on
• Look ahead and decide what you want to achieve next year

It is important to reflect, whether it is mainly positive or negative it will help you become a better and stronger person and appreciate what you have.

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Image credit: a_of_doom