Magnesium. Have you heard of this mineral? More than 70% of adults currently don’t meet the recommended daily allowance of approximately 400 mg of magnesium per day. Some would swear by its use as a sleep aid, for calming moods, reducing blood pressure, relieving muscle aches and helping with blood sugar control.
Why water? There’s not much relation with water to staying well, right? Not true! We need water, folks; we’re made up of approximately 70% of it. All the work the body does requires water as a medium to detoxify, regulate temperature and absorb nutrients.
The key to balancing added sugars is monitoring how much and how often you consume them. No one is perfect! Sugar in isolation and in small amounts isn’t necessarily the problem; it’s when we go overboard.
Have you been hovering over the refrigerator or pantry too often these days? Are you nearing or have surpassed the ‘Quarantine 19’? Don’t fret! Here’s something you can do NOW to change some unwanted habits.
COVID-19 induces an inflammatory response that can target the lungs, heart, kidneys or inflame overall body systems. For example, we are newly learning of virus-related cases developing in children. It’s not surprising that the vitamins and minerals we talked about before in this series, Vitamin C, D and Zinc all act as anti-inflammatories and have shown promise as treatments.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin found in some foods and supplements. It’s needed to maintain strong bones, plays a role in lifting mood and the immune system needs it to fight off bacteria and viruses. It works alongside calcium to help protect against osteoporosis.
Zinc is essential, which means we can’t produce or store it so it has to be consumed regularly in sufficient amounts. It naturally occurs in some foods, is added to others, and is available as a dietary supplement. It is required to activate immune function reactions in our bodies so our immune system can do its job.
Learn how nutrition can help boost your immune system. This is the first in a series about how nutrition affects your immune system. In the first episode, I discuss Vitamin C. Watch the video above, or read about it.
We are in uncharted territory. If we spend too much time worrying about a big picture, negative thoughts can intrude and leave us feeling overwhelmed and immobilized.
Choppy, interrupted sleep can wreck havoc on inflammation by decreasing leptin hormone levels so you just can’t get full the next day.
Increasing ghrelin hormone levels, which makes you hungrier all day long. Keeping you tired = poor food choices the next day (in my world it’s called ‘mouth hunger’).