Vitamin Information Center

CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel—glucose, which is needed by every
cell in our body. They also provide valuable nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and es-
sential fatty acids) and fi bre, which is important for intestinal health.
Food Sources
There are two classes of carbohydrates—simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates
include naturally occurring sugars in milk and fruit, and refi ned sugars (granulated
sugar). There is a major difference among these simple carbohydrates: fruits offer
a range of nutrients and fi bre, while refi ned sugars provide empty calories and lack Macronutrients | 9
nutritional value. Excess sugar consumption is linked to dental caries, obesity, insulin
resistance, high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol, and compromised immune
function. The World Health Organization recommends reducing sugar intake to below
10 percent of total calories. Aside from candy and baked goods, sugar is also found in
pop, condiments (ketchup, barbecue sauces), juices, ice cream, and other sweets.
Complex carbohydrates include starches and indigestible dietary fi bre. Starches
are found in bread, pasta, rice, beans, and some vegetables. Today many of our
starches are refi ned and processed, which strips the food of its fi bre and nutrients. For
example, white bread, pasta, and rice are much less nutritious, so choose the brown
or whole-grain products.
Dietary fi bre is found in fruits, vegetables, beans, and the indigestible parts of
whole grains such as wheat and oat bran. In addition to supporting intestinal health
and proper elimination, fi bre also improves blood sugar balance, lowers cholesterol,
reduces the risk of colon and breast cancer, and plays a role in weight management.
The recommended intake of fi bre for adults 50 years and younger is 38 g for
men and 25 g for women; for men and women over 50 it is 30 and 21 g per day,
respectively, due to decreased food consumption. Sadly, most people get only one-
third to one-half of the recommended amount. To boost fi bre intake, incorporate
more raw vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes in your diet and consider a
fi bre supplement.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that measures how quickly carbohydrates are broken
down into sugar. Those that are broken down quickly—such as simple carbohydrates
and refi ned starches—have a high GI. Foods that are broken down slowly—such as
most vegetables, fruits, and unprocessed grains—have a low GI.
Numerous studies have linked high-GI diets to obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 di-
abetes, and increased risk of heart disease. Eating high-GI foods can lead to blood sugar
imbalances that may result in fatigue, increased appetite, and food cravings. For these
reasons, it is best to minimize high-GI foods and maximize your intake of low-GI foods.
See Appendix B for more information on the GI and the rating for common foods.

Millions of Muslim started fasting with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. During this month, health and diet issues are very important for all of us specially for the ailing and people living with specific health complications.

Most of the health problems are likely to arise during Ramadan from inappropriate diet, over-eating etc. Our diet in Ramadan should be as simple as possible and it is better to be similar with our usual diet. The diet should be consumed in a proper way so that we maintain our normal weight, neither losing nor gaining. However, if one is obese, Ramadan is an ideal time to shade the extra pounds.

The foods eaten should be well balanced, containing foods from each food group, i.e. fruits, vegetables, meat or chicken or fish, bread or cereals and dairy products. Fried foods which are prepared traditionally are unhealthy and should be limited. Fatty foods and foods containing too much sugar should also be restricted. These types of food cause indigestion, heartburn, and weight problems.

In view of the long hours of fasting, we should consume slow digesting foods including fibre containing-foods rather than fast- digesting foods. Slow digesting foods last up to 8 hours, while fast- digesting foods last for only 3 to 4 hours. Slow-digesting foods are foods that contain grains and seeds like barley, wheat, oats, beans, lentils (daal), whole meal flour, unpolished rice, etc. (called complex carbohydrates). Fast-burning foods are foods that contain sugar, white flour, etc. (called refined carbohydrates).

The body’s immediate need at the time of Iftar is to get an easily available energy source in the form of glucose for every living cell, particularly the brain and nerve cells. Dates are excellent source of fibre, carbohydrates, potassium and magnesium and juices are good sources of sugars. Dates and juice are sufficient to bring low blood glucose levels to normal levels. Juice and soup help maintain water and mineral balance in the body. Bananas are a good source of potassium, magnesium and carbohydrates. Haleem is an excellent source of protein and is a slow-burning food which includes beans, lentil and whole meal flour. An unbalanced diet and too many servings of sherbets and sweets with added sugar have been found to be unhealthy.

You can develop constipation which can cause piles (haemorroids), fissures and indigestion with a bloated feeling. It happens due to too much refined foods, too little water and not enough fibre in the diet. Fibre-containing foods are bran-containing foods, whole wheat, grains and seeds, vegetables like green beans, peas, spinach, and other herbs like methie, iron-rich leaves, fruit with skin, dried fruit, etc.

Over-eating and drinking of too much tea and liquid at Sehri is not a healthy practice, but drink as much water or fruit juices as possible between Iftar and bedtime so that your body may adjust fluid levels in time. Tea makes you pass more urine taking valuable mineral salts with it that your body would need during the day.

Excessive sweating, weakness, tiredness, lack of energy, dizziness, especially on getting up from sitting position, pale appearance and feeling faint are symptoms associated with slight fall of blood pressure. This tends to occur towards the afternoon due to little fluid in body and decreased salt. Intake of salty food in Sehri will help to overcome this situation of lethargy and tiredness. But persons with high blood pressure should check their blood pressure may need their medication adjusted during Ramadan after consulting their doctor.

Prompt headache, mood swings and irritability is usually due to a sudden decrease in caffeine and tobacco-withdrawal, doing too much in one day, lack of sleep, hunger usually occurs as the day goes by and worsens at the end of the day. When associated with “low blood pressure”, the headache can be quite severe and can also cause nausea before Iftar. You can cut down caffeine and tobacco slowly starting a week or two before Ramadan. Herbal and caffeine-free teas may be substituted. Reorganise your sleep schedule during the Ramadan so as to have adequate sleep.

Again, weakness, dizziness, tiredness, poor concentration, perspiring easily, feeling shaky (tremor), unable to perform physical activities, headache, palpitations are symptoms of low blood sugar. Having too much sugar (i.e. refined carbohydrates) especially at Sehri, the body produces too much insulin causing the blood glucose to drop. One should eat complex carbohydrates at Sehri so that blood sugar falls slowly and also the food lasts longer making you less hungry.

Increased acid levels in the empty stomach can aggravate the conditions. It presents itself as a burning feeling in the stomach area under the ribs and can extend up to the throat. Spicy foods, coffee, fast food and cola drinks worsen these conditions. Medications are available to control acid levels in the stomach. People with proven peptic ulcers and hiatus hernia should consult their doctor well before Ramadan.

Kidney and urinary tract infection and kidney stones may occur in people who drink less liquid. Therefore, it is essential to drink extra liquids so as to prevent stone formation and infection of kidney. Muscle cramps are not uncommon which happens due to inadequate intake of calcium, magnesium and potassium foods (e.g. vegetables, fruit, dairy products, meat and dates).

During Ramadan, when extra namaz (prayer) are performed, the pressure on the knee joints increases. In the elderly and those with arthritis this may result in pain, stiffness, swelling and discomfort. Lose weight so that the knees do not have to carry any extra load. Exercise the lower limbs before Ramadan so that they can be prepared for the additional strain. Being physically fit allows greater fulfillment, thus enabling one to be able to perform namaz with ease.

Since advice about what to eat for optimal health has evolved over time with advances in nutrition science, dietary recommendations are sometimes seen as contradictory. However, a review of three leading dietary guides by researchers at the National Cancer Institute found their essential recommendations are consistent despite the different methodologies used to create the guides.

The NCI researchers compared recommendations and nutrient values of the United States Department of Agriculture’s MyPyramid; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s DASH Eating Plan and Harvard’s Healthy Eating Pyramid. The study showed that, even though the guides were derived from different types of nutrition research, they share consistent messages: Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains; eat less added sugar and saturated fat; and emphasize plant oils.

Recommendations are similar regarding almost all food groups for both types and amounts of foods people should eat. Primary differences were seen in the types of recommended vegetables and protein sources and the amount of recommended dairy products and total oil. Overall nutrient values were also similar for most nutrients, except vitamin A, vitamin E and calcium.

The researchers conclude: “The evidence base for optimal diets continues to evolve. However, inherent in these guides is a pattern of eating that focuses on nutrient-rich foods and limited calories from added sugar and solid fat.”

This research was published in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Everyone is searching for wellness.

Wellness is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as “The condition of good physical and mental health, especially when maintained by proper diet, exercise and habits”. So, understanding wellness can help us live life to the full.

And of course, in an ideal world, wellness would be easy to achieve. But the stress and strains of modern day living create many factors that impact our level of wellness, most notably diet.

Our food choices can adversely affect Wellness in several ways. These would include Fast food diets that are high in fat and low in nutrients, overly processed convenience foods and a lack of dietary fibre from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Also, not enough healthy sources of protein in our diet will affect wellness, as protein is needed to support muscle and bone tissues.

However, small changes in diet and lifestyle may help to reverse any adverse effects and produce optimum wellness.

Three keys to optimum wellness include: 1) Balancing your diet. Your body requires sufficient amounts of the right balance of foods and nutrients. These include protein, good carbohydrates and fats, also colourful fruits and vegetables. Also, your body needs vitamins, minerals and fibre so that food can be used correctly. Vitamins and minerals are not always present in food in adequate amounts, but they can be obtained from dietary supplements, providing your body with nutrition at the cellular level.

2) Exercising Regularly. Regular exercise will help you to look and feel your best, as exercise creates muscle tone and provides your body tissues with oxygen - so necessary for optimum wellness!

3) Drinking lots of Water. Your body is about two-thirds water, so for optimum wellness, you need to drink about 6 - 8 glasses of water every day

By following these three steps and making the necessary changes, you can achieve optimum wellness starting today!

Flavonoids are highly beneficial anti-oxidant compounds found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, red wine and even beer, and it’s now well established that a plentiful intake of anti-oxidants through foods, drinks and supplements is vital for optimal human health.

Anti-oxidants operate to neutralise the activity of so-called “free radicals”; compounds produced in the body as by-products of normal biochemical reactions, but which may nevertheless be highly damaging as they produce oxidative reactions damaging to cell structures. Ultimately this damage may contribute to the development of degenerative diseases characteristic of ageing, including cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s Alzheimer’s and even some cancers.

The best known anti-oxidant nutrients are vitamins C and E, although these can only function properly when supported by adequate supplies of a wide variety of micro-nutrients, which include many of the flavonoids found in common fruits and vegetables. These compounds may therefore be regarded as important elements in the body’s anti-oxidant defences, but many of the more than 4,000 flavonoids identified have also been hailed for their beneficial effects on the immune system and anti-inflammatory properties.

From the point of view of incorporating flavonoids into a daily health regime, the good thing is the ease with which this can be achieved. Flavonoids are very widely found in fruits, vegetables, and even drinks normally regarded, for other reasons, as unhealthy. So even a diet ordinarily well provided with common fruits and vegetables may provide anything up to 800mg of various flavonoids.

Authoritative research has indicated that this level of flavonoid consumption may help protect against coronary heart disease and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), an important precursor of both heart disease and stroke. These remain two of the major causes of premature mortality and disability in the Western world, and to this extent the UK government and health advisors’ frequent advice to consume five servings of fruit and vegetables each day is well founded.

The most potent of all the anti-oxidant flavonoids is believed to be a compound called quercetin, which is widely found in common or garden vegetables. The consumption of fruits with their skins on, such as apples, pears, grapes, bilberries, tomatoes etc will also provide a good supply. But perhaps the richest source is onions, a foodstuff also known since ancient times as a powerful anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory agent.

There’s no doubt that a diet including plentiful supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables can only be beneficial to health. But the anti-oxidant properties of the flavonoids found in many common, even supposedly unhealthy, beverages should not be neglected.

For example, the anti-oxidant properties of the catechin polyphenols found in black and green tea and red wine are now well known and attested. But, as remarkable as it may sound, there is now evidence that even beer may contain unique anti-oxidants equal in potency to vitamin E. The flavonoid compounds, xanthohumol and isoxanthumol appear to be found only in beer and the hops that flavour it and although they have not been studied directly, there is speculation that they may be responsible for the remarkable and counter-intuitive finding that lager type beers may be more effective as anti-oxidants than red wine, grape juice or even green tea. Obviously there are other reasons, not least its high calorific value, why you wouldn’t want to depend on a high consumption of lager for your anti-oxidants, but in moderation it may indeed be beneficial.

In fact studies suggest that these particular flavonoid anti-oxidants may have a particular role in combatting the oxidation of low density lipids (LDLs), the so-called “bad cholesterol”, which is a known risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. The other main fat-soluble anti-oxidant which fights this process is vitamin E, and although there is evidence that the anti-oxidant potential of xanthohumol and isoxanthumol may be comparable with that of the vitamin, it is also clear that each of the three compounds functions best in the presence of each of the others.

Whilst orthodox medicine concedes, in fact insists, that further research is necessary, the implications of these findings are exciting; suggesting that there may be many more as yet undiscovered benefits of flavonoids. As always, however, the holistic functioning of the body means that maximum benefits will only be obtained by the consumption of the widest possible variety of all these compounds. As flavonoids are not yet widely available as supplements, this consumption is best achieved through the foodstuffs and beverages which combine them as nature intended. Such a flavonoid rich diet can only be of benefit to the action of the better known anti-oxidants, such as vitamins E and C, which are more readily obtainable in supplement form.

Beautiful, shinning hair is a valuable asset. Hair can also be a versatile fashion accessory, to be colored, curled, dressed up, or smoothed down - all in a matter of minutes. However, too much attention, combined with the effects of a poor diet, pollution, air-conditioning and central heating, can mean that your hair becomes the bane of your life rather than your crowning glory. A daily hair care routine and prompt treatment when problems arise are therefore of vital importance in maintaining the natural beauty of healthy hair. Continue Reading…

Eating the vegan plan can cure your eczema completely.

Following a vegan plan involves eating all your foods 100% raw. Eating the vegan way involves eating fresh, raw organic fruits, vegetables, wholegrain, nuts and dried fruit.

Vegans believe that they can obtain all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fats and carbohydrates that are important for good health from eating uncooked foods.
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Number one risk factor for colon cancer is age. Importantly, colon cancer is also one of the most curable forms of cancer. It has been well demonstrated that if colon cancer is caught in the earliest stages, the cure rate could be increased to 90%. Although colon cancer is among the most common forms of cancer, the number of new cases and the number of deaths attributed to the disease have declined in recent years due to improved screening and diagnostic techniques. Continue Reading…

Just about everyone loves the taste of chocolate. Well the news is out that chocolate can actually benefit the body. Although the dark chocolate is bitterer than the semi-sweet the health benefits of dark chocolate are greater. Along with dark chocolate consuming red wine and green tea also have great health benefits. The main key is moderation, as with any indulgence of passion.
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Over 17 Million Teens and Adults Suffer From Acne in America. Acne is a very serious problem for many people. Sever acne causes not only embarrassment, but, for some, it can have long term affects on their self esteem and social behavior. The slew of remedies almost count higher than the millions suffering from acne. That’s why it has been so difficult for many people to get any real results. Continue Reading…