When we talk about immunity, then discussing zinc foods, their benefits and how much zinc per day is required are also equally important. Right dosage of zinc pills or enough quantity of zinc vegetables in your daily meals can boost your immune system. This is especially important for those who want fast results.
Chewable Zinc for Immunity Boost
Zinc and Immune System
I assume that you are aware of zinc’s importance in our body as an important mineral. We’ll also look at what health issues are caused due to zinc deficiency. Lets start with how zinc impacts or boosts our immune system. It has been found by various research that zinc helps in growth and proper functioning of our immune system. It affects various aspects of our immunity. Due to its deficiency, T and B cells are adversely affected, which result in failure to prevent radical-induced injury during inflammatory processes. Read more details.
How to Tell If You Are Zinc Deficient
It is really important to notice the symptoms and take action before the issue becomes serious. You may have noticed that during diarrhea, doctors prescribe zinc based supplements or syrups. So, if you suffer from diarrhea quite frequently without any other specific or known reason, then get alarmed. It could be due to zinc deficiency. Here are some more symptoms of zinc deficiency
In advanced stages of zinc deficiecy, you can lose sense of taste and smell or notice slurred speech in addition to altered gait or uncordinated movements.
How much zinc per day?
In growing children zinc’s role is very important. Even slight deficiency may cause retarded growth, poor digestion and immune system which often remain same for the rest of life if not treated during childhood.
For children up to 8 years of age, not more that 3mg of zinc per day
For both males and females 9-13 years, 8 mg of zinc per day is enough
For females 14-18 years and later year, 9 mg per day
For pregnant and lactating women, 11-13 mg Zinc per day
For adult males, 11 mg zinc per day.
Zinc Food or Sources
As zinc is not produced inside our body, we need to eat zinc rich food. For vegetarians it becomes slightly difficult to fulfill daily intake of zinc, because plant based foods are not as rich in zinc as meat and other animal foods.
9 Zinc High Food List
Raw oyster
Beef
Pork
Eggs
Lobster
Peas and peanuts
Yogurt
Guava, apricot, peach, kiwifruit
Cashew and almond
Zinc Supplements
There are times when you need supplements to fulfill your zinc needs, and there is no harm in it. However, care should be taken that your dosage are exactly as prescribed by your physician. The upper limit of zinc supplemental intake is usually at 40 mg. However, it varies from person to person. Order some of the best Zinc Supplements from Amazon
Zinc Safety and Side Effects
In general, zinc is considered safe, if taken orally and not more than 40 mg per day. Taking more than 40 mg of zinc per day may cause reduced copper absorption, which leads to anaemia. Taking more than 100mg of supplemental zinc per day for prolonged periods may cause prostrate cancer. Read more details.
Eating protein rich food is always recommended especially for morning breakfast. Though we have mentioned it in our previous posts, we’d like to repeat once again that many fruits and vegetables are great protein sources. We often ignore them believing that only animal foods are highly protein rich food.
Why Protein? What Are Its Health Benefits?
I have mentioned in many of previous posts that eating eggs in the morning is highly beneficial. Even if you are on a fat loss diet or planning to lose weight by any other method, starting your day with protein rich diet will set the pace of your metabolism for the whole day. No matter what your health condition is, you need energy, and a good source of protein gives you just that. Also protein rich food keeps you full for longer duration, which means your cravings for binge eating is controlled naturally. It is a great plus for those who find it difficult to control their craving. Short term studies suggest that high protein diet may also decrease blood sugar level.
Not many people are aware that simply eating protein is not enough. If your body is not absorbing protein in right quantity, then it is as good as not eating any protein. For example, if you are consuming 50 gm of protein, but your body absorbs only 15 gm, then 35 gm is wasted. The rate of protein absorption varies from person to person. However, it can be slightly improved if muscle building is on your mind. Enzyme boosting supplements often help in such situations. You can try MassEnzyme for amazing results.
Protein Absorption with MassEnzyme
7 Effects of Protein Deficiency
There can be various health issues due to protein deficiency. Those who are constantly on some kind of diet to lose weight, often lose track of their protein intake. This results in deficiency and shows up in various health issues and ailments such as.
It goes without saying that excess of anything is bad, and protein is no exception. The bottom line is that you must be aware of how much protein is required for your body type, health condition or specific health goals such muscle building or fat loss. Sometimes, protein supplements in limited quantities work wonders in achieving those goals. However, balance is the key.
Protein treatment for Coronavirus
As per the latest BBC report, direct dose of protein in lungs have shown significant reduction in breathlessness among those undergoing Corona treatment trial. Can protein power save us from Corona or Covid 19? Only time will tell.
Do you want to reduce cholesterol? Is LDL or HDL good cholesterol or how much cholesterol in eggs is present. Read about all these and take a look at cholesterol lowering food list.
Want to reduce cholesterol? Why? Is low cholesterol the best solution for burning fat or are there any side effects? Then immediately comes the next question, how much cholesterol per day is required for the body and how much can be reduced. These are some of questions that are often not understood or answered properly. Lets take a look.
Is Cholesterol Good or Bad for Health?
Before answering whether it is good or bad, let’s quickly try to understand what cholesterol is. Cholesterol is a fatty substance required by our body in certain quantity. It plays a vital role in making and functioning of certain hormones. It helps in producing Vitamin D, deficiency of which can cause various health issues such as joint pain related diseases. It also helps in producing some substances that are necessary for digestion. So, we can safely say that cholesterol is good for health, but how much?
There is a lot of information available online and on other media suggesting that high cholesterol is the root cause of heart health or various types of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Though it is partially true, what really needs to be understood is whether it is LDL or HDL. If your LDL level is high, which is often the case, then you need to take action. If your HDL level is high, then you can relax.
LDL or HDL
Basically these are two types of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). While HDL is good for overall health and LDL is bad for health, or simply put, high LDL level means your arteries start getting clogged. This is kind of onset of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) or the groundwork for heart disease to be visible later.
Hypercholesterolemia
A genetic disorder called hypercholesterolemia is a condition when the cholesterol level in the body is more than 2-4 times higher than average. According to a study, people suffering from hypercholesterolemia should try eliminating carb and not fat from their diet. Read the full report.
What is Normal Cholesterol Range?
Well, the total count of cholesterol consists of LDL, HDL and Triglyceride count. Triglycerides are also certain types of fat produced by our body by converting excess calories. Just like LDL, high triglyceride level is also considered bad for health. So, lets a take a look at healthy and normal cholesterol range.
Cholesterol Level By Age Chart- Normal, High and Borderline
How much cholesterol per day
Now comes the real question. How much cholesterol per day should you eat? As a general rule, if you are a healthy adult, then your daily intake of dietary cholesterol should not exceed 300 mg. If you are already suffering from heart disease, then the upper limit of cholesterol per day should not be more than 200 mg. Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by the body itself and is found in animal products. Your body can and does produce as much cholesterol as is required for proper functioning of your body.
Cut down on sugar to reduce cholesterol
When you eat saturated fat and trans fat in excess quantity, then your liver is kind of forced to produced more LDL than is required. That is what causes the whole problem. Considering this, experts and doctors recommend that only up to 5-6% of your your daily calorie intake should come from trans fat. Simply put, an adult consuming 2000 Cal per day should not eat more than 10-13 grams of saturated fat per day. A simple and easy way to reduce your cholesterol level is to reduce sugar intake. This makes the task easier and saves you from calorie counting unless you keep on munching on fatty foot as a habit.
Eggs or No Eggs to Lower Cholesterol?
It has often been mentioned that egg yolk increases cholesterol level. There is another group of experts who believe that eating egg is healthy. Egg is one of the healthiest foods. So what is the truth about eggs? It is simple, strike the right balance. If you are eating eggs in breakfast, then go easy on fatty food at lunch. In simple words, a typical egg contains approx. 200 mg of cholesterol and 1.5 gram of saturated fat. So one egg a day is quite safe if do not eat more fatty food. Eating one egg a day does not increase the risk of heart disease unless you are diabetic. Read more. To make it more safe, experts believe up to 5 eggs a week is safe and healthy. Makes sense?
Cholesterol Lowering Food
Though symptoms of high cholesterol are not easily noticeable in early stages, you can be alarmed if you feel chest pain in left side, fullness or pressure in chest quite often, dizziness or slurry speech. Though medical attention is always recommended if pain is severe, you can start consuming cholesterol lowering food as soon as you notice any of these symptoms the first time. So, what are those cholesterol reducing food? Here is a brief list.
It will not be out of context to discuss if low cholesterol is bad or what are its side effects? Though low cholesterol is not so common, it is noticed in some people due to various reasons such as malnutrition, hyperthyroidism liver or kidney diseases. While the reasons can be many, the question is what are its effects on overall health. Though it is a matter of debate, some researchers believe that cholesterol makes hormones and Vitamin D, deficiency of which can affect mental health. Those suffering from low cholesterol can suffer from anxiety and even depression. Read the full report here.
An interesting fact about brain cholesterol is that brain has only 2% of body weight but contains 20% of body cholesterol. And brain makes all of its cholesterol. Read full report here. This report says as brain produces its own cholesterol, low level in the body does not impact its functioning, therefore low blood cholesterol does not necessarily cause mental health problems.
Did you know that sleep deficiency or lack of sleep can wreak havoc with your overall health? Weight gain or obesity is just one of them. The sooner you start sleeping naturally, the better. Read the symptoms and effects of sleep loss.
Losing weight by sleeping sounds unrealistic, but the truth seems to be just the opposite. It has been proven that sound sleep for fat loss is highly effective. Also, there are many diseases that start developing due to lack of sleep, and by the time you realize it, things are often out of control and may result in insomnia. Then starts your weight loss, yoga, gym and health sessions with fitness experts to bring your health back to normal.
Sleep and Weight Loss
If you proudly say that you don’t oversleep and you are fine with sleeping just 5-6 hours a day, then chances are that you are either obese, overweight or are suffering from other lack of sleep related health issues. We’ll discuss 5 most common diseases caused by lack of sleep, and weight gain or obesity is number one. Learn how you can gain abundance while you sleep.
Are You Getting Enough Sound Sleep?
If you are among those people who actually sleep for the recommended 8 hours a day, but still feel tired, sluggish and low on energy almost always, then act now. It goes without saying that you must be obese or overweight. I am pretty sure that you have tried many weight loss, diet and other fat loss programs. You have failed at all of them. The reason could be lack of sound sleep. What I mean to say is that despite sleeping 8 hours a day, you are definitely not reaching the sound sleep phase, which is required for your body to function properly. It is high time you tried to know how devastating lack of sound sleep can be. How it makes you obese, and weight loss becomes difficult or almost impossible no matter what you do. But then there is light at the end of the tunnel, if you want to gain health you really deserve. Some people go ahead and do something before it is too late.
Well, the most common symptom of short sleep, poor sleep pattern or onset of sleep deprivation is waking up many times during the night without any reason. Feeling tired or sleepy throughout the day can be another visible symptom of short sleep. However, please note that if you wake up too many times for peeing, then it could be the early symptom or onset of diabetes or any other health condition. In that condition, you must seek immediate medical help. Sleep deprivation is when you are simply not able to sleep properly despite being otherwise healthy.
Effects of lack of Sleep or Sleep Deprivation
7 Causes of Lack of Sleep
Staying up late for socialization, parties etc
Taking stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol or smoking before bed
Some types of medication
Pre-existing disorder or health issue that triggers insomnia
Excess exposure to blue screen (TV, Cellphone, PC screen etc) before bed
Too much stress or anxiety
Working night shifts and inability to sleep during the day
Snoring of partner
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Lack of Sleep Causes weight gain
It goes without saying that when you are low on energy, you prefer comfort food, which simply means more calorie and sugar than you need. Obviously the result would be obesity. You will gain weight due to sleep deprivation. In fact, Susan Zafarlotfi, PhD clinical director of the Institute for Sleep and Wake Disorders at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, has even equated sleep debt with credit card debt nicely to explain how problematic lack of sleep can be. Read more.
How sleep deprivation makes you obese
In order to understand how sleep deprivation works to make you gain weight, we’d require to learn how 2 nightly hormones, Ghrelin and Leptin work. Essentially, Ghrelin tells your mind when to eat and Leptin tells your brain when to stop eating. A perfect balance in these hormones is required for good health. As soon as this balance is disrupted, Ghrelin level goes up and Leptin level goes down. In layman’s terms, it means your mind starts getting signals to eat more and more because Leptin doesn’t ask it to stop as regularly as it should. Gradually, you move toward Leptin Resistance, and eventually obesity.
Hidden Impact of Lack of sleep
As these hormones are mostly active during night or while you are sleeping, lack of sleep or inability to hit sound sleep pattern phase, hits hard on your overall health. Obesity is just one of many diseases or health disorders caused by it.
Health Issues caused by sleep deprivation
Loss of sleep causes Cardiovascular Disease
Many studies and research work have confirmed a strong co-relation between lack of sleep and CVD or cardiovascular disease. According to one report, two third of those who have a heart attack are those who are deprived of sound sleep. Sleeping is nature’s way of helping our body relax and recharge every day. If this doesn’t happen, then sleep credit accumulates and shows up in different forms, such as heart attack in extreme case. In milder cases, it is visible in general CVD. Want to know little known secret about cholesterol and CVD?
Sleep Deprivation triggers diabetes
Approximately 34.2 million people or 10% of the US population already has diabetes. Read more diabetes data. The number is rising consistently, and sleep deficiency, poor diet and lifestyle are cited as the main reasons behind it. When you don’t sleep properly or suffer from sleep deficiency quite often, then many metabolic changes happen in your body. Your glucose regulation system struggles to keep everything normal but cannot do so for long. As many bodily functions are regulated and cells are regenerated during sleep, your overall metabolic system starts working inefficiently or slowly. One of the effects of this gradual metabolic change in your body is Type II diabetes. Once diabetes develops, sleep deficiency becomes even worse and gives rise to many other health issues. So, the sooner you start sleeping properly, the better. Prevent diabetes.
What happens in Just 4 days of insufficient sleep?
You’ll be shocked to know that in just 4 days of insufficient sleep, your body’s ability to process insulin is severely hampered and your insulin sensitivity decreases by 30%. This has been confirmed by researchers at University of Chicago. Read full report here
Sleep Loss bad for mental health
You don’t even realise when sleep loss starts impacting your mental health. irritability and mood swings become your normal behavior. You may not notice it initially, but your friends and relatives can notice this behaviour change easily. What happens is that loss of sleep disrupts the flow of Serotonin in brain. Serotonin is responsible for sending signals from one part to other parts of the brain. It is a no-brainer that when this chemical is in short supply or its flow is not balanced, then you suffer from mood swings and even depression in extreme cases. So sleep is nature’s way to keep all functions in our body under control and balance. Though there are many Serotonin supplements are available on the market, you can try home remedy, i.e using turmeric regularly in your food, as it replenishes Serotonin naturally.
Hypertension due to sleep deficiency
High blood pressure or hypertension is another disease caused by lack of sleep. Though there are many other reasons behind high blood pressure, lack of sleep is one of them. When you are sleeping, your blood pressure should be slightly lower than normal. Your bio-clock is set so that during the night your body should relax and blood pressure and other bodily functions regulate themselves. When you don’t sleep during the night or don’t sleep enough, then this natural pattern is disrupted and your blood pressure goes up. When you start suffering from short sleep or lack of sleep, then high blood pressure during your waking hours become normal. Obviously, then you are said to be suffering from hypertension. High BP related health issues follow soon.
Lack of Sleep Causes Weight Gain or Obesity
One of the most overlooked and probably the most attention worthy health problem is weight gain or obesity. Though, there are many other reasons that could be the reason behind your uncontrolled fat gain, sleeplessness or no sound sleep is not worth ignoring. This is even more important, when you have tried various types of diet plans, weight loss programs, exercise or yoga classes. If nothing has shown positive outcome, then it is time to improve your sleep pattern, whether by using sleep aids or changing life style or diet. Changing diet is often very difficult for many, therefore why not try Noom App, which will give you all types of food options to choose from, without compromising on taste or nutrition.
With that, we can conclude that if you are overweight and you also suffer from lack of sleep, then your first priority should be to try to find a way to sleep better and for longer duration. Whether it takes, natural or home remedies or sleep aids, whatever works for you, give it a try. YouTube offers many type of sound sleep music tracks. Just check and download which one suits you and how it works for you. I believe, in a few weeks, you will start sleeping better.
What is Pink Noise and White Noise
It will not be out of context to talk briefly about pink noise and white noise, which what is produced by highly popular and effective sleep aids known as pink noise machine or pink noise generator. Without giving you the scientific definition of Pink Noise which you can read at Wiki in detail, I’d like to explain it in layman’s language. Pink noise is a sound that masks unwanted and unpleasant noise in your living environment. When pink noise is produced, the unpleasant sound turn into soothing and relaxing sound, which helps you sleep better. This is also used in auditoriums and theaters to make the speaker’s voice audible and soothing to the audience. However, we’ll stick to our topic as to how it is used or can be used in making us sleep better. Amazon offers many types of white and pink noise machines or generators.
Curing Lack of Sleep Naturally
I must say that things, techniques or health programs that stimulate your and re-energize your mental and physical abilities to achieve the desired health goal are my favourite. In short, yoga or meditation, which do not require any equipment or medication. All you need is to discipline yourself in line with what is natural for you. It seems difficult because we are so accustomed to living with artificial and man-made environment, that getting back to something we are made for, becomes painful. While it is true that Yoga requires some dedication, but it is worth it because what you gain out of it will keep you healthy without making you dependent on any medication or external aids. Also, you can follow it no matter where you are.
7 Quick tips for Sound Sleep naturally
Do not live indoors always, get some sunlight every day
Follow a routine. Eat and sleep at same time every day
Drink milk before bedtime, if possible
Avoid heavy dinner, light meal at night is preferable
Breathing exercise for just 5-10 minutes every morning works wonders
Incorporate Yoga in your routine, if possible
Soothing music works. Tough I don’t like it, it is worth giving a try.
Though not possible and practical for everyone, I’d say that swimming is the best exercise because if works on every part of your body in every move. Last but not the least, I’d like to say that remaining stress-free and doing something that makes you sweat every day will help you gain overall health. Stress and anxiety are silent killers of health. The more stress-free you live, the better will be your overall life.
