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Why Are You Lactose Intolerant

July 3rd, 2010 Comments off

Do you know anyone who can’t consume milk or milk-based products? The condition is not uncommon and these people are classified as lactose intolerant.

Lactose is the main carbohydrate or sugar found in milk, and in varying quantities in dairy products made from milk including yoghurt, ice cream, soft cheeses and butter. Lactose (milk sugar) intolerance results from an inability to digest lactose in the small intestine.

Back in the cave-days, the only time a person would ever ingest lactose would be when they were infants getting milk from their mothers. During their adult lives milk was never consumed. Only with the invention of agriculture has milk become readily available to adults. Lactose is unique in that only in milk does it exist as a free form, unattached to other molecules.

What causes lactose intolerance?

Lactose is digested in the small intestine by an enzyme called lactase. This enzyme allows the body to break down the lactose into two simple sugars, glucose and galactose. These are quickly absorbed by the intestine and provide energy for the body. The level of the lactase enzyme varies between individuals, as does the severity of the symptoms caused by lactose intolerance. Read more…

Categories: Nutrition Tags: , , , ,

Why The Foods You Eat Putting Your Health at Risk

July 1st, 2010 Comments off

(and water) is the absolute first thing you need in order to ensure life. Without it you would wither away and die. You need for its nutrition and for its sustenance. But are the you consume today supplying you with good solid nutrition, or are many of them slowly robbing you of your and taking years from your life?

Here are some things to consider:

THE HAZARDS OF EATING MEAT
Eating meat (particularly pork and red meat such as beef) in of itself is unhealthy especially when eaten in too large of quantities. Certain meats, such as beef, can take up to 72 hours to digest completely. Therefore, if you meat two or three times a day, you could still be digesting the food you had for breakfast the other day while you are again consuming another round of it.

This explains why many autopsies reveal from 5 to as much as 40 pounds of undigested meat still in the systems of many people! Now, imagine how unhealthy it becomes if the animal where the meat came from was treated with antibiotics and other artificial health sustainers? These chemicals stay in the meat fibers; and no amount of washing, cooking, or boiling will get rid of them. Do you really want that in your food?

Hence, many people today are immune to antibiotics for humans. They ingest the antibiotics from animals, and the extra strong antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in the human body. The more you eat chemically treated meat, the more you weaken your body抯 defense mechanisms. This hazard is aggravated further when the meats are processed with artificial flavors and preservatives.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING FISH
Many fresh?fish in the market today are loaded with preservatives to lock in their freshness.?Some use formalin, a chemical used in embalming human corpses, to preserve newly caught fish. A few wicked sellers may wash marketed fish with food coloring or textile color to give these fish a fresh?look. To ensure your safety and enjoy the nutritious of fish, buy them from trusted sources only.

PRECAUTIONS WHEN CONSUMING BREAD
Many white breads are hard to digest. Their hard residues stay long and may form blockades in the intestines. Moreover, eating white bread actually rapidly elevates blood sugar levels in your body. Whole wheat bread is a healthier food alternative to white bread as it supplies better nutrition, but many of the whole wheat breads today still have preservatives because they are commercially produced. Make sure it is made with whole wheat flour?and not enriched whole wheat flour? Always check the ingredients just to be sure. Read more…

Categories: Nutrition Tags: , , , , ,

How Acid Reflux To Disease

May 19th, 2010 Comments off

Commonly called ‘heart burn’, is a condition in which the liquid content of the stomach regurgitates (backs up, or refluxes) into the esophagus.

It’s annoying and painful.

But you want to know the truth, the reflux of the stomach’s liquid contents into the esophagus occurs in most normal individuals. However, when heartburn becomes acid reflux disease or Gastro esophageal reflux disease, commonly referred to as GERD, it is s real problem. That is because with GERD, the acid is stronger and stays in the esophagus longer causing more discomfort.

Most often, you will this during the daytime when you are upright, sitting straight, or standing. You body handles this reflux by the fluid flowing back down into your stomach. You swallow more during the daytime therefore draining the acid back to where it belongs. Your salivary glands produce saliva that also contains bicarbonate that acts to neutralize the acid your stomach has kicked up.

At night though, you may have a greater problem when acid reflux disease occurs that is because while sleeping, gravity does not work as well lying down, your constant swallowing stops, and the production of saliva is reduced.

Certain conditions make a person more prone to acid reflux disease, this GERD. For example, while you are pregnant, this can be a serious problem. Elevated hormone levels of probably cause reflux by lowering the pressure in that part of your body known as the lower esophageal sphincter. Also, the growing baby puts more pressure on the abdomen. Both of these effects of tend to increase the of GERD.

If your acid reflux disease is a minor condition, then you should only experience minor symptoms. These would include primarily heartburn, regurgitation, and nausea. However, if the condition is complicated, then watch out for the following symptoms. Read more…