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Home » Writer's Blogs » Michael-Tomberlin Articles by Michael Tomberlin Michael Tomberlin (38) Michael Tomberlin HealthyLife-HealthyPlanet The Benefits of B Vitamins: The Happy Vitamin Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2009 (255 days 20 hours ago.) Viewed 117 times. One of the biggest complaints in today's society is "I'm tired", "I have no energy", or "I'm depressed". Vitamin B, also known as the Happy Vitamin, can help to reduce these complaints. And in today's world, who couldn't use a HAPPY Vitamin? Quite often these symptoms are your body telling you it's missing something. Some necessary ingredient it needs to maintain an energetic, healthy state. If you give your body what it needs, it will maintain and heal itself. Our bodies are amazing machines that only require a little maintenance and raw materials. B-Vitamins are one of those very important raw materials. The "happy" vitamin, as the B vitamins are rightfully called, are perfect for bringing balance to many systems of the body. But what constitutes a good B-Complex supplement? Here are some rules: First, let's look at composition. There are eight known B vitamins and all good products have all eight, in a somewhat balanced form. The eight (8) are Thiamine (B-1), riboflavin (B-2) panothenic acid, niacin, vitamin B-6, biotin, folacin, and B-12. They are essential for human metabolism, growth, reproduction, general health, appetite, the normal functioning of the digestive tract, nervous stability and blood cell formation. B vitamins are competitive in the body, thus the balance is important. B vitamins must be taken together in a balanced, complex form in order for your body to use them correctly. Your metabolism can be thrown off by taking an isolated component of the B's alone. Some of the components of a B-complex are expensive to have in the supplement. Some are very inexpensive. Thus, when one sees 6000% of the recommended daily allowance of one B, (the less expensive one) and 20% of the expensive one, it is best to find out how much research has really gone into the product. B vitamins are like a sports team. There is no "I in TEAM", we need everyone working together to achieve a winning combination. "You are only as strong as your weakest link." "Win one for the Gipper" --- wait '-- I think I am getting off track.... The FDA does not require vitamin companies to do research on their products. Therefore most companies don't do much or any research at all - it costs too much. The old saying of "you get what you pay for" really does hold true for vitamins and supplements. It is worth the effort to find a company that does the clinical research and can back up their nutritional claims. Second, you need to think about bioavailability. What happens to a nutrient when consumed? Does it pass through the system unused, or does it get into the blood stream in the correct amount and do the job it is meant to do? It takes the right blend of all eight types of the B vitamin in order for it to be absorbed correctly. Folic acid is a great example of this. It is very difficult to get folic acid into the blood stream. If taken alone a large part of each pill would pass through you and never get absorbed. But if taken correctly in a balanced form, folic acid could reduce hospital charges for women of child bearing age up to an estimated 20 billion dollars per year. B vitamins have many positive effects on our bodies. They are so important they are one of the few nutrients the federal government mandates to be added to certain foods. The problem with depending on only foods for an adequate supply of B is that intense heat, slow cooking, light, baking soda and baking powder all destroy B vitamins. Consuming sugar, alcohol, caffeine and processed foods also causes your body to lose its supply of B. If that weren't enough, stress is another factor that can lead to a depletion of your body's reserves. The importance of supplementing your diet with B can be seen every time you eat foods containing carbohydrates. To metabolize carbohydrates, the body requires B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-6, phosphorous, and magnesium. Since the last four of these are not replaced by "enrichment" of the food product, the body must draw on its own reserves. For every ounce of white flour that we consume, the body must supply the previously mentioned nutrients to digest the flour; Pantothenic Acid, (B5) gets taken from the nerve and muscle tissue; Pyridoxine (B6) is taken from the Brain; Phosphorous and Magnesium are taken from the heart and bones. As we deplete the body of these compounds we start to weaken the nerve and muscle tissue which could result in nerve problems and loss of muscle tone. The loss of brain tissue will affect the memory functions. And finally, phosphorous depletion will weaken muscle and rhythm function, affecting the rhythm of the heart. Processing removes these nutrients and enrichment does not add them in a way that our body can use, thus our diet must be provided with these nutrients in some other way, such as supplementation, or suffer loss of body function later in life. Benefits of B Vitamins include: - Helps convert food to energy - Helps form healthy red blood cells - Has been found to reduce the risk of heart disease - Has been found to reduce or even eliminate PMS symptoms - Helps reduce or eliminate anemia - Minimizes and even eliminates depression. - Helps prevent birth defects If you are still unsure of whether you should be supplementing your diet with a good b-complex vitamin, here is a list of some indicators which may suggest you are not maintaining enough of the nutrient in your system: - Mood changes - irritability - nervousness - fatigue - depression - headaches - dizziness - trembling - loss of appetite - insomnia - and sugar cravings. So come on, let's all get happy! Think about it... -------- Michael Tomberlin has been teaching young people for over ten years. He is now directing his efforts to teaching people more about physical, financial and environmental health. He has a website at http://www.healthylife-healthyplanet.com . You can visit him there or contact Michael directly at michael@healthylife-healthyplanet.com with any concerns, comments or questions. Thanks. Permalink         Comments (0) New Years Resolutions: Hype or Hope? Posted Wednesday, December 31, 2008 (326 days 1 hour ago.) Viewed 58 times. As the year comes to a close, the tradition of making your New Year's Resolutions stares you in the face. It's a time for all of us to look back at who we are and what we have done. It's a time for us to look forward at who we want to be and what we want to do and accomplish in our lives. A New Year's Resolution is a commitment made by someone trying to change a habit or part of their lifestyle. Usually it is something that is meant to change life for the better or what is perceived as better. With the coming of a new year, it is a symbol of rebirth and a great time to make a positive change to one's life. The concept of a New Year's Resolution has been around for hundreds of years. And for hundreds of years many of the annual self-improvement plans are broken. Some resolutions are never really started while others make it a few weeks or months before being dropped to the wayside. Quite often it is the difficulty of change and the comfort and ease of just keeping things the same that causes us to fail at the resolutions we make each year. Many of us make one or more of the following "Top 10" yearly resolutions 1. Spend more time with family 2. Get fit 3. Lose weight 4. Quit Smoking 5. Enjoy life more 6. Quit Drinking 7. Get out of debt 8. Learn something new 9. Help others 10. Get organized Change no matter how good it might be is a hard thing to do. Many of us live with bad habits and bad situations but because it is easier to just keep going we never make the effort for real change. The New Year and the chance for resolutions and change give us all hope but most of us don't do what is required to make the change. If you find yourself making one or more of these resolutions each year only to see it never be accomplished, here are a few helpful hints and tips to try and really make the positive change you desire. 1. Write down your goals and resolutions be detailed in what you want to do and get. If you want to lose weight, how much. Don't just say be skinnier, but say I want to lose 10 pounds or 1 pound every month. 2. Post your resolutions Once you have them written down put them somewhere you will see them every day. Hang it on the mirror or above your desk. You have to keep reminding yourself what you are trying to accomplish. 3. Find pictures or sayings that show you your final goal. If it was to make more money, what were you going to do with it? If it was to get that new car, find a picture of that car. If you wanted to lose weight to buy that new dress, place the picture of it next to your resolution. It's much easier to keep working if you know there is a reward at the end. 4. Be realistic Set a goal that you can actually achieve. Becoming the starting quarterback for your favorite NFL team might be a great goal and a lifelong dream but are you really in the position to get there? Can you really lose 50 pounds this year? Making small achievable goals allows you to have success. Success breeds success! Once you are successful at achieving a resolution, it will be that much easier to accomplish another one. 5. Find a partner or group that has made the same or similar resolution. Having someone to talk to and help keep you on track is a HUGE bonus. It becomes easy to rationalize or quit on ourselves, but if you have someone relying on you to be there for them and help them succeed it will keep you on track and going strong. Achieving your goals and making resolutions that are attainable is not an impossible job. Just follow a few simple rules and you too can be having success making positive change. And don't forget, it doesn't have to be January 1 st in order to make a change. Be open to possibilities and let change happen. Don't dwell on the past or the future, as the wise Kung Fu master once said, "The past is history, the future is a mystery but today is a gift that is why they call it the present!" One day at a time, one step at a time we can all succeed. Think about it! Permalink         Comments (2) Stress: The Silent Killer Posted Sunday, December 14, 2008 (342 days 18 hours ago.) Viewed 17 times. Stress is an overlooked reason people have health problems. Reducing stress is guaranteed to give you a healthier life and can prevent future health problems! Stress!!! Most of us feel some kind of stress every day. The dictionary defines stress as physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension. Everyday 87% of the population lives under this type of stress. We worry about money, children, jobs, our spouse or significant other and hundreds of other things on a daily basis. Just driving to the corner store can cause tension as you dodge that crazy driver or see the price of gas at the pump. Some people are very aware of the strain and tension in their life, but many of us live with stress that we don't see or are unwilling to admit we have. We just go about our daily life thinking this is the way it is supposed to be, the norm. We build our lives and behaviors around stress. Even children and especially teens have stress. They worry about their friends, their weight, if they are wearing the right clothes or if they have a zit (acne). More Medical Problems are caused by Stress than anything else! Learning the right way to relax and reduce tension can help your body work better and create a healthier life. Your body's natural processes are affected by stress. Stress can be a killer and reducing your stress should be a top priority in your life. Stress can cause: 1. Your Body to Age: - Which means all your cells and organs are getting old before their time. When your stomach ages, food sits in it longer and can start to spoil before its even digested. This can lead to colon problems. Your skin and heart can also be affected by stress. 2. Sugar to Build Up: - When humans were hunters and gatherers, they had stress when they were being stalked by a predator. The body understood this stress and released sugars for instant energy so we could flee or fight. Now, when the stress causes the sugars to release, we don't use them for energy. They go unused and the body stores them as fat instead. 3. Your Blood to Thicken: - Thicker blood allows it to carry more oxygen to help with our fight or flight as previously mentioned. Again we don't use this feature as nature originally intended and now thicker blood only starts the process of building up plaque on the walls of our arteries. 4. Increased Number of Diseases: - Stress depresses the immune system. Colds and viruses are more common in stressed people. Viruses can cause some cancers, thus keeping a strong healthy immune system is a must. Stress has also been linked to Parkinson's disease. 99% of all Disease is caused by Stress! When your body senses stress, it automatically gets you ready to run or fight. This is just part of your biological makeup. First, the natural response causes the stomach and colon to shut down. - Extra blood is needed by the body and it takes it from the stomach and colon. - With no blood, these organs age faster. - Food that was being digested now just sits there and starts to rot. You end up with rotten food in your colon. As you can imagine, eating rotten food can make you sick, so can having it sitting in your body. - 90% of your immune system is battling disease in the colon. Ask any doctor who does autopsies about people's colons. It's not a pretty picture. Second, your metabolism changes. - The body needs energy and it needs protein. - It goes to the muscles to get it. - If you don't replace the protein and all the amino acids and enzymes, you lose muscle. - You lose body shape when you lose muscle. - The body replaces the muscle with FAT! I have just described a majority of the human population. We are stressed out and because of the stress we are battling colds, the flu, allergies, you name it because of our reduced immune system. So What Can I Do to avoid this downward spiral? Dealing with stress is something we can manage. There are several steps that can reduce stress and when that becomes too difficult, there are things we can do to counteract the negative effects stress has on our bodies. First and foremost, the best way to alleviate the problems associated with stress is to get rid of the stress in our lives. Some things you can do include learning relaxation techniques and ridding yourself of stressful habits. Everyone is different and deals with everyday situations in different ways, but we can all learn to reduce the stress in our life. Second, because it is impossible to get rid of all stress, we need to give our bodies the things it needs to be healthy and overcome the ill effects that stress creates. These can include: Provide you body with the nutrients it needs. While this sounds simple enough, when you body is under stress , the stomach shuts down so even if you are eating a good diet, your body isn't getting what it needs. Supplementation is the answer. However, not all supplements are created equal. Make sure your supplements can be used by the body when it is under stress. This means they get the nutrients to your cells where they are needed and not just take them on a nice ride through your digestive tract. Boost your immune system. Stress makes our bodies more susceptible to disease. It lowers the overall immunity and creates a situation where a majority of the immune system is battling disease in the colon. Get more protein. Most people don't get enough protein. Stress causes the body to need more of it and so your body raids the muscles to get what it needs. When there is nothing to replace the muscle protein it gets replaced with fat. We slowly lose our shape and definition as we lose muscle. Adding more meat to our diet is not the best solution. Today, almost all commercial meat is contaminated in some way. The beef, pork and chicken you buy from the supermarket is pumped full of antibiotics. A better solution is soy protein. This is a plant protein that has all the amino acids a human body needs. I read a great article once about everything I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten. It said something like " Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some." It's amazing, if we think back to when we were young and now as adults followed some of those same rules how much better our lives could be. I can hear my Mom saying "Eat your vegetables and Take your vitamins". We can all learn a thing or two about life and living if we sit back and watch little kids. So relax, listen to your body and learn how to reduce the stress and its effects on your health. This could be the most important action you can take towards living a longer, healthier and more enjoyable life. THINK ABOUT IT! Permalink         Comments (2)

Archives: November 2009 M T W T F S S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30           « Oct     Previous Posts: The Benefits of B Vitamins: The Happy Vitamin Improve your Health A Guide on How to Choose the Right Supplement New Years Resolutions: Hype or Hope? Stress: The Silent Killer Disease Prevention: A New Approach to Health Care All Posts by Michael Tomberlin Related Posts: Use a Posture Cushion to Relieve Stress Create Facial Harmony With Rhinoplasty Teenagers With Autism, How To Survive With Their Young Adult Age Use Holiday Parties to Speed Up Your Metabolism and Lose Weight Olive Oil - a Health and Beauty Aide Basil for Taste and Health What are the Health Benefits of Probiotics? Ways To Stay Healthy

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