For those of you who take vitamins, you’re probably familiar with the common vitamins contained in your standard “take one for the day and you’re done” pill. You may even be familiar with some of the minerals as well. But very few people are aware of, or even know, that your better variety of vitamin comes with a mostly disrespected mineral by the name of kelp. Oh, if only people knew how important kelp is to our daily lives. Yes, this mostly misunderstood mineral, is more important to our bodies than the average person knows.

But why? What’s in it? After all, isn’t kelp just some sea weed? Well, kelp is a lot more than that. But the reasons that kelp is so beneficial to us comes down to two elements that are found in kelp.

The first is iodine. Yeah, that same iodine that mom used to put on your cuts when you were a kid. That same iodine that burned like the devil. But guess what? It healed your cut pretty quick, didn’t it? Well, kelp has a great deal of iodine in it. And no, you don’t have to bust open your vitamin pill and spread the contents all over that nasty scratch you got in the backyard while weeding. Iodine works wonders from inside your body as well.

Without getting too technical, iodine is important for thyroid hormone, which absorbs iodide ions from your blood to make and release hormones back into the blood. Why is this important? Because without these iodide ions, thyroid hormone deficiency can reduce your metabolic rate as much as 50%. In English, what this means is that your metabolism slows down considerably, which is a major contributor to obesity. Now do you see why iodine is so important in your diet?

But iodine isn’t the only reason that kelp is so important for us. Aside from iodine, kelp also contains alkali. The benefits of alkali may not be as readily recognizable as iodine as nobody ever rubbed alkali on our cuts and scrapes. But alkali does play an important part in our diet and our bodies chemistry.

Our bodies must maintain a proper pH balance in order to function properly. What usually happens when we become ill is that our bodies become acidic. That’s when we start to suffer from things like acid indigestion because our bodies have too much acid and not enough alkaline. Yes, alkali is what brings our bodies back into balance when they get too acidic. By taking a regular dose of kelp daily, you’re basically keeping your body’s pH in balance.

When I was very young, my mother used to buy actual kelp tablets from the health food store. They were really ugly looking and didn’t go down all that easy. But guess what? I never had indigestion as a kid, regardless of what I ate. And trust me, I ate some nasty things.

Kelp may be misunderstood, but a daily dose of it can be just the ticket to get your body pH back in balance and maybe even lose a few pounds if you’re overweight.

The many unknown benefits of kelp. At least now, they’re known to you.

I can still hear my mother screaming at me across the dinner table. “Eat your peas!” she would bellow at the top of her lungs. Let me tell you, peas can be pretty disgusting to a 13 year old. But I listened and to this day, I am glad I did. Having been a very ill child, it took lots of good food and some help from a few supplements to get me back to health. And the beauty of it all is that I did it WITHOUT harmful drugs. Yes, you really can eat your way to good health. Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll know how.

While a complete course on nutrition would probably put you to sleep, some basics should get you started in the right direction and put you on track to having a healthier you.

Before we begin, the one thing you need to understand is that you must eat a balanced diet. Too much of one kind of food, no matter how good it is, and not enough of another food group is not going to produce the results that you’re looking for. What exactly then do we need to do?

For starters, lots of fresh fruit. I’m not talking about the canned peaches that you get in the supermarket. Canned fruit has very little value and should be avoided. All fruit that you eat should be fresh. One thing about fruit that you need to know. Don’t eat melons, cantaloupes, and watermelons with other kinds of foods. Eat them separately. Other than that restriction, try to have at least three servings of fruit each day.

Vegetables are also very good for you. Again, fresh is better than frozen and certainly better than cooked. Cooking vegetables pretty much kills all the vitamins that are in them. The best form of vegetables is to drink fresh vegetable juice, especially carrot juice. You’re going to need a juicer for this. Trust me, one of the best investments you’ll ever make. Drinking fresh vegetable juice will allow the vitamins and minerals to absorb in the bloodstream quicker.

If you’re going to eat grains, eat only whole grains. This goes for bread and cereal. On thing you have to know about eating grains is that you have to chew them slowly and thoroughly because grains can be very hard to digest.

Nuts and seeds are also terrific for good health. Only eat fresh nuts and seed. Stay away from salted peanuts as they are very bad for you. The amount of salt in them can send your blood pressure through the roof, not to mention how much water it will make you retain.

If you’re going to use any sweetening, use only fresh fruit or a little honey. Stay away from anything made with sugar or corn syrup, especially high fructose corn syrup.

If you’re going to eat meat, stay away from beef and pork. Try to eat things like chicken and turkey. Fresh fish is also very good, but not frozen fish and stay away from shellfish.

Good health through eating right is really a lot more complicated than what can be put into a brief article, but if you start with some basics, you’ll begin to feel a lot better than you do now, especially if you’ve been living on fast food and chocolate layer cakes.

Headaches are a royal pain, and not in the neck. I suffered from headaches daily for ten years and was addicted to extra strength pain killers. I won’t mention any particular brand as it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that because of this I began to suffer from terrible anemia, most likely from stomach bleeding. Fortunately, I didn’t develop ulcers but did have to get off the pain killers with a blood count of between 8.2 and 8.8. The doctors didn’t know how I was walking around.

The truth is, painkillers, like all drugs, can be very dangerous. It doesn’t matter whether you are taking aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen or whatever. Each one has its little and not so little dangers. Oh the drug companies will tell you that you’re only at risk if you take these pain pills for an extended period of time. The point is, why have to take them at all when there are natural alternatives? And yes, the dangers are quite real.

Aspirin, even the coated and buffered aspirins can literally burn a hole right through your stomach. That’s right, aspirins are the second leading cause of ulcers in the United States. This is actually the main reason that acetaminophen was created.

However, acetaminophen also has its dangers. It has been determined that long term use of acetaminophen can cause liver damage. You no longer have to be a heavy drinker to destroy your liver.

What about ibuprofen? Well, for you ladies, it has been determined that ibuprofen can lead to breast cancer. Oh but it gets worse. Ibuprofen usage has been linked to cardiovascular problems, asthma, pregnancy miscarriages and small bowel problems.

The biggest problem with all these pain killers is that unless you really know your brand, as these are all generic terms, you have no idea what you’re getting, unless of course it is common aspirin. But how many people know what pain relievers contain acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or whatever else may be in the brand name they’re taking? Many do not know.

With all the dangers that have been proven by taking these drugs, you would wonder why anybody would take them at all. Well, the truth is, you don’t have to. There are some very natural treatments for headaches and other aches and pains that are very effective.

Eating a balanced diet and taking vitamins will help a great deal in even preventing you from getting headaches. One herb in particular is excellent in preventing and eliminating your headache. The herb is feverfew. This herb can be used not only for treating headaches but for also reducing fever and relieving the symptoms of arthritis. It is also excellent in battling digestive problems.

Aside from feverfew, magnesium, vitamin B2, and Coenzyme Q10 are natural supplements that are quite effective for treating headaches and migraines.

So the next time you’re thinking of running to the medicine cabinet to grab your pain killer of choice, please remember, there are natural and better treatments for both headaches and migraines.

I was a sick kid. That’s all there was too it. I was born over 2 months premature and from day one I had one problem after another. I had chronic sore throats, ear infections, you name it. I missed more school than I attended. At one point, my mother didn’t think I was going to last long. Quite honestly, either did I. Then something amazing happened. My mother got desperate and took me to a well known nutritionist in New York City by the name of Maxamillion Lewitter. He was German and spoke like Bela Lagosi.

Long story short, Dr. Lewitter put me on a very strict diet and had my mother give me massive doses of vitamin C. I was 12 at the time. By the time I entered high school, one year later, I started a string of class attendance that only saw me miss 3 days of school in 4 years.

I was a different person. And I did it without harmful drugs.

Vitamin C literally saved my life.

So just what is the story with vitamin C? Why is it we always hear so much talk about taking plenty of vitamin C in the winter so that we don’t catch our death of cold? Is it just an old wives tale or is there something to it? Well, I can tell you from my own personal experience that vitamin C is no old wives tale. It is indeed a wonder non drug. But just how does vitamin C work and why does it work so well?

What most people don’t realize is that very small amounts of vitamin C are needed in order for the body to function naturally, about 90 mg per day. It’s only when we become ill that we need to have more vitamin C in order to get our bodies back to normal. This ranges from 500 mg per day up to a max of 2000 mg per day, depending on the individual. Do not take more than 2000 mg per day because vitamin C can be toxic if you take too much, even though it does come out in the urine. If you’re very ill, 2000 mg per day for about a week should pretty much get rid of whatever is in your body that is making you sick.

To answer the question of why it works so well, it depends on who you ask. The truth is, the medical community at large is split on the health benefits of vitamin C. There are those who stand firmly behind its healing powers and then there is the other side which isn’t quite so sure or flat out refutes these claims. For those who believe in vitamin C, and mind you these beliefs are based on tests which include those that have confirmed that vitamin C cures scurvy, the explanation behind why vitamin C can cure many ills centers on the findings that vitamin C actually protects cells of our body from harm and helps us absorb iron from food, which increases our blood count. Why is that important? Because a low blood count, which even medical doctors will confirm, increases our risk of anemia and many other problems.

In spite of all the evidence, science can’t agree on the benefits of vitamin C, which are too numerous to get into in this article. However, evidence aside, I know in my heart that had it not been for vitamin C and some sensible eating, I would not be here today to write this article.

Healing wonder or myth? I’ll let you decide for yourself.

We hear a lot of talk about herbs and how they can treat various ailments. In a society where we are brought up to believe that the only way to cure our ills is to go to the doctor and get a pill, shot or even an operation, we can’t help but wonder if all this talk about herbs is just that, talk. Or is there something to it? Can herbs really cure us of what ails us? We’re going to take a look at some herbs and the claims that nutritionists make. In many cases, there is documented evidence of these claims. Makes you wonder. Fact or fiction, or a little of both?

Ginger is said to be very good for treating cases of nausea. Ginger, for those interested, originated in China and quickly spread to Southeast Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Even though it is commonly referred to as a root, it is actually an herb from the Zingiber officinale plant. As to the claims that Ginger is great for nausea, I can honestly say that I have personally used ginger to treat nausea when I had severe post nasal drip and it worked like a charm. Okay, maybe treating nausea isn’t the same as curing cancer, but the point is, taking ginger powder in tea definitely did the trick when nothing else worked.

Rose hips are said to be great for fighting off infection. Rose hips are the fruit from the rose plant. Many people use rose hips in herbal tea. They actually taste very good. But fight infection? Well, there is a reason for that. Rose hips just happen to be very high in vitamin C. As a matter of fact, rose hips are probably the most natural concentrated source of vitamin C, containing between 1700 and 2000 mg per 100 grams of rose hips. That would be the equivalent of about 3 or 4 vitamin C tablets at 500 mg each. Again, from my own experience, I have fought off many colds without drugs by simply drinking rose hips tea.

Devils claw is said to have great anti-inflammatory properties. Devils claw is a plant that comes from the sesame family. The pant itself is native to South Africa. The are two active ingredients in devils claw, Harpagoside and Beta sitosterol. Supposedly, it is these ingredients that give devils claw its anti-inflammatory properties. Again, from my own experience, having suffered from sinus headaches for many years, I can honestly say that taking devils claw actually relieved my pain.

Granted, this is a very short list. I chose it to make a point though. These are just three herbs that all claim to have some healing power. The skeptic would dismiss this as drug bashing. I looked at the claims and simply said to myself, well, if that’s what they claim, why not give it a shot? So I did. The results were amazing. Granted, we’re not talking about serious illnesses here. However, if these herbs were able to relieve my relatively moderate symptoms, who’s to say that there aren’t herbs out there that can actually cure things as serious as cancer?

Personally, I will keep an open mind to the possibility until somebody proves otherwise.