Fish Oil and Omega 3 Health Benefits

There’s no question about it, antibiotics can really pack a punch! However, just like almost anything else, they has a commendable “good” side and a vicious “bad” side.

Antibiotics can be used effectively to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. However, antibiotics do not discriminate“ they kill the bad bacteria as well as the good intestinal flora needed for proper digestion. This also affects the body’s defenses against certain diseases that may ultimately lead to numerous health complications.

Research indicates that antibiotics are often misused. It is alarming to note that they are often unnecessarily or improperly prescribed“ at many times due to the patient’s own insistence. They are being used for just about any ailment imaginable “ from the common cold, to flu, and viruses over which they have no effect on. And where do these all lead? To the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which are now causing some really serious, and untreatable, problems.

And here’s another twist in this already complicated scenario – even a properly prescribed antibiotic can foster the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria for at least two to six months after treatment. Well, that just increased your risk of getting another infection! That also means you’ll be like a walking time bomb“ ready to detonate at any time and inflict damage to anyone around you.

At this point, you might be asking if there is anything you can do to prevent these from happening. Well, the answer is yes. You can do something about it and save yourself and those around you from pain and misery.

To increase your chances of living a healthier, disease-free life, please consider these suggestions:

• Avoid using antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. You know that they bring more harm than good so what’s the point in taking them?
• Strengthen your immune system. You can keep away from harm’s way if you have a strong, healthy immune system.
• Use a natural antibiotic whenever necessary. Garlic tops the list as one of the most effective natural antibiotics. Would you believe that it can even be more potent than penicillin and many prescription drugs in the market today? In fact, a mere 5 to 10 milligrams of garlic is equivalent to 75-100 units of penicillin. Garlic was proven to be more effective against nine strains of E. coli and Staph infections, too.
• Add a full spectrum acidophilus complex to your daily regimen, especially after any antibiotic treatment. Acidophilus helps build the balance of good bacteria in your intestinal tract. It can help you fight off any new drug resistant bacterial strains already in your system or that you might be exposed to in the future.

And here’s a special note on choosing a garlic supplement. Allicin, the source of garlic odor, also happens to be its most active ingredient. So, if you decide to take garlic capsules, choose one that is not deodorized. Otherwise, you’ll be throwing all the good stuff away!

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“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” This one line from that famous fairy tale actually goes more than skin deep, so to speak. It conveys what most people want“ a youthful beauty that defies time. You would agree when I say that all of us want to age as gracefully and as slowly as possible, wouldn’t you?

To do just that, you need to take extra care of your skin. It is by far the largest organ in our body and the only one exposed to the harsh elements. Eventually, the skin will get thinner, drier, and more wrinkled. Age spots may likewise begin to show up. Well, you can’t stop the aging process but you can definitely do something to slow it down.

How? By looking for the proverbial fountain of youth? Nah, the solutions may be far simpler than you think!

1. Go for a healthy diet. GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) doesn’t only apply to your computer “ it also applies to your skin! To have youthful, healthy looking skin, be sure to have more of the “good” foods“ particularly whole grains and fresh carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids help protect the cells from free-radicals which can hasten skin aging.
2. Avoid loading up on fats. As a rule, you need to limit your fat intake to less than 30% of your total calorie requirement. Better yet, replace the “bad” with the “good” and you’ll never go wrong! One example of a “good” fat is omega 3 fatty acids, found in cold water fatty fish like salmon, tuna, herring and sardines.
3. Maintain a regular exercise routine. Keeping an active lifestyle facilitates the transport of vital nutrients to your cells, and helps flush out the toxins in your body. And when you are healthy from the inside, it usually shines through.
4. Drink up. Water is important in keeping your cells hydrated. It also helps carry the toxins out of your body.
5. Avoid excessive sun exposure. Always wear your sunscreen (at least SPF 15) whenever you go out and don’t forget your sunglasses as well. Long pants, long-sleeves, and a wide-brimmed hat may also help you from being too exposed to the sun’s UV-rays. And consider having your car windows tinted, too. UV-rays can cause damage even when you’re inside the car.
6. Consider taking supplements. To make sure you’re getting optimum benefits for your skin, a good whole food carotenoid supplement can help.

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Oxygen is essential to life. You can’t live without it.

But are you aware that oxygen can also be your worst enemy?

Too much oxygen is harmful and destructive to your body just as rust and corrosion destroy your car.

That’s why everyone needs to include lots of antioxidants in their daily diet. They are essential to your health and well-being.

What are antioxidants? They are phytonutrients (plant nutrition) that are naturally found in all fruits and vegetables, but only abundantly in certain varieties. The most common antioxidants are vitamins A, C and E, certain minerals such as selenium and carotenoid, flavonoid and cruciferous phytonutrients.

Antioxidants have been proven many times to protect human cells from oxidative free-radical damage – the primary cause of aging (rust and corrosion) in both your body and brain. You can think of antioxidants as Rust-Oleum for humans that help prevent heart disease, cancer, cataracts and other age-related diseases.

The Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center has definitively measured the total antioxidant power of various foods. Colorful, carotenoid rich fruits and vegetables are at the top of the list. In fact, carotenoids are the coloring agents that give plants their rich green, red, orange and yellow colors.

The highest-ranking fruits are berries, oranges, pink grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, prunes and raisins

And broccoli, beets, red peppers, carrots, tomatoes spinach, kale and Brussel sprouts are the highest-ranking vegetables. 

And yet the most commonly eaten fruits and vegetables contain very few carotenoids and, therefore, are of little antioxidant value. The most popular fruits and vegetables – apples, bananas, potatoes (i.e. French fries) and iceberg lettuce “ are not the Tufts University list of healthiest plant foods.

That’s why it’s so important for your health to eat five to nine daily servings of the more colorful, carotenoid rich fruits and vegetables .

Warning! If you’re planning to supplement your diet with antioxidant nutritionals, you also need to carefully check ingredient sources.

The most common ingredients in aggressively marketed antioxidant supplements are sea algae, pine bark (pycnogenol), milk thistle, gingo biloba, quercetin, grape seed extract and alpha lipoic acid.

You won’t find any of these ingredients the Tufts University list of foods high in antioxidants. That’s pretty interesting, don’t you think?

When looking for a truly naturally carotenoid antioxidant supplement, always ask yourself this simple question. Can I find these ingredients at salad bar or a fruit and vegetable stand?

If your answer is No! move on. Keep looking until you find a formula that’s sourced from fruits and vegetables from the human food chain and not cheap imitations made from industrial by-products. That’s the best way to make sure you’re getting the protection you’re paying for.

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