What You Should Know About Vitamins

A well-balanced diet is supposed to contain all the necessary vitamins in sufficient quantities. However, this is not always possible. For example, when you are suffering from certain illnesses, are on a restricted diet, are pregnant, or breast feeding, extra vitamins may be recommended by your doctor. But remember, under normal circumstances extra vitamins are unnecessary and can even be harmful, leading to poisonous overdoses called – hyper-vitaminosis!

The Role of Vitamins

Vitamin A is necessary for healthy skin, bones, and eyes.  Try not to take vitamin A supplements as an excess can cause fragile bones, liver and spleen enlargement and loss of appetite and possibly even hair.

The B vitamins affect blood, skin, nerves and growth, and the way your body uses foods. It will do no harm to take brewer’s yeast, a rich source of several B vitamins, for extra energy. The benefit is that the body quickly excretes any excess vitamin B. Therefore, the body set the balance automatically.

Any diet  should contain sufficient daily amounts of vitamin C-rich foods, as the body cannot store vitamin C, and it is easily destroyed by time, cooking and by cigarette smoking. 

Vitamin D is necessary for strong bones and teeth. It is found mainly in fish liver oils, egg yolk, liver, fatty sea-fish and milk. Supplements should be avoided as overdosing can cause vomiting, headaches, weight loss and calcium deposits in kidneys and arteries.

Vitamin E occurs in many foods especially in oils of wheat germ, cottonseed, and corn, and in oatmeal, margarine, eggs, meat, butter, and peas. Vitamin E occurs in many foods especially in oils of wheat germ, cottonseed, and corn, and in oatmeal, margarine, eggs, meat, butter, and peas.

Vitamin K helps prevent excessive bleeding. Ample quantities can be obtained by eating pig’s liver, green leafy vegetables, eggs and milk; supplements are largely unnecessary as the body makes up for any shortage by manufacturing it in the intestines.  

If you are suffering from vitamin deficiency, you should consult your doctor.

Take Care!

Take care when working, playing or relaxing in the sun.

Always treat the sun with respect. Even sunbathing for a very short period accelerates the skin’s ageing process. 

Suffering sunburn in adolescence can double the chances of skin cancer in later years. 

Pay special attention to skin care of children - it has less natural protection against the sun than adults’.

For protection, avocado oil is rich in vitamin E, which will moisturize your skin as you sunbathe. Carrot oil and cinnamon essence are yellowish in color and will help you tan more quickly while protecting your skin.

Farm For Sale

Traditional English Steak and Kidney Pudding

Definitions with Humour

How to Make Organic Beauty Creams at Home

Most day to day beauty products contain dozens of ingredients, including many chemicals that once researched begin to worry some of us that we put them anywhere near our precious skin. If you're concerned about the chemicals added to cosmetics and beauty products, but don’t have the money for the expensive designer organic labels, why not make your own?

Many organic beauty product recipes contain fewer than ten ingredients, and you can make them without needing a degree and without having to go out and buy lots of special equipment. As long as the ingredients you use are organic, the product you make will be organic.

Essentially a cream is a softened mixture of water and oil. You'll need a few basics to make your own cream at home, these are as follows:

• 4 ounces base oil

• 1 ounce of beeswax

• 2 ounces of distilled water

• 1 teaspoon of essential oils

• 1 vitamin E capsule (optional)

The beeswax acts as an emulsifying agent, and helps to blend the cream together to form a cream. When selecting an essential oil to use, popular base oils include jojoba oil, olive oil, and even sunflower oil. If you are feeling confident or want to experiment you can substitute the distilled water for a herbal tea of your choice or even rosewater. The Vitamin E oil is included to help preserve the cream and to extend its shelf life. If you didn’t want to use Vitamin E oil you could use grapefruit seed in its place.

If you are feeling brave and wanted to change the cream slightly there are additional ingredients you could include, such as Shea butter or coconut butter, and essential oils. Adding butter to your cream can give your homemade product a richer consistency and will also add to the nutritious and moisturizing properties.

How to make the cream:

The first step in the cream-making process is to blend and melt down the oils and emulsifiers. Using the ingredients above, mix together, the base oil of your choice with the beeswax and melt it over a low heat on the stove or in the microwave. Wait for the beeswax to melt and then slowly add in the distilled water whilst whisking with an electrical whisk or hand blender. Once mixed, finally, add the essential oils of your choice and vitamin E oil (extract this by puncturing the capsule and squeezing out the contents). Make sure you stir the cream thoroughly and ensure the oils and vitamin E is mixed in well.

If you did decide to add butter to this cream recipe, you will need to reduce the amount of base oil you use to keep the oil-to-water ratio the same. If you do not keep this ratio the same, the cream will be either thicker or thinner depending on what exactly was added. The butter is added when you add the oils and beeswax and should be heated so it can melt down.

The recipe above not only saves you money but also leaves you with a fully organic (providing you used organic ingredients) face cream.

It also opens up a whole world of cream-making possibilities. You could use any base oils, emulsifiers, and butter along with any floral waters or hydrosols of your choice. You can tailor make any organic, homemade creams to any part of your body or to help address any specific skin problems you might have.

How To Get Your Vitamins – Nature’s Way

A well balanced diet will, in almost all instances, rule out the need for dietary supplements.

Before you stock up on dietary supplements, stop to consider whether you could get similar benefits more cheaply by improving your diet. 

Under normal circumstances, a well-balanced diet contains all the necessary vitamins in sufficient quantities. Obviously, when you are suffering from certain illnesses, are on a restricted diet, are pregnant, or breast feeding, extra vitamins may be recommended by your doctor. Otherwise, extra vitamins are unnecessary and can even be harmful, leading to poisonous overdoses called – hypervitaminosis!

A Good Diet

Vitamin A is necessary for healthy skin, bones, and eyes; you can get enough by eating moderate amounts of dairy products. Ox liver, halibut and cod live oil are particularly rich sources, as are carrots, tomatoes, spinach and watercress. Avoid taking vitamin A supplements as an excess can cause fragile bones, liver and spleen enlargement and loss of appetite and possibly even hair. 

The B vitamins affect blood, skin, nerves and growth, and the way your body uses foods. To get sufficient quantities, your diet should regularly include lean meats and/or pulses, offal, fish, whole-wheat bread and wholegrain vegetables like spinach. If you reel run down, nervous, or develop skin ailments, your doctor may recommend a B complex supplement; some people take brewer’s yeast, a rich source of several B vitamins, for extra energy. 

Doses of pyridoxine (B6) are used to treat acne, convulsions, premenstrual tension, and period pains; both B6 and B12 are prescribed for anaemia. Generally, the body quickly excretes any excess vitamin B, but undernourished people should not take vitamin B1 on its own, as this can impair the body’s use of other vitamins. 

You should ensure that your diet contains generous daily amounts of vitamin C-rich foods, as the body cannot store it, and it is easily destroyed by time, cooking and by cigarette smoking. It is essential for the health of blood, bones, teeth, and the body’s connective tissue. Peppers, black currants, parsley, oranges, broccoli and many other fresh fruits and vegetables are good sources, especially when raw or lightly cooked. There is no conclusive evidence that vitamin C presents colds, but a supplement cannot usually harm.   

Vitamin D is necessary for strong bones and teeth, and prevents rickets in children. It is found mainly in fish liver oils, egg yolk, liver, fatty sea-fish and milk. Supplements should be avoided as overdosing can cause vomiting, headaches, weight loss and calcium deposits in kidneys and arteries.

Vitamins E and K are both connected with the functioning of the blood. Many claims are made for vitamin E – ranging from warding off heart attacks to relieving menopausal symptoms – but none has been proven. 

Vitamin E occurs in many foods especially in oils of wheat germ, cottonseed, and corn, and in oatmeal, margarine, eggs, meat, butter, and peas. 

Vitamin K helps prevent excessive bleeding. Ample quantities can be obtained by eating pig’s liver, green leafy vegetables, eggs and milk; supplements are largely unnecessary as the body makes up for any shortage by manufacturing it in the intestines.  

If you think you are suffering from vitamin deficiency, or that a supplement might help combat a particular ailment, you should consult your doctor. You will also find it helpful to look at a nutrition manual for the quantities required, how to achieve the correct balance and how best to prepare food to make full use of the vitamins.