Is it safe to have a few alcoholic drinks when im pregnant?The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) advises that women who are pregnant should avoid alcohol especially in the first three months because of the increased risk of miscarriage. The Department of Health recommends that you avoid drinking alcohol altogether if you’re pregnant. This is because if you drink when you are pregnant the alcohol passes to your unborn baby through your placenta. In the developing immature body of your baby alcohol is broken down much slower than in an adult's body. As a result, the alcohol level of the baby's blood can be higher and remain elevated longer than the level in the mother's blood. This could cause the baby to suffer lifelong damage. No level of alcohol use during pregnancy has been proven safe. So it would be wise to avoid alcohol whilst pregnant to ensure you and your unborn baby is in the best possible health.
The benefits of Tomatoes
I love tomatoes and want to know if they are good for you and if you can eat too many of them? The good news is they are full of nutrients and an added bonus is they are low in calories. Tomatoes are high in vitamins C, vitamin A and vitamin K. They also contain B3, Lycopene and fibre. Tomatoes contain a lot of beta-carotene which is believed to help neutralizes the free radicals that could cause illnesses and disease. They also contain fibre which is good for maintaining healthy bowels, good blood sugar levels, and helping to reduce high cholesterol. Vitamin K is very good for bones health. Tomatoes also have antiseptic benefits and they have an alkaline effect on the body when eaten. Drinking tomato juice also holds benefits. The juice is considered to be an anti - inflammatory. It's recommended for people who smoke and those not active for long periods at a time such as when flying, it's good also for those with diabetes type 2. Just cooking tomatoes for a few minutes can increase the lycopene up to 54%. Research has shown that men with prostate cancer who consumed tomato based sauces at least twice a week had a longer survival rate. Another study showed that women who ate oil based tomato products at least twice a week had a 34% lower risk of heart disease. However, eating very large quantities can interfere with calcium absorption. Tomatoes are sensitive to cold, and being placed in the fridge could impede their ripening process, store them at room temperature and out of direct exposure to sunlight. To speed up the ripening process, place them in a paper bag with a banana or apple the ethylene gas that these fruits emit will help speed up the tomato's maturation!!
supplements and diet
I’m eating a healthy diet do I need to take any vitamins? I believe that a good, varied diet is of paramount importance. I do not believe that you cannot replace food with vitamin and mineral supplements, or with meal replacement drinks and be healthy. However, sadly our food is not what it used to be. With nutrient depletion in the soil due to intensive farming, and long-distance shipping and storage of fruits and vegetables, levels of nutrients in our food has been steadily declining over the last fifty years. Additionally, refined foods, such as white flour, pasta, bread and rice have had up to 90% of the minerals stripped from them during this refining process.
For these reasons, I think that a good all round multi-vitamin and mineral is a good 'supplement' to your diet. It will help to make up for those minor dietary indiscretions that are inevitable through life and will boost their intake of the nutrients that are vital wellbeing.
Boost your libido through diet
I’m a 32 year old female is there any way that food can help boost my libido? At night all I want to do is go to sleep!! Your libido is driven by your hormones, and a disruption in these can affect your sex drive. The most important hormone for libido for both sexes is testosterone; nutritionally speaking this is dependent on the production of zinc and vitamin B6. To boost levels of zinc eating shellfish, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds as well as pine nuts, lentils and poultry. Vitamin B6 can be found in bananas, tuna, avocadoes and chickpeas. If you’re tired, stressed, unhappy, overweight or just generally unhappy about your body this can make it hard to feel desirable. Eating a healthy diet of whole unprocessed natural foods with a wide range of fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and seeds can help boost your energy and mood. Our perception of ourselves is also affected by what we eat, do you feel better after you have eat a bowl of homemade stew and crusty wholemeal bread or a fast food take away?
If after making all these changes you still don’t feel better, it could be worth getting your hormone levels checked out at your GPs.
SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER AND FOOD
Seasonal affective disorder is a depressive condition triggered by lack of sunlight. Your mood is hugely influenced by your diet and there are many things you can do nutritionally speaking to help boost it. The levels of serotonin in our body can drop for a number of reasons. One is a lack of sunlight, which is why many people experience Seasonal Affective Disorder. This can be made worse if your diet is lacking in pro-serotonin foods, such as protein and essential fatty acids. And again this can be made worse still if your consumption of anti-serotonin foods such as caffeinated drinks, coffee, diet drinks or foods is high as this which inhibit the natural production of this ‘feel good’ neurotransmitter. To help boost your mood ensure you keep your blood sugar levels even and eat little and often, combining both protein and carbohydrates and example of this could be fruit and yogurt, vegetables and hummus, oatcakes and cheese or a chicken salad. Oily fish and eggs provide both essential fatty acids and vitamin D research had shown that minor deficiencies in these nutrients can affect mood. Cutting out processed foods, coffee and sugar and increase fruit, vegetables, nuts, fish, meats and lentils. When we support ourselves nutritionally and nourish our bodies with the right foods, we can literally eat ourselves happy.