Daily Archives: January 20, 2016

11 Health Benefits of Garlic

Garlic does more than just invigorate your palate and ward off vampires; it’s also a smelly superfood health aid. The spice is a highly nutritious vegetable with very few calories, containing trace amounts of other nutrients that contribute to its universal status of a powerful, beneficial healer. The natural medicinal ingredient, both as a fresh plant and supplement, can strengthen immune function and boost overall well-being.

Health Benefits of Garlic

1. Garlic prevents and treats colds.

Packed with antioxidants, a daily dose of garlic in your recipes could benefit your immune system. If a cold does sneak by, try sipping garlic tea: steep chopped or minced garlic in hot water for several minutes, then strain and drink. You can add a bit of honey or ginger to improve the taste.

2. Lowers Blood Pressure
A garlic supplement a day may help keep your blood pressure at bay. Its active compounds can significantly reduce blood pressure comparable to the effects of prescribed drugs. Aged garlic extract between 600 to 1,500 milligrams (mg) was found to be just as effective as the drug Atenolol prescribed for hypertension in a 24-week period, according to a 2013 study published in the Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

3. Lowers Heart Disease Risk
Garlic can help lower the risk of heart disease by lowering total LDL cholesterol. A 2000 study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found the effect of garlic on total cholesterol level in people with elevated levels moderately reduced cholesterol levels. Vandana Sheth, registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics told Medical Daily in an email that this is achieved by “diminishing the activity of main cholesterol-producing enzyme in the liver.” Garlic supplements can enhance the body’s ability to dissolve blood clots that would otherwise increase the risk of heart attacks by closing the arteries.

4. Garlic May Help You Live Longer
Effects on longevity are basically impossible to prove in humans. But given the beneficial effects on important risk factors like blood pressure, it makes sense that garlic could help you live longer. The fact that it can fight infectious disease is also an important factor, because these are common causes of death, especially in the elderly or people with dysfunctional immune systems.

5. Eating Garlic Can Help Detoxify Heavy Metals in the Body
At high doses, the sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to protect against organ damage from heavy metal toxicity.

6. Control your weight with garlic.
Garlic could help you control your weight, according to nutritionist Cynthia Sass, who cites a study that showed mice eating a garlic-rich diet reduced their weight and fat stores. To take advantage of this benefit, try to cook with garlic daily.

7. Keep away mosquitoes with garlic.
Scientists aren’t sure why, but mosquitoes don’t seem to like garlic. One study in India found that people who rubbed a garlicky concoction on their arms and legs weren’t bothered by the pesky buggers. Make a solution of garlic oil, petroleum jelly, and beeswax for a natural repellant or place cloves of garlic nearby.

8. Garlic works as a natural glue.
Have you ever noticed how sticky your fingers get after chopping garlic? That natural adhesive quality is why some people use garlic to fix hairline cracks in glass. Crush some cloves and rub the juice on the crack, wiping away any excess.

9. De-ice your sidewalk with garlic.
A town in Iowa used donated garlic salt to remove ice from roadways. Next time you stumble on old garlic salt in the back of your spice cabinet, save it for an icy walkway.

10. Protect plants with garlic.
Garden pests don’t like garlic, so make a natural pesticide using garlic, mineral oil, water, and liquid soap. Pour into a spray bottle and mist your plants to keep away destructive critters.

11. Improves Bone Health
The alkalizing vegetable is filled with bone-healthy nutrients such as zinc, manganese, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Risa Groux, a holistic nutritionist and ChazzLIVE expert told Medical Daily in an email: “Garlic is really high in manganese, which contains enzymes and antioxidants that facilitates the formation of bones and connective tissues, bone metabolism, and calcium absorption.”

Sources:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/garlic-good-you-7-surprising-benefits-garlic-optimal-health-324114
http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/15-health-benefits-of-garlic/
http://www.rd.com/health/beauty/13-surprising-benefits-of-garlic/
http://thatsnotfood.com

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Tips for controlling Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.cWhen these cells don’t work properly, the body can no longer produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes therefore require lifelong insulin therapy.

Other medications and lifestyle changes may also help people manage the disease.

1. Test Regularly

None of us enjoy testing our blood but it is certainly a big help when it comes to getting our blood glucose levels under control. For example, you might find yourself asking questions about why you went too high such as:

  • Did I take less insulin for lunch?
  • Did I exercise less than usual?
  • Did I have high sugar levels before lunch?

Testing regularly helps to reduce the number of factors that could have played a part, and so makes understanding highs and lows easier to understand, and gives you the chance to better learn and avoid these highs and lows in future.

2. Insulin Injection

Insulin must be injected, because if it were taken as a tablet, it would be broken down in your stomach – like food – and would be unable to enter your bloodstream. When you’re first diagnosed, your diabetes care team or physicians will help you with your insulin injections, before showing you how and when to do it yourself. They’ll also show you how to store your insulin and dispose of your needles properly. Insulin injections are usually given by an injection pen, which is also known as an insulin pen or auto-injector. However, injections are sometimes given using a syringe. Most people need two to four injections a day. To control your blood sugar you should consult your physician to learn to regulate the amount of insulin you need according to your blood sugar level.

3. Establish a Routine

Many of us who have struggled with our control at one time or another will likely be familiar with the feeling of being always one step behind our diabetes, such as needing to correct a series of highs and lows rather than being able to plan ahead so much. Making sense of our results is always going to be easier if there are fewer factors to consider, so to help make sense of your blood glucose results, try to keep to a regular routine as best as you can.

Taking injections at the same times of day, where possible, is a good place to start. It is particularly important to take your long term insulin at the same time(s) each day.

4. Weigh out portions and check carbohydrate value

Food portions can often be a source of misjudgment. You may have the same meal on two different days but get different results following from the meal if the size of portion was different on those two days. It can really help to spend some extra time weighing or measuring out portions of foods, particularly those that have a higher carbohydrate value, such as potatoes, rice, pasta and cereal. This will allow you to make more accurate judgments when making dosing decisions and when analyzing your results.

5. Regular Exercise

Be active and do regular exercise like brisk walking, stretching, sports and yoga for 1 hour. When stored glucose is exhausted, the body uses the glucose from the blood stream, thereby reducing the glucose level in blood. Regular workouts  will keep diabetes under control.

 

 

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