Knowing and Understanding Iron Rich Foods

Hemoglobin is a protein that red blood cells require, and if you are lacking iron rich foods in your diet, you maybe lacking hemoglobin and be anemic. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from your lungs to all of your cells. If you are low in iron, you are lacking hemoglobin and your red blood cells are not able to do their job.

You may not even know you are lacking iron or have anemia. You may feel tired and have little energy. If you let these symptoms go checked without a blood test, you may go on feeling tired for months, even years. The best way to insure you do not have anemia is by learning about iron rich foods.

Children and young women are more likely to have anemia and need iron rich foods than men or older women. Children are growing, and maybe are picky eaters, and women loose blood frequently. If you are not in this group of people, it does not mean you can live your life without eating iron rich foods, but you will feel better if you include iron in your diet.

During pregnancy, women need two and a half times more iron than men. Women also loose blood during their period. There are many other ways to loose blood that may include all of us. Internal bleeding can be in the digestive tract, with a bleeding ulcer, ulcerated colitis, cancer or while taking aspirin for long periods. Bleeding can occur in the stomach and intestines without a person even knowing. These are conditions that should not be ignored. In addition to eating iron rich foods, it would be wise to consult a physician or medical professional, if you suspect you are loosing blood in any way.

You don’t have to eat boring foods to be sure you have iron rich foods in your diet. You can even feed picky kids without them knowing they are eating iron rich foods. By knowing a few secrets to help you, you will be able to eat what you like by just adding a few foods that are high in iron. One secret I will pass along is, drinking tea with your meal will cause your body to absorb less iron. You can substitute the tea with milk, which we all know is high in iron, or a glass of juice high in Vitamin C. It is also important that you take iron supplements with water, not milk. Waiting an hour before eating milk based products, such as pudding, will allow your body to absorb the iron supplement.

There are so many iron rich foods, it is easy to plan meals around them. Eggs are rich in iron and can be included in meals all during the day, not just for breakfast. Fish can be included in a meal in so many different ways. Oily fish are best, but you can work with tuna, sardines, pilchards, cockles and mussels. The kidney, liver, and heart of poultry are high in iron. Now don’t get disgusted. I know many people don’t like the insides of poultry. By cutting the kidney, liver, and heart into tiny pieces, you can make delicious gravy. Beef is considered one of the best iron rich foods. Knowledge of how to cook beef must be followed.

While you are shopping at the grocery store, read labels along the isles to discover iron rich foods. Many cereals include bran, bran flakes and weetabix that can be eaten at breakfast. Beans like lentils, chick peas, haricot, kidney, pinto, baked, butter, and peas can be used in soups and casseroles. Nuts like almonds, cashews, Brazils, and walnuts can be eaten raw or added to baked goods that everyone loves. Green vegetables that are rich in iron are watercress, spinach, and dark leaf lettuce. When shopping, remember the darker the leaf, the higher the food value. Among the spices that are iron rich are gingerbread, that children love, ginger biscuits, and curry power. Iron rich foods happily include Cocoa and chocolate which are every ones favorite, especially the kids.

Bran can be baked into delicious muffins. .Here is a recipe that will help you include iron rich foods into your morning meal.

Bran Muffins (You don’t have to tell the kids)

1-1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup milk or buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon each baking soda, baking power, salt
½ cup walnuts (you may substitute with dates or raisins)

Preheat over to 375 degrees Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Mix bran with milk and let stand
Mix oil egg, sugar and vanilla. Add bran and milk until blended. Fold in remaining ingredients.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and eat.

Improving your Memory with Natural Memory Boosters

The most frustrating part of life is when you start to say something and forget the words; or you go to another part of the house and have to stand there for several minutes before you remember what you intended to do. This has happened to all of us. It seems to happen more often the older you get. If you are wise with your food selections, you can eliminate most of these problems with memory boosters. The foods you eat can help your memory.

When someone tells you that just eating better will help your memory, it sounds so easy. It can be easy if you are familiar with foods that are memory boosters. There are a number of foods to choose from, so you can eat the foods you like and still improve your memory.

Your brain needs choline and DMAE to build cetylcholine, pyroglutamate, phosphatidylserine, and omega-3 fats, acetl-L-carnitine and glutamine, ginkgo, and other vitamins and minerals that we will talk about. Don’t let the words scare you away from reading this article. In order to provide your brain with memory boosters, we will explain what you can do.

The substances mentioned above are contained in your brain but need to be replenished for the brain to function normally. If you are lacking in any of these memory boosters, your brain will start letting you down. These substances are found in everyday food. When you become familiar with food labels, in your grocery store and health food store, it will be easy for you to select foods that not only taste great, but feed your brain.

Choline has the chemical called acetylcholine and is the main building block for your memory. If you are lacking this chemical, you will have noticeable memory loss. Let’s call “acetylcholine” the main memory booster. This is your main building block for a good memory. Fish are a great source of acetylcholine along with eggs, liver, soy beans, peanuts, and all the other nuts you like.

A few years ago, someone, who will remain nameless, told the public that eggs were not good for us. When the public heard this, many of us refrained from eating eggs and millions started having memory loss. I am sure most of us did not make the connection to eggs. By putting eggs back in the diet, we are adding back one of the most important memory boosters. Eating eggs is important, but your need to include other Vitamins such as Vitamin B5, (pantothenic acid), B1, B12 and C. A combination of eggs, along with these vitamins, will build acetylcholine that the body needs.

Researchers have gone on to find that supplementing choline during pregnancy can improve brain development in infants. Higher doses were shown to boost memory in adults by building nerve cells and receptor sites for neurotransmitters and raising levels of dopamine.

Further research with choline taken from soy lecithin has found it improves athletic abilities, may improve the human growth hormone, and may slow aging. Very few side effects were reported during the testing of these memory boosters.

The Wonderful World of Breakfast Recipes

Many of us have heard “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” That is a phrase that many of us choose to forget, especially if we are trying to take off a little weight. It is so easy to just skip breakfast. We tell ourselves, “Oh I’ll just grab something later”. Your body only knows it needs breakfast. If you take time to learn about breakfast recipes, breakfast will become a meal you will never skip again.
That big yellow banana is the most popular food in North America. If it is sitting in your fruit bowl, it is calling your name. The banana is unique in itself. Bananas are derivatives of an herb called Musa sapientium that is related to the orchid family. There are probably a million breakfast recipes that include the banana. Dermatologists, psychologists, and researchers agree the banana is one of the most valuable fruits in your fruit bowl. The banana is acclaimed as the food that can cure whatever ails you, when eaten alone or added to a good breakfast.
Muffins are great for breakfast. To include bananas in your breakfast muffin recipe is a way to take advantage of bananas, whole wheat flour, and bran all in just a few bites. The following recipe is a wonderful breakfast recipe that will also respect your waistline.

Banana Bran Crumb Muffins
1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking power
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup bran
3 ripe bananas, mashed
¾ cup white sugar or ¾ cup sugar substitute (Splenda®) or ¾ cup (Sweet and Low®)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups or line with paper.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking power, salt and bran. In another bowl, beat bananas with sugar (or sweetener) egg, and melted butter. Stir mixture with flour mixture until moist. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bow, mix brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated over for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Reduce baking time if sugar substitute is used.

The University of California at Davis and Harvard Medical School conducted a study regarding depression in children and adults. The conclusion, if adults and children eat breakfast, on a regular basis, depression can be greatly alleviated. Millions of Americans suffer from depression. The study concluded that breakfast, using one of many breakfast recipes, is the most important meal to rid a person of depression.
The brain is complicated. Think of your brain as a big bowl that needs filling each day. The bowl needs to be filled with ingredients, for making neurotransmitters, to tell your body how to function. In the morning, your bowl is empty and it is telling your body you need breakfast. If you choose not to fill the bowl, or select the wrong items to put in the bowl, your brain will tell your body things like. “I don’t feel good”, or “I’m sad”, or I just can’t function”.  Adding breakfast to your morning with one of many breakfast recipes will enable your brain to transmit the messages your body needs.

The key to having the right foods to put in your bowl starts while you are shopping at the market. The ingredients you buy, or pick from your garden, are the items you will have on hand to fill your bowl. It is important to prepare food from breakfast recipes that will enable your brain to send good neurotransmitters, or messages, to your body. By becoming familiar with food labels, you will take home foods with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and other nutrients that will enable your brain to send positive messages to your body.
The food you select needs to provide serotonin and dopamine that will contribute to your well being and mood. The suggested items that you can include in your breakfast recipes are – banana fruit toast; oatmeal with a banana; pancakes, but whole wheat is important; or a whole wheat turkey breakfast muffin; oatmeal pancakes with flaxseed; bran and flaxseed muffins. Bran and flaxseed are essential fatty acids that can alleviate depression. People with chronic depression are found to have low levels of essential fatty acids.

Belgian Waffles with Flaxseed
1-1/2 cup flaxseed (if you don’t find it in your grocery store, look in the health food stores.)
2 teaspoons baking power
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat and lightly grease a Belgian wall iron according to directions. Mix flour, flaxseed, baking soda and salt. Beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold in batter, being careful not to over mix. Spread ¼ cup or amount according to manufacturer’s directions. Top waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

If you start your day with a good breakfast, you will improve you memory and just feel better overall. Eating breakfast using breakfast recipes means you are less likely to eat the wrong foods at during the day. When you start eating a good breakfast, along with eating good foods all day, you may not feel better right away. Your body will go through a learning process. It may even seem like withdrawals. After you have eaten nutritious foods using your new breakfast recipes for awhile, you will find your mind is sharper, your memory is better, your mood will improve, and you may even start sleeping better.

Visit the internet for breakfast recipes and other recipes using nutritious foods. Fill the bowl in your brain with nutrients so the messages your brain sends will be, “boy, do I feel better.” If you get tired of eating a particular food, seek out new breakfast recipes. There are too many foods and recipes to choose from for you to get in a rut. When you start feeling better, thank yourself for a job well done. And remember, a banana is your best friend.

Massage Therapy Techniques

Massage therapy techniques have been around for as long as civilization itself. The techniques are very much the same as in the beginning. Modern therapists have just perfected massage therapy techniques over the years and adapted to ailments that people suffer today.

Ancient Egyptian tombs have been found to have images drawn on the walls showing people having massage therapy. Around 700 B.C., Eastern Chinese cultures were using massage as a device for healing. It is believed massage was used to heal ailments from pain to paralysis. History shows that traditional Indian medicine, such as Ayurveda, used massage therapy techniques for healing. They added aromatherapy oils and spices. History shows Greeks and Romans, such as Julius Caesar, used massage therapy for the treatment of pain.

In the 19th century, Swedish massage therapy techniques were introduced to our Western culture. It is the therapy that is used today. It is believed that these techniques were handed down from traditional Chinese, Egyptian and Roman masseuses. These therapy techniques have influenced aromatherapy, Riki, reflexology, Rolfing, Amma therapy and osteopathy,

Massage techniques were used during World War I in the hopes of helping to heal and relieve pain from nerve damage and alleviate shell shock in solders in the 1930s. Massage therapy techniques are used for an ever growing number of reasons. Massage therapy techniques have even been used on premature newborn babies in hopes of stimulating their nervous systems and growth.

Ailments and medicine keep evolving and massage therapy techniques are evolving along with them. Cancer patients find relief from pain through massage therapy. Aids patients, arthritic patients, patients with lumbar pain, nerve damage, fibromyalgia, paralysis, heart attack patients and stroke patients are finding relief while undergoing massage therapy. There are a number of massage therapy techniques to choose from to relieve pain and regenerate muscles.

One of the more popular techniques is the Bowen Technique. It is a gentle but useful massage therapy that many find beneficial and more comfortable when experiencing extreme pain. The technique is used on specific sites of the body to gently balance the nervous system and relieve pain. An Australian therapist, by the name of Tom Bowen, developed this method of a light touch therapy.

Deep Muscle Massage Therapy must be performed by a qualified therapist. When the body is off balance, due to tightening of the internal muscles, deep muscle therapy will relieve the muscle, or adhesion, to help the body resume its natural balance. Without relief from the deep muscle pain, the pain can move on into thee tissues, joints, and even poor posture. Many physical ailments can be attributed to deep muscle pain that goes unchecked.

Massage therapy techniques applied to the hands and feet can affect many other parts of the body in positive ways. In 1913, Dr. William Fitzgerald, an ear, nose, and throat specialist and surgeon, was applying pressure to a patient’s feet and noticed it affected other parts of the body in a favorable way. From this, he developed a reflexology chart by dividing the body into ten vertical zones. The zones showed that when pressure was applied to the different zones on the foot, other parts of the body responded. This message therapy technique is still used today.

Memory Boosters

The most frustrating part of life is when you start to say something and forget the words; or you go to another part of the house and have to stand there for several minutes before you remember what you intended to do. This has happened to all of us. It seems to happen more often the older you get. If you are wise with your food selections, you can eliminate most of these problems with memory boosters. The foods you eat can help your memory.

When someone tells you that just eating better will help your memory, it sounds so easy. It can be easy if you are familiar with foods that are memory boosters. There are a number of foods to choose from, so you can eat the foods you like and still improve your memory.

Your brain needs choline and DMAE to build cetylcholine, pyroglutamate, phosphatidylserine, and omega-3 fats, acetl-L-carnitine and glutamine, ginkgo, and other vitamins and minerals that we will talk about. Don’t let the words scare you away from reading this article. In order to provide your brain with memory boosters, we will explain what you can do.

The substances mentioned above are contained in your brain but need to be replenished for the brain to function normally. If you are lacking in any of these memory boosters, your brain will start letting you down. These substances are found in everyday food. When you become familiar with food labels, in your grocery store and health food store, it will be easy for you to select foods that not only taste great, but feed your brain.

Choline has the chemical called acetylcholine and is the main building block for your memory. If you are lacking this chemical, you will have noticeable memory loss. Let’s call “acetylcholine” the main memory booster. This is your main building block for a good memory. Fish are a great source of acetylcholine along with eggs, liver, soy beans, peanuts, and all the other nuts you like.

A few years ago, someone, who will remain nameless, told the public that eggs were not good for us. When the public heard this, many of us refrained from eating eggs and millions started having memory loss. I am sure most of us did not make the connection to eggs. By putting eggs back in the diet, we are adding back one of the most important memory boosters. Eating eggs is important, but your need to include other Vitamins such as Vitamin B5, (pantothenic acid), B1, B12 and C. A combination of eggs, along with these vitamins, will build acetylcholine that the body needs.

Researchers have gone on to find that supplementing choline during pregnancy can improve brain development in infants. Higher doses were shown to boost memory in adults by building nerve cells and receptor sites for neurotransmitters and raising levels of dopamine.

Further research with choline taken from soy lecithin has found it improves athletic abilities, may improve the human growth hormone, and may slow aging. Very few side effects were reported during the testing of these memory boosters.

Aphrodisiacs

An aphrodisiac can be a food, drink or even a certain action that excites sexual desire. Aphrodisiac can create the right mood or setting to enhance sexual pleasure.

Here are some forms of Aphrodisiacs, other than food and drinks, which can be used to simulate the 5 different senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste), to arouse and excite sexual desires:

1. Perfume & Cologne

Scent evokes the desire through the sense of smell. Some smell sets the mood right and makes you appeal more to the opposite sex. It’s no wonder the perfume industry are booming as it not only makes a personal statement about you but also attracts.

The word “pheromone” is derived from the Greek words, pherein and hormone- meaning “excitement carrier.” Pheromones attract the opposite sex that naturally triggers romantic feelings. At the Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia in 1986, some scientists discovered the existence of human pheromones in human sweat. Researchers conducted an experiment involving an identical twin. One of them was sprayed with pheromones and both twins sat at a bar for an evening. In the end, the twin who had the pheromone boost was approached three times more.

2. Sexy Music Songs

Music can often be the prelude and can effectively set the mood right. A sexy song can lead to feeling romantic or sensuous. A dance can often result in the end and the “tango” can lead to the hot passion in bed.

3. Skin, Lingerie, Sexy Movie

Men are often weak in the presence of beauty. Different people have different weakness of the eye and are drawn to different physical assets. Some are attracted to bosoms or butts and some women may like muscles or a six pack. Employing lingerie and a sexy movie can heighten the desire as well.

4. Touch & Smell- Erotic Aromatherapy Massage

Touch plays an important role in this Aphrodisiac. When someone you fancy touches you, it will usually create an electrifying sensation. Touch is undeniably one of the key and most important elements in a couple’s relationship.

Scent, on the other hand, creates an air of romance. You can use Rose oil, as a form of aromatherapy to create a more romantic and sensual mood.

An erotic aromatherapy massage could relax a partner with the wonderful smell and your warm touch leading to other activities in bed.

5. Verbal Aphrodisiac – art of flirting

Sometimes, flirting is the start of it all. It often happens in an affair, because flirting is often fun to the receiver and he or she will feel desirable and sexy.

6. Sex Games for Couples

It can be a simple board game with the loser having to strip and kiss the winner where he or she demands. It is fun and provocative. By the end of the game, both of you will either, end up laughing or be having some hot, passionate kissing. And it is an easy guess where and what it will lead you to.

Use A Piece Of Card When Applying Mascara

People say that eyes are windows to your soul. Indeed eyes speak volumes, and hence eyes make up are viewed as one of the most important. However, eye make-up is not complete if you neglect your eye lashes. Curl your lashes and use mascara to open up your eyes and add “soul” to them. By enhancing your lashes, attention will be drawn towards your eyes. A make up tip is to use a piece of paper or card and place it on your eyelid area when applying mascara. This prevents the mascara from smudging onto your eyelids. Be sure to use smudge proof mascara for best results.

Match Eye Shadows To Your Outfit And Eyes Shape

Depending on how adventurous you are, you can try experimenting with different colours of eye shadows. The shape and size of your eyes will also determine which colours are more suitable for you. If you have small and droopy eyes, it is not advisable to choose black or go for smokey looks as
it may make eyes look even smaller.

One of the make-up tips, is to use shimmering shades like silver or white on the double eyelids to help to open the eyes and make them look bigger. Dabbing a little white colour near the tear duct and blending them will create light and make eyes look more alive too. Line the upper lids to complete the eye make-up.

Use eye make-up base if you want your eye shadows to last longer, example when you have a date or need to attend a party at night after work. Just touch up or re- apply slightly darker shades before heading for your date or the party.

Paint Your Lips

Red lipsticks not only make your teeth appear whiter, they also tend to brighten up a face. Neutral or pink shades soften the face. Dark purple makes one look vampish while orking executives usually opt for brownish or earthly tones for a more professional image. Young girls use gloss for a natural, dewy effect. Different colours give the wearer a different mood, so choose your lipsticks colour to determine the image you want to project.

A make up tip is to treat the lips as a piece of canvass. You do not have to just slap one colour on the lips. Instead, you can add depth by using a brush and applying lighter colour in the centre of the lips while lining the lips with slightly darker colour. Blend it afterwards to soften and smoothen out the contrast. This is just like painting an art piece, adding light and creating the illusion of dimension on the lips.

If you are having smokey looks for your eyes, it is best to use nude lip colour so that it does not draw attention away from your eyes, which are supposed to be the focus of attention.