Boron- A vital trace mineral

Functions:

- Required for normal growth and good health
- Used for muscle building
- Helps in the absorption of other minerals like calcium and magnesium
- Works with calcium to strengthen the bones
- Prevents arthritis
- Reduces the severity of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis
- Essential for reproduction and also for foetal development
- Reduces the symptoms of menopause like hot flushes etc
- Increases testosterone level in males
- Improves estrogen production in females
- Prevents osteoporosis
- Prevents blood clots
- Prevents strokes and heart attacks
- Helps to reduce cholesterol
- Helps to reduce fungal infections (boric powder for vaginal yeast infections)
- Ensures calcium integration into the bones and cartilage
- Improves short term memory, concentration and eye-hand coordination

Deficiency symptoms:

- Reduction in the metabolism of calcium and magnesium
- Improper functioning of the nervous system
- Arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Imbalance in the production of sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen
- Hyperthyroidism

Symptoms of boron toxicity:

- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Skin itchiness and dermatitis
- Abnormalities in the skeleton
- Lethargy and weakness

People with kidney disease should be careful about their boron intake. Normally excess boron gets excreted through the urine. In kidney patients, this does not happen and there is a possibility of the excess boron accumulating in the heart, brain and kidneys.

Good food sources of Boron:

Apples, Avocado, Black currants, Broccoli, Carrots, Chickpeas, Dates, Hazelnuts, Honey, Kiwis, Nuts ( esp Almonds), Olives, Onions, Oranges, Peaches, Peanut butter, Pears, Plums, Potatoes, Prunes, Raisins, Red grapes, Red kidney beans, Soybeans, Sultanas, Tomatoes

Stay blessed with good health ….always!!!

Warm regards,

Charmaine D’Souza

The Lymphatic/Immune System

We are very aware nowadays that we share our existence with a plethora of microorganisms, not all of them friendly to the human body: bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. These microorganisms, which we call pathogens, are the cause of many diseases.

The lymphatic system plays an important role in the ongoing struggle to keep us healthy. Lymphocytes, the primary cells of the lymphatic system, contribute to our ability to resist infection and disease by responding to the presence of pathogens in our systems. They attempt to eliminate these threats through a combination of physical and chemical means. For this reason, lymphocytes are said to provide a ‘specific defence’, known as the immune response.

The efficiency of our lymphatic system in keeping us free of disease, through its interaction with the cells and tissues of our other systems, determines our level of immunity.

Although we associate cancer and HIV with auto-immune deficiencies, many other diseases fall into this category: Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, hemolytic anemia, lupus erythmatosus, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Raynaud’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, vasculitis, vitiligo, etc. Auto-immune deficiencies may be suspected in many other undiagnosed progressive deteriorations of health.
Causes of Imbalances:

Heredity, allergies, poor nutrition, environmental pollution and stress are all factors influencing the state of our immune system.

Effects of Imbalance: 

Enlarged lymph nodes, weakness and fatigue, skin lesions or red streaks on the skin, respiratory problems and allergies, recurrent or chronic infections, and candidiasis, are all signs of a weakened immune system.

Recommendations: 

A healthy diet from infancy is the best preventive measure one can take against immune system disorders. A poorly nourished, toxic body has no resources to fight back with, which is the reason we increasingly encounter autoimmune deficiency syndromes and other serious diseases such as cancer.

Low stomach acid, candidiasis, food allergies and hypothyroidism must be recognized and addressed to allow the body to heal itself.
Antioxidants, co-enzyme Q10, Essential Fatty Acids, vitamin E and zinc are necessary to support a strong immune system.

The lymphatic system does not have a pump to drain out toxins…you have to be that pump. So use a standing desk, walk as much as you can, jump on a trampoline, bounce while sitting on an exercise ball, use the sauna regularly, take a hydrotherapy shower by simply alternating between hot and cold water, get a lymphatic drainage massage, brush your body with a stiff, dry brush, breathe deeply……….to help pump and decongest lymphatic fluid from the entire body

On the psycho-spiritual level, we know that the immune system responds to our thoughts and emotions, either positive or negative. Sustained thoughts of anger, bitterness, hate or resentment tend to weaken the immune system. To support our immune systems, it is important to cultivate harmonious thoughts, open up to love and see the beauty around us.

Stay blessed with good health ….always!!!

Warm regards,

Charmaine D’Souza

Cheers? Bottoms up? A toast to good health?

What do whiskey, rum, beer, brandy, gin, vodka, wine, sake, ouzo and koumiss have in common? These beverages all contain ethanol - a form of alcohol. Even though each gram of alcohol provides 7 calories of energy, alcohol is not a food nutrient but a mind-altering drug. Each standard drink (45 ml liquor or 150 ml wine) has 13 to 14 gms of alcohol.

Alcohol consumption is now a part of celebrating life’s milestones….whether it is barhopping with friends on their birthdays or toasting the bride and groom with champagne at their wedding or downing vodka shots on a Friday night with office colleagues to celebrate a promotion.

When consumed in moderation, alcoholic beverages can make social situations more enjoyable….and can even have some health benefits like offering cardiovascular protection. Consuming small amounts of alcohol can raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels, reduce blood levels of fibrinogen (an important blood-clotting factor) and decrease platelet stickiness. Red wines and beers have beneficial antioxidants (but you can get those from purple grape juice!) However, more and more people are now experiencing serious health problems as a result of their excessive alcohol-drinking habits.

Alcohol does not require digestion and readily passes through the tissues lining the inside of the mouth, esophagus, stomach and small intestine. When alcohol is consumed with a meal or after a meal, food delays its absorption from the stomach and lowers the rate at which it enters the bloodstream. If a person consumes excessive amounts of alcohol on an empty stomach, tremendous damage is done to the liver and the kidneys. In fact alcohol poisoning is a life-threatening condition and binge drinking can be fatal.

Drinkers can be classified as:

• Abstainers - consuming none or fewer than 12 drinks/year
• Light drinkers - consuming 1-12 drinks/month 
• Moderate drinkers - consuming 4-14 drinks/week
• Heavy drinkers - consuming 3 or more drinks/day
• Binge drinkers – consuming 5 or more drinks/occasion (males) 
• consuming 4 or more drinks/occasion (females)

Not everyone who drinks alcohol regularly abuses the drug, but you might be abusing alcohol if you:

• Drink to relax, forget your worries, improve your mood
•  Lose interest in food because of your drinking habits
• Find more and more “reasons” to drink
• Consume drinks in few quick gulps
• Lie about or try to hide your drinking habits
• Often drink alone
• Hurt yourself or others while drinking
• Were drunk more than 3 times in the past year
• Need to drink more than previously to get “high”
• Feel irritable and resentful when you are not drinking
• Have medical, social or financial problems caused by your drinking habits
• Have been fined by the traffic cops for drinking and driving

Harmful effects of alcohol:

• Brain: impairs brain functioning and damages the brain
• Esophagus: increases risk of esophageal cancer
• Skin: causes skin flushing and heat loss
• Heart: damages heart muscle, resulting in heart enlargement and heart failure
• Liver: causes fatty infilteration of the liver, cirrhosis and liver failure
• Pancreas: impairs pancreatic functioning, causes pancreatic inflammation and increased risk of pancreatic cancer 
• Small intestine: interferes with nutrient absorption
• Abdomen: increases fatty deposits in abdominal region
• Colon and rectum: increases risk of colon and rectal cancer

When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her fetus also “drinks” alcohol because alcohol flows freely from the mother’s bloodstream to that of the fetus. An infant born with “fetal alcohol syndrome” has certain facial and heart defects as well as extensive often irreversible damage to the nervous system causing mental retardation. The infant may also have delayed and abnormal physical development.

So if you think you are abusing alcohol or are dependent on it, seek help asap

Stay blessed with good health ….always!!!

Warm regards,

Charmaine D’Souza