Calcium is the most abundant mineral in our body and unfortunately most of us aren’t getting enough from our daily diet! Calcium is mainly stored in our bones and teeth and released into our bloodstream when needed. Blood calcium plays a critical role in supporting many bodily functions as well as balancing pH levels. Symptoms of low calcium levels range from brittle bones, abnormal blood clotting and delay in children's growth and development.
When we are born the amount of calcium we need slowly increases from about 200mg, as our body grows with children from age nine to early twenties needing around 1300mg a day. Adults both male and female need about 1000mg a day of calcium. As we age the amount of calcium we need increases again, especially for women.
Another important time for an increase of calcium is during your second and third trimester and when breastfeeding.
To make sure you a
Sleep is something we often don’t get enough of, but its essential to our health and wellbeing. Poor sleep can cause havoc not only on our physical health, but our mental health too. A good nights sleep is definitely something that we should prioritising.
Easier said than done - i know….but read below to see some of the reasons why it’s so important.
Brain function - when we don't get enough sleep our memory is impaired, we don't think as ‘quickly’ or rationally as we should. It’s also harder to learn new information when we are sleep deprived.
Keeps our hearts healthy - when we sleep our blood pressure reduces giving our hearts and blood vessels a little rest. Studies show poor sleep can make you at greater risk for heart attacks or strokes.
Aloe vera is perennial succulent plant that originates from Northern Africa. There are over 400 different aloe species that can be found around the world with aloe vera being the commonly used for medicinal purposes which dates back hundreds of years. If you walk into any health store today you will find it in many different forms, from gels, lotions, tablets to refreshing drinks.
Aloe vera is made up of fleshy green leaves that contain a ‘gel’ which is what will come to mind for most when they think of the plant. The gel contains antioxidants, antiviral, anti fungal, anti inflammatories and antibacterial properties. Interestingly aloe vera contains 20 amino acids, including 8 out of the 9 essential amino acids.
Aloe vera is most commonly know for its use in wound healing and sunburn, but it has quite a few benefits when taken as a supplement or drink.
When taken internally aloe vera can help with the below.
Relieve constipation
Aloe ver
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and make a large part of our muscles and tissue. There are 20 amino acids in total which can be broken down into two categories essential and non-essential. There are 9 essential amino acids which our body cannot make so it’s important that we are getting them through our diet. The other 11 amino acids are non-essential as they can be produced by our bodies. That being said, within the 11 non-essential amino acids there are 6 conditionally essential amino acids, meaning that in times of illness or stress we may need larger quantities of the amino acid which our bodies are unable to produce so we must get it through diet.
Eating a wide variety of animal proteins is the best way to insure that you are getting all the different essential amino acids in your diet. But good news if you are vegetarian or vegan there are plant based proteins you can eat such as quinoa, buckwheat a
Iron is an essential mineral found in every cell of our body and is used in the production of red blood cells. Its important in the formation of haemoglobin which is the part of the red blood cell responsible for carrying oxygen from our lungs to our brain, tissue and muscles and enables the oxygen to move freely between cells. This is why one of the symptoms of an iron deficiency is fatigue as our organs struggle to receive the oxygen required to function optimally.
Our body is able to store about 25% of the iron we need, but we need to make that we are getting the rest though diet or supplement form. Including iron rich foods from the list below with every meal is the best way to prevent iron deficient anaemia.