How The Nutrients Work When Your Engine Is Running #2

As you move and your muscles begin to use energy, you begin to produce heat as a result of that energy. We all know that if we are doing something physical we begin to get warmer. Your body needs to dissipate the heat produced by the muscles in order to keep your internal temperature stable.

As you warm up, the blood vessels become closer to the skin surface. The vessels dilate and there is increased blood flow to the surface. This releases heat through the skin and the internal temperature is maintained.

How the Nutrients Work When Your Engine is Running #1

Normally the nutrients that I mentioned over the past week circulate in the blood stream and go where they are needed. One of the things that we require to do anything is power or energy. When your muscles start to work, they require energy. Energy can be supplied by glucose which is either stored in your muscles as glycogen or it can be brought to the muscle via the blood.

In order for your body to convert the glucose into energy, the body must also supply oxygen, which comes via the blood stream.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #6

The next nutrient which is essential to the functioning of the body is fiber. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest. Let me clarify something, many foods have carbohydrate content that is digestible and some that is not. Vegetable and fruits are prime examples. They contain carbohydrates that your body can absorb and utilize in the cells to make energy. They also contain fiber that is not digestible and that fiber helps push food through the intestinal tract, helping to prevent constipation.

So the fiber that is not digestible is what helps your body eliminate waste products. I'll talk more about this in a few days.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #5

You'll like this next essential nutrient. It's fat. Yes we all need some fat in our diet. Interestingly, women require more than men. Here's just one reason for having some fat in your diet. Vitamins which I mention yesterday are either water or fat soluable. If you're not eating some fat when you take your vitamins, you won't be able to absorb the fat soluble ones.

Fats are also a concentrated form of energy. Some of the things that fats do in your body are to form an insulating layer to prevent heat loss in the body. Unfortunately even though we are sometimes called a "fat head", we don't have a layer of fat between the skull and the skin. It is muscle and that is why we lose so much heat from our heads. Those without hair lose even more heat because the hair acts as an insulator.

Another thing that fat does is act as a shock absorber to help protect organs. Now that being said, it doesn't mean that the fatter you are the more protected you are. Because remember that the more fat we have in our bodies the more that is placed on all of the organs to keep things functioning.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #4

I mentioned yesterday that minerals are necessary for vitamins to do their job. So you might guess that the next essential nutrients are vitamins. Vitamins are organic substances that are only found in living things. Vitamins help activate chemical processes that release energy within the cells.

The most important function of vitamins is their reaction with oxygen which makes them able to neutralize free radicals which cause damage to the DNA structure. The vitamins are essential to your having a strong immune system. In and of themselves, vitamins do not contain energy, but what they will do is help your body convert fat and carbs into energy.

Best sources are fresh organic fruits and vegetables. If you are not eating organic, be sure that you are on a reputable brand of vitamins. Remember you get what you pay for - if they are very inexpensive, they may not have quality control and your batch may be lacking some of the ingredients.

Acupuncture

I had someone ask me yesterday about acupuncture. I realized that his questions were likely some you may have. I think most of you know that acupuncture is the use of needles, but you may not know that the needles are actually placed along the energy meridians.

Eastern philosophy sees acupuncture as affecting the flow of energy through the energy meridians. Western medicine reasons that the needles interact with our nervous system, triggering the release of hormones or chemicals that affect mood, pain perception, and immune response.

Since everything is energy, acupuncture can have a very profound affect on a variety of ills, pains, and even depression.

Wheat Germ - Benefit or Not

Wheat germ is the kernel of the wheat. There are many nutrients in this kernel, including protein, vitamin E, vitamins B1, B2, B5 (pantothenic acid) and B6, fiber, magnesium, zinc, and thiamine. These are essential nutrients that our body uses, so there are many benefits to wheat germ.

Once thing you should know about wheat germ is that it has a fairly short shelf life once the container is opened. Once opened, wheat germ should be stored in a tight container in the refrigerator where it can keep for up to 9 months. Because of the unsaturated fat content, the whet germ tends to become rancid in a short period of time if no refrigerated.

Wheat germ is a brain food in that it helps the brain become more alert. This in part is due to the increase in oxygenation utilization that wheat germ facilitates. Octacosanol is the part of the wheat germ responsible for improved tissue oxygenation. Another benefit here is an increase energy in the muscles and as a result endurance and overall stamina increases.