10 Healthy Foods for Less #9

My last healthy fruit that can be fairly economical to buy is Kiwi. It is packed with antioxidants like Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin K.

Kiwi's contain as much potassium as bananas are are better for you. They are rich with antioxidants and help the immune system.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #8

My healthy food today is oranges. We all know that oranges are very high in Vitamin C, but they also contain high levels of potassium as well. Eating real oranges is better than drinking juices.

More important about eating oranges is to eat the pith as this is where many of the vitamins are. The pith is the white matter just under the peel. Some oranges have a very thick pith and some have a very thin pith.

Other nutrients in oranges include things like folic acid, potassium, calcium, thiamin, Vitamin B6, and magnesium.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #6

A food similar to yesterday's food is pumpkin. Obviously these aren't always available, but in the Fall there is usually lots to go around at a very reasonable price. Buy some extra and freeze it or can it. One small or medium pumpkin will yield lots of pumpkin that you can eat year around.

Pumpkin has lots of Vitamin A and Vitamin C and is loaded with fiber. You can eat it similarly to sweet potatoes.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #5

Another very healthy food is sweet potatoes. These can be expensive if not in season or locally grown. Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Plus they are an excellent source of fiber.

To maximize the benefits, avoid boiling them as this leaches out some of the nutrients. Bake them and be sure to eat the skins as this is where most of the nutrients are. These are a great substitute for regular potatoes and much better for you.

You can also wash them and cut them into what look like french fries. Instead of frying them - be sure to leave the skins on - coat a pan with olive oil, a small amount, and put them in the oven to bake. Everyone in our household loves these.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #2

The next healthy food is beets. These are best when you can buy locally grown in season. Beets are very high in fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. They also have anti-inflammatory properties.

Again, if you can buy them fresh instead of canned, they are usually less expensive. I often cook them and cut them up with greens, a couple boiled eggs and onion. You can use a little mayonaise, or what we like best is a little olive oil and lemon or lime juice. Makes a tasty salad or sometimes we just eat this as our main course.

A word of warning. Beets will give the stool a bright red color and the water in the toilet will look like bright red blood. Don't be alarmed, this is just from the beets.

Digestion Problems and Medications

Take the time to know about what medications you are taking. Many of them can be causing some of your intestinal problems. I'm not advocating that you stop your medications to see if they are causing the problem, but if you have followed this blog over the past few days, so the things I mentioned in those posts. If things do not improve, then see your doctor and talk to him about your medications and what other choices you may have.

Know that vitamins and supplements can also cause some intestinal issues. For example, calcium often causes constipation, gas and bloating. Magnesium and Vitamin C can cause loose stools or diarrhea. Some of the B vitamins can cause nausea. Consider taking a vitamin vacation to see if things improve. If they do, then consider changing your vitamins. Suffice it to say that not all vitamins are alike. Some of the cheaper ones may not have the quality controls that a more expensive brand has. You may need to change brands.

More Healthy Foods

My food for today is broccoli. Yes, I know we have had presidents who don't like it. But the fact is that broccoli contains lots of antioxidants and is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. Broccoli has anti-cancer properties and contains Vitamins A, C, & K as well as folate and fiber. It is a great source of fiber.

Additionally, broccoli has properties that kill Helicobacter pylori (H pylori). H pylori plays a role in stomach ulcers and stomach cancer.

Eating it raw is great because all of the nutrients are there. But you can also cook it, steam it, or add it to casseroles, chili, sloppy joes and soups.

A word about the Vitamin K. If you eat broccoli on a regular basis say 2-3 times per week and you are pu on coumadin or warfarin, continue to eat the broccoli just as you have. While it will interfer with the coumadin, your dose will be adjusted by the doctor according to blood tests. It is far better to continue eating the broccoli that to stop it because of coumadin. Just be consistant with how much you eat each week.

Vitamin C Deficiency

Here are some of the signs and symptoms you might experience if you are not getting enough Vitamin C.

Some of these you may be familiar with, like bleeding gums, gingivitis and weakened tooth enamel. You may also experience dry and splitting hair, rough dry and scaling skin, easy bruising, nosebleeds and anemia.

Swollen painful joints and the inability to fight off infection and inflammation are related to the weakened immune system, which requires Vitamin C.

There is also the possibility that you will gain weight because of a slowed metabolism related to a low level of Vitamin C.

My best advice is be sure you're eating foods with natural vitamin C and if you're not eating many of those, be sure you supplement with Vitamin C.

Recommendations for How Much Vitamin C

There is a lot of controversy out there over the right amount of Vitamin C. If you're eating 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, then you can supplement with 500-1000mg and be getting a fairly good amount of Vitamin C.

If you're not eating the 8-10 servings every day, which most of the American public does not do, then you will need to supplement with more. Most sources agree that around 2000mg/day is about the right amount.

Vitamin C is water soluble and is not stored in the body, so it will go out in the urine if the body is unable to use it at that time. A word of caution here. Don't take all 2000mg at once. The body uses Vitamin C as it goes along. So if you take the entire dose at once, it cannot store it and it will go out in the urine. This is why some physicians refer to some vitamins as making the urine rich in vitamins. You need to split the doses in to at least 2 per day and you may want to consider 3-4/day.

Vitamin C Sources

Most of us are aware of the fact that most juices out there contain "added" vitamin C. But there are food sources that contain natural vitamin C. Some of the vegetables that contain high amounts of Vitamin C are green peppers, broccoli, dark leafy greens, and sweet and white potatoes. Fruit sources of Vitamin C include tomatoes, citrus fruits, cantaloupes, and strawberries.

Other sources of Vitamin C in the vegetable world are winter squash, red peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts.

Other sources of Vitamin C in the fruit world include blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, papaya, mango, watermelon, and pineapple.

Vitamin C

Since I was talking about Vitamin C yesterday, I thought I would add a few thoughts about Vitamin C. First, let's talk about some of the benefits of Vitamin C.

As I mentioned yesterday, surgeons often order vitamin C after a surgery to help with healing. One of its benefits. Many people take vitamin C to help their immune system be stronger to fight off colds, viruses and infections.

One of the things you may not know about Vitamin C is that it helps in the absorption of iron. In addition it helps maintain the connective tissue. Connective tissue is essential to help protect the body and to help heal the body through the immune system. Cartilage and bone are specialized forms of connective tissue, so you can see that vitamin C is essential here.

Vitamins

Did you see the news a few weeks ago that reported vitamins as being not beneficial in heart disease? I caught this on our local evening news report by a not so prominent physician. While he did not report the details of the study, he was quick to report that the study demonstrated that vitamins made no difference in the incidence of heart disease.

Some research of my own revealed that the study, most likely used synthetic vitamin E and it was only given every other day. We already know the flaw in this one. The vitamin C dose was 500mg every day which is at least something, it is not enough to make a difference. The interesting thing here is that surgeons who order vitamin C after a surgery to help with healing usually order 500mg twice daily. So the set up in this study was that the dose were inadequate to begin with. A study that was bound to show that vitamins did not make a difference.

The news made this sound like all vitamins were not helpful and played that aspect up.

My suggestion, if you hear something like this on the news, check it out. Some of the research out there, while it gets reported and press, there are often flaws in it.