The name vitamin B12 is misleading as this is not one single vitamin but the general name for a group of essential biological compounds known as cobalamins; so named because they carry the element cobalt, much like hemoglobin carries iron. It is best taken in a...
Lycopene is a phytochemical (any biologically active compound found in plants) found in red fruits and vegetables such as pink grapefruit, papaya, seabuckthorn, goji, rosehips and watermelon. These fruits get their red coloring from the carotenoid pigment lycopene...
Your kidneys are the master chemists in your body and maintain the purity and constancy of your internal fluids. Much like a city’s water filtration plant that keeps the water supply drinkable and disposes of its waste, the kidneys are usually unappreciated until...
While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need between 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Children and teens need even more. And, despite the notion that sleep needs decrease with age, older people...
Once considered to be strictly an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, we now know that Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder. "Activated" cells of the immune system travel from the body into the central nervous system via the blood-brain...
So what is the ultimate sun protection? Shade! As funny as that sounds, staying in the shade is your best protection from sun damage during these hot summer months. If that's not a possibility, or if you just love the feel of the sun on your skin, there are ways to...
Pass up the berries and green tea and pass out the chocolate! The same element that gives tea and berries their health benefits is in certain types of chocolate. The trick is knowing which kind. According to a study published in the Journal of American Medical...
Headaches are one of the most common medical complaints heard by doctors today. Approximately 45 million people suffer recurring headaches every year. And when you can't think, you can't work so headaches end up costing employers an estimated $50 billion per year....
In today's hectic pace, day turns to night far too quickly for those of us with too much to do. More and more of us are working longer hours, long past the time when we should be winding down from the day's activities. Working outside the home during the day means...
This month, we continue our year-long series on the basic vitamins and minerals necessary to good health and focus in on calcium. "Calcium for strong bones and teeth" is a phrase that all of us are familiar with. And while this is absolutely true, how many of us know...
Sitting atop each kidney are small, yet vital, organs called adrenal glands. These little powerhouses are involved in myriad essential functions affecting our body such as immune function, producing hormones, regulating stress levels, bodily responses to stress, blood...
Vitamin B1 is part of the complex of B vitamins which act as coenzymes. We've all heard the term "coenzyme" but what does it mean? Well, let's put this into a more logical order: An enzyme is "a protein, produced in cells, that acts as a catalyst speeding up the rate...