Vitamins are essential for keeping our energy levels up, and for maintaining essential processes in our body. Eating well can keep provide you with all the vitamins that you need. Mentioned here are a few natural sources of vitamins:

Vitamin A:

This vitamin is essential in maintaining good eyesight and its deficiency can cause night blindness. It can be found naturally in carrots, winter squash, sweet potatoes, spinach and cantaloupe.

The B vitamins:

These include B1, Folic acid, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12. These are essential for performing various functions of the body and are found in the Following natural sources:

• B1- whole grains, beans, sunflower seeds and seafood.
• Folic Acid- spinach, beans, oranges, mushrooms and other leafy greens
• B2- Milk, yogurt, fruit, leafy greens, chicken and almonds.
• B3- chicken breast, Peanut butter, yeast, canned tuna and sunflower seeds.
• B5- organ meats, grains, fish, eggs and peanuts
• B6- chickens, bananas, baked potato, cereals, peanuts, oats and chick peas
• B12- Fresh fish, beef, pork, eggs, dairy products.

Vitamin C:

This vitamin is very good for healthy gums, fighting colds and flu’s, strong teeth and many more essential uses. It is found in citrus fruit, strawberries, broccoli, red peppers, brussel sprouts and cranberry juice

Vitamin D:

This is essential for bone health and for healthy teeth. Its biggest source is sunlight and it is also found in egg yolk, fatty fish, liver and fortified milk.

Vitamin E:

This is an excellent vitamin for the health of skin and hair. Found in peanuts, whole grains, vegetable oil, sunflower seeds, yams and sweet potatoes.

Vitamin K:

This is a very important vitamin for the clotting of blood. It is found in eggs, dairy products, beets, fruits, seeds and also by bacteria in the gut.

Most of us are always too involved in work and other tasks, and we ignore the most important parts of our lives- our health. This can lead to devastating consequences especially if we ignore small aches and pains that suddenly develop into serious problems. Mentioned here are a few tips to give your lifestyle the healthy boost that it needs:

1. Add fruits and vegetables to your diet:

Get rid of all the processed fast food in your diet and add healthy fruits and veggies. Fruits and vegetables are packed full of all the essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function optimally.

2. Drink more water:

Drinking water is the best way to get rid of all the toxins from your body that fizzy and caffeinated drinks build up. At least 8-10 glasses of water are ideal for an average person.

3. Add an exercise regimen to your daily life:

Exercise is the best thing that you can do for your mind, body and soul. This is the best way to boost your immune system and release natural endorphins in to your blood stream. Not only does it help you stay fit, but it also helps in making you stay happier and more relaxed.

4. Quit unhealthy habits:

Try to quit or limit your intake of alcohol and cigarettes. These are the two most deadly vices that can cause more problems than anything. When you light up that cigarette or make that drink ask yourself first – is it really worth it?

5. Work hard and play hard:

Work during the week but try to take the weekend off to simply enjoy with friends and family. Go on more picnics and barbeques with your loved ones and simply try to relax and de stress in a safe and healthy way.

How to lose that belly fast: Tips and belly fat exercises

Losing belly fat is not as difficult as most of us may feel. All you require is a healthy diet, and a regular exercise routine, and lots and lots of persistence. Most people feel that the belly is the hardest part to tone in their body, here are a few tips that will help you lose that belly fat and keep your abs toned:

Eat a healthy diet:

Avoid junk foods that simply offer empty calories and no health benefits. Try to eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Avoid carbonated beverages and beer:

The biggest contributing factor to belly fat is carbonated drinks like sodas and beer. These simply make you bloat and gain excessive belly fat. Drink lots of water instead of these unhealthy drinks.

Suck in your belly:

You will be surprised how well this works. Throughout the day when you are doing your daily chores, try to suck in your belly, and hold it in for 15-30 seconds. This helps tone the transverse abdominus muscles and gives your waist line a shape.

Start a cardio routine:

The best way to lose belly fat is to start a regular cardio routine. Try doing cardio exercises like jogging, biking or aerobics 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Brisk walking is another great way to lose belly fat but you must do this for 45-60 minutes at least 3 times a week.

Do abdominal exercises:

Right after your cardio routine, do sets of different types of crunches and leg raises. These will help tone your abdominal muscles and also the muscles of your lower back and sides. Try doing these at least 3 times a week, and give a day’s gap in between to let your muscles rest and recover.

Vitamin D is a highly essential vitamin for the health of our bones and teeth. Most people, especially women suffer from vitamin D insufficiency or even deficiency and don’t even realize it. Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D and its importance cannot be stressed enough. Just fifteen to twenty minutes a day spent in the sun are enough to keep the body’s levels of vitamin D up.

Benefits of vitamin D:

Vitamin D has been linked with preventing many types of cancers. Not only is it essential for the health of our bones and teeth, but it can actually fight cancers, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis (painful inflammation of the joints), multiple sclerosis and even type 1 diabetes. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption from the gut. Its deficiency causes rickets in children and painful bone disease called Osteomalacia in adults.

Benefits of Sunlight:

Sunlight has been used for its healing powers by man since the dawn of time. These days too much sun exposure has been linked with malignant skin cancers, especially in light skinned people. This is also a fact, but limited exposure is very good for health and for such cancers to develop, there have to be many predisposing factors like familial history, pigmentation, unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking and over excessive exposure to the sun. The sun plays a vital role in the manufacture of vitamin D in our body, and limited exposure is essential for our health. You can partake in a healthy activity like gardening, or take a ten minute stroll down the street in the sun to get ample amount of sunlight that you need to manufacture vitamin D.

What are Amaranth seeds?

Amaranth is the seed of the Amaranth plant, with very high nutritional content. This seed is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, Amino acids and fiber and is absolutely gluten free. Although very popular across the world, these seeds are yet to find a place in the diets of western people. Amaranth seeds since ancient times were cultivated for their health benefit and excellent nutritional properties.

Protein rich:

The Amaranth seeds are very high in proteins and contain the essential amino acids lysine, cysteine and methionine. It is an excellent source of the amino acid lysine in particular.

High fiber:

These seeds contain up to three times the fiber found in wheat. They are absolutely gluten free and aid digestion as well. The flour made from these seeds can also be used instead of regular flour, and make a healthy alternative for weight conscious people and gluten intolerant individuals.

Vitamins and minerals:

These seeds are rich sources of Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Folic Acid, and also Phosphorus. Amaranth seeds also contain the necessary Vitamins A, E and C.

Cholesterol lowering properties:

These seeds contain cholesterol lowering compounds and can naturally remove the bad cholesterols form your body. These are excellent additions to heart healthy diets.

How can we incorporate Amaranth seeds into our diets?

You can incorporate these highly nutritional seeds easily into your diet, here are tips how:

• Toast the seeds and toss them with salad
• Eat them with fruits and honey for breakfast
• Substitute regular flour with Amaranth flour
• Use pasta made with amaranth flour
• Substitute the seeds for regular rice, boil them and used them for stuffing vegetables like bell peppers and eggplants
• Add amaranth seeds to soups
• Make exotic deserts out of these seeds like laddos (Indian) and alegria (Mexican)