Vitamin C enhances the absorption of non-heme (plant) iron.  To get the recommended amount, either squeeze the juice of a half a lemon into a glass of water or take a vitamin C supplement of 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams with each meal.

Caffeine inhibits the absorption of iron.  Therefore if you are suffering from anemia, you should severely limit the following substances in your diet:  coffee, black tea, soda, and chocoalte.  Dairy also decreases iron absorption in women suffering from anemia.  It is suggested that to get your calcium, you should increase the amount of your intake of items such as beans, peas, soybeans, sesame seeds, soup stocks made with chicken or fish bones and any leafy green vegetables.

Many disorders can be misdiagnoses because their symptoms are similair.  Anemia is one of these.  One self test you can do at home to help your doctor determine if he should check you for anemia is to press down for about 2 seconds on an unpolished finger nail.  If you are pressing against the nail bed, this area should turn white.

When you stop pressing, the area should turn pink again within a second or two.  The longer it takes the area to turn pink, the more likely it is that you are anemic.

If you are diagnosed with anemia, here are some tips to help your body.

Eat plenty of iron rich foods.  Good sources do include meats, but there are many plants that also have a form of iron known as (non-heme iron).  Since it is know that this form is not as easily absorbed, you may want to adjust your diet to help your body absorb the iron better.  Iron rich plants include “whole” grains such as barley and oats, beans, peas, seeds and nuts (especially sesame, sunflower, pistachios, pecans and almonds), Swiss chard and kale are also excellent sources.

The next post will discuss what to do for better absorption.

Believe it or not, many Naturopaths consider Nettle to be the top herbal antihistamine.  One doctor says that 70% of his patients who take the herb stinging nettle don’t end up needing any other supplements or medications for their symptoms.

It is suggested that you use the freeze dried form as it is more concentrated.  Since herbs do not “trick” the body the way modern pharmaceuticals do, they usually take much longer to work.  It is known to take 3 to 4 days to work if you try it in the midst of the season.

To avoid symptoms, try taking two 300 milligram capsules of freeze-dried nettle three times daily a few weeks before the allergy season begins.

Remember to consult with your health care provider prior to trying any treatments.  Even herbs can interefere and react with some medications and disorders.

When you take a nice warm bath, do you feel relaxed and revitalized?  It may be because you are actually releasing some toxins from your body.  Some alternative practitioners actually believe that a hot bath releases stored toxins from fat cells, which then travels through the blood and then to the skin where it can be released from the body.

The way this works is to first take a shower and remove all of the excess oil and dirt from your skin by using either a rough wash cloth or a loofah.  It is important to rinse thoroughly to make sure you remove this debris and then take your bath.

You should immerse your entire body in the water (up to your neck).  Be sure to test the water temperature with your hand or foot before entering.  You don’t want to get scolded.  Because the releases of toxins can make you feel slightly weak, you should take short baths (about 5 minutes) to start.

You can gradually increase the length of the baths to 30 minutes, but it is suggested that you don’t do this more than 3 times a week.  Those with severe heart diseases or multiple sclerosis should not use this technique.  Once you are able to take a 30 minute bath without feeling week, it is advisable to cut back to one per week.

My next post will be about a Herbal antihistamine.

The common advise to those who suffer a depressive order due to the lack of sunshine, is to go where there is sunshine.  Well, wouldn’t we all love to live in Hawaii or some other tropical Island?  I once tried one of those special light bulbs that was supposed to help, but I don’t know if I didn’t spend enough time under it or what.  Needless to say I didn’t find it very helpful.  I am not sure if that product is even still around or not.  Personally, I wish I was a bear and could hibernate all winter long.  If winter days give you the blues.

When I was a little girl, I remember my parents giving me honey when I had a cold.  For some reason I had forgotten about that, until.

Now as a grown up I like my honey with some tea and some say you should add some fresh lemon juice as well.

I’d be very interested to know if any one else uses honey as a remedy (especially if it’s a specific type).  My daughter swears that it needs to be local honey.  I will write a post later about the different types of honey.  If any one is interested in any specific information about honey, just leave a comment and let me know and I will see if I can find the information for you.  I guess most of you know honey can be processed and refined just like oils, etc.  This is part of the reason why some honey has a different color than others (some darker).

Any way, drop a comment and let me know what you would like to learn about.

Believe it or not Coconut and Coconut oil has been used in many traditional forms of medicine.  The most well known is Ayurvedic and Indian folkloric medicine.  It has been used to treat a variety of conditions such as burns, wounds, ulcers, lice, kidney stones and choleraic dysentery.

Since Coconut oil consists of medium chain fatty acids (which are more easily digested than long chain fatty acids), it’s fat gives cells the energy needed to carry on their metabolic functions.  Both long chain fatty acids and glucose require the hormone insulin to transport them through the cell walls which creates a problem for those who are insulin resistant.    For this reason coconut oil has been used in special food preparations for those who suffer digestive disorders, infant formula and for the treatment of malnutrition (remember you need fat to absorb fat soluble nutrients).

Coconut oil has also been known to help with Crohn’s disease.  It has some anti-infalmmatory effect and its antimicrobial properties also help by killing microorganisms that may cause chronic inflammation.   Coconut oil has also been used for the purpose of enhancing the absorption of calcium and magnesium.  Dietary fats not only play a role in the formation of our bones, they can also actas antioxidants and protect the bones from destructive free radicals.

More on the benefits of Coconut oil later this week.

Coconut oil is known to boost metabolsim and has less calories per gram than most fats (which have 9).  You should cut back on the sweets, eat more fiber and use butter instead of margarine.  Unlike many other fats, coconut oil produces energy rather than fat.  Not only is coconut oil burned for energy production, it also encourages the burning of long chain fatty acids.  Research indicates that a diet consuming 40% long chain acids versus one consuming 40% medium chain acids has a different thermogenic effect.   By consuming medium chain acids rather than long chain acids, you double the thermogenic effect (burning twice as many calories).

A follow up study demonstrated that medium chain fatty acids given over a six day period can increase diet induced thermogenesis by 50 percent.  The key is to keep the calories the same, just change the source of the fat.

I am writing an article about coconut oil and will post it at Go Articles and Ezine Articles.  Then I will follow up with additional information shortly thereafter.