BACK COVER

This book is written for all teens worldwide who have seen the need to eat healthily, before the perils of old age catch up with them. Those who want to avoid the unhealthy habits and the same illnesses they have seen their parents and most adults suffering from.

It is amazing how even teens are being afflicted in this day and age with all kinds of diseases, which used to be accustomed to the older generation. What has brought about this change? Is it our over- modernised society? Is it the lack of fundamental information or just unchecked habits that have gotten out of hands?

Something must be done and quickly too, as the future depends on you the teen. Sick, obese, malnourished, anorexic teens will do poorly in every area of their life, as the saying goes “A sound mind is found in a sound body.” It is very important that as a teen, you set your priorities right, so that you do not abuse or under use the essential nutrients your body needs, but eat correctly and in moderation to sustain a health lifestyle.

The core of this book will explain to you, the essence of healthy eating, while illustrating, exciting, interesting and yet thought-provoking knowledge about food. It will transform your whole perception about what you put in your body and help you to never want to be a junk eater again.

Your choice of food depends on how healthy you want to be now or in the near future. It is interesting how nobody appreciates their health until they lose it. Take great care of your health, as the food you feast on will ultimately reflect in your energy levels, your ability to study and in fact in every other area of your life.

Remember that food additives in the form of preservatives, food colouring and flavouring are deliberately manipulating your taste buds into thinking that this is what you really need and you end up craving for such, when in reality, you are destroying your body cells.

Be wise, as what you have been trained to believe is food may necessarily not be what your body needs. These cunning chemicals are successful in doing one thing and that is destroying your future health, since its effects are not immediate, bur gradual.

Do not be careless with your human frame learn from this well sought after book.

“In minds crammed with thoughts, organs clogged with toxins and bodies stiffened with neglect, there is just no space for anything else.” Alison Rose Levy

“When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no I’ll start tomorrow, as tomorrow is disease.”

The Living Or Dead Teen Eater?

Laura Lyseight

Copyright Page

Visit www.successfulteens.co.uk www.lauralyseight.com www.succes4teens.info

DEDICATION

To Jesus, my source of wisdom and inspiration.

Mummy I love you more than ever. Words cannot express how grateful I am for having such a wonderful mother like you. You set me on the right path in every area of my life.

To all teens, who are conscious about healthy lifestyle.

For all teens who want to perform at their best and who know that their health is of paramount importance in achieving their God ordained purposes.

For all who know that they need the wisdom of God to keep their temple as a living sacrifice and not abuse it with unwholesome and chemically interfered food.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

What can I render to my God the keeper of my soul and life? The one who renews my health each and everyday.

To my Jesus who shared his blood on the cross, so I will have eternal life. His blood flows through me, so disease cannot stay in my body. He teaches me to eat wisely and shows me ways to look after my body with great care.

Who can be compared to Him? My true healer, physician and friend. He gives me insight on how to life healthily, so I can enjoy my life to the full.

You are my God and there is none like you. Your love encompasses me on every side.

CONTENT

One To eat is a necessity Two The 7 essentials Three Human digestive system Four Food-brain connection Five Food-illness link Six Health-wealth Bond Seven Food as medicine Eight Future Doctor Nine Water and your health Ten Food-skin link Eleven Fasting Twelve

Introduction

What is it that makes man think that, he can eat just about any thing, put anything and everything into his body and still expect his body to function well and carry him throughout his life?

Imagine a car that takes petrol as fuel, but this time being filled with diesel, what will happen? The car will eventually break down isn’t it? It is the same with our well-crafted and designed bodies. Food is the fuel that powers and drives your bodies, and the kind of fuel you indulge in, is very important to the perfect functioning of your very life. If the wrong kind of fuel is being pumped into our bodies, then eventually the body cells give up and we die. Do not get me wrong, we will all eventually die, but God has promised us long life in health, so do not let your bad eating habits shorten your life.

This is what Michelle Obama America’s First lady had to say about choosing to eat healthier. She talks often about her experience as a busy, working mother trying to feed her daughters Malia and Sasha, but relying too much on processed, fast food or takeout meals like pizza, not realizing the toll it was taking on the girls’ health, and weight, until their paediatrician spoke up.

“The entire family began to feel better, she says, after she started serving more fresh fruit and vegetables, eliminated processed foods and cut back on sugary drinks. Her children were like sponges, she said, and soaked up the information about what foods do to their bodies.

She reckons now the girls are well informed, and says affectionately, “They check-up a lot on what I eat, they started schooling me and lecturing me about what I should be eating, and what a carrot does, and what broccoli does. And sometimes they look at my plate in disgust now.”

Statistics show that two out of three Americans are either overweight or obese, and childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. This same problem is being experienced in the U.K as well, and permeating other countries like China, India, and Africa.

Mrs. Obama aims to pay more attention to childhood obesity and hopes that America’s children and teens will do as her daughters have done and help their families clean up their diets, too.

Your parents may or may not be encouraging healthy eating, but be the pioneer in your family. Start eating correctly as you are reading this book. It is not too late to make changes, as you are a teen, who is still in the prime of your life. Your best years are ahead of you. Are you going to be choosing the path of the wise eater or join the opposite?

You see God has fearfully and wonderfully created you. You are created in his image. Watch what you put into your temple. Everyday, you are encouraging your body to live on longer, healthier and stronger or you are cheering it on to destruction. This is simply happening by reason of what you decide to put into it.To eat is an obligation, but learning to eat wisely and intelligently has more to it.

Come along and let us discover how to take care of this beautifully, carefully and wonderfully designed frame – the human body. Take charge over what you eat! Do not be a JUNK eater.

Studies show that most of our diets are laden with dodgy amounts of salt, empty calories from corn syrup and artery-clogging trans fats. All these fast foods and unhealthy snacks (sugar coated doughnuts, popcorns, crisps) are highly detrimental to our health, but surprisingly enough, they have now become the norm in today’s society. Over-sized food portions are no longer frown upon and it is now taking a toll in the lives of a lot of teens, even our babies too.

A word of advice; A healthy teen grows to become a healthy adult and vice versa. There is a great need to cultivate eating right at this time in your life, so that you do not become full of regret later.

“Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to make time for illnesses.” Edward Stanley.

As a teen mentor I am very interested in what teens do, most importantly in the area of their health and nutrition, as I know this

has serious consequences in every area of their lives - their academic performance, spiritual lives, financial aspirations, their youthful exuberance and their overall out look in life.

In my teenage years I always asked my mum if there were any adults above the age of forty, who did not suffer from one ailment or the other and wanted to know what the cause of all these illnesses were, as she was a nurse. Guess what my mother’s answers were, to the first she said “Not that I know of” and to the second she said, “I am not quiet sure, but it must have something to do with what they eat.” With these two answers, I took a decision to make it my personal quest to find out more about the causes of ill-health and eating habits, that I almost ended up wanting to read medicine to help the sick, but during my search I discovered that most of the medicines doctors were trained to prescribe medicine for patients which had chemicals that were toxic to the body in the long ran, so this was not the necessary answer. As I grew up I was glad not to have read Medicine as it does not address the root cause of ailments, but tries to only camouflage it.

My education (BSc) blocked me from delving more, but as soon as I became an entrepreneur, working for myself I have gratefully had the time to study more about my health, which has led me, to write this book. The glory goes to God for keeping me healthy, coupled with the knowledge He has blessed me with during my search, especially in a specific field.

Chapter One

To Eat Is a Necessity

The Bible says that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Food was first mentioned in the Bible during the creation, when God gave man, plants and animals to be his food and gave him control and charge over all the things he had created.

We have been created to eat for sustenance, but life is not all about food. Food should not rule over anyone, as that was not God’s original plan. You have the rule over what you put inside your body, not the other way around. You should not just eat, because it tastes nice or just because food is available.

Many people in today’s society are controlled by food, because of insatiable appetites and craving for food that are not even conducive for the human body, as their taste buds have been twisted with additives, flavourings and colourings.

It has been discovered that you can actually survive without food for probably a period of three weeks, three days without water and three minutes without air. This straightaway tells you the importance and position of food in your life, on a scale of one to three. Obviously the above predictions depend on your physical condition.

Food is meant to bring you energy, health and vitality - not disease, but we have abused food to the extent that it has now become an enemy. Why should we over eat so that our bodies are not able to cope, but become ill? To eat is a necessity, but life is not all about eating. Eat in moderation, eat wisely, and eat so your body does not feel the pressure to over work in its digestive process. 1

When you learn the art of eating correctly, no disease will be able to attack your body. Learn to balance what you eat so your body 1 Love yourself; Love your health

will not suffer later. Diseases have become so rampant in this century mainly due to life-styles.

Think about this, your parents never had the diseases they are complaining about today, when they were your age. The question is how come these same once upon a time carefree healthy-looking youngsters become older people riddled with all kinds of illnesses? You see, nobody takes notice of their health until they begin to have challenging health problems. They then fall prey to all kinds of medications, seeking for healing in their bodies, which would never have been an issue, if they had learnt how to eat correctly in their teen years. The sad truth is that these chemically based medications have terrible side effects.

What happens when we keep on pouring oil down a drain? Initially, you would probably not notice any difference, but gradually the drain will get blocked. In the same way analyse what will be happening to your arteries, which is comparable to the drain? Remember, your arteries are even thinner than the drain and are easily clogged. The function of your arteries is to carry blood away, so if they are blocked what will happen next?

Wisdom should be able to tell you that over a long period of time of eating chicken and chips - full of oil, one thing is unavoidable. How about continuously eating too much salted foods or drinking all the carbonated drinks in the world? Too much salt in the blood eventually results in high blood pressure. Too much sugar from these carbonated drinks eventually gives rise to diabetes. Most children born these days have these life-style diseases, even before they enter the world. What do you personally think is the problem? The source of these diseases sadly comes from their parents.

You will agree that food is enjoyable, but unfortunately the manufacturing companies have capitalised on this and developed people’s taste buds to maximise their profits. They have increasingly abused chemicals to stimulate people’s taste buds to unhealthy and unwholesome foods, out of greed.

Interestingly enough, different cultures cook different kinds of food and have their own style of cooking; it is heart-rending to know that certain cooking styles and methods cause great harm to health. These poor cooking habits are passed on from generation to

generation and a particular disease becomes a part of their race. They normally do not notice that their style of cooking is causing their problems and normally blame it on other things.

Food is used for all kinds ocassions. For recreation, for celebration etc. We as a society have learnt to celebrate with food. This is great as during Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Birthday, Christening you name it, food is normally what everyone looks out for aside socialising.

Overeating is described as gluttony in the Bible and is unpleasant in God’s sight. During most of our socialising, we indulge in one thing that is overeating. Heaping food and devouring it might not be the best for your body, but we all get got up in the spare of the moment and this causes trouble.

Chapter Two

The 7 Food Essentials

The seven essential nutrients that the body needs in order to function at its best–making the body strong and healthy are listed below. We as humans eat a lot of food. A typical human eats over a thousand pounds of food every year, but why do we need all these food? As a growing teen you need all these seven nutrients listed below.

1. Carbohydrates2. Proteins3. Fats and Oils4. Vitamins5. Minerals6. Water7. Fibre.

These are the building blocks that help the body to grow.Many times we eat and eat without even understanding;

Why we need to eat? Why we need to eat what we eat? Why we need to eat more or less of certain types of food? What the correct portions are? How the body digests and assimilates the food?

I believe that knowledge of the way your body is designed to work, is very important, as Bible declares that because of the lack of wisdom, my people perish. A solid understanding of the uniqueness of your body is a must, especially as you are young, you can remould your mind into doing the right thing, as it is not too late for you as it is for many adults.

Let us now look at what each of these listed seven food groups do for our bodies and what foods contain them. 2

Carbohydrates2 Love yourself, Love your Health

Examples of foods that contain carbohydrates are rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, plantain, yam, cassava etc.

Carbohydrates are necessary in our diets, because their end products after digestion releases sugar that gives our bodies energy. We constantly need energy to carry out our daily duties. However too much of carbohydrates may cause a few health issues and concerns. Too much sugar being released into the blood stream can cause diabetes, or can be converted to fat, which ends up being stored in all the unwanted places, with the most dangerous place being in the arteries. If it only hides in the places that we easily see, like in the hips, arms, and around the stomach, then it is not so much of a problem, but it does not, as its effect shows in more than one place. These fats also hide in the arteries where we do not see with our naked eyes.

Protein

Some examples of protein foods are meat, poultry (chicken), dairy products, eggs, fish, beans and vegetables. The latter was not counted as containing protein till very lately.

Proteins help us to renew and repair worn out tissues. The end products of protein are called amino acids, which enter the blood stream. It helps us to repair worn out tissues and it is for growth.

Too much protein releases ammonia, which is the pungent smell from urine. Remember the end products are amino acids and amine is a combination of hydrogen and nitrogen. I have discovered it is better to have more of plant protein than animal. Do not cut out animal protein entirely, but eat it in moderation especially if your former meals consisted of more animal protein, gradually ease out of its indulgence.

It is better then, again to have more fish from clean water sources than poultry and cow meat purely, because of the way they are being reared lately for mass production to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for the fast food restaurants. Moderation like I said before is key.

Indulging in too much protein meals has been associated to kidney problems. High-protein diets have long been known to accelerate kidney disease in animal models so watch how much you eat.

Fat and Proteins

Some examples of foods that contain fats and oils are all fried foods, anything creamy (ice creams, salad cream, mayonnaise) all kinds of nuts etc. Fats are normally broken down into fatty acids and glycerol. We need a certain amount of fat in our foods as they help our brain well oiled and functioning correctly. The kinds of oils being used in our foods today, like the vegetable and refined oils are damaging to our health. The body does not make good use of these, as it cannot digest them fully and they end up blocking the arteries.

They are called the trans-fatty acids, since they are hydrogenated during their extracting process and this breaks down their beneficial components. You may not have heard of this before, but this is what it is; Trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created by an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid.  Another name for trans fats is “partially hydrogenated oils."  Look for them on the ingredient list on food packages.

Companies like using trans fats in their foods because they’re easy to use, inexpensive to produce and last a long time.  Trans fats give foods a desirable taste and the way it feels in the mouth

(texture).  Many restaurants and fast-food outlets use trans fats to deep-fry foods, because oils with trans fats can be used many times in commercial fryers.Trans fats can be found in many foods – but especially in fried foods like French fries and doughnuts, and baked foods including pastries, piecrusts, biscuits, pizza dough, cookies, crackers, and stick margarines and shortenings.  You can determine the amount of trans fats in a particular packaged food by looking at the Nutrition Fact label.  You can also spot trans fats by reading ingredient lists and looking for the ingredients referred to as “partially hydrogenated oils.”

Before 1990, very little was actually known about how trans fat can harm your health.  In the 1990s, research began identifying the adverse health effects of trans fats. Research has shown that the trans fatty acids are usually saturated, while the good and natural oils are unsaturated. The good fats that the body recognises are fish oils now called omega -3 and oils from raw nuts, which have not been roasted or cooked. These are the oils that feeds the brain to make it function correctly.

Vitamins

Vitamins are essential substances that cannot be manufactured by the body. We need small amounts of vitamins for growth and development. Without vitamins the body cells cannot survive for long.

The term vitamin is derived from the phrase vital amine. They are vital unknown to most people.

There are two types.

Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K) are usually found in meat and meat products, animal fat and vegetable oils, dairy products and fish. They are transported around the body in fat, and your body stores any excess in the liver and fatty tissues. This means you don't need to get them from food sources every day, because they are easily stored.

Water-soluble vitamins (B, C, folic acid) are found in meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grains. They are transported around the body in water. This means your body can't store them because you pass the excess through urine. You need to eat foods containing these vitamins every day. Cooking can destroy water-soluble vitamins, so steam, grill or use waterless cooking pots, rather than boil.

Most times we lose out on our vitamins, as they are easily lost in air or in the presence of daylight. What happens to a piece of apple once you cut it open or you bite into it and leave it for a few seconds? It turns brown in the cut or bitten section due to exposure to air, meaning you have lost some of the vitamins.

We all need vitamins to live a long and healthy life, and a varied diet is essential if we are to obtain the nutrients we need.

Plenty of foods naturally contain vitamins, and some popular foods such as breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals. That said, it is not always easy to get all the necessary nutrients from these foods: fruit and vegetables age (an apple in a bowl loses vitamins hour by hour), and modern processing techniques have considerably reduced the vitamin and mineral content of many foods, so in spite of your bowl of cereal, you still eat a fresh fruit.

Try to eat a wide variety of fresh foods. Frozen vegetables are also a good option, but not the best option: they can often contain more vitamins than vegetables stored for a long time at room temperature.

Vegetables - A great source of vitamins and minerals.

Let us look at some nutritional values in some common vegetables. I am not saying it is important to know the nutritional value of everything you eat, but I am just drawing your attention to some of food value from the foods we eat.

Broccoli (Raw)

Vitamins

Vitamin A (IU) 660

Vitamin A (microg retinol activity equivalents) 33

Vitamin B6 (mg) 0.175

Vitamin B12 (microg) 0

Folic Acid (microg) 0

Niacin (mg) 0.639

Riboflavin (mg) 0.117

Thiamin (mg) 0.071

Vitamin C (mg) 89.2

Vitamin E (mg) 0.78

Vitamin K (mg) 101.6

Minerals

Calcium (mg) 47

Copper (mg) 0.049

Iron (mg) 0.73

Manganese (mg) 0.21

Magnesium (mg) 21

Phosphorus (mg) 66

Potassium (mg) 316

Selenium (microg) 2.5

Sodium (mg) 33

Zinc (mg) 0.41

Other

Protein (g) 2.82

Fibre (g) 2.6

Water (g) 89.3

Carbohydrate (g) 6.64

Energy (Kcal) 34

Lipids (fats) (g) 0.37

Cholesterol (mg) 0

Spinach

Mineral Content Nutritional Value / 100 grams

Vitamin A 9,420 I.U.

Vitamin B .11 mg

Vitamin C 59 mg

Potassium 470 mg

Riboflavin .20 mg

Niacin .6 mg

Iron 3.0 mg

Calcium 81 mg

Phosphorus 55 mg

Carbohydrates 3.2 gm

Protein 2.3 gm

Calories 20

 

Carrots (Raw) Vitamin A (IU) 12036

Vitamin A (microg retinol activity equivalents) 602

Vitamin B6 (mg) 0.138

Vitamin B12 (microg) 0

Folic Acid (microg) 0

Niacin (mg) 0.983

Riboflavin (mg) 0.058

Thiamin (mg) 0.066

Vitamin C (mg) 5.9

Vitamin E (mg) 0.66

Vitamin K (mg) 13.2

Minerals

Calcium (mg) 33

Copper (mg) 0.045

Iron (mg) 0.3

Manganese (mg) 0.143

Lima Beans Or Butter Beans

Lima beans also known as butter beans are the seed of a plant. It is eaten like vegetables for food.

Nutrition Facts and Information about Lima Beans: Lima beans are extremely rich in potassium with good amounts of magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and calcium. It also has small amounts of iron, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.

Vitamin Content of Lima Beans: Lima beans are rich in choline. It has good amounts of vitamin E, B6, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid. It also has small amounts of vitamin K and folate.

Calorie Content of Lima Beans: 100g of Lima beans have 338 calories. Calories from fat are 6.

Health Benefits of Lima Beans: Lima beans are good for lowering the blood sugar levels, heart attack risk and for reducing the risk of diabetes. Lima beans give energy to burn while stabilizing the blood sugar in the body. It also helps to reduce blood pressure and eliminates cholesterol from body

Make it a point to incorporate raw food into your diet daily, so you can have access to all the vitamins and minerals necessary for building your immune system. Like I said before it takes the digestive system a longer time to assimilate most of the complex cooked foods that we eat, putting a toll on it.

Let us take a look at why our bodies need each of these vitamins

Compare the amounts of the Vitamin A in each of these raw foods from the table; Broccoli = 660

Spinach = 9,420 Carrots = 12,036

As you can tell, the amount of vitamin A varies even from vegetable to vegetable, so indulge in a variety of vegetables and fruits.

Did you know that these vegetables also contain certain amounts of protein? Take a look at the table again.

Broccoli = 2.82gm Spinach = 2.3gm

Carrots = 0.93gm

Vitamin B: There are different forms of this vitamin

Vitamin B1 (thiamine)

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) Vitamin B3 (niacin or niacinamide) Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) Vitamin B7 (biotin) Vitamin B9 (folic acid) Vitamin B12 (cobalamins)

The B vitamins are necessary in order to:

Support and increase the rate of metabolism Maintain healthy skin and muscle tone Enhance immune and nervous system function Promote cell growth and division—including that of the red blood

cells that help prevent anemia. Reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms

of cancer, when consumed in food, but not when ingested in vitamin tablet form.

All B vitamins are water soluble, and are dispersed throughout the body. Most of the B vitamins must be replenished regularly, since any excess is excreted in the urine.

SOURCES OF VITAMIN B

The different types of vitamin B all have their own health benefits, but they also work together to help the body function in a number of ways. The vitamin B complex boosts metabolic function; promotes skin and muscle tone; boosts the immune and nervous systems; and promotes cellular metabolism, growth, and division. The vitamin B complex promotes cardiovascular health, improves energy, and helps prevent depression. Deficiencies in certain B vitamins can result in such illnesses as beriberi, anaemia, heart disease, and birth defects.

Vitamin B is water-soluble, so it must be replenished every day through the diet or supplements. There are many foods rich in vitamin B. Some natural sources include bananas, potatoes, lentils, other whole grains, chilli peppers, green vegetables, eggs, dairy products, and meats including turkey, tuna, and liver.

Brewer's yeast, used to make bread and beer, is an excellent source of Vitamin B. Any food or beverage made with brewer's yeast is rich in vitamin B. However, consuming beer in excess will have adverse health results, and alcohol interferes with the body's absorption of vitamin B-1, so be careful not to defeat your own purpose

Fibre

Another name for fibre is roughage. To get all the fibre that your body needs, you need to bring about certain changes to the diet like switching from white bread to brown bread, reducing consumption of sweets and candies and increasing the intake of fruits. Include salads in the meals. Have more of sprouts and whole grain cereals and pulses that are high in fibre.

Fibre is an important component of a healthy balanced diet. We get fibre from plant-based foods, but it's not something the body can absorb. This means fibre is not a nutrient and contains no calories or vitamins.

Fibre helps your digestive system to process food and absorb nutrients.

Fibre lowers blood cholesterol. Fibre helps to control blood sugar levels, which in turn

controls appetite.

There are two types of fibre: Insoluble and soluble. They are both indigestible (breakdown); therefore they do not get absorbed into the blood stream.

Soluble fibre forms a gel when mixed with liquid, while insoluble fibre does not. Insoluble fibre passes through our intestines largely intact.

Insoluble fibre

This is found in the following foods:

Beans Brown rice Fruits with edible seeds Lentils Maize Oats Pulses Wheat bran Wholegrain breads Wholegrain cereals Wholemeal breads Wholemeal cereals Wholemeal pasta

Soluble fibre

This type of fibre lowers cholesterol levels and controls blood sugar. It can be found in all fruit and vegetables, but the following are rich sources:

Apples Barley Citrus Guar gum Legumes Oats Pears Strawberries.

Current advice says adults should aim for 18g fibre a day. Most of us eat less than this, and The British Nutrition Foundation puts the average adult intake at 12g.

Most processed foods have been tapered with, so much that they contain no fibre, all the fibre have literally been striped off. Cakes, muffins, Example let us take brown and white rice. The rice plant naturally produces rice in the unrefined state as brown, which is bursting with goodness and fibre. It is then taken into a factory to be polished white and perfumed, thereby striping it of its natural nutrients.

The polished rice, now becomes convenient to cook and it is assumable palatable, but the truth is, it is now purely carbohydrates and that is the only food value left. As it is rid of any fibre especially if not combined with a fibre source condiment (vegetables), the teen feasting on this meal is bound to suffer from constipation. Most over-processed starchy foods cause a lot of constipation.

What is constipation, you may want to know? It is a condition that prevents the easy release of solid matter, when visiting the toilet. This should tell the teen experiencing this problem that their diet lacks enough fibre. Incorporate more fibre into your food.

Minerals

There are 14 essential minerals, some of which are required as catalysts rather than as building blocks. They are inorganic elements found in food, which the body cannot synthesise. Mineral nutrients are essential and vital components of all living cells and are involved in the metabolism of the body.

Seven of these are major minerals-

o Calcium, o Chloride,

o Magnesium,

o Phosphorous,

o Potassium,

o Sodium

o Sulphur.

o The remaining seven are called trace minerals, such as iron and zinc.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a vital element as it is involved in a whole lot of basic processes.

It oxidizes fatty acids. Preventing the formation of “bad” cholesterol.

It helps make DNA;

It is needed for brain and immune function.

Without it nutrients such as boron, potassium and vitamin B6 won’t work properly.

Good dietary sources include dried peas and beans, nuts, whole grains, dark green vegetables and soy products.

Iodine

Iodine is a trace mineral needed for proper mental and physical development. It’s used in cell respiration, metabolism of nutrients and production of energy, for nerves, muscles, skin, hair and teeth; and for repairing damaged tissues.

80% of it is found in the thyroid (a small gland in the neck) which regulates hormones for metabolism. Too little of it will give you cold feet, skin problems, insomnia, tiredness, weight gain and even goitre.

Seafood and sea vegetables are great sources of iodine and, if they’re grown in iodine-rich soil, green peppers, asparagus, lettuce, mushrooms, and raisins, among others.

Chromium

Chromium is an essential mineral not made by the body, and important for the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.

You need it for brain function and to activate numerous chemical processes, including the regulation of insulin.

Find it in liver, beef, apples, eggs, bananas, chicken, oysters, and green peppers.

Copper

Copper plays a key role in the transport and absorption of iron, a vital constituent of red blood cells. It’s needed to build skin, bones and connective tissues, and for multiple enzymatic processes, and it protects against osteoporosis. It’s an important mineral for the immune system, nervous system and cardiovascular system.

It’s an excellent antioxidant and it might help prevent degenerative diseases or conditions such as

Premature ageing, heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer disease, or diabetes.

Selenium

Selenium is used for skin problems, infertility, asthma and postmenopausal conditions.

Unfortunately, much of the selenium in foods is lost during processing, but good sources include brazil nuts, barley, oats, onions, garlic, mushrooms and broccoli.

Nursing mothers should note that human milk is much richer in selenium than cow's milk.

Manganese

Not to be confused with magnesium, manganese is used for treating premenstrual syndrome and to keep bones, skin and cartilage healthy.

It performs an important function in protecting cells from free radicals and helps metabolise cholesterol. One recent study on Mexican infants found that children who took manganese supplements grew faster and taller than others.

Zinc

Zinc is essential for the production of certain hormones, a healthy immune system, skin and bone formation.

You can’t grow and develop normally without it. It’s also used a fair amount to help shorten the duration of common colds.

People who are deficient in zinc are prone to getting more frequent and longer lasting infections of various types. Men suffering from infertility may see some improvement in their testosterone levels after taking it.

Teenagers are often low in zinc, and also tend to have more skin problems as a result. Oysters are terrifically high in zinc. Otherwise, chicken, beef, milk, turkey, cheese, and yoghurt will also work.

Lately, scientists have produced a large body of research, which suggests we can often benefit from taking a high quality vitamins and minerals supplement. Particularly if you are interested in optimal health and the avoidance of chronic degenerative disease as most of the adults you know maybe experiencing now.

It is not my intention to bore you with all these facts, but it is better that you have an idea on what will aid the proper functioning of your body, than you walking about ignorantly until you are notified of a disease you never expected. This happened to me and I share this in my book “You Too Will Conceive.”

Do not be found wanting when it comes to your health, learn to look after yourself the way God intended.

For most teens this might be the first time you are hearing about things like these. All these minerals are so important, but only a few know their need.

Three

Meeting Your Dietary Needs

Has it ever crossed your mind why this generation is eating more and more food and yet are said to be malnourished?Most teens are not meeting their dietary needs for their age. The reason being that most of the foods they indulge in lack the essential nutrients for their growing bodies, they are mainly high on calories and nothing else in the way of the vitamins and minerals which the body needs and craves for.

We have all been programmed, myself included thinking that the more we eat the more we become satisfied, but that is not the case. You probably have a meal then after a few hours you start feeling hungry again, so you say to yourself, as a signal is sent to your brain that you are hungry so you go and eat more. These meal maybe 90% calories with only 10% of what the body really requires. What will your body do with the extra 90% calories after it uses the 10%. Guess what it will do, it will store it as fat. Can you begin to see the picture?

All that your body needs is more vitamin and mineral packed foods and it will function perfectly. Most times our bodies get surprised at the junk that we throw into and the body rebels when it does not know what to do. How does it rebel? You may want to know, causing you to feel sick and unwell.

Our bodies rebel in so many ways that we do not understand. Some we get diahorrea, which is the body’s natural reaction when it encounters poison. We get headaches indicating most times, the lack of water in our bodies or constipation. Then again we get fevers, rushes, flu and all these are telling our bodies one thing “I am being fed junk.”

Everybody needs to meet their dietary needs especially the teen body. Your teen body requires all the nutrients we talked about in the above chapter and more. Do not try to skip meals, as you might be thinking of starving your body to stay thin, this is completely wrong and your body will only rebel. Never at anytime,

are you supposed abstain from food unless of cause you are fasting and waiting on God.

Nutrition is the bedrock for growth and health especially at this stage of your life, so why will you decide not to eat? Choose the foods that you enjoy, make a variety of healthy foods available and keep your kitchen free of empty calorie snacks. Keep plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain snacks and healthful beverages (filtered water, herbal tea, occasional fruit juice) around and easily accessible so you, become used to reaching for healthy snacks when you are hungry instead of empty calorie snacks like soda, chips, or cookies. Avoid skipping breakfast

Skipping Meals: A Common Pattern of Consumption Teens skip meals for a variety of reasons, including irregular schedules, convenience, work and social activities. Up to 50% of teens skip breakfast at one point or another. Breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day!

What can you do? With regard to breakfast, let your teen know that skipping breakfast can slow their metabolism contributing to weight gain and poor performance. A busy lifestyle or running late are often reasons teens skip meals.

To combat this, have a supply of ready to eat healthy food items available that your teen can grab and go in the morning.

Snacking: A survival Technique for Teens Snacking doesn't have to be a bad thing. It can help maintain energy levels particularly in active and growing teens.

Because of the 'skipping meal' factor, many teens fail to eat three regular meals per day, thus snacking can actually be beneficial to ensure adequate caloric intake.

The key however is encouraging teens to consume snacks that are nutrient

Four

Digestive System

Your body is designed such that, it can digest the 7 essential food groups and make the nutrients available to you, as well as get rid of the waste products that the body does not need. Our digestive system is very complex and knowledge of how each part functions is very important. I believe you by now know a little bit about what happens to the food you eat. I also want to believe that it is not just head knowledge for passing of exams, but you apply what you know to your daily life.

Broadly there are 12 parts of the digestive system. Namely:

The mouthOesophagus or GulletStomachLiverGallbladderPancreasSmall Intestine – 1) Ileum 2) Duodenum 3) Jejunum

Large Intestine Rectum Anus

The Digestive system actively involves the use of 7 main digestive enzymes. What are enzymes you may want to ask? Enzymes help us to break down our food. Broadly these enzymes fall into 3 categories:

Metabolic Enzymes: These enzymes stay in our bodies and help us build and repair cells and tissues. They also help us to build a strong immune system.

Food Enzymes: These can be found in raw and uncooked food.

Digestive Enzymes: These help to breakdown cooked or dead foods, as cooked have lost the live enzymes. Cooked foods place a demand on the body to supply enzymes to help digest it.

Now let us take a look that what your main meal consists of. Are you mainly feeding on dead foods, that food that have been cooked or are you eating more fresh foods? The human body is not designed to eat mainly dead foods. The more dead foods you engage in, the more you are putting pressure on your digestive system and depleting your enzymes which are supposed to assist you in a life time.

Over- indulgence of the kinds of foods most teens find themselves eating results in insufficient digestive enzymes and incomplete digestion of food. The digestion of these foods take anything from 24 hours to 72 hours depending on how much difficulty you have placed on your digestive system.

The 7 Main Digestive Enzymes:

Protease- Digest protein – anxiety, cancer, viral infection Amylase- Digest carbohydrates – skin problems, liver and

gallbladder disease. Lipase- Digest fats – high cholesterol, obesity, Cellulase- Digest fibre- gas, bloating, allergies, yeast

infection (candidiasis) Sucrase- Digest sugar – lung problems, asthma,

depression Lactase- Digest dairy products – Discomfort caused by

lactose intolerance Invertase- Splits sucrose into glucose and fructose –

produces acidic condition in blood stream

Five Brain-Food Connection

Do you know there is strong link between what you eat and how perfect your brain functions? Your brain feeds from whatever you put inside your body, so you should make it a matter of importance indulge in foods that sharpen and help with your memory.

I guess you have never seen your brain before, just like me, but we all know we have a brain, that is why we are able to do the things we do. Our brain account for a small amount of our total body weight, but drains a lot of energy from us. This shows that in order to keep the brain active certain nutrients must be in place.

I do not want to go into the scientific parts of the brain, but understand that your brain can be divided into 3 broad parts; the fore brain, the mid-brain, and the hindbrain. The fore brain is highly dependent on glucose, hold on a minute, but on a particular kind of glucose, not the one found in soda and fizzy drinks, but a constant supply of those found in fruits, vegetables, grains etc. Presume what happens when your glucose level drops? You begin to get confused and I talk about in my book “Don’t Learn 4 Exams” on how some students even forget to spell the word “the” during exams.

Note also that too much of glucose may not be necessary for the brain as it could slowly, but surely damage brain cells. For your brain to work at its best Michael Green of Aston University in England suggests you have smaller regular meals which contain 25 grams of glucose, as you might be wondering if you have had this amount, you can find it when you eat a banana or apple.

Generally the brain is made up of 60 percent fat, the brain’s rough surface is bathed in fat. The type of fat intake is very important as not all fats are supposed to be consumed. Most of the fats that we use for cooking and especially the ones that the fast food restaurants use are called trans-fatty acids which are not produced naturally, but have been hydrogenised and rendered saturated and therefore become bad for the body’s use. The unsaturated fats

found in nuts, fish and olive oils are the ones that the brain needs for perfect functioning. TALK ABOUT WATER

I know you have heard the saying “You are what you eat.” Let us look further into this statement, it means if you are always falling ill, then what you eat is causing the ill-you. The more processed foods you eat, the more preservatives and additives that the body does not need ands thus putting a lot of pressure on the brain.

Six Food-illness Link

As a teen you must have noticed that there is an increase in every kind of disease that there is on planet. Have you ever sat down to wonder why? Why on earth are babies being born with diabetes and other ailments? Why are people using their own money to buy diseases? Many peoples taste buds have been trained to eat and enjoy only junk food, why is that? The food we eat should help nourish and heal the body rather than destroy and kill it.

As a teen you have such bright future ahead of you, make it a part of your life-style to eat aright now. Most adults have not got a clue about the fact that most of the diseases they are suffering now had their roots in their eating habits when they were teens. Your digestive system as you now know, does not need a lot of the deadly stuff. I programmed my mind to think CANCER anytime I went passed by a fast food restaurant and smelt all the hydrogenated fats coming from the fries.

As I see it, every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself. Adelle Davis

Seven

Health-wealth Bond

“ The first wealth is health.” Ralph Emerson

If you think you have no time for healthy eating, then you are of most teens to be pitied. At this moment in your life, you have no serious issues as that of your hormones playing game with you. Do everything on your part to stay healthy, because you might not know how blessed you are until you start having pains in certain parts of your body that you never knew existed.

Depending on your background, you may know a lot about what foods to eat and what not to eat. For some privileged teens, whose parents are health conscious, the work involved in taking a decision to eat healthily can be very easy. Whereas for those whose parent depend on fast foods it becomes a different and difficult ball game.

Have you noticed how vibrant you have been from your early age till now, you look good, feel good and you are generally free from any life-threatening illness. Remember your now aching parents felt just like you some years back. You may probably e suffering from silent illnesses especially if the food fast man or lady is your best friend. The truth is you cannot abuse your body and still expect to be healthy.

Eight Food As Medicine

“The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings. Let your medicine be

your food and your food your medicine.” Hippocrates

Is the food you eat daily acting as medicine for your body’s healing or is it acting as poison? This profound quote is saying a lot on how the food we eat needs to become our medicine. In other words our bodies need to utilize the foods we eat, to heal itself. No amount of medicine is as good for you as the right kind of nutrients in your food can. We most times think food is less powerful than drugs, but the right kind of food put into your body is a blessing, which will ward of disease.

What is the kind of food that manufacturers and farmers are producing now for our consumption? Technological advancement and the greed of man is turning our foods into poisons that our bodies cannot recognise, there our bodies identify them as germs.

Pesticides and herbicides are sprayed on the produce to prevent pests or weeds attacking them before they are harvested. These chemicals interfere with the genes of man as he eats them. The introduction of synthetic chemicals into agriculture in the 20th Century as had a severe impact upon the health of all life on Earth. Our food supply has become toxic, arable land ruined, many animals poisoned and killed .. all in the name of growth, surplus, profit.

Statics says that the biggest danger from pesticide exposure is not from the immediate effects, but the harm that comes long after exposure or from repeated, low-dose exposure. Of the 26 most widely used pesticides in the U.S., 12 are said to be carcinogens. Americans use approximately 380 million pounds of pesticides per year.

Recent data collected by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) reports that in the U.S. approximately 5 billion pounds of active pesticide ingredients are applied annually. These tremendous amounts of poisons entering our environment and our bodies create great concern among many of us.

A recent University of Washington (2002) study found that 109 out of 110 urban and suburban children had pesticides in their urine samples.

Food grown on certified organic farms contains significantly less pesticide residue than food grown with synthetic pesticides. That seems obvious, but the evidence for this fact has only been available since 2002, according to Sandra Steingraber, PhD. Research has shown that children fed organic food have lower residues of certain pesticides in their bodies than children fed conventionally grown food.

This information is not to scare you, but to open your understanding and also to help and encourage you to plant your own foods in your garden, as you may not necessarily have to put in all the fancy chemicals that the commercial farmers use because they produce on a large basis.

Ask yourself: Where does this food come from?

Look at the ingredients listed on food. It can be confronting and confusing, but in general try to avoid preservatives, artificial colours and flavours.

If you have children, bring them up to do the same.

The 1900 rule is a good rule of thumb. Did this food exist prior to 1900? Then it probably is ok to eat (not genetically modified).

Eat a variety of fruit and vegetables from organic, sustainable farms and from the ocean.

Fruit and vegetables are picked unripe, sprayed with chemicals to increase shelf life and trucked large distances to cities and supermarkets. Try to eat locally.

Try to source wild foods - catch your own fish, eat kangaroo (if you live in Australia!), seaweed and ocean vegetables.

Nutrition is an important part of being healthy. Far to often we give little thought to what we are eating. We eat for pleasure, out of habit. Be aware of what fuel you are giving your body!

Nine Future Doctor

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in a care of the human frame and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Thomas Edison

The first law: Above all is respect for the right of every individual to medical freedom, individual choice, and informed consent.The second law: Use watchful waiting unless faced with an emergency. Nature requires time to heal. Symptoms are evidence that healing is taking place. Suppressing symptoms interferes with natural healing processes and may promote chronic disease.The third law: Engage the body’s powerful healing forces with natural healing methods as an alternative to prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and even surgery. The key to healing is often found in correcting a deficiency or toxicity in the body.The fourth law: Check these ABCs before taking any drug, including any over-the-counter drug: a) a family history of adverse drug reactions; b) any health conditions that may be adversely affected by the drug; c) any herbs, supplements, or other drugs also being taken that may interact harmfully.The fifth law: Seek the lowest recommended dose and the shortest possible duration of time if drugs are taken.The sixth law: Trust in the body’s miraculous innate healing potential, and never lose hope, nor take away hope from others.The seventh law: Live a lifestyle of wellness. Profound health benefits, as well as the prevention of chronic illness later in life are possible.

TenWater and Your Health

Water is life’s mater and matrix, mother and medium. Without water there is no life. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

Water is your lifeblood, it is your ultimate health drink and seventy percent of your body is made up of water. Water is necessary for all body functions. Take for instance it acts as a lubricant for moving your joints, and any part of your body that moves. Your brain as discussed is largely made of water. It helps with digestion and keeps your skin looking smooth and young. It helps to take toxins out of your body, especially when sweating or passing out urine.

Water is the most natural and healthiest drink you can indulge in as it has no calories or cholesterol, but contains vital minerals for you. Fresh pure distilled water is what your body needs to function at its best as it contains no contaminants (metals or plastics)

What do you think dehydration does to your body? Imagine a car running on low fuel, what will eventually happen to it? Dehydration simply means your body is loosing out on more fluids than it is taking in. You may be curious to find out how your body continuously looses water. Through breathing, through sweating, through crying, spitting, urination, defecation.

These are a few of the signs that show one is dehydrated:You normally have dark yellow urine, which has strong smell of ammonia, dry mouth; you experience headaches, which are normally brought about by constipation. Heartburn is known to be lack of enough water in the upper part of the digestive system; even people suffering from joint pains (arthritis) also have water shortage in the blood.

Even asthma attacks are traceable to a form of drought in the body. Sufferers can make it a point of fact to drink more water and subsequently see their freedom from this disease.

Can you begin to see first hand the effects of lack of water in your body?

Interestingly enough most people lack this knowledge and are reaping disastrous effects. I discovered that even diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and depression all have their root and source from dehydration.

Water is the only substance on earth found naturally in three

forms – solid, liquid and gas.

You can survive about a month without food, but only 5-7 days without water.

A dairy cow has to drink 4 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk.

Cold water is absorbed into the body faster than warm water.

Driving a car in the city typically results in the loss of as much as half a litre of water an hour, which can trigger emotional changes that can lead to road rage. (Source: the National Mineral Water Information Service)

Even at rest skin your skin can lose up to half a litre of water into the atmosphere every day, and during hot weather it will lose even more.

Your brain tissue is 85% water. Messages from your brain to everywhere else in your body are transported on ‘waterways’.

The air that we breathe out is saturated with water, through this alone we can each lose about one third of a litre of water every day.

The foods we eat normally contain a certain percentage of water and add up to our daily water intake.Dry foods have less water than foods found in their fresh states: here some facts on some common foods contain;

Baked potato - 70% water  Mushrooms - 90% water  Tofu - 85% water  Bagel - 35% water Pineapple - 80% water Tomato - 95% water Apple - more than 80% water, about 4% of an apple is made up of

vitamins and minerals Chicken - 75% water

This information should help you make a decision on the type of food you put in your body. You need to eat food; especially fruits, so you know you are hydrating your cells as much as possible. Dried fruits can be eaten, but occasionally as their natural source of water is dried out.

Have you heard the osmosis ?

Eleven

Foods That The Bible Discourages

Eleven

Healthy Shopping

When you go shopping, it is important what foods you pick off the shelves and place in your shopping basket. I normally marvel at what I see in most people’s shopping baskets. Have you ever seen somebody with all the junk in the world or could that person be you? The supermarket displays all kinds of foods, healthy, semi- healthy and unhealthy. The majority of people on their typical shopping days go through which aisle and I am asking you the same?

You see, make it a point never to go shopping on a hungry stomach, like I used to do. As soon as you get there you want to eat every you set your eyes on.

Twelve

Your Health and ExerciseHave you already noticed that most of the adults you know have health problems caused by desk-bound jobs that demands that they do long hours, limiting their ability to exercise. My simple advice to all the teens I coach is to at least walk for 20mins on days when they are very busy and cannot find time to exercise. Exercising is so subtle that it does not show immediate results., but its benefits are second to nothing good you can do for your body.

I agree with the Bible that spiritual exercise profits the most, which is rightly so but you must equally exercise your body too, as without being healthy, you might not even get to read your Bible or even pray. Your body is designed such that exercising your muscles will help strengthen your body and hold up in your future.

The US First Lady Michelle Obama advocates healthy eating and

exercise as a way to tackle childhood obesity, and I support her

hundred percent.

Why are more and more teens undergoing surgery to reduce

obesity when if they lead a more active life-style instead of

slumping infront of television and playing all the playstation

games, there would be no need to go under the knife.

Researchers at Memphis State University and the University of Tennessee explored the link several years ago and were startled to find that kids' metabolisms were lower while they were watching television than when they were resting and doing nothing at all! The typical teen now spends almost 30 hours a week in front of the something that renders them inactive, while eating high fat snacks.

As a teen, you can help yourself greatly by in cooperating exercise into your lifestyle. Nobody can help you unless you decide to help yourself. You need to be self-motivated, challenged and make a conscious effort to exercise this body God has given you.

Great Exercises for TeensAerobic exercise is perfect for teens who are independent and like variety. Some possibilities include running, in-line skating, cycling, swimming, power- or race-walking, tennis, full-court basketball, aerobic dancing, kick-boxing, hockey, soccer, rowing, cross-country skiing, jumping rope, handball, ice-skating, and trampoline. Make exercising fun, you can do it with others, with music, anything to help you get into the grove.

Exercise should never hurt, although a little muscle soreness can be expected, especially in the initial weeks of a workout program. It is advisable to do some warming up and stretches before the actual exercising. Now there videos to help with exercising as well as Nintendo Wii. I personally use a video called BELLY TWINS for belly dancing, which I enjoy very much.

As a teen take note that your bones have not finished the growth process, so you can get involved in games that can help you grow taller like Basket Ball and Volley Ball. You can also get involved in body building if you are too tall and

The American Heart Association suggests that teens raise their heart rates for 20 minutes without stopping, three or more times a week. Choose fun physical fitness activities that also make you sweat and breathe a little deeper than your normal breathe.

Why would you like to fight against something like exercising when its benefits far outweigh its opposite? What have you got against walking, when all you have to do is step out of your front door and put your left foot in front of the right, funnily enough it is that easy. You do not always have to be driven about.

The next best thing to do after walking is running. You need to buy yourself a pair of comfortable running shoes and voila you are on your way. Guess what running will be doing for you, in your old age? It will reduce the chances of you ever getting a

stroke or heart attack. I believe you have heard about these and have heard people die of it.

Your heart becomes stronger and more powerful to pump blood around your whole body, which makes your brain more alert and makes all your organs to function properly. You can take a jog around your house, then to a nearby park in your neighbourhood. Watch the way you feel after a run or jog. If you are somebody who is not used to this, start slowing maybe just walk to school instead of in a car that is if your school is close by. Notice how you feel in class. Your concentration becomes high as you have sent blood rushing to your brain. Do not be jealous of kids who come to school in their parents posh cars. They are being more harmed than you, remember, you have taken the right choice.

It is normally a challenge to take the right choice I am very aware of this since the human body always likes the easy way out. That way, will cause you fatal problems even now, not in the future.

Kids who enjoy sports and exercise tend to stay active throughout

their lives. Immediate benefits include maintaining a healthy

weight, feeling more energetic, and promoting a better outlook.

Participating in team and individual sports can boost self-

confidence, provide opportunities for social interaction, and offer a

chance to have fun. And regular physical activity can help prevent

heart disease, diabetes, and other medical problems later in life.

Fitness The Ideal Way

As you are in your teen years, you can aim to exercise at least one

hour through out the week. Yet physical activity tends to decline

during the teen years. Many teens drop out of organized sports

and participation in daily physical education classes is a thing of

the past.

But given the opportunity and interest, teens can reap health

benefits from almost any activity they enjoy, from skateboarding,

in-line skating, yoga, swimming, dancing, or kicking a footbag in

the driveway. Weight training, under supervision of a qualified adult, can

improve strength and help prevent sports injuries

Teens can work physical activity into everyday routines, such as walking to school, doing chores, or

finding an active part-time job. They can take be camp counsellors, babysitters, or assistant coaches

for young sports teams, jobs that come with a chance to be active.

Motivating Teens to Be ActiveTeens face many new social and academic pressures in addition to dealing with emotional and physical changes. Studies show that teens on average spend more than 6 hours a day on various media, including watching TV, listening to music, surfing online, and playing video games. It's not surprising that teens can't seem to find the time to exercise and many parents can't motivat

CLOSING NOTES

For good health you need;1. Clean air, water and food (organic)2. Sunshine 3. Exercise (of both mind and body)4. Exposure to life that we evolved with. e.g. the beneficial bacteria in our gut (and the human body has more non-human cells than human cells in it).5. For children you need to add breast feeding till age 3, sleeping with parents / mother (matter is a structure of the universe - with subtle connections!)

Sun screen lotions used by beach-going tourists worldwide are a major cause of coral bleaching, according to a 2008 study commissioned by the European Commission.

In experiments, the cream-based ultra-violet (UV) filters -- used to protect skin from the harmful effects of sun exposure -- caused bleaching of coral reefs even in small quantities, the study found.

Chemical compounds in sunscreen and other personal skin care products have been detected near both sea and freshwater tourist areas. Previous research has shown that these chemicals can accumulate in aquatic animals, and biodegrade into toxic by-products.