FOODS FOR WHAT AILS YOU

Anemia can quietly attack the body in many forms. If our brains feel fuzzy, it may need more oxygen and you may feel sluggish and weak. Here at Carrington we always start our exercises with deep breathing. That’s a good beginning and easy to correct. The next best thing and a favourite for many is attention to the food we eat. Vegetarians eat little meat and have a special challenge for needed protein because of the lack of vitamin B12, which is needed for cells to divide and mature properly. It comes mostly from animal food but for vegetarians supplements of brewers yeast can come to the rescue. Most health stores now carry a variety of this yeast that really tastes good and adds flavour to soups as well as other vegetarian dishes. According to Joel Fuhrman, M.D., a specialist in nutritional medicine at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, N.J, and co-author of “Eat to Live” it is better to eat leafy green vegetables in salads, vegetable-rich soups and vegetable juices. In a study at Norway’s University of Oslo, 87 people with rheumatoid arthritis followed a vegetarian diet for one year. (After the first three to five months, they could eat dairy products if they wished.) They also avoided gluten (a protein found in wheat), refined sugar, salt, alcohol, and caffeine. After a month, their joints were less swollen and tender, and they had less morning stiffness and a stronger grip than people who followed their usual diets. Boston University School of Medicine studied the eating habits of people with osteoarthritis of the knee. They found that those getting the most vitamin C (more than 200 mg a day) were three times less likely to have the disease worsen than those who got the least vitamin C (less than 120 mg a day). “Vitamin C may also help generate collagen, which enhances the body’s ability to repair damage to the cartilage,” says study leader Timothy McAlindon, M.D., MPH, who is now an associate professor of medicine at Tufts University at Boston. McAlindon recommends that people find a cherry-like fruit called acerola. One of these small fruits (less than an inch or less across, contains 81 mg of vitamin C.