Vitamin D is found in many food sources such as fish, eggs, fortified milk and cod liver oil. The sun also contributes significantly to the daily production of vitamin D, and is thought to only 10 minutes exposure is enough to prevent deficiencies. The term “vitamin D” refers to several different forms of this vitamin.

Two forms are important for humans: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). Vitamin D2 is synthesized by plants. Vitamin D3 is synthesized by humans in the skin when exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. Foods can be fortified with vitamin D2 or D3.

In a new study, researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D in 1,621 white men and women over 65 years. All subjects had participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study from the 1990′s. During the course of 11 years, scientists studied the relationship between vitamin D levels of these individuals and serious health conditions, including hip fractures, heart attacks and cancer.

The results suggest that the increased risk of these diseases when the level of vitamin D fell below 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood. In addition, scientists found that the risk of developing serious medical conditions changed with the seasons. In the spring and summer, when participants had more exposure to vitamin D from sunlight, vitamin D levels in the blood tended to be higher than in autumn and winter.

The researchers concluded that maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D in the blood may help reduce the risk of serious illness. The authors emphasized that further studies are needed to better understand these results.

The most important biological function of vitamin D is to maintain a normal level of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. Vitamin D aids in calcium absorption, helping to form and maintain strong bones. It’s used, alone or in combination with calcium to increase bone mineral density and reduce fractures. Addition, several recent research suggests that vitamin D can provide protection against osteoporosis, hypertension (high blood pressure), cancer and several autoimmune diseases.

Rickets and osteomalacia are classic diseases caused by lack of vitamin D. In children, vitamin D deficiency causes rickets, which results in skeletal deformities. In adults, vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia, which causes muscle weakness, in addition to weak bones. Populations may be at high risk of vitamin D deficiency include the elderly, the obese, infants who are exclusively breastfed and those with limited sun exposure. In addition, people with malabsorption syndromes of fat (eg cystic fibrosis) or inflammatory bowel diseases (eg Crohn’s disease) are at risk.

Admit it. Although you have read and heard hundreds of times all the advantages associated with physical activity, yet still hate exercising and not tolerate the idea of ??going to the gym even once a week.

Rule number one: remember that nothing is impossible and that change is up to you. The first thing to do is believe that you can change that feeling of rejection of the exercise. Nothing will happen unless you change your attitude first. Then there are several clues that can help you establish a routine of exercises that can maintain itself.

Analyzes the reasons that make you reject the exercise: it looks like you’re embarrassed your body, you do not like sweating in front of others, no time, you lack the proper clothing, you need a co-routine, you find it too costly to access a gym or feel that previous experiences have not seen too many results after your effort? These are some of the factors that tend to take away the motivation to do to select people and sedentary life “by removing” or simply because it is not easy to go against the rhythm of life we ??lead. Once you identify the reasons that keep you glued (a) the sofa will be much easier fight.

Find the force in the motivation to feel more energetic, combat overweight, more youthful look. To keep it alive is very important not to get bored exercising. Test different types of exercise, even a sport you’ve never practiced, until you find what motivates you and provide you extra comfort and joy.

The gym is not the only place you can put your body in motion. You can also take dance classes, taking a walk or run with friends, biking around your neighborhood or why not?, More gentle exercise like yoga or Pilates (two good options if you do not like to sweat too much).

Another common excuse for postponing the exercises is the lack of time. If that’s your problem, choose the most appropriate time of day to exercise. Some experts believe it is better in the morning, before starting the rest of the activities, but some people prefer to do in the afternoon or evening, after a hard day of work and when the sun starts to drop.

Do not be sabotage by the misconception of “all or nothing”. If one day you can not exercise as long as you had planned (say an hour), there is no reason to discourage you. You can exercise within half an hour to cut into recess 10 to 15 minutes at a time, you might as well interspersed with other activities, either at home or at work. The important thing is to persevere.

Find alternatives. You can take advantage of every moment of everyday life to move more, take the stairs instead of taking the elevator, walking to nearby places instead of driving, and to devote to gardening can be very helpful.

If the problem is economic, remember that the gym is not the only option and you have to take classes that are necessarily out of your budget. Instead, you can find group activities in your neighborhood or take advantage of moments of everyday life that you mentioned earlier. Or follow an exercise video in the comfort and privacy of your own home. They are not expensive and comes in all levels (from beginner to advanced), and in so many varieties that are sure to find one that suits your tastes and needs.

And if you need is company, find a friend or relative with you. You can even take your kids and while they do some sport you like, you can take to do your thing. For example, if they are going to swim, you can walk or jog around the pool, as if going to play football. Another good idea is to get together to play in the park, which would also help them to be more united.

Finally, remember to be patient. The results are not an overnight, but if you are consistent, in the least expected moment you will be surprised yourself. Meanwhile, of course, be sure to reward you for your efforts and your achievements.

Cheer up! A life in motion can be nice for you too. If you can change your mind and you fall for the year, you’ll see that the benefits are many and will not want to leave even one day.

Childhood obesity affects 1 in 3 children in America and as a result is more common to see children with problems that were previously just for adults, such as high cholesterol and diabetes type 2. But not only affects children in the United States, overweight and obesity are increasing also in Latin America, Spain and elsewhere, as in Europe.

Of the countries in Latin America, Mexico seems to have the number of childhood obesity and adult obesity highest worldwide, and first place in childhood diabetes, according to the Mexican Social Security Institute, communicated by the President of Mexico on 25 January 2011. That is, childhood obesity is not just a cosmetic issue but a real health problem that can affect your children, both now and in the long run, when they grow up and become adults.

Other health condition that could be associated with childhood obesity is asthma, a chronic disease that causes the bronchi, a part of the airways, which are those that allow air in and out of the lungs become sensitized and swell. This causes bothersome symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing, especially early in the morning or at night.

Asthma is also a very common condition. In the U.S. there are about 20 million people with this disease, of which nearly 9 million are children. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that worldwide 235 million people suffer and that each year 250,000 people die from it. Since children have smaller airways than adults, asthma can be a more serious condition there.

What is the relationship between asthma and obesity? Indeed, it is not known for certain, but researchers are trying to solve this riddle. For example, a recent study developed by specialists from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, children with overweight at age 7 were more likely to develop asthma. By contrast, children who had lost the excess weight before that age were less likely to come to suffer.

To reach these results, which were published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers followed more than 2,000 children for eight years, using health records of preschool and school to track their height and weight at different ages (1 year , 18 months, 4 and 7). The files also included questionnaires completed by parents in relation to the overall health of children, including those suffering from asthma and allergies. This found that children with high body mass index during early childhood (a percentile of 85 or more), or had a normal weight for a few years but gained weight and increased their BMI for age 7 were more likely to suffer from asthma than children with normal body weight. Conversely, children who had a high BMI at a young age (at 18 months or 4 years) but had downgraded pounds or kilos for the 7 years were not at increased risk of developing asthma compared with other children.

The researchers cautioned that this study is not large enough to show that being overweight or obese can cause asthma. But as the increase in childhood obesity rates has coincided with increased rates of asthma, it is understandable that speculation about a possible link between health conditions.

What is clear is that the risks of children decreases when losing excess weight, and here I’m not just talking about respiratory problems. Childhood obesity is a condition that can be greatly improved by changing the lifestyle and the best in such cases is to do together as a family, they will see how well everyone!

You can start in filling the cupboard, from the moment you go to the market, choosing healthier foods and revising product labels. Choose snacks low in fat and sugars, as well as fruits and vegetables, instead of the coveted fast food, sweets and treats.

At the same time, seeks at least one day a week to go play with your kids to the park and do outdoor activities, like walking or cycling, and encourage your children to practice a sport with fellow age, to promote and maintain amistados always active.

If you help them improve their quality of life, so you’ll be helping to achieve a more healthy adulthood, not overweight and trouble breathing.

Exercise helps children fight childhood obesity and to have a better development during the growth stage. Studies amply demonstrate. For example, researchers at the University of Illinois found that children who exercise score higher on tests than those who are sedentary and apparently find it easier to maintain attention and memory and to coordinate their actions and their thoughts.

Furthermore, a study presented at the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) found that overweight children have a tendency to present difficulties in the psychological development as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression.

And your child, how active are you? While not obese, it may cost you put out the TV or computer out or remove him from the games. However, do not give up and encourage him and sports activities, either individually or in groups.

And let you fail in your attempt to make your child an active child, here are some tips that can help:

1. Observation and patience. Give time to the child or the child to discover what he really likes. Not everyone is comfortable with the traditional sports like basketball or soccer. Some prefer swimming, dancing or cycling. Watch your children and try to define what is the activity that they like and be patient. To find out you may need to change an activity again and again, until they find the one that goes with your personality.

2. Join the game. Adults are used to make the exercise almost like a job, but need not be. One of the keys to being consistent is having fun. As you seek the pleasure of your children, take you too the opportunity to hang out and play with them or share activities. Walk together to school, for example, not only keeps them moving, but also gives them the opportunity to talk and get closer to each other. So if you take advantage of some time each weekend or on your days off to go to the park. They may even include the family pet!

3. Includes friends. Sometimes not enough that you’ll join the activity. Invite your friends and let them have fun doing what they like.

4. Establish a routine. Children need structure and order. If you program days and times for their activities may be easier perform them.

5. Teach by example. As you play with them and demand that I have your exercise routine, do not forget you exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle as well.

6. Limits the hours in front of any screen. Have you thought about how many hours children spend in front of them? If you add the time watching television, computers and video games may be surprised. Not to mention if you include the cell phone too! It is true that children can now also use the computer to do homework and study, in addition to them is another means of contact with friends. Ban it completely is not good, but help them have a safe and responsible use of the Internet and social networks, which includes limiting the time they are used.

Finally, remember that exercise should never be taken as something forced or boring, however, show that physical activity and outdoor activities are fun and can be as a prize.

And now you know all this, go take all the family to the park.

Childhood obesity has become a public health concern in many countries. It is estimated that during the last decades and only in the United States, has tripled the number of overweight children. And that’s not all: more and more children start having health problems associated with obesity, previously of predominance of adults, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.

While progress in childhood obesity has been associated with sedentary lifestyles today, where children spend too many hours watching television or sitting in front of a screen, a group of researchers from the Center for Applied Genomics Research Institute Hospital Pediatric Philadelphia, USA, has identified two related genes also related to it.

This is the first find of its kind – and has been published in the online edition of the April 8 issue of Nature Genetics – in which details that the researchers found mutations in two genetic locations that seem to predispose children to become obese.

To reach these results, the authors analyzed what they describe as the largest collection of DNA related to childhood obesity worldwide, which includes data from 14 other studies that had been done previously in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe, a total of 5,530 obese children and 8,318 children who were not overweight (all of European descent).

Some parents are offended when the doctor tells them that their child is fat, plump or obese, to refer to having a few extra kilos. However, it is natural and necessary that the physician discuss this issue with parents, to guide them on a lifestyle that allows them to both boys and girls grow and develop in a healthy way.

Beyond the genes, so that children grow up healthy and smooth line is that with a healthy, balanced diet that gives them all the nutrients your body needs, and if it is to fight obesity, the recommendation is to encourage outstanding to do exercises and participate in outdoor games, which unfortunately does not happen in most cases.

For example, the guidelines of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education in the United States suggest that children have at least one hour of physical activity per day, and that preschoolers also have a few hours of playing time each day is not structured.

But a group of researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, United States interviewed the parents of nearly 9,000 children and found that fewer than half of the mothers and only a quarter of parents reported taking your child (a) walk or play with them in the yard or park at least once a day.

Also, according to the results of this study, which was published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 44 percent of mothers and 24 percent of parents said they had time to play outdoors with their children every day when they were preschoolers. Children less time playing outdoors had fewer playmates than the others and their parents had more time to work outside the home.

Do not let lack of time and the pressures of daily life prevent and fun to play with your children. The time your child invested in the park and other physical activities during childhood can make it later do play a sport, a very healthy and important for their physical development. Take those moments when you practice your family too. After all, what better way to teach it by example, do not you think?

Our life is our greatest treasure, and always makes us short. How much would you pay for one day a month, another year of life? No money in the world can buy. And yet, is to lengthen your reach a decision very simple: decide to exercise a few minutes a day, 15 only, with constancy and regularity, day after day. No fair cheating!

The offer is irresistible that anyone would think would not accept it right away? invest 15 minutes of time doing exercises every day to win 3 years of life expectancy. Is not it a fantastic investment? Imagine that with 92 minutes a week you notice your health benefits. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted in Taiwan whose results were published in the journal Lancet.

For 8 years, we examined a group of 400 000 Taiwanese (exactly 199.265 216.910 women and men) divided into five groups according to their lifestyle and daily activity level (inactive, who exercised at low intensity, medium, high or very high). The benefits of exercise began to be felt even from the lowest level. When comparing to the inactive with a low exercise level (with a total of 92 minutes a week, just under 15 minutes per day) was noted a reduction in mortality of 14%, which amounts expressed in other parameters to increase life expectancy by 3 years.

Best of all, from the minimum number of minutes a day devoted to exercise, the benefits were increased: the difference in mortality improved by 4% for each additional 15 minutes and the incidence of cancer by 1%.

The authors conclude that if it meets the minimum amount of exercise you suggest (15 minutes a day) could reduce mortality from heart disease, diabetes and cancer. They add that a volume of physical activity, even at low level, could play a key role in the global war against non-communicable diseases, reducing medical costs and differences in health status in the population.

The medical community is very optimistic with the results of the study: “Knowing that just fifteen minutes of exercise a day most days of the week can substantially reduce the risk of an individual dying would encourage many people to incorporate a small amount of physical activity in their daily lives, “say Dr. Anil Nigam and Dr. Martin Juneau, Montreal Heart Institute and University of Montreal, Quebec.

And you, do you dare? No need to start running a marathon. It is best to start small, depending on your age and fitness, and go increasing the time and level of exercise as your strength increases. Here is a list of moderate-intensity activities suggested by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

If you do not want to go to a gym or do not want to invest in special equipment, exercise doing your daily tasks with enthusiasm and energy. For example:

- Wash and wax the car (45 – 60 minutes)
- Clean the windows and the floor (45 – 60 minutes)
- Working in the garden (30 – 45 minutes)
- Walking 2 miles (3.2 km) in 30 minutes
- Shoveling snow (15 minutes)
- Raking leaves (30 minutes)
- Take a walk pushing baby stroller (1.5 miles or 2.4 km for 30 minutes)

If you prefer, you can do your share of moderate playing sports:

- Play volleyball 45 – 60 minutes
- Bicycling (5 miles or 8 km in 30 minutes)
- Doing water aerobics for 30 minutes
- Shoot hoops for 30 minutes
- Swim for 20 minutes
- Run 1 mile (1.6 km) in 10 minutes

These are just some examples. You can do your exercises at once, or space during the day as your schedule and your obligations. For example, start by walking 30 minutes three days a week and then increased to 45 minutes of more intense walking at least 5 days a week. Ideally, you do some exercise every day. To avoid boredom, walking one day and perform other activities like swimming, the next day. Most importantly, try to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and choose what suits you best: taking the stairs instead of taking the elevator, or park the car a little further away and walk the extra distance.

Remember to consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program, especially if you are very overweight or suffer from any disease.

You have in your hands a great opportunity to live better and live longer. Make the most!

Pregnancy is a special time of physical and emotional changes, which should take care not only for your own sake but also to protect the baby that is forming inside you.

Imagine that the child is nourished by the foods you eat, so we recommend a healthy diet, and in the same way that takes nutrients from food, also receive some of the medicines you take. And as her body is still forming, each substance that reaches it, however small, can have irreversible consequences, such as birth defects.

A recent study developed by researchers from Finland, Denmark and France, published in the journal Human Reproduction found that women taking a combination of more than a mild analgesic during pregnancy were more likely to give birth to boys with cryptorchidism , a condition characterized by testicles that do not descend (which remain in the abdomen), and constitutes a risk factor for the baby to have poor semen quality and increase their chances of developing testicular cancer later in life.

Another study links use of painkillers with the loss of the pregnancy itself. In this case, it is a research done in Canada, taking into account the data of more than 52 000 pregnant women. According to research, the number of spontaneous abortions was more than twice as high among women who received at least one prescription of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), which are used to relieve headaches and muscle aches and other symptoms.

Anyway, and before you a panic attack, we must take into account the limitations of each investigation. In this case, for example, based on pregnant women receiving recipes to consume these drugs, which indicates that not all the taken. Moreover, as this is counter products, it is possible that among women who had no recipe also have some that taking these drugs.

Therefore, the same researchers warn the importance of good advice with a doctor, and their leaders in both studies claim that more data are needed to better understand the effect of these drugs on pregnant women and their babies.

Each drug is different and acts differently on each person. So everyone will have to take different doses and for that very reason, medicines for children are different than those of adults.

Remember that your baby will get some medicine you take and that can be dangerous. If you are pregnant, it is important that you be careful and consult your physician before taking any medication, whether it is prescription drugs, OTC or herbal or dietary supplements. This precaution is even more important during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Also keep in mind that, although the suggestion is to try to avoid any medications during pregnancy, in some cases it is necessary to take them. For example, if you have a special status (such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma or epilepsy), it is important that you continue taking the medication to avoid complications. The only consideration in these cases is that some drugs are more appropriate than others during pregnancy, so it is best to talk with your obstetrician when planning a baby, so you can change the medication before getting pregnant.

If you are using the medication you need carefully, responsibly and under supervision of your obstetrician, you will see that your pregnancy goes happily to fruition. And you and your baby will be fine during and after the nine month wait.

Louise had trouble getting pregnant and on one occasion lost the baby in the first weeks of gestation. Today, it has a little girl of 2 years and is a happy mom. However, remember that those first few weeks of pregnancy was very nervous and every time I felt a cramp, ran to the bathroom scared, expecting the worst. “They were like menstrual cramps, similar to those I felt when I lost my first baby.”

It is true that when approaching a spontaneous abortion, cramping in the lower belly is a sign of alarm. But it is also true that colic or cramping during the first weeks of pregnancy is a sign that all is well and that the embryo has implanted in the uterine wall.

Implantation cramps usually occur 6 to 12 days after conception. Even slight bleeding may occur which is a sign that your baby is “caught” to the wall and means that the chances of it being a successful pregnancy are higher.

The implantation cramps or cramps may be accompanied or not, a slight bleeding. Note that not all pregnant women experience these cramps, so do not worry if you do not feel. But in your case, feel, believes should be short: one or two days.

If, however, the cramps are severe and will cause much discomfort for several days, there may be some other cause and you should, without doubt, check with your doctor to rule out any major problems with your pregnancy. In these cases it is very important to visit a doctor.

Cases in which colic or cramps during pregnancy need immediate attention include:
- Spontaneous abortion
- Ectopic pregnancy (embryo develops outside the uterus (the womb), usually in the fallopian tubes, ovaries or even the cervix)
- Molar pregnancy (occurs when a fertilized egg develops into a growth called a mole instead of a normal embryo)

However, we remind you throughout your pregnancy is likely to feel cramping because the muscles that support your uterus is expanding to hold your baby as it grows. And that, of course, is normal and healthy.

If you have any questions, or if you face any pain that you think deserves your attention, check with your doctor immediately. Better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to your health and the health of the baby is on its way to brighten your life.

Everything changes and evolves … from everyday objects to the customs they adopt. Over time, the pace of life has accelerated. Things happen so fast that sometimes we have no time to process what is happening to us, as if all happen at the speed at which airplanes fly or even more, as fast as the information travels over the Internet.

So, now may seem strange that your parents (or grandparents, depending on your age) have had to wait nine months before your birth to know your sex. You never have told you what would you name as if she’d rather been a child or vice versa?

Things change so much, now in just nine weeks, expectant parents can answer this question. Suffice it to get a blood test after the seventh week of pregnancy and presto: dads will know if the baby on the way a girl or boy. Amazing, is not it? Soon it will seem incredible that a few decades ago someone would have to wait that long to know the sex of the baby, as there were no ultrasound today and let you know the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy.

Called cell-free fetal DNA, this new method analyzes the presence of the male chromosome (chromosome Y) in the blood of the mother. If these are not listed, it follows that elimination will be a girl, because the test fails to detect the presence of a female baby.

Recent research believe that this test, which is already practiced in some European hospitals for high-risk pregnancies but is not yet routinely available in the U.S. or in other countries, has a high confidence level, 95% at 7 weeks and 99% at 20 weeks. Thus, is not expected to suffer the same fate as other previous tests predictive of sex, which have excited the parents with the news expecting a baby of one sex at birth and found that it was the opposite. These statistics are in laboratories serious steps are taken to analyze samples correctly and carefully. Be very careful of laboratories offering their services online and that many are not quality.

In this regard, it was widely publicized case of a lab called Acu-Gen, which filed for bankruptcy due to the number of complaints from women who were tested and different results were obtained at delivery.

The new blood test, however, offers more guarantees and offers new hope. To be more reliable, will take action against possible genetic diseases that can be produced according to the sex of the baby such as Down syndrome and hemophilia. The latter, for example, is a disorder that occurs only in children. If the mother knows that the unborn baby is a girl, not need to undergo other diagnostic procedures more risky, such as amniocentesis, which can cause miscarriage.

In return, some experts fear that this study is used to select the sex of the baby and the couple decide to abort if it happens to be expected. This, which to many may seem cruel and unethical, is currently a problem in some countries where there is birth control.

For example, it is estimated that over the next 20 years, largely from China, India and some South Korean cities, there will be between 10 and 20 percent of young men, due to increased selective abortions gender, made possible by easy access to ultrasound technology that can detect the sex of the children. And where men are more desired than girls.

For the same reason, India is also increasing the number of abortions based on sex of the baby. It is estimated that nearly half a million female fetuses are being aborted every year, more than all the girls who are born annually in Britain!

Thus, experts stress that these tests were developed to select the sex of the baby but to detect and react to hereditary diseases and do not recommend its use for other purposes.

And it should not be otherwise. Do you obsesionarías to the sex of your baby? After all, what if a boy or girl, your son or daughter will be a bit of you, a demonstration of love and life, your pride and joy …

Amalia has 2 children and is expecting her third baby. Everyone in the family and began their bets on the sex of the baby. Could it be that this time is a girl? All hope so, although Amalia does not care because what matters is that it is a healthy baby. Her husband, however, admits he would love to be a baby.

Anyway, they will not know until Amalia has about 18 weeks of pregnancy, when ultrasound is traditionally (or ultrasound) can often help determine the sex of the baby, because they are often developed genital . Besides, that’s when sex can be determined without invasive procedures (such as amniocentesis, for example), which can detect the sex at 11 weeks and are made only for strictly medical reasons (to detect abnormalities).

But as science surprises us daily with her progress, it appears that a blood test during the first weeks of pregnancy may determine baby’s sex you expect. However, this test should not be at the whim of the sex of the baby before it is physically visible, but, say experts, to assess the risks of genetic diseases that are prevalent in one gender, such as hemophilia is more common in children.

Researchers in South Korea collected blood tests in 200 pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy and concluded that the presence of two enzymes called DYS14 and GAPDH, indicate if the baby is a boy or girl. This is the first event of its kind and according to experts, would reduce the need for invasive procedures to detect the sex of baby early, as these procedures such as amniocentesis, abortion is a risk of 2%.

Already carried out other studies. The researchers caution that more evidence is needed before this method of determining the sex of the baby is available to all.

The ethical dilemma is mainly because of fears that some women or couples using this blood test to detect the sex of the baby early, to decide to abort based on sex of the baby. Therefore, experts say this test, if it starts to openly offer is only for women who need medical reasons only.