Overview

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid functions as vitamin C for some animals but not others, and vitamins D and K are required in the human diet only in certain circumstances.

Vitamins are classified by their biological and chemical activity, not their structure. Thus, each "vitamin" actually refers to a number of vitamer compounds, which form a set of distinct chemical compounds that show the biological activity of a particular vitamin. Such a set of chemicals are grouped under an alphabetized vitamin "generic descriptor" title, such as "vitamin A," which (for example) includes retinal, retinol, and many carotenoids. Vitamers are often inter-convertible in the body. The term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Short-Term Happiness is No Substitute For Long-Term Health

Since the clocks back, we are all against head-on by the looming prospect of a long, dark winter. The changing of the seasons have a multitude of effects from person to person, while even the rich well of us feel discouraged by May the darkness that lies ahead. Winter holidays - "escapes to the sun" - are big business in the winter months, with many of us from behind our shores for warmer climes.

However, not all of us can do the same. Whether it is by high costs or work or family obligations, many of us stuck in the United Kingdom with the deteriorating weather. Back Serene, it is a temptation to allow pessimism to overcome us in such an environment, it is no wonder that we are looking for other simpler, cheaper to achieve such a feeling of lightness that brings a winter vacation.

One of the most popular methods is visiting tanning salons to use sun beds, sun what we appear on the outside. This pleasing aesthetic gives rise to feelings of power and wellbeing, but this is only a short-term solution.

continued use of sunbeds sustains the warm glow of tan, but the fact is that a trip to a tanning can expose an average person in the United Kingdom to more UV rays (the harmful rays emitted by the sun) when we will be in a year. The veneer of tan hides deeper damage, the skin appear older. The effects of age are hastened - blemished skin, wrinkly and hard - the result is that the fading of the tan exposes the skin damage that lies beneath.

Again, this is not the worst-case scenario for the connection between tanning beds and skin cancer are well documented. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United Kingdom, especially in England and Wales, where there are more than 60,000 new cases each year. 15% of these cases will be diagnosed as malignant melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer - a 100% increase since 1992.

The high levels of sun bed use in the United Kingdom can certainly attributed to a psychological feeling of sadness. The short-term relief from this that we can reach by Sun bed use is as artificial as the tan. Soon, this positive feeling and with reduced depressing weather worsening daily temptation at the top back to the tanning salon is almost impossible to resist. The solution, however, lies in people's minds.

This sadness is actually a decrease in the production of serotonin in the brain, the chemical that is responsible for regulating our moods. Therefore, what we require is not the appearance of time spent in the sun, but the active sense of it. This can be achieved through the use of devices such as the sunrise alarm clock, which emits light to aid the production of serotonin. These devices produce far less ultraviolet light than daylight, so even if they do not give you a tan they are much safer when it comes to dealing with the "winter blues". Because for a long-term happiness is most important is to protect our health.

 

Rosana Horowitz is an expert in SAD and is familiar with its effects. She has tested many products that lay claim to being the market leader but she has found the sunrise alarm clock to be highly effective in the treatment of SAD.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rosana_Horowitz

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