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Poor Eyesight in Children: How to Recognize it and What to Do About It

It is estimated that at least every tenth child in Germany suffers from poor eyesight. Ideally, the restriction is recognized quickly and treated immediately. However, it is problematic if a child’s vision problems are only discovered very late or not at all.

Because this can lead to the child being restricted in its entire development and possibly even in its choice of career. In this article, you will learn about the signs of vision problems in children and what parents and teachers should pay particular attention to.

What are the signs of poor eyesight in children?

It is often particularly difficult to determine whether babies and young children have visual impairments as they are not yet very good at expressing themselves and cannot read or write. However, there are some signs that children have eye problems:

Abnormalities in the eyes

  • large pupils
  • squinting
  • whitish or yellowish pupils
  • light-shy eyes
  • clouded cornea
  • eye trembling
  • eyelid changes
  • watery and sticky eyes
  • behavioral problems of the child

Frequent rubbing of the eyes with the fingers

  • excessive blinking
  • rolling eyes
  • tilting of the head
  • sensitivity to light
  • passing objects

Poor eyesight is easier to identify in older children and does not go unnoticed for long, especially at school. Students with untreated vision problems can’t concentrate for as long, have trouble copying from the board, and make more mistakes in reading, which can quickly lead to poor grades. Poor concentration in children can also be an indication of other diseases.

Further problems

In addition to the abnormalities listed above, older children may have other problems that often go unnoticed or are considered normal in babies and toddlers. The most important of these are:

  • headache
  • balance disorders
  • problems catching the ball
  • Bumping on furniture and doors
  • Closing one eye while reading or writing
  • Problems writing within a line
  • Confusion of letters and numbers
  • little distance to the book while reading

What to do if you suspect a visual impairment?

If you suspect a visual impairment, you should see an ophthalmologist immediately, especially if there are obvious problems with the eye itself. The first eye examinations are usually carried out immediately after birth, a few days later, and about 4-5 weeks later. The eyes are examined externally, the sensitivity to light is tested and the lens and retina are checked.

If the child belongs to the risk group, the next ophthalmological examination should take place between the ages of six and nine months. This applies to children with a hereditary predisposition, premature births, and children with developmental delays. A child who shows no abnormalities does not have to see an ophthalmologist for the first time until the age of 1 to 2 years. An eye test should be carried out again at the latest before starting school.

What are common visual defects in children?

The most common visual defects in children include squinting, nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and ametropia. We also give an outlook on the treatments of these and how to treat them.

Squinting (strabismus)

When a child squints, this is usually relatively easy to recognize, because the two eyes do not look in the same direction. If left untreated, visual acuity in the squinting eye may not develop properly.

If squinting is not discovered before school starts, it is almost impossible to maintain normal visual acuity. Eyeglasses may be prescribed or occlusion therapy, which involves taping one eye shut, may be performed. In the worst case, an operation of the eye muscle must be performed.

Nearsightedness (myopia)

Those who suffer from nearsightedness see things that are close and blurry in the distance. Short-sightedness is not that common in the first years of life, but only develops over time, often when school starts (school-time short-sightedness).

Myopia can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. A good way to prevent myopia is to let children play outside for at least two hours a day.

Farsightedness (hyperopia)

Slight farsightedness in small children is nothing unusual and is usually easily compensated for by the elasticity of the eye lens. In the case of greater farsightedness, however, the eye muscles have to exert themselves too much to compensate for the misalignment, which often causes headaches. Weak farsightedness in children does not need to be treated, but severe farsightedness should definitely be corrected with glasses.

Corneal curvature (astigmatism)

With astigmatism, there are small dents in the cornea of ​​the eye, which means that a point is not displayed as a point but as a line on the retina. The images on the retina are therefore distorted, but this is largely compensated for by the brain. However, children with astigmatism see less accurately. In this case, too, early detection can contribute to better treatment. Glasses are usually prescribed for astigmatism.

Ametropia (anisometropia)

We speak of ametropia when there is a visual impairment in both eyes, but to different degrees and types. It can happen, for example, that one eye is farsighted in one eye and shortsighted in the other. In this case, a correction with glasses must also be carried out as soon as possible.

Increased eye pressure (child glaucoma)

One speaks of congenital or childhood glaucoma when the intraocular pressure is elevated at birth or in childhood. Raised eye pressure is less common in children than the above-mentioned vision problems, but it is more dangerous and can also develop in adulthood.

The optic nerve can be damaged, which leads to a restriction of the field of vision and, in the worst case, blindness. Elevated eye pressure usually occurs without major symptoms or comorbidities.

Basically, what the eye doesn’t learn by the age of six, it never learns again! Regular visits to the ophthalmologist in childhood are therefore strongly recommended.

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Everything You Should Know About Cooking Oils and Fats

Contradictory statements are often heard when it comes to oil and fat: “Fat makes you heart ill and fat”, “Coconut oil makes you slim” or “vegetable oils are healthy”. What is correct now? And what should you consider from an ecological point of view?

We looked at which oils are really healthy, which ones you would rather avoid and what you can look out for when buying.

You can’t do without fat

Dietary fats have the highest calorie density of any nutrient. With 9 kilocalories (kcal) per gram, they have more than twice as many calories as a gram of carbohydrates or protein. Fats and oils are therefore often demonized and decried as “fat food”.

It’s true that “eating too much fat” can make you fat, but you can’t do without fat entirely. Dietary fats are suppliers of essential fatty acids, they are vitamin carriers and vitamin suppliers and as flavor carriers they also ensure that a dish tastes “round”.

All fat is made up of different fatty acids. Basically, you have to distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Saturated fats are easy to recognize: They are solid at room temperature. This includes all animal fats, palm kernel fat and coconut fat.

Saturated fatty acids are not essential to life and are even harmful to health, since they are responsible, among other things, for the cholesterol level in the blood to rise.

With unsaturated fatty acids, things get more complicated. There are monounsaturated, diunsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. What they all have in common is that they are liquid at room temperature.

Monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid are found in olive oil, rapeseed oil and many nuts and seeds. The body is able to form these monounsaturated fatty acids such as omega 9 itself; they are therefore not essential.

Essential Fatty Acids

The body, on the other hand, cannot produce polyunsaturated fatty acids itself, so they are essential. A lack of essential fatty acids leads to various deficiency symptoms such as skin changes, susceptibility to infections, growth disorders, hair loss and a lack of blood platelets. Polyunsaturated fatty acids can be found in fish, corn oil, but also in safflower oil or nuts. The doubly unsaturated (omega 6) fatty acids include, for example, linoleic acid, which is contained in thistle or sunflower oil.

Well-known essential fatty acids are “Omega 3” and “Omega 6”, which are now literally “on everyone’s lips” due to advertising: The healthy Omega 3 (for example alpha-linoleic acid) is contained in all vegetable oils and improves the flow properties of the blood. It also lowers blood pressure and blood lipids, which is why it can prevent hardening of the arteries. There is a lot of omega 3 in fish (the cooler the water, the fatter the fish, the richer in omega 3) and in local oils such as rapeseed oil, soybean oil, walnut oil and linseed.

The fatty acid ratio is important

Now it gets a bit complicated: It is not only the intake of such essential fatty acids through our food that is decisive, but also that the ratio of these fatty acids to one another is optimal. The higher the proportion of omega 3 fatty acids and the lower the proportion of omega 6 fatty acids, the more optimal the oil is.

The “healthy olive oil” praised by good marketing comes off surprisingly badly: it has an unfavorable ratio of these two fatty acids, but a healthy proportion of oleic acid.

Local linseed oil has the highest content of omega 3. If you don’t like the intense taste, you can also use rapeseed oil, walnut oil or soybean oil, which are much healthier in their fatty acid ratios than the widespread sunflower oil, corn oil or peanut oil – oils that are often used in gastronomy because they are cheap and can be heated to high temperatures .

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Lifestyle

Alkaline Diet and Hyperacidity: What is it About Alkaline Food?

The theory that diseases are caused by over-acidification of the body convinces many people to change their diet to an alkaline diet. But what is it about alkaline fasting, hyperacidity & Co?

The theory of acidification of the body

The idea of ​​”overacidification” of the body probably arose as early as the 17th century, but only became popular in the 20th century thanks to the inventor of the “Mayr cure” Franz Xaver Mayr. After him, many naturopaths and even physicists followed these theses and did their own research on them.

Advocates of the “acidification theory” are of the opinion that many diseases of civilization such as joint diseases such as gout, many allergies, neurodermatitis and also cancer are caused by acidification of the body. They justify this by saying that our modern diet with fast food, white flour, sugar, alcohol and other foods that are generally recognized as unhealthy leads to the formation of too many acids in the body.

What is alkaline nutrition?

According to the advocates of the “acidification theory”, the “alkaline diet” should counteract the acidification of the body and prevent consequential damage and diseases. It consists of a long list of alkaline foods. These include, for example, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, dried fruit and raw milk.

Although raw milk is considered alkaline, dairy products such as cheese are classified as acidic. If it is not possible to compensate for the assumed acidification of the body with the diet, dietary supplements such as “base powder” should also help, which are sold accordingly in this environment.

Can the body become acidic at all?

The basis of the alkaline diet is the assumption that in many people the body is overly acidic due to improper diet or even stress and that this imbalance has to be regulated through diet. This assumption is scientifically untenable, because a healthy body regulates the acid-base ratio independently and does not need any special diet, specific base powders or other base or base-forming food supplements. However, the body automatically excretes excess acids, they do not have to be compensated for by a special diet with alkaline-forming foods.

This process runs completely automatically in a healthy body: a large part of the excess acids absorbed through food is excreted via the kidneys, but breath, sweat and stool also contain acids.

Too many acids can really get into the blood only in really sick people (e.g. in individual cases of diabetes or kidney dysfunction). But even then there is no “overacidification” because the body mobilizes calcium from the bones in order to normalize the acid-base balance again.

Advocates of the alkaline diet like to measure the pH value of the urine as “evidence” to show that the body is acidic. If an alleged hyperacidity is diagnosed in a urine test with a pH test strip on the toilet at home, this only means that the body’s natural regulatory mechanisms are functioning. If the urine is “too acidic”, the body has just excreted excess acids of its own accord. By the way, the pH value of the urine fluctuates constantly throughout the day.

The opinion of science and medicine on this topic is very clear: an “acidification” of the body is only possible in the case of really severe metabolic imbalances – such as diabetes – but is not fundamentally caused by our modern (and, yes: mostly unhealthy) diet . So far, no scientific study has been able to establish a connection between “overacidification” and diseases.

Who does alkaline nutrition help?

Surely you know someone who has had good experiences with an alkaline diet because they have lost weight, been able to regulate their digestion or feel fitter with it. This effect can be traced back to a very simple fact: A side effect of alkaline nutrition is that people deal more intensively with what they eat and therefore usually eat healthier.

Anyone who no longer eats white flour products, sugar, alcohol, fast food, greasy cheese and other supposedly acid-forming foods automatically eats healthier – and of course also feels the positive effects of a healthier diet or sees them on the scales.

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Black Food: What’s the Truth About Black Food?

Black Food is the name of a new nutritional trend that is increasingly focusing on black foods. What’s up with this trend? But above all: What is inside the black foods?

black food? If you first think of black currywurst with black fries or black burgers in brown bread – you’re actually right.

It actually started with a charred hot dog in a black bun, the photo of which went viral on social media. There is now hardly any food that someone has not already colored black – and not necessarily by charring.

What makes food black?

Black food is primarily about the food being black. Regardless of how they got their black coloring. Because the color can be “grown up” in a natural way or added later. The most common colorings in black foods are:

Anthocyanins: These are natural plant pigments that make fruits and vegetables appear blue, purple, or almost black. Blackberries, for example, contain a lot of anthocyanins.
Iron(II) gluconate or iron(II) lactate: Both substances have an oxidizing effect and cause foodstuffs treated with them to turn a deep black. Cheap black olives are colored like this, you can recognize the subsequent coloring by additive numbers such as E579
Sepia: The dark “ink” of the squid is actually used to ward off enemies and has long colored Italian pasta specialties black.
activated charcoal
In addition to these commonly used food colorings, there are exotic variants. For example, the charcoal from burned coconuts, but from a chemical point of view this is nothing more than carbon.

What are the health benefits of black foods?

Black food is said to be healthy, so healthy in fact that even ice cream that’s been dyed black is advertised as “healthier.” Black foods are also said to detoxify, be good for the kidneys, prevent cancer and be particularly rich in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

Activated charcoal black food

Foods colored with activated charcoal are the cheapest of the newfangled black foods. Activated charcoal is an approved food coloring (E number E153) and is added to many industrially produced foods to “pretty color” them. For example, jams and jellies with little fruit content

This does not make any product healthier – only blacker. Because activated charcoal is able to bind toxins, black food foods colored with charcoal are often advertised with additional benefits such as “detoxifying” or “detox”. However, a healthy body is already well equipped with the liver and kidneys to eliminate harmful substances.

The small amount of activated charcoal in black food doesn’t really matter – and nobody has to “detox” and “purify” anyway. In addition, activated charcoal is mainly used to make foods that are unhealthy per se “black & healthy”: French fries, currywurst and burger buns are not healthier if they are colored “raven black”.

ferrous gluconate and ferrous lactate

Olives and other foods colored black with ferrous gluconate or ferrous lactate do not confer any additional health benefit from the color. Olives colored black with ferrous gluconate (E579) are colored because they were not given time to ripen and were harvested green. You can easily recognize this by the fact that the core is still light green.

Iron(II) lactate (E585), like iron(II) gluconate, is only approved in the EU as a coloring for olives, but it is very well absorbed by the body and is therefore used to fortify foods with iron. This cannot then be recognized from the colour, because iron(II) gluconate is actually green-yellowish, the black color of the olives is only caused by oxidation. Here, too, the black color does not bring any added health value.

Natural dye sepia

Sepia, also known as “squid ink”, has now also established itself as a natural coloring agent for pasta in German kitchens. In homeopathy, sepia is used, for example, for gynecological disorders or diseases of the respiratory tract. However, there is still no scientifically proven knowledge on this.

Anyone who does not suffer from gynecological disorders or other diseases that Sepia helps against in homeopathy has no health benefit from the consumption of squid ink. On the contrary: the cream sauce that is often served with black pasta is not particularly healthy.

Incidentally, sepia does not have an E number, but it must be included in the list of ingredients because it can cause allergies.

Black food thanks to anthocyanins

Anthocyanins belong to the flavonoids, are secondary plant substances and are therefore fundamentally healthy. The more flavonoids and healthy phytochemicals we take in, the better. Anthocyanins are not only responsible for the almost black coloring of fruit and vegetables, but also for the dark red color of cherries, grapes and hibiscus blossoms.

However, there are over 8,000 flavonoids, and all of them have been said to have antioxidant effects. They all fundamentally reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases – regardless of their color. So there is no point in limiting yourself to black fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are inherently healthier than junk food and highly processed foods.

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Couscous is so Healthy: Everything About Nutritional Values and Calories

Couscous is a staple food in North Africa. But how healthy is couscous and what are its nutritional values? We explain exactly what couscous contains and why it should be on your menu more often.

What actually is couscous?

Unlike rice, for example, couscous is not a grain of its own, but is usually made from wheat.

To make couscous, coarse durum wheat semolina is mixed with salt water and then grated until small balls of about 1mm form. They give the couscous its typical structure. The granules are then dried for sale.

However, the raw material for couscous differs from country to country. While in Europe “instant couscous” is mainly made from durum wheat semolina, couscous can also be made from barley or millet.

Carbohydrates and Nutritional Values ​​of Couscous

Couscous is a grain product and therefore a high-calorie filler: it contains a whopping 353 calories per 100g. The good news is that couscous is very low in fat (just 1.8g per 100g) but high in fiber, a total of 7.6g per 100g. The protein content is also very high at 11g per 100g: couscous contains around five times as much protein as potatoes.

So couscous is by no means fattening unless you serve it with high-fat sauces or high-calorie meat dishes. In addition, couscous contains lots of healthy minerals such as potassium and B vitamins, especially vitamin B3.

Nutritional values ​​at a glance (per 100 g couscous):
Calories (kcal): 353
Protein: 11 g
Fat: 1.8g
Carbohydrates: 69 g
Fiber: 7.6 g

Which couscous to buy?

Couscous from Turkish and Arabic shops as well as from the supermarket usually comes from conventional wheat cultivation. Under certain circumstances, it can therefore be contaminated with chemical pesticides.
To achieve a light color, the couscous is usually bleached with caustic soda. Caustic soda is otherwise used in the production of pipe cleaners and soap. In higher concentrations, it is particularly harmful to fish and plankton.
We therefore recommend that you buy organic couscous from controlled organic farming. You can get it in well-stocked organic supermarkets and health food stores. There you can also buy couscous made from other grains, such as spelt, barley or buckwheat. These are usually not bleached either.

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Coriander: Worth Knowing About The Spice and Medicinal Plant

Coriander is not only a delicious spice in Asian cuisine. It also has healing properties. We will show you everything you need to know about the spice and medicinal plant coriander.

Coriander is one of the oldest culinary herbs in the world. Above all, coriander is known from Asian, Arabic or Indian dishes. Fresh coriander leaves have a strong, slightly pungent flavor of their own. Dried or ground coriander seeds taste a little milder. At the same time, the spice contains a substance that has an antibiotic effect (dodecenal) and it contains different essential oils. As a result, coriander has a healing effect – in a completely natural way.

Coriander: Healing properties of the plant

With its health-promoting nutrients, various essential oils and proteins, coriander can help with many ailments. It has a strong anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and circulation-enhancing effect. It also has a fungicidal effect and thus inhibits the growth of fungi. Coriander has this effect:
Coriander relieves digestive problems (bloating, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome),
reduces chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatism,
reduces infections,
inhibits the growth of bacteria and fungi,
has an antispasmodic effect,
relieves gastrointestinal complaints,
supports detoxification
relieves bladder infections,
lowers cholesterol and blood sugar,
relieves menstrual cramps,
has an antibacterial effect on salmonella,
heals wounds and ulcers in the mouth.

How to use cilantro for ailments

Cilantro Tea: You can eat cilantro or take it as a tea. Do this by pouring hot water on some fresh leaves and seeds. The tea can help, especially with gastrointestinal or digestive problems. But you can also drink coriander tea if you have a loss of appetite or a bladder infection.
Coriander Oil: You can use coriander oil to make mouthwashes to help fight bacteria in your mouth. You can also apply the coriander oil externally or soak a cloth with a coriander infusion. You can apply both to infections or use them for athlete’s foot or other fungal diseases.

Coriander: cultivation, harvest, storage

You can often find cilantro individually wrapped in plastic in stores. Instead, you can grow it yourself and plant it in a pot in your herb garden on the balcony. Coriander grows up to 60-90 centimeters high. It has a short flowering period of June and July. In these months you can harvest it. The seeds can be harvested from August to September.

Coriander grows back in the pot. Once you have harvested your cilantro, place it in a glass of water. That makes it last longer. Coriander seeds remain aromatic for a long time when stored in a dark, cool and airtight place.

Coriander in the kitchen

In addition to tea and Asian dishes, you can also add coriander or coriander seeds to your smoothie or chopped into your vegetable soup. Or you season salads or spicy dishes with it. Add the cilantro and its stalks just before the end, or sprinkle them fresh over your dish on the plate. You can also prepare dips or make a coriander pesto yourself. A little coriander in your homemade bread is also delicious.

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Kefir: What You Need to Know About The Healthy Milk Drink

The tasty kefir has been said to have health-promoting properties for centuries. We’ll tell you what kefir is made of and why the drink is good for your body.

Kefir – what is it?

Kefir is a slightly carbonated, thick sour milk drink. It is created by fermentation processes of milk with kefir fungi, in which yeasts are also involved in addition to lactic acid bacteria. Kefir has its origins in the Caucasus region. Here people have sworn by its healthy effects for centuries and also call it the “drink of the centenarians”. Due to the fermentation process, kefir is largely lactose-free.

Traditionally, kefir was made from mare’s milk. Today, cow’s milk is mostly used for this. But a vegan kefir drink can also be made from plant milk. Kefir made from milk tastes slightly sour and is comparable to buttermilk. Depending on the manufacturing process, kefir has carbonic acid and a low alcohol content.

The kefir mushroom

To make kefir, a so-called kefir fungus is added to the milk. This is also known as “kefir grain”, “Tibetan mushroom” or “Caucasian milk kefir” and has the appearance of a small, pure white cauliflower.

A kefir mushroom can be dried for storage or frozen and used as needed. The mushroom doubles in size in about two weeks at room temperature. If stored properly, you can live off a single kefir mushroom for a lifetime.

To make kefir, the kefir fungus is left in the milk for at least 24 hours, which starts the fermentation process. In this natural process, important substances from the milk are increased and poorly tolerated substances and bacteria are broken down.

Microorganisms of the kefir fungus decompose, among other things, the milk sugar (lactose) in the pure milk, harmful bacteria such as listeria and the poorly digestible casein. At the same time, they form small amounts of carbonic acid, lactic acid and alcohol. So you can safely consume kefir drinks if you are lactose intolerant. The kefir fungus also contains numerous important nutrients and minerals, which it transfers to the milk during fermentation and multiplies in it. These include:
calcium
iron
folic acid
iodine
Niacon
polysaccharides
Vitamins A, B1, B2, B12, C and D

What makes kefir so healthy

Kefir mushrooms also contain numerous health-promoting microorganisms such as bacteria, bacilli, yeast and streptococci, summarized under the term “probiotics”. These stabilize the intestinal flora and ensure that undesirable, pathogenic microorganisms are combated. With regular consumption of kefir, the healthy microorganisms sustainably strengthen the immune system. So kefir can help with a variety of diseases and ailments, including:
Intestinal infections and bacterial imbalances in the gut caused by antibiotics
chronic fatigue
sleep disturbances and nervousness
allergies
Diseases of the liver, gallbladder and heart
stomach ulcers
problems with blood pressure
Various inflammations
osteoporosis
Furthermore, the kefir fungus is said to slow down the aging processes of the body cells and to increase memory performance.

In addition to the traditional milk kefir, there are also “water kefir” and the now well-known tea fungus “Kombucha”. They all have in common that they are a mixture of substances made up of bacteria, vitamins and yeasts.

Kefir – choosing the right milk

You can either buy kefir as a ready-made drink or make it yourself. With both variants, however, you should make sure that you get the milk base in organic quality. Scientific studies have found that organic milk contains around 50 percent more important omega-3 fatty acids than comparable milk from discounters. This is because cows from organic farms have a richer and fresher choice of feed, which directly affects the quality of the milk. The cell-protecting omega-3 fatty acids from the organic milk are processed and increased by the kefir fungus, which has a positive effect on the end product. At the same time, by buying organic milk, you are supporting more species-appropriate husbandry of the dairy cows.

On the other hand, industrially produced kefir is sold under the name “Kefir, mild”, in which a specific composition of bacteria and yeasts is used instead of the actual kefir fungus. This kefir drink contains little or no alcohol, but – unlike the traditionally produced kefir – is not lactose-free and therefore not suitable for people with lactose intolerance.

A kefir mushroom can also be cultivated vegan, for example in coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk or fruit juice. Either way, it’s healthy and delicious. However, in contrast to milk kefir, a plant-based kefir drink has fewer health-promoting nutrients such as lactic acid bacteria.

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Millet: Interesting Facts About The Healthy and Gluten-Free Grain

Millet contains many healthy ingredients, but these vary from variety to variety. In some parts of Africa and Asia, millet is still a staple today – in German millet means “saturation”.

Millet: What the color reveals about the ingredients

Millet is not just millet: the healthy grain comes in different colors and each type of millet has slightly different ingredients. Yellow millet contains a lot of beta-carotene and red and brown millet more antioxidants. Glassy-white millet, on the other hand, is rich in protein. All millet varieties contain a lot of the following healthy ingredients:
Protein,
Iron,
vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6,
Fluorine,
Zinc,
Magnesium,
Silicon.
Since children and babies in particular need the amino acid leucine from millet, millet porridge is a popular food for babies and toddlers. However, you must not eat millet raw, as some enzymes in millet are toxic when uncooked. Before cooking, you should soak millet to extract phytin. It blocks the absorption of important nutrients such as iron and zinc.

Millet helps with diabetes

As scientists from the Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) found out, millet can prevent excessive insulin release. This makes the grain particularly attractive for diabetics. Researchers at the University of Agricultural Sciences also attribute a positive property to millet for diabetics: a millet cure over 28 days can lower blood sugar levels and raise HDL cholesterol levels.

Does millet make you slim?

The combination of amino acids and complex carbohydrates makes millet a real slimmer. Because millet fills you up for a long time and has only 114 kilocalories per 100 grams. A lot of roughage and the high protein content prevent ravenous hunger attacks.

Beauty secret “millet”

Beautiful hair from millet? In fact, millet is rich in silicon, which ensures beautiful skin, hair and nails. Millet can help against dry skin and also tighten the connective tissue. Millet can even strengthen the hair.

Millet also supports the immune system and can thus protect against flu. Anyone who already has a flu can also get help from millet: unlike other types of grain, millet does not form mucus, it also supports the production of antibodies and regulates the immune system.

Is millet a whole grain product?

If you suffer from gluten intolerance, you probably already know millet. Because the grain is gluten-free and is sold shelled, just like oats and barley. Millet is therefore not a real whole grain product, but it has many of the properties of a whole grain cereal. Because the nutrients are distributed throughout the grain (unlike other types of grain). This makes millet as healthy as real whole grains. You get millet in whole grains, as millet flour, millet flakes and millet semolina.

Exception: brown millet is a real whole grain product, as the grains are processed into flour with the shell.

How sustainable is millet?

Millet often comes from China, Canada and the USA and is imported to us in Germany. This results in a poor CO2 balance and often affects organic millet as well. Millet can also be grown in Germany, as some companies have demonstrated.

In organic farming, old, native varieties are often cultivated, thus promoting biodiversity. Millet does not need much water and is very resilient. This makes the use of pesticides superfluous, which is why millet is well suited for organic farming. The stalks of the millet plant can also often be reused as natural fibres.

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What Can You Do about Yellow Teeth?

For all of us, a radiant smile is always the first and best impression we make on other people. But what if our teeth aren’t as nice and white as they appear in the toothpaste ads or have become a bit yellowish from smoking or drinking tea and coffee?

What can you do about yellow teeth?

We all want beautiful, white teeth, but unfortunately, not all of us have that naturally. Tooth discoloration is not always exclusively due to dental care or a lack of dental care. Tooth color is different for everyone and differs in the structure of the tooth tissue. In addition to the enamel, this includes the pulp and dentin. All of them together results in the corresponding color of our teeth. Tooth color can also change with age. But also mouthwashes which many of us use every day for good breath unfortunately leave ugly residues on our teeth. Deposits of darker-colored foreign matter under the enamel often result in additional color changes.

Brushing your teeth is the most important thing for white teeth

But in order to get healthy and beautiful white teeth, we should attach great importance to proper and constant brushing. Therefore, we should brush our teeth thoroughly at least twice a day. So that we don’t destroy the valuable tooth enamel, we should also pay attention to the following: never brush your teeth immediately after consuming fruit acids. This damages the tooth enamel. So brushing your teeth would do more harm than good.

So always wait at least 1 hour after meals before cleaning. There is also a very simple variant and a special trick for the additional use of toothpaste for yellowish discolored teeth. Take some baking soda at least once a week and just brush your teeth with it as you normally would. Thanks to the ingredients in the baking powder, the yellowish discoloration simply rubs off and the teeth will be significantly lighter. Although it is not enough with the one-off application, over time the special result will become apparent. Also, the baking powder is not harmful so even our dear little ones who tend to discolor their teeth can carry out this application.

Baking soda is the miracle cure

By using the baking soda we get our white teeth again. But children can also clean with baking soda. But still under parental supervision. We will soon all have wonderfully beautiful white teeth without bleaching and without high costs.

White teeth with table salt

If your teeth turn slightly gray with age or years of tobacco use have caused your teeth to turn yellow, you should use some everyday table salt to help. First, wet your toothbrush, sprinkle some table salt on it, and brush your teeth this way every now and then. This makes your teeth appear pure white again.

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Food

Myths and Facts About Himalayan Salt

Myths and fairy tales are entwined around Himalayan salt, tempers heat up – and many people spend a lot of money on the pink-colored salt. What’s behind it?

So-called Himalayan salt is basically a rock salt colored pink by iron oxides (rust) or algae, which consists of at least 97% sodium chloride, i.e. ‘common salt’. Rock salt, geologically called halite, is mined from salt deposits that were formed when the seas dried up about 200 million years ago and the sea salt formed by evaporation was deposited.

Due to geological processes, these salt deposits are now underground. Roughly speaking, rock salt is ‘million-year-old sea salt’. There are also salt deposits in Germany, for example in Lower Saxony and in Berchtesgadener Land.

So why should you buy the much more expensive Himalayan salt instead of ‘Alpensalz’? The sales strategists have come up with arguments that we would like to investigate.

“Himalayan salt comes from the Himalayas”

This statement ended up before the Qadi at the Cologne Higher Regional Court, because most of the so-called ‘Himalayan salt’ comes from the Punjab province of Pakistan, which is not in the Himalayas at all.

The court ruled that advertising the salt in this way was a consumer deception, because “anyone who reads the product information on the packaging would at least expect that the salt was won in a valley or at the foot of the high mountain massif and was therefore particularly pure. However, the salt does not come from the Himalayan mountain range.”

“Himalayan salt contains minerals and healthy ingredients”

Devotees and sellers claim the biggest difference to regular salt is the high mineral content. Some suppliers even advertise that the salt contains ‘all 84 elements’ (out of 94 naturally occurring ones). That’s more of a marketing gibberish: However, the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection (VIS) was only able to identify eight elements in a study of Himalayan salt, and it is certainly not wrong that elements such as arsenic or lead are not included.

The Stiftung Warentest was not able to find much in the highly praised Himalayan salt either: “Even in the Himalayan crystal salt, the laboratory was unable to detect the 84 elements that supporters ascribe to this type of salt.”

The Bavarian study came to the conclusion: “Additional elements are indeed present, but to an extent that is of no importance in terms of nutritional physiology.” Because in order to meet the need for these substances through salt, you would have to ingest a large (huge!) amount of salt , which is not acceptable from a health point of view.
The DGE recommends a maximum intake of 6 grams of salt per day.

“Himalayan salt is natural”

In principle, every natural salt (in contrast to industrial salt) is left in its natural state. It depends on what ingredients the seller adds. And you can’t always tell, because so-called ‘trickling aids’ such as lime do not have to be declared. That means: Even if no additives are printed on the packaging of the gourmet salt, there may still be some.

“Himalayan salt is unencumbered”

Himalayan salt was actually created at a time when there were no microplastics in the sea and when no pesticides got into the groundwater. But this applies to all rock salts.

“Himalayan salt lowers blood pressure and is healthy”

But on the contrary. And the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) finds clear words on this: “The connection between table salt intake and blood pressure is clear: A high table salt intake increases the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).” Since Himalayan salt consists of at least 97% sodium chloride, i.e. salt, Increased consumption of this salt also leads to high blood pressure and cannot in any way lower it.

The consumer advice center NRW also strictly advises against it: “The advice to lower high blood pressure with brine is extremely questionable from a health point of view, because it can not only disturb the metabolism and water balance, but also put a strain on the kidneys.” A lot of Himalayan salt is to be consumed anything but a healthy idea!

“Himalayan salt balances the acid-base balance”

Advocates of the ‘alkaline diet’ often recommend Himalayan salt to restore the body’s acid-alkaline balance. However, this idea is not scientifically tenable, because a healthy person regulates the acid-base ratio all by themselves and does not need any special diet, specific base powders or well-travelled salt.

If there is no ‘overacidification’, no salt can help either. The DGE comments on this as follows: “However, there is no reason to fear hyperacidity caused by diet in healthy people. Various buffer systems in our body regulate the acid-base concentration in the blood and keep it constant. Taking additional ‘alkaline-enhancing’ dietary supplements is unnecessary.”

“Himalayan salt promotes health and well-being”

If you believe some advertising strategists, the expensive salt is a cheap panacea for almost all health problems. Some of these ideas should make you smile rather than buy salt. For example:
“Himalayan Salt Shows Promise for Blood Sugar Problems”
“supports the reduction of common signs of skin aging”
“reduces the development of respiratory and sinus problems”
“increases bone strength through minerals”
“promotes a healthy sleep pattern”
“improves libido”
“eliminates poisons”
One can also read about “vibrational components” and “living elements” through which the (low) mineral content “can be absorbed particularly well”. There are also various opinions on these statements from a scientific point of view, such as from the already cited Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection: “The bioenergetic effect, for which there is no scientific evidence to date, is therefore more likely to be assigned to the esoteric area.”

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