Vitamin B3: Benefits, Deficiency, and Food Sources

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 Vitamin B3: Benefits, Deficiency, and Food Sources When we talk about staying healthy, vitamins play a big role in keeping our body strong and energized. One of these essential vitamins is Vitamin B3, also known as niacin. This important nutrient helps our body in many ways and is especially important for energy, skin, and brain health. Let's explore what Vitamin B3 does, how we can get it from food, and what happens if we don’t get enough. What is Vitamin B3? Vitamin B3 is a water-soluble vitamin, which means our body doesn’t store it, and we need to get it regularly from food. It comes in three forms: Niacin (nicotinic acid) Nicotinamide (niacinamide) Inositol hexanicotinate (a slower-release version often found in supplements) This vitamin helps convert the food we eat into energy. It supports the function of the digestive system, skin, and nerves. It also helps improve circulation and lower cholesterol levels. Benefits of Vitamin B3 1. Boosts Energy Production Vitamin B3 plays...
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Personal Health Assessments

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Personal Health Assessments


One of the easiest places to begin a personal health assessment is by examining the results from your last physical. Often a person will leave the doctor's office without these results. Remember that the results belong to you and having this information on hand provides you with much of what you need to keep track of your health. During a physical, after obtaining weight and height measurements, a nurse will typically examine blood pressure. Blood pressure is a measurement of the forces in the arteries that occur during each heart beat. It is a principle vital sign and an indicator of cardiovascular health. A desirable blood pressure is 120 over 80 mmHg.

In most circumstances a physical includes blood tests, which measure many health indicators, and you have to request the results. Once you have the results in hand, it is good practice to file them in a binder so you can compare them from year to year. This way you can track your blood-cholesterol levels and other blood-lipid levels and blood-glucose levels. These are some of the more general measurements taken, but in many instances blood tests also examine liver and kidney function, vitamin and mineral levels, hormone levels, and disease markers. Your doctor uses all of these numbers to assess your health and you can use them to play a more active role in keeping track of your health.


Hearing and vision are additionally part of a general health assessment. If you wear glasses, contacts, or a hearing aid you already are aware of how important it is to know the results of these exams. If you have not experienced vision or hearing problems yet your likelihood of experiencing them markedly increases over the age of forty. Another component of overall health is oral health. The health of your teeth, gums, and everything else in your mouth are an integral component of your overall health. This becomes apparent when a person experiences a tooth infection, which if left untreated significantly impairs physical, mental, and social well-being.


Don't forget to get the results of your physical the next time you visit your doctor. They will help you keep track of your health.


Other indicators of health that you can measure yourself are body mass index (BMI) and fitness. BMI is a standardized measurement that indicates if a person is underweight, of normal weight, overweight, or obese and is based on data from the average population. It has some limitations. One limitation is that it does not take into account how much of your weight is made up of muscle mass, which weighs more than fat tissue. 


This personal health assessment has focused primarily on physical health, but remember that mental and social well-being also affect health. During a physical, a doctor will ask how you are feeling, if you are depressed, and if you are experiencing behavioral problems. Be prepared to answer these questions truthfully, so that your doctor can develop a proper treatment plan to manage these aspects of health. 


Taking charge of your health will pay off and equip you with the knowledge to better take advantage of your doctor's advice during your next physical. Health calculators, such as those that calculate BMI, ideal weight, target heart rate among many others, and personal health assessments will help you to take charge of your health, but they should not take the place of visiting your doctor.


Dietary Assessment

The first step in assessing your diet is to find out if the foods you eat are good for your health and provide you with all the nutrients you need.  You can track calories over time, diet quality, and find many other tools to evaluate your daily food consumption. 


Family Medical History

Because genetics play a large role in defining your health it is a good idea to take the time to learn some of the diseases and conditions that may affect you. To do this, you need to record your family's medical history. Start by simply drawing a chart that details your immediate family and relatives. Many families have this and you may have a good start already. The next time you attend a family event start filling in the blanks. What did people die from? What country did Grandpa come from? While this may be a more interesting project historically, it can also provide

A lifestyle assessment includes evaluating your personal habits, level of fitness, emotional health, sleep patterns, and work-life balance. Many diseases are preventable by simply staying away from certain lifestyles. Don't smoke, don't drink excessively, and don't do recreational drugs. Instead, make sure you exercise.  

These assessments will helps to eat healthy and live healthy.

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