With weight loss on many a woman's brain, limiting calories and certain types of food can mean not getting your fill of essential vitamins and minerals. While maintaining a healthy weight is important for optimum health, make sure your diet includes these important nutrients as well.
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Taking zinc can shorten the life of the common cold, says a review of numerous medical studies. And while chicken soup might soothe the soul, zinc can make symptoms like a runny nose and sore throat feel less harsh and also shorten the length of a cold by a few days. The only catch is that it must be taken at the very first signs of a cold to work.
Fifteen studies looking at the effects of zinc on the common cold were reviewed by Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and results showed that the benefits of zinc "were significant," reports The New York Times. In one study, zinc cut the life of a cold from seven days to four days, and in another study, the duration of a cough was reduced by three days. What doctors don't yet know is why zinc seems to work or which zinc products work best. And with so many zinc products on the market, this unknown piece of knowledge can make for a confusing shopping spree. While all of the studies used various forms of zinc in a range of doses, the general consensus is that it does work to shorten colds and make symptoms less severe. Have any of you found success with zinc?
When the mineral zinc comes to mind, I mostly link it with fighting colds. While it's true that it helps support a healthy immune system, that's not all zinc does. It's essential for cell division and the synthesis of DNA and protein. It also stimulates 300 enzymes, which are responsible for many of your body's functions. Zinc 
heals and protects your skin, is needed for proper thyroid functioning, and helps maintain your sense of smell and taste. It also boosts brain activity, improves your mood, and can help alleviate PMS symptoms.
An adult woman over 19 should be getting 8 mg of zinc each day. If she's pregnant, she needs 11 mg, and if she's nursing, then she needs slightly more, 12 mg. Are you getting your RDI? To find out read more.
I'm sure you rarely think to yourself, "Did I get enough zinc today?" Zinc just doesn't get the press like other minerals, calcium for instance. Zinc is an essential mineral since it's present in every cell of our bodies. We need zinc for a healthy immune system (it helps increase the production of white blood cells) to heal wounds, and in order to have the ability to taste and smell. Two of my favorite senses. Zinc has also been shown to slow the growth of cancer.
Adult women should be getting 9 mg of zinc per day, and it's best to obtain your zinc from actual food rather than a supplement, so here are some great sources:
Fit's Tips: If you consume more than 50 mg of zinc (as can happen if you take supplements), it can lead to improper copper metabolism, altered iron function, reduction of HDLs (good cholesterol), and reduced immune function.
Nobody wants to get stuck with a cold, so when you hear that you can take something simple and inexpensive to prevent a week's worth of misery, why not jump at it? Echinacea and zinc are much buzzed-about when it comes to preventing or shortening the duration of colds, but do they really work?
When it comes to zinc, hundreds of studies have been conducted, including one in 2000, which found that taking zinc lozenges during a cold produced "modest" benefits. A more recent study published by Stanford Medical School analyzed data from 14 previous studies and reported that the effectiveness of using zinc to treat a cold "has yet to be established." Hmm.
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Zinc is one of those essential minerals that often flies under the radar, mostly because deficiencies of zinc are rare here in the U.S. 
It is, however, present in almost every cell of your body. It stimulates almost 100 enzymes, which are responsible for many biomechanical reactions in the body. This busy mineral supports a healthy immune system, is needed for wound healing and helps maintain your sense of taste and smell.
The recommended daily intake of zinc is 9 milligrams for an adult woman, and it is always better to get your RDI in the form of whole foods. That being the case, here are some foods high in zinc include: oysters (6 oz = 75 mg), crab (3 oz = 7), beef (3 oz = 6), and beans (1/2 cup = 1.8 mg).
Zinc has been getting a lot attention lately for its ability to fight colds. Some studies indicate that it can decrease the length of a common cold, while others show no real benefits to using zinc lozenges. The debate continues, and it seems like the form of zinc you take matters. Look for zinc supplements that use zinc gluconate, since it seems to be the most effective form of the mineral. If you are fighting a cold with zinc, do be aware that the upper tolerance is 40 mg for adults and high doses of zinc can interfere with iron and copper absorption.
Oysters inspire no middle ground, you either love them or hate them. I fall in the former category and am always happy when oyster season comes around. Months that contain the letter "R" are the months of oyster season (that is September through April), so the season is upon us!
People gulp them raw hoping they are truly the aphrodisiac of legends, but some folks shy away from oysters because they think the mollusk is high in cholesterol. Well, truth be told they are a lean source of protein and they contain Omega-3 fatty acids. In fact 6 oysters contain one third of your RDI of the uber healthy fatty acid. Seems like a reason to split a dozen with your honey to me.
On the other hand, 6 oysters only contain about 55 milligrams of cholesterol, about 1/5 of the cholesterol found in an egg. So the effect on blood cholesterol caused by oysters is minimal at most. Plus they are high in the immune supporting mineral zinc, as well as B12, copper, iron and selenium,
Fit's Tip: You want to look for oysters that have tightly closed shells. They should smell like the sea and not at all sulfurous. Pregnant women, children and people with compromised immune systems should avoid eating raw oysters due to the potential of toxic bacteria that can lead to food poisoning.
And you, how do you feel about oysters? Do you like them raw? Do you prefer them on the BBQ. Tell me about it in the comment section below.
Is it me or are you confused about how much of each vitamin and mineral you are supposed to get each day?
Some of my friends take daily vitamins, and some eat fortified foods like calcium-enriched orange juice. It that necessary, or do we get enough in the foods we eat?
The first step in answering that question is to know how much we need to get each day. Here's a chart to make it a little more simple for you. These numbers are the RDI (reference daily intake) for women.
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