How to Store Collard Greens

Collard greens are a nutritious green, leafy vegetable that are related to cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Although most popular in the American South, collard greens can be found in many grocery stores across North America and beyond. Once you bring your collard greens home, you will need to store them properly, in order to guarantee that they remain fresh and delicious. This can be done in several ways, depending on when you plan on using them.

Do not wash the collard greens. If you plan on using your collard greens within the next week, don't wash them before refrigeration. Introducing water to the greens can promote decay, cutting the length of their freshness down dramatically.

·         If you are concerned that your greens are too dirty to store in your refrigerator, know that they will be stored in an air-tight bag. Any dirt and grit will not get onto the surfaces in your fridge.

Place the collard greens in an air-tight plastic bag. Most greens should be stored in plastic bags and collard greens are no exception. Put the greens in a big plastic bag, as the greens themselves are very large. Be sure to push out as much air as you can before sealing.

·         Collard greens that are not put into a plastic bag, but are put into the refrigerator, will become wilted very quickly. Like other vegetables, uncovered collard greens get dehydrated. This causes them to go limp.

·         If you don't have a plastic bag that seals closed, wrap the greens in a damp paper towel. Then place the greens in an unsealed plastic bag. This should keep the greens crisp for several days.

Refrigerate the collard greens. Put the bag of collard greens in the crisper of your refrigerator. Keep them there until you are ready to use them. They should be used within 5 to 7 days of storage.

·         The amount of time your collard greens stay fresh will vary. It depends on the freshness of the collard greens to begin with and the quality of your refrigerator's chilling. Check on the collard greens daily to make sure that they are still suitable for eating.

·         Spoiled collard greens will get soft, wilt, become slimy, or get discolored. They may also start to smell bad.

Wash before preparing. Once you have decided to use your greens, take them out of the fridge and wash them thoroughly. Collard greens are known to be relatively dirty and gritty. Take the time to soak the greens in fresh water and make sure that each leaf is clean.

·         If you don't have a bowl or kitchen sink that can be used for cleaning the greens, wash each leaf under running water.

How to Get More Vitamin A

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for health: we get carotenoids and beta carotene from plants, and retinol from meat. Because it's fat-soluble, it is important to not overdo the amount of vitamin A you ingest, as excess vitamin A stockpiles in the body and can interfere with vitamin D and bone health (especially the retinol form of vitamin A). Learning which foods contain vitamin A can help you ensure that you're getting the right amount of this crucial vitamin.

Eat a variety of vegetables. Vegetables are an important source of vitamin A by providing you with carotenoids like beta-carotene. Most orange/yellow/red vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and pumpkin, contain vitamin A. Dark green veggies like kale, spinach, and lettuce are also wonderful sources of vitamin A.

Eat fruit. Some fruits, such as mangoes, apricots and cantaloupe, have high levels of vitamin A.

·         One whole mango has about 672 micrograms per serving, or about 45% of the daily recommended intake.

·         Dried apricots are an excellent source of vitamin A: one cup yields 764 micrograms of vitamin A. Canned apricots are slightly lower in vitamin A, measuring 338 micrograms per cup.

·         Raw cantaloupe is another good source of vitamin A, with one cup of raw melon yielding 286 micrograms.

·         Some medical experts recommend pregnant women should increase their plant-based vitamin A intake by 40% overall during pregnancy and by 90% overall during breastfeeding.

Add animal food sources to your diet. Foods of animal origin provide the "retinol" form of vitamin A, which is what your body transforms carotenoids (plant-based vitamin A) into once you've digested them. Retinol-rich foods include liver, eggs, and fatty fish.

·         Because it is absorbed quickly and excreted very slowly, retinol is the form of vitamin A that can be overdosed on, so sourcing vitamin A from such foods needs to be done with care. Look for nausea or vomiting, headaches, loss of appetite, dizziness, and excessive fatigue as signs of acute toxicity.

·         Acute vitamin A toxicity is relatively rare. Chronic toxicity, which is accrued over time, is somewhat more common. Still, an average adult would need to ingest more than 7,500 micrograms (7.5 milligrams) every day for over six years to reach toxic levels, but there is a wide range of variability from person to person. It's best to be cautious and not overdo it on retinol.

·         Retinol levels may also be affected if you use vitamin A skin products, such as creams or acne medications.

Add dairy to your diet. Milk, yogurt, and cheese can also provide you with vitamin A.

·         One cup of milk provides between 10-14% of the daily recommended value of vitamin A. One ounce of cheese typically provides between 1-6% of the recommended daily value of vitamin A.

Consult with your doctor or a nutritionist. A trusted healthcare professional can guide you in determining what foods would fit best in your diet.

·         Your doctor may have a specific dietitian/nutritionist to recommend to you. If not, you can find one by contacting your local hospital or other general practitioner's medical offices and asking for recommendations, or searching online.

·         If you live in the U.S., you can find a registered dietitian/nutritionist by searching at Eatright.org, the website of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

How to Get Vitamin K

Take a multivitamin. Multivitamins are great because they give you your recommended daily dose of many nutrients. Ask your doctor if taking a daily multivitamin would be good for you.

·         Some multivitamins might not contain vitamin K, so check the label before you buy.

·         There are multivitamins available for specific groups, such as children, pregnant women, and senior citizens.

Take a vitamin K supplement. You can also find vitamin K on its own. Look for vitamin K supplements at your local natural food store, health center, or pharmacy. Always talk to your doctor before taking a new supplement.

·         If you don’t see vitamin K at your local store, you can order the supplements online.

Get a vitamin K shot if needed. For people with a severe vitamin k deficiency, doctors may prescribe a vitamin K shot. This is a way to get plenty of vitamin K without having to rely on the digestive system to process it.

·         If you’re concerned that you won’t be able to get vitamin K any other way, a shot may be your best bet.

Determine how much vitamin K you need. Most people’s bodies actually manufacture plenty of vitamin K. If you regularly eat a balanced diet and you don’t have any gastrointestinal ailments, you’re probably getting enough vitamin K. Some signs that you have a deficiency can be:

·         Easy bruising

·         Gastrointestinal bleeding

·         Excessive menstrual bleeding for women

·         Blood in the urine

·         Osteoporosis

·         People most at risk for vitamin K deficiency are people with chronic malnutrition, alcohol dependency, and people whose bodies have a problem with the regular absorption of vitamins.

Limit vitamin K-rich foods if necessary. Some people actually need to limit the amount of vitamin K they consume. If you are taking prescription anticoagulants, which are meant to interfere with the role of vitamin K, you’ll need to keep your dietary intake of vitamin K purposefully low and consistent day to day.

If you’re on prescription anticoagulants, don't take vitamin K supplements.

How to Improve Problem Solving Skills

Define the problem clearly. This is an outwardly simple but vital step. If you don’t properly understand the problem, your solutions may be ineffective or fail entirely. To define the problem you will have to ask questions and look at different angles. For example, is there one problem or actually several? Can you restate the problem in your own words? By spending time with the problem you will better understand it and be equipped to generate solutions.

·         Try to formulate questions. Say that as a student you have very little money and want to find an effective solution. What is at issue? Is it one of income – are you not making enough money? Is it one of over-spending? Or perhaps you have run into unexpected expenses or your financial situation has changed?

Define your objective. State your aim as another means to reach the nature of the problem. What is it that you want to achieve? What is it that you want to discover? Keep in mind that you will have to account for the problem’s knowns and unknowns and figure out where to find data that will help you reach your goal.

·         Say that your problem is still money. What is your goal? Perhaps you never have enough to go out on the weekend and have fun at the movies or a club. You decide that your goal is to have more spending cash. Good! With a clear goal, you have better defined the problem.

Gather information systematically. Along with defining your problem and goal, you should gather as many facts as you can about the problem in order to get a clear picture of it. Collect data, ask people or experts connected to the problem, look for resources online, in print, or elsewhere. Once you have data, organize it. Try to do this by rewording, condensing, or summarize it. Perhaps you could even map it out in a chart. You may not need to bother with this step for simple problems, but it will be essential for those of a more complex nature.

·         To solve your money shortage, for example, you would want to get as detailed a picture of your financial situation as possible. Collect data through your latest bank statements and to talk to a bank teller. Track your earnings and spending habits in a notebook, and then create a spreadsheet or chart to show your income alongside your expenditures.

How to Face Problems in Your Life

Having problems in your life can feel overwhelming and it may be that the last thing you want to do is face them. Fortunately though, dealing and coping with problems is a well-studied area and there are many cognitive, emotional, and behavioral steps that can be taken to effectively face your problems head on.

Acknowledge the problem. It can be tempting to stay away from the issue that is causing you problems. However, avoiding the problem does not help solve it. Instead, accept that the problem exists and ask yourself some questions about it. What are the consequences of this problem? Who does it involve?

·         If you don’t think you have a problem, but everyone tells you there is a problem, try to see if there is truth to it.

·         If you are having trouble admitting you have a problem, you might be in denial. For example, if you don’t want to accept that a close family member is involved with drugs, you might come up with other excuses for her behavior.

·         While denial can be useful at times by protecting your mental health, it can in other cases lead you away from dealing with the problem head on.

·         In fact, avoidance often exacerbates the problem and doesn’t provide any lasting relief. Avoiding your problem will continue to create a cycle of stress for you as it will always be weighing on the back of your mind.

·         That said, sometimes a little escapism can be healthy. If you find yourself overwhelmed and stressed out, take a break! Watch a TV show or read a book, or engage in some other hobby you enjoy. You could even just zone out and let your mind wander!

Avoid catastrophizing. Catastrophizing means to have irrational thoughts, such as exaggerating your problem by blowing it out of proportion. For example, you might think that because you failed one class it means that you will never get a good job. Catastrophizing can also mean engaging in all or none thinking (e.g., I'm either going to solve this problem or my life is over).

·         You can avoid catastrophizing by being cognizant of when you are doing it. This requires that you monitor your own thoughts and try to check them for accuracy.

·         You can monitor your thoughts by remembering to think about them and by asking yourself if someone else had that thought, would you think they were being accurate.

Think of the origin of the problem. When did you first notice this problem? Sometimes you may not notice something until it has been going on for a long time. This might especially be true if your problem involves other people (e.g. your sister may have been involved with drugs for a long time before you noticed).

·         If you think you know when the problem started, think about events that happened at that time. The root cause might be related to it. For example, if your grades started slipping in school after your father moved away, maybe you’re having a hard time adjusting to this change.

Put things into perspective. Most likely, your problem is not the end of the world: you can still carry on despite it. Every problem either has a solution or can be looked at in a different way that shows it’s not really such a problem at all.

·         For example, your problem might be that you don’t manage to make it to school on time. By changing a few habits or making different transportation arrangements, this can be changed.

·         Some things can’t be changed, such as a permanent disability or the death of a loved one, but you can learn to live with it and thrive in the wake of it. Also keep in mind that people often think negative events will make them feel worse and worse for longer than they actually do.

·         Telling yourself this isn’t the end of the world doesn’t mean your problem is not really a problem or is insignificant. It just helps you internalize that your problems are not insurmountable.

Embrace the challenge. Your problem can be thought of as a negative thing or a thing in which you have the opportunity to rise to the occasion. For example, if you are a failing a class, you could view this as a major problem and become depressed about it. Or, you could embrace the challenge it offers. Your failing suggests you need to work harder or learn new studying and organizational strategies to succeed. You could use this problem as an opportunity to learn such skills.

·         Dealing with problems and solving them can make you more competent and also more empathetic toward others who have their own problems.

How to Prevent Blood Clots With Vitamin E

A blood clot forms once the blood becomes stagnant. 2 types of blood clots form when there is damage to the blood vessel lining. One type of blood clot forms within an artery. The other type of blood clot forms inside a vein. One way to prevent the formation of blood clots is to implement vitamin E into your daily regime. You can accomplish this by eating a diet rich in vitamin E and you can also take vitamin E supplements. Researchers believe vitamin E helps prevent dangerous blood clots from forming which can lead to heart attacks or venous thromboembolism. Learn how you can implement vitamin E into your diet so you can stop blood clots from taking form.

Eat a bowl of whole grain cereal or fortified cereal for breakfast. Food with whole grains contains a significant amount of vitamin E.

Consume fish, poultry or any other lean meats for lunch. This can be turkey, roast beef, ham or pastrami. Ask for whole grain bread as opposed to white or sourdough bread. You can also eat a sandwich with all of these meats included, to give you a solid amount of vitamin E for lunch.

Prepare a nice salad for dinner. Use eggs, black beans and nuts, along with broccoli, to give your body adequate amounts of vitamin E.

Use vegetable oils to bake, broil and fry foods. These oils include safflower oil, wheat germ oil and sunflower oil, among many others. Vegetable oils have a solid amount of vitamin E in them. Check the labels to make sure the brands you use are low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol.

Snack on nuts. Replace high fat candy bars and junk foods with unsalted nuts. Nuts like almonds and filberts contain the highest amount of vitamin E out of all of the nuts.

How to Eat More Vitamin C

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble antioxidant vitamin that helps control infection, neutralize free radicals, and aid in the body's absorption of iron. It also helps to make collagen, which is vital to the health of teeth, gums, bones, and blood vessels. Unlike most animals on the planet, humans are incapable of manufacturing their own source of vitamin C, so it's one area of nutrition that requires daily attention and "restocking." Good sources of vitamin C include any food that contains at least ten percent of the recommended daily allowance per serving, and the wonderful news for anyone aiming to increase their intake of vitamin C is that this covers a vast range of healthy food, so it won't be difficult for you to increase your intake of vitamin C.

Learn about vitamin C. Vitamin C is an important micronutrient in the human diet. It has a role in sustaining memory, helping prevent cell mutations and premature aging, preventing oxidation of fatty foods, and supporting the immune system.

·         Some people believe that vitamin C cures or stops the common cold, but there is no strong scientific evidence proving that this is true. What is more likely is that through its immune system-boosting power, vitamin C provides extra defense against cold-causing pathogens,  so it may ease the cold and perhaps shorten its duration, but it's not likely to prevent it.

Understand the role between diet and vitamin C intake. Most people should be able to get adequate vitamin C from a healthy, nutritionally optimized diet. If you're eating nothing but fast food, you probably aren't going to get a beneficial amount of vitamin C as part of your diet. However, simply changing your diet for the better can help you increase vitamin C intake.

·         Since vitamin C counteracts some of the inhibitors in foods, such as phytates in whole grains and tannins in teas and coffee, increasing your vitamin C intake can also help optimize your diet for a healthier lifestyle.

Be aware of the relationship between vitamin C and stress. Stress can be brought about due to a depletion of vitamin C, and ongoing stress uses up vitamin C rapidly, so eating foods high in vitamin C or taking a vitamin C supplement when you are feeling stressed can be a positive contribution to your diet and well-being. If you are aware of what you are consuming and the micronutrients that those foods contain, you can adjust your diet to ensure that you are getting enough natural vitamin C.

Notice the signs of possible vitamin C deficiency. While you should always raise health concerns with your doctor or health professional directly, the following signs can accompany a vitamin C deficiency: bleeding gums and nose, poor healing of cuts, fatigue, and lowered immunity to infection. These symptoms do not necessarily indicate a vitamin C deficiency, but you can speak with your doctor if you are concerned.

·         A severe deficiency of vitamin C, in fact, can result in a disease called scurvy, which is caused when your body cannot produce collagen or absorb iron due to a vitamin C deficiency.

·         While fewer people in developed countries suffer from vitamin C deficiency to this extent, its onset can be very fast if vitamin C is not in the diet for about four weeks.

·         Those susceptible to scurvy include the elderly, illicit drug users, alcoholics, the mentally ill, dependents given inadequate care, those suffering from eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, smokers (smokers need more vitamin C to deal with the added stress on the body), and fussy eaters

How to Add Vitamins to Water

Vitamin-enhanced waters have become a multi-million dollar business in recent years. Yet, these drinks are relatively expensive and may not deliver all the nutrients they promised. In fact, most Americans aren’t vitamin-deficient and probably don’t need vitamin water, But by recognizing water soluble vitamins and adding them to your water with food or supplements, you can get an extra dose of nutrition and even add some flavor to plain water.

Use supplements only as necessary. You might find it hard to get enough vitamins and nutrients through your diet. While it’s ok to add a multi-vitamin or supplements to your water, try and get as many of these as possible from foods.^[3]

·         Consult with your doctor before taking vitamins and supplements to ensure they are safe for you.

·         Be aware of vitamin “megadoses,” which may be detrimental to your health.

·         Taking too many of them for a long time can have harmful effects. Effervescent Vitamin and mineral supplements have up to 1g of salt per tablet.

Decide what type of vitamin supplements you want to add to your water. You can buy tablets to crush, a prepared powder, or liquid vitamin supplements, which will dissolve better than tablets. Deciding on the type of vitamin to take is an important step in knowing how to add vitamins to water.

·         Remember that Vitamins C and the B complex are the only supplements you can mix with water to get their nutritional value. Other vitamins need fat to circulate through your system.

·         Buy single pills of vitamin C or B complex at your local pharmacy and crush them.

·         Ask your doctor, pharmacist, or health store specialist if there are powdered or liquid versions of the vitamins you can mix with water.

Crush your vitamins. If you decide to use vitamin pills in your water, you’ll need to pulverize them before you mix them into the water. Use a mortar and pestle or a pill crusher.

·         Make sure the vitamins are ground into a fine powder so that they mix easily into the water.

·         Be aware that not fully pulverizing the pills could make it difficult for your body to absorb them.

·         Crush only the recommended daily dose of your vitamin.

Read packaging instructions. If you chose to use a powdered vitamin or liquid form, read the packaging label. This can help you know the amount to mix with water for optimal absorption.

·         Avoid taking more than the recommended value per day. This can help prevent serious health conditions from consuming too many vitamins.

Mix the supplements with water. Once your supplement powder or liquid are ready, you’re ready to mix them with your water. Make sure to shake the mixture well in a clean bottle so that the vitamins are able to be easily absorbed in your system.

·         Use boiled or distilled water, not plain tap water.

·         Fill the water bottle ¾ full and then add the vitamins. Consider adding them to warm water for better dissolving and absorption by your body.