Vitamins & Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals are essential nutrients that our body requires daily in order to function normally. Vitamins are a complex organic molecules that are required to carry out the normal functions of our body. Minerals are the basic components of all matter and are essential in building the body cells, therefore, minerals are called as building blocks of the body.

It is important to know how our body works. Ever day our body manufactures 200 billion red body cells and every 120 days our blood supply is totally replaced. Every 1 to 3 months our skin regenerates and our bone structure is destroyed and rebuilt within 90 days. Thus, to carry out this major rebuilding of the body, vitamins and minerals are very essential.

Vitamins are divided into two types: fat soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble vitamin are stored in the fat tissues and liver. They can remain in the body up to six months. When the body requires these minerals, they are transported to the area of requirement with in the body with help of special carriers. The fat soluble vitamins include vitamin Water A, D, E and K.

Water soluble vitamins are not stored in the body like the fat soluble ones. They travel in the blood stream and need to be replenished every day. Water soluble vitamins include the vitamin B group and vitamin C.

Minerals are important as vitamins in the development of our body. They are known as "spark of life" as they have a multi-functional role in our body. They are found in cells, tissues, organs, in fact the whole body . There are two types of minerals essential minerals and trace elements.

Essential minerals include calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium and sulfur. The trace elements are required in very minute quantity than vitamins and minerals. They include boron, cobalt, copper, chromium, florid, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, silicon. and zinc.

Minerals play an important role in catalyzing or activating an enzyme in the body. If there is deficiency of any mineral, it may lead to acute or chronic ailments. Decrease in potassium and magnesium may lead to heart attacks. Minerals help in prevention of osteoporosis, cancer, arthritis, goiter, gastrointestinal problems, periodontal disease and anemia.

Potassium, sodium, iron and calcium phosphates are essential in nerve formations. Minerals are needed for controlling body fluids inside and outside the cells. They help in converting the food into energy. If even a single mineral is deficient in the body, the normal functioning of the body cells gets hampered. Proteins, carbohydrate, fats and vitamins are rendered useless if there are no minerals to catalyze. the chemical molecules in the body. Thus, without the minerals, body cannot function normally. Before you start on any vitamin or mineral tablets, you should consult your doctor for advice.

If you would like to read about the vitamins and minerals I have mentioned, go to this link I t will be the first one on the page.

http://www.buzzle,com/articles/why-do-we-need-vitamins-and-minerals.html

NOTE: I do believe that the second paragraph is worth knowing about your body function.

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Prelude

My very next post will be a little long but it is worth the read. I usually don't like to post long ones but when I started to read this it was so interesting I did not know where to stop, and I wanted you all to know this, it is important to know how our body functions. Besides I think it is something you should know, hope you enjoy it. I can't believe it, I just posted my 200th blog, OMG it took me three years to do it, but it was worth every word. I enjoyed all of your blogs and I learned a lot, like recipes, your travels, lots of antiques, how to decorate with those vintage items and jokes, quotes, lots of garage sale items, the list goes on, ,thanks to you all. Friends are great and I loved all of you, especially when I was down you brought me up. We are not over the hump yet, but hopeful it will get better. LOVE=Margaret.

SEASONS

A Season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology and hours of daylight

Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution in temperate and polar regions, the seasons are marked by changes in the intensity of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface, variations of which may cause animals to go into hibernation or migrate, and plants be dormant.

During May, June and July, the northern hemisphere is exposed to more direct sunlight, because the hemisphere faces the Sun. The same is true of the southern hemisphere in November, December and January. It is the tilt of the Earth that causes the Sun to be higher in the sky during the summer months which increases the solar flux. However, due to seasonal lag, June, July and August are the hottest months in the northern hemisphere and December, January and February are the hottest months in the southern hemisphere.

In some tropical and subtropical regions it is more common to speak of the rainy (or wet or monsoon) season versus the dry season because the amount of precipitation may vary more dramatically then the average temperature. For example in Nicaragua the dry season (November to April) is called summer and the rainy season (May to October) is called winter even though it is located in the northern hemisphere.

In other tropical areas a three-way division into hot, rainy and cool season is used. In some parts of the world special seasons are loosely defined based on important events such as a hurricane season, tornado season and wildfire season.

You may go to Google and learn more, here is the link;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season

OLD GLORY=PART TWO

On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Second Continental Congress passed the following Resolution : "Resolved, that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."

On May 14, 1804, by order 0f President Thomas Jefferson, the explores Lewis and Clark set forth on their journey to map and record the vast territory of the recently acquired Louisiana Purchase. Traveling by boat, foot and canoe. After two years of travel they carried the American flag all the way to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

After the two day bombardment of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore harbor. on the morning of September 14th, 1814. the battered garrison flag was still visible. Young lawyer Francis Scott Key was inspired by sight to write his famous poem, which later became the national anthem. That flag featured fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, and is now on display at the Smithsonian.

The flag featured in the iconic photo "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima" taken by Joe Rosenthal was the second flag raised on Mt. Suribachi that day, larger then the first . Both flags are preserved at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Like all US flags during World War two, they boast 48 stars, as Hawaii and Alaska had not yet joined the union as states.

July 20, 1969, the world watched breathless as Neil Armstrong made history. The first man to set foot upon the moon, he planted a specially supported US Flag. The Flag still stands, next to a plaque which reads, "Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind."

OLD GLORY=PART ONE

On September 3, 1777, the US flag was flown for the first time at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge in Delaware. Over the next two centuries, the flag would become one of the most recognizable in the world, and stands today as a symbol for the values of the American people.

The nickname "Old Glory" was coined for the flag in 1831 by Capt. William Driver of Salem, MA. As he set sail on his whaling vessel, the Charles Doggett, he raised the large flag of 24 stars. Seeing it as it caught the ocean breeze, he dubbed it "Old Glory" Capt. Driver's flag survived his sea faring life as well as the Civil War, and now housed by the Smithsonian in Washing, DC.

The exact hues used in the flag have been designated by Congress as "White ", "Old Glory Red" and "Old Glory Blue". They were formally standardized in 1946, and are the colors used in flags produced for use by the US Federal government. The United States Flag Code was devised by a committee of 68 organizations organized by the American Legion in 1923. It was adopted as law by the US Congress in 1942, and dictates proper display and treatment of the flag.

The first version of the Pledge of Allegiance was written by Frances Bellamy, circulating manager of the Boston-based magazine, "The Youth's Companion," in 1892. Bellamy circulated a simple leaflet to schools nationwide with the recitation and requested students repeat it in front of the flag on Columbus Day. That year on Columbus Day (October 12th, 1892), 12 million children said the Pledge of Allegiance.

During World War 1, citizens from across the country sent letters to the Capitol urging that the flag be flown continuously over public buildings in Washington, DC. Since then the flag has been flown 24 hours a day over the White House and many historical land marks.

Flag Day, June 14th, was declared by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, but the US flag was celebrated in its own right before that. The earliest known reference dates from 1861! Communities across the US mark Flag Day with parades and picnics.

Here is a link from Google that you will find interesting about Flag etiquette.
http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html

Laura Elizabeth Ingals Wilder

Laura Elizabeth Ingals Wilder was born in the big woods of Wisconsin on February 7, 1867, she died on February 10, 1957, living to be 90 years old. Laura is buried in Mansfield, Missouri, with her husband Almanzo and daughter Rose Wilder Lane.

Most of the schools houses when Laura was young were one room, students of all ages attended. The students had to buy their own supplies and books which was purchased at the General store for a few cents. Students brought their lunch in a small pail. Male teachers was paid more than female teachers

Laura taught three terms of teaching but she had never attended a college. Although Laura never kept a diary she did write constantly throughout her whole life and saved nearly every scrap of paper that she wrote on. Laura wrote down her thoughts on life, her famuly and the people and places around her and her little house.

Laura's first book "Little House Big Woods" was published in 1932 and she next wrote "Farmer Boy". Girls and Boys wrote to her asking what happened to the little girl in big woods, so Laura continued writing her series of books, her last book was published in 1943. After her death a manuscript of her first four years of marrage was found among her belongings she was writing when Almanzo passed away but she did not have the heart to finish it.

Almanzo Wilder was born in Malone, New York on February 13, 1857. Almanzo and brother Royal decided to try and homestead in the Dakato territory and this is where he met Laura Ingals. They were married on August 25, 1885, they moved to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894. This would be the last home of Almanzo, he had been weakened from diphtheria when he was young but it was his heart he had trouble with later in life, he died on October 23, 1949 at the age of 92.

After they lost their crops and their home burnt they moved to Minnesota with his parents, both Laura and Almanzo were sick with diphtheria . Almanzo had a sister whose name was Laura so to not cause confusion Almanzo nicknamed his wife "Bess", short for Laura Elizabeth, this nickname followed her all the rest of her life.

You can go here http://discoverlaura.org/discover.html#q28 it will be the first one at the top_" Discover",there is a lot of information there.