But the most important substance that you can get from tomato juice is lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that helps to prevent the damage of cells due to the harmful effects of free radicals. 

Free radicals are molecular by-products of your body's metabolic processes.  They do have some beneficial uses if they are kept under check, but too much of them can cause damage to your cells – and this can lead to cancer, early aging, and other degenerative diseases.

High levels of lycopene can flush out free radicals from the body.  We can be protected from the damaging effects of free radicals by consuming tomatoes and tomato products on a regular basis. 

In order to help you get sufficient amounts of lycopene, this article would like to let you know a way to prepare pure tomato juice at home.  This can help to keep you protected from cellular damage.

What you need:

12 medium-sized tomatoes cut into quarters with seeds removed
1/2 cup water
1/3 onion, chopped into bits
2 stalks celery, chopped into bits
1 teaspoon powdered fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Procedure:

1. Put your tomatoes, water, chopped onion, chopped celery, powdered parsley and bay leaf into a Dutch oven, boil it and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Remove the oven from the heat and transfer the ingredients to a food mill and add in your sale, paprika and sugar, then stir the mixture.

3. You have just created a pure tomato juice.  Pour it into a pitcher and place it in a chiller to be served when cool.  Serve it with ice if necessary.

The air is a free source of energy that keeps us alive.  By breathing in air, we are supplying our blood with oxygen that keeps the cells of our body active.  Proper oxygen intake plays a big role in keeping us physically and mentally alert, and this is fully enhanced with regular practice.

Here are some of the known health benefits of pranayama yoga:

1. It helps to reduce your breathing rate which is beneficial to your heart and other major organs.

Pranayama yoga helps you to reduce your breathing rate by 30 percent.  Slow, deep breaths enable you to take in more oxygen which allows your heart to pump more oxygen at a lesser rate.  This is a way of protecting your heart from overwork which is one of the main causes of heart failure.

2. It helps to improve circulation.

Deep breathing helps the heart to maintain an adequate supply of oxygenated blood to all the body tissues.  This keeps all the cells of your body alive.

3. It helps to keep your heart in good health.

The heart is one of the most diligent organs of your body.  It has to keep working since the day you were conceived up to the final moment of your life.  You have to keep it in good health in order to enjoy long life.

With pranayama, more oxygen is supplied to your heart, which means that it doesn't have to work very hard to pump oxygenated blood to the other parts of your body.  This helps to protect your heart from overwork.

4. It helps to improve the functions of the other major organs of the body such as the lungs, diaphragm, abdomen, intestines, kidneys and pancreas.

5. It helps to improve the function of the digestive system.

6. It helps to reduce fatigue and lethargy.

7. It helps to ease the tensions in the body.

8. It helps to alleviate depression and makes your mind ready for meditation. 

9. It helps to promote better sleep and it improves memory and concentration.

Breathing is a vital sign yet it is one function that is underestimated by many people as far as its benefits are concerned.

Many yoga practitioners believe that longevity is dependent on a person's breathing rate.  They also consider deep breathing as one of the factors that can help to prevent the accumulation of uric acid in the blood stream which is one of the main causes of joint pains, backaches, rheumatism and headaches.

Evening primrose oil carries a lot of health benefits.  It contains phenylalanine, a pain relieving compound which is known to relive chronic headaches.  It is also a subject of several studies for its potentials in combating heart diseases, multiple sclerosis, obesity, schizophrenia, menopause and PMS.

It is also rich in gamma linolenic acid (GLA), a kind of fatty acid which is the reason behind all the healing benefits of the plant.  These include skin health and the improvement of the nerve function.

Here are some of the known health benefits of evening primrose oil:

1. It helps to relieve menopausal and other menstrual discomforts.

Evening primrose oil helps to inhibit the production of prostaglandins during menstruation.  This can help to alleviate menstrual cramps and reduce pre-menstrual breast tenderness, endometriosis, irritable bowels and carbohydrate cravings.  It is also known to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.    

2. It helps to alleviate joint pains associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

When taken as supplements, evening primrose oil has the ability to relieve pain and swelling of the joints. 

3. It helps to protect you from nerve damage due to diabetes.

According to research, the GLA content of the evening primrose oil can help to protect you from nerve damage which is associated with diabetes.

4. It helps to treat eczema.

There are instances when it becomes hard for the body to turn dietary fats into gamma linolenic acid.  This can cause eczema to appear on the skin.  One way to treat this condition is to take evening primrose oil to compensate the body's GLA requirement.

5. It helps to treat acne and rosacea.

People with acne are known to have excess secretion of sebum, a thick oily substance that tends to clog the pores of the skin.

This condition can be prevented by the use of evening primrose oil which helps to dilute sebum and prevent the occurrence of rosacea or the enlargement facial blood vessels.

6. It helps to alleviate inflammation caused by multiple sclerosis.

The essential fatty acids contained in evening primrose oil are useful in reducing the inflammation that is associated with multiple sclerosis.  It is a progressive nerve disorder which can cause damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

7. It helps to boost the transmission of nerve impulses to the brain.

Evening primrose oil is believed to improve the transmission of nerve impulses to the brain.  This can help in preventing or treating progressive brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

This plant maybe more popular as an ornament, but it is one of the top six herbs Chinese herbal medicine.  It even earns the official name Taraxacum officinale which literally means "Official Remedy for Disorders." 

Here are some of the known health benefits of dandelion:

1. It helps to promote bone health.

Dandelion is loaded with calcium which is an important mineral for bone health and development.  It is also rich in vitamins C and Luteolin.  These are potent antioxidants that help to protect your bones from deterioration and damage due to the effects of free radicals.

2. It helps to protect your liver from disorders.

This plant is also rich in substances which help to keep your liver in top shape.  These substances include vitamin-C, Luteolin, Triterpenes and Taraxasterol. 

Dandelion also helps to reduce the effects of fatty foods that can trigger heartburn and indigestion.

3. It helps to lower your risk from diabetes.

Dandelion juice helps to stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin to keep your blood sugar level low.  Its bitter taste also helps to lower the sugar level in the blood, and its diuretic properties induce frequent urination which can help to remove excess sugar from the body.

4. It helps to protect you from urinary disorders.

Being packed with diuretic and disinfectant properties, dandelion helps to clean your kidneys and urinary tract from toxic substances which can cause urinary disorders.  It also helps to protect your urinary system from infections by inhibiting the growth of microorganisms in the urinary tract.

5. It helps to keep your skin in good health.

The sap of dandelion, known as dandelion milk, is highly alkaline in nature and it contains fungicidal, germicidal and insecticidal properties.  It is highly effective in treating microbial and fungal infections of the skin such as ringworm, eczema and other skin diseases.

6. It helps to treat acne.

Being rich in detoxifying, diuretic, stimulant, and antioxidant properties, dandelion juice is useful in treating acne.  It works by regulating the proper secretion of hormones that help to facilitate the removal of toxic substances through urination and increased sweating.

7. It helps to facilitate weight loss.

Being an effective diuretic, dandelion helps to facilitate weight loss through the excretion urine that contains four percent fats. 

8. It helps to lower your risk from cancer.

Being rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C and Luteolin, dandelion neutralizes the effect of free radicals which are the main contributors of degenerative diseases such as cancer. 

9. It helps to lower your risk from anemia.

Dandelion is loaded with iron, protein and lots of B vitamins which are necessary in the formation of red blood cells and other components of the blood.

10. It helps to lower your risk from jaundice.

By promoting urination, dandelion helps to remove excess bile from the body to protect you from jaundice.  It also helps to maintain the health of your gall bladder and keeps it protected from oxidants and infections.

11. It helps to lower your risk from high blood pressure.

Frequent urination and the increased volume of urine are believed to be a factor in lowering blood pressure.  With its diuretic properties, dandelion helps to lower your risks from hypertension.  

It is also loaded with fiber and potassium which play different roles in regulating your blood pressure.  Fiber helps to reduce cholesterol levels in the body while potassium works to keep your blood pressure under in the low.

You don't have to look down at yourself to be humble.  It doesn't require you to act like a slave and look up at others as your masters.  You don't need to criticize or portray yourself as a miserable pitiful creature in order to be seen as a humble person. 

Humility is simply the absence of a sense of ego.  It is about detaching your self-worth from your surrounding circumstances, possessions, accomplishments, and other things.  Its essential elements include qualities like kindness, patience, and gratitude.  It is a person's ability to look at and treat others as his equal despite his accomplishments and status in society.  It makes a person prudent enough not to be overwhelmed by his own sense of self-importance.

People love humble individuals, but only a few possess humility in character.
 
Here are some pointers that can help you to practice humility:

1. Recognize your qualities and be grateful for them.

Each individual is endowed with qualities and assets that make him unique and different from the others.  Your assets such as your looks, intelligence, charm and other qualities are special gifts.  You have them because they are given to you, you did not work to have them.  This is something that you should be grateful for and not boast about. 

You should also be thankful for the challenges and shortcomings that come your way.  They had given you important lessons and made you learn and continue to grow as a person.

2. Be teachable.

Life is a learning experience from beginning to end.  A humble person should be willing to learn from others no matter what his rank or status in society is.  By being teachable, you are acknowledging your imperfections and you admit that someone is better than you on that particular subject.

3. Always do your best at anything without expecting a reward.

When you commit to do something for someone, always give it your best shot but do not expect to be rewarded for it.  The person who asks you to do it chooses you because he has faith in your ability.  Even the job that you have is an indication of your employer's trust in you.  Trust is an honor that you should be thankful for.

4. Practice kindness anonymously.

Practicing kindness without shouting to the world what you have done is a sign of true humility.  It is an act of showing that your desire to help is bigger than your sense of self-importance.

Humbleness is such a difficult virtue to practice because pride and vanity are all around us. 

But despite this, it is still good to try to practice being humble because it is one attribute that makes people find a true gem in you.

Most of us need motivation at whatever we do.  It makes work easier and lighter and it helps us to see work not as a task but as a way to show our desire and ability to perform.

Motivation is the energy that fuels your enthusiasm to master your job and excel at it.  It is a life-changing force that helps to build self-confidence, optimism and desire to deliver.

Here are some of the factors that can help to motivate people:

1. Employment Security

People who feel that their companies are not stable enough to provide them with job security are not motivated to work their best.  An assurance that their employment is secure and that their contributions are needed for the company's success can motivate them to work at their best.

2. Trust

Trust is a great motivator and it helps people to be confident in themselves.  People who feel that they are trusted become more responsible, and they tend to become more resourceful, creative and dependable.  

3. Success Stories.

Success stories inspire people.  It is a force that can drive people to excellence and motivate them to become better at what they do.  These stories carry hope and they bring to people a message that they can do things if they put their heart to it.

4. Moral Support

People who are down are in desperate need of moral support to keep them going.  They are in need of encouraging words to propel them to act instead of resorting to despair and self-pity.  People find motivation when they realize that there are still individuals who believe in their abilities and potentials.  These can help to get them back on track.

5. Inspiration

Inspiration plays a big role in motivating people to make an important decision to accomplish a goal.  That inspiration could be a person who succeeded in accomplishing his objective after making a similar decision.

Depressed people also need inspiration to help them avoid negative thoughts.  It can help to make them regain confidence and to see the brighter side of life.

These are some of the common factors that can help to motivate people.  Apply them to your loved ones and see how good they can be at what they do.

Criticism is something that we need to respond to with an open mind.  It can help to enable us to get something good from it. 

Dealing with criticism is a skill.  We have to learn to take it with decency and objectivity.  It enables us to face it with grace.  It helps to make us stronger and able to see things from a better perspective.  Here are some suggestions on how you can deal with criticisms in your life:

1. Strive to learn from it.

Most criticisms, no matter how they sound, have some truth in them, and you need to base your response from these truths and not on the way the criticism sounds.  Take criticism as an opportunity for improvement.  They may seem negative but they can help to make you see the things that you need to develop.

2. Look at it with objectivity.

Many people can easily spot faults in things that you do, but not all of them can express it in a tone that won't hurt you.  No matter how it is expressed, it is still criticism, and your best response to it would be to consider its suggestion and not its tone.  If you look at it with objectivity, you will have a chance to become a better person and turn your critics into admirers.

There's wisdom in criticism, you only need to see it with an open mind.

3. Appreciate it.

There is value in criticism because it is one of the keys that can open windows of improvement for us.  Sincere criticism can sometimes make us feel uneasy or uncomfortable, but it is many times better and more valuable than false flattery.

4. Don't take it personally.

A majority of people get offended when they are criticized.  They can not accept criticism even if it is intended to do him good.  If people criticize you for a mistake on something you do, it doesn't mean that you are not good as a person.  You should be able to detach yourself from whatever you do and don't take their criticisms personally.  

5. Learn to identify false criticism.

Some people use criticism to offend and to put others down.  This is one thing that you need to identify because it can bring demoralizing effects.  You will know that criticism is not sincere if it can't be justified.  You should ignore it instead of responding to it.  It can help to let your detractors know that you know their real intentions.

7. Do not react to criticisms immediately.

You need to take some time to evaluate criticisms.  It can help to make you move with prudence.  Responding to them with feelings of anger or resentment might make you do something foolish, and it can cause you more damage. 

Be patient with criticism and give yourself some time to evaluate it.  Meet it with a smile instead; it can help you to relax and ease the tension in the atmosphere.   

Physical fatigue is the loss of your body's ability to do the things which you used to do easily when you have sufficient supply of energy.  Psychological fatigue refers to your difficulty or inability to concentrate. 

A typical example of severe fatigue is your lack of enthusiasm and energy to get up from your bed early in the morning to perform your daily tasks.

Fatigue is directly associated with lack of sleep or sleep deprivation.  This condition is common among people aged 50 years and above.  Fatigue and prolonged inability to sleep are also linked to the following health risks:

1. Heart Diseases and High Blood Pressure

Coronary heart disease – it is a disease caused by an abnormality of the arteries that cause it to fail to supply blood and oxygen to the heart.

Ischaemic heart disease – it is another type of heart disease which is characterized by blocked arteries.  This can lead to the lack of supply of oxygenated blood to the heart.

Myocardial infarction – it is commonly known as heart attack.

High blood pressure – it is a cardiovascular disease which is characterized by the tightening of the blood vessels.  This condition forces your heart to pump harder, causing your blood to circulate with too much force.  This can lead to stroke, heart attack, and kidney problems.

2. Nervous Disorders

Anxiety – it is a disorder characterized by a feeling of worry and nervousness.  It is often triggered by the coming of an event with an uncertain outcome.

Depression – it is a medical condition which is caused by a persistent feeling of hopelessness, dejection and inadequacy.  It is a chronic illness that affects the way you think, feel and behave.  It is a condition that requires long-term treatment, the Mayo Clinic says.

3. Pregnancy Disorders

Fatigue has a negative impact on the health of pregnant women because it is associated with pregnancy-related conditions such as miscarriage, low birth weight and premature births.

Here are some of the health benefits of vitamin K:

1. It helps to regulate the body's blood clotting function.

Vitamin K plays a big role in making blood from an open wound to stick to the nearby tissue.  This helps to prevent excessive blood flow which could lead to extreme blood loss. 

2. It helps to promote bone health.

Vitamin K promotes bone health by preventing the excessive formation of bone cells which use up minerals from bones instead of making them available for the rest of the body.  This can lead to the depletion of minerals in the bones which are essential for the maintenance of their health.

3. It helps to prevent calcification.

Vitamin K plays an important role in preventing calcification which is a factor in the onset of cardiovascular disease. 

Calcification is the formation of calcium in the tissue, and this can be minimized or prevented with adequate supply of vitamin K in the body.  A deficiency of this important vitamin may lead to major illnesses that include atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

4. It helps to protect your cells from oxidative stress the way antioxidants do.

5. It helps to reduce your risks to inflammation.

Sufficient levels of vitamin K in the body help to inhibit the release of glycoprotein interleukin-6.  The presence of this substance is an indication that there is inflammation within the body.

6. It helps in the proper production and formation of shingolipids, a crucial fat which serves as the outer wrapping of the nerves for proper nervous and brain function.

These are some of the most popular health benefits of vitamin K. 

Natural food sources of vitamin K include Swiss chard, broccoli, spinach, mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, asparagus and grapes.

Your teeth are an asset that can help to make you look good and boost your confidence.  But not everyone is gifted with a white set of teeth, and teeth are naturally light yellow in color.

The teeth are an important part of a person's personality and interaction with other people.  They can affect the way a person carries himself.  This is one of the reasons why people need to keep their teeth free from stains.

In order to achieve this, you need to know certain factors that can lead to teeth staining.  These are:

1. Smoking or chewing tobacco.

Tobacco, whether smoked or chewed, is one of the most common causes of stained teeth.

2. Regular intake of colored drinks such as cola, tea, coffee, fruit juices and red wine. 

3. Frequent eating of pigmented fruits like blueberries can also increase your chances of getting yellow or stained teeth.

4. Certain pharmaceutical products are also known to affect the color of your teeth.  These include antibiotics like tetracycline and doxycycline, and antihistamines, antipsychotic, and antihypertensive drugs.

4. Age
 
A person's age play a part in the color and appearance of his of her teeth.  This is because the surface enamel of the teeth erodes naturally as we age.

5. Excessive brushing or hard scrubbing which can lead to premature wearing out of the tooth enamel.

6. The buildup of plague or tartar can lead to teeth discoloration and cause stains to appear at the base of the teeth.

Most of the causes of teeth discoloration are contributed by external factors, and ways have been formulated to prevent or minimize their effect.  Here are simple ways to keep your teeth pearly white:

1. Use baking soda to scrub the surface of your teeth.

Baking soda is an effective teeth-scrubbing agent that does not cause damage to the enamel. 

Mix baking soda with hydrogen peroxide and use this combination as your toothpaste.  This will help to facilitate the removal of stains and particles that are trapped between your teeth.

Here's the formula:

1.1 Put one tablespoon of baking soda in a small cup and add to it a few drops of hydrogen peroxide.  Mix them well together until it becomes a paste.

1.2 Put some of the paste onto your toothbrush and brush your teeth with it.

1.3 After brushing your teeth with baking soda, rinse your mouth and brush your teeth again with the use of regular toothpaste.

1.4 Do this once a week for at least one month.  Do not use baking soda on a daily basis since it contains abrasive properties that can destroy the enamel on your teeth.

Another option would be to rinse your mouth with baking soda every time you smoke or take teeth-staining agents like colas, coffee, or tea, and brush your teeth after each meal.  They help to prevent the buildup of stains on your teeth.