💝✨️ Love with Clarity and Balance – A Valentine’s Greeting with the Flax Flower (Linum usitatissimum)

Love is more than just a feeling – it is a harmony of emotion and reason. Just like the blooming flax flower is not only beautiful but also provides valuable Omega-3 fatty acids through its seeds, a mindful diet can support our emotional stability and cognitive abilities.

🧠🫀 Why Omega-3 for Mind and Heart?

🧮🧩 Enhanced Cognitive Function: Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for the cell membranes of our neurons. They improve neural communication and can strengthen memory, concentration, and logical thinking.

💔❤️‍🩹 Emotional Balance: Studies show that Omega-3 (especially EPA and DHA) can help reduce stress and anxiety. They contribute to calming impulsive reactions and improving emotional regulation.

🌈☀️ Reduced Susceptibility to Cognitive Biases: A well-nourished brain is better at recognizing and avoiding thinking errors like black-and-white thinking or the base rate fallacy.

👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Greater Resilience in Relationships: Those who are emotionally balanced can approach conflicts more calmly, resolve misunderstandings more effectively, and respond with greater reflection.

👨‍👩‍👦 Whether in relationships or daily life, the right balance between heart and mind helps us navigate highs and lows more consciously. A well-nourished brain is a clear-thinking brain.

With that in mind, I wish you a Valentine’s Day filled with love, clarity, and inner balance! 💙🌿

⚠️ Additional information:

🐟 Only about 5-10 percent of the alpha-linolenic acid in linseed oil is converted into EPA and DHA. Sea fish and algae offer better and more direct availability of these fatty acids.

‼️ Linseed contains hydrogen cyanide, which is why only about 15 grams of linseed per meal is recommended.

‼️ Particular caution is required for children and pregnant women - please inform yourself about possible dangers beforehand.

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

😊🏖🥕 My skin color is not due to the sun or artificial sunlight, but rather my daily consumption of carrots and carrot juice. These contain substances called carotenoids.

☘️🦐🦩🍅🥕 Carotenoids come in hundreds of different varieties, with a color palette ranging from yellow to the pinkish-red of flamingos to purple. They are produced exclusively by plants, as carotenoids are important for photosynthesis. The most well-known carotenoid is beta-carotene found in carrots. However, flamingos cannot make use of carrots and shine in vibrant colors because they absorb special carotenoids in highly concentrated forms, for example, from crabs, which in turn feed on algae. Algae from the genus Dunaliella are extremely rich in pigments. For flamingos, their appearance is necessary for survival: without the right feather color, they do not attract potential mates, and there is no offspring.

☺️🧡 Beta-carotene also offers health benefits for humans. It binds free oxygen radicals and neutralizes carcinogenic substances. When the skin contains a lot of beta-carotene, it is better protected against UV radiation. It does not redden as quickly. Furthermore, it acts as a provitamin, a precursor to vitamin A - not only important for vision but also for the immune system and the communication abilities of nerve cells. There is no need to fear an overdose of beta-carotene. Only as much beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A as the body needs. Anything beyond that is stored as a pigment in the skin and subcutaneous fat tissue.

🥕🧈 A common misconception is that carrots must always be consumed with fat. This is only partially true. While fat is necessary for the carotenoids to dissolve, it is sufficient to have consumed something fatty beforehand, as it will meet the carotenoids in the digestive tract (fat is digested slowly and often remains in the intestines for several hours).

🥳✨️ I enjoy both, the health benefits and the flavor!

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🌞 I have always been a fan of the sun. It puts me in a good mood and I like myself best when I'm tanned. I especially love the combination of brown skin and blonde hair.

But of course you also have to be aware of the dangers. When UV radiation hits the skin, it directly damages the DNA in the cell nucleus. This can lead to mutations and thus skin cancer. The energy in the UV radiation also causes some molecules to have an unpaired electron. These free radicals look for their missing electron in their environment and can thus cause a whole chain reaction of damage.

The most effective way to protect yourself is to avoid the sun and apply sunscreen.

You can also influence cell protection through diet and a positive attitude towards life. Damaged DNA is repaired when the telomeres (the protective ends of the chromosomes) rebuild the damaged sections. How well this works depends, among other things, on the length of the telomeres, which shortens over time. The enzyme telomerase plays an important role because it can repair and even lengthen telomeres. Telomerase can be activated through a diet containing spermidine (e.g. nuts, grains, legumes).

Antioxidants such as vitamin C, E and polyphenols (e.g. many plant pigments) help to combat free radicals. The best way to get these into the cells is to increase their bioavailability. Other plant substances such as piperine, quercetin and apigenin increase cell permeability and thus enable better development of the positive effects. It is important to note here if you are considering supplementing yourself heavily with antioxidants: too many antioxidants are also not healthy because they reduce oxidative stress, which is needed for many cellular processes.

It is also helpful to pay attention to the optimal fatty acid ratio and in particular to consume sufficient amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which are so valuable for the skin.

The personal attitude to life is greatly underestimated but, according to current studies, also has a major influence on cell aging. It has been shown that our cell age is not constant, but is rejuvenated by an optimistic mood.

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.