by Dr. Robert Blair
The holiday season is rapidly approaching. In addition to the wonderful visits with friends and family that often occur during the holidays, many of us spend a lot of time eating lots of food. Not only do we have our traditional holiday feasts with friends and family, but we also find ourselves taking part in holiday office parties and other events where food is present in abundance. Surviving these holiday feasts can be a challenge for many of us. However, there are things we can do to survive the holidays without feeling like we ate a bowling ball:
- Don’t go to a party hungry. Going to a holiday party hungry will almost always lead to leaving you feeling bloated and uncomfortable. According to WebMD, this can further lead to a slower digestion process, upset stomach, and heartburn. Instead of going to a holiday party hungry, try eating a healthy snack shortly before leaving home. This will help regulate your hunger and help you avoid over-eating.
- Watch your portion sizes. At holiday parties, people often want to try all the foods offered. While there is nothing wrong with this, many tend to forget that true portion sizes are much smaller than they think. By eating smaller portions of each food item, it’s easy to sample each type of food with less chance of over-eating and causing digestive discomfort.
- Limit high fat foods. Many holiday foods are high in dietary fat. Not only is fat high in calories, but it can slow down digestion and possibly trigger heartburn. If you choose to consume high fat foods, make sure to consume small portions.
- Get some exercise. Rather than sitting down on that comfortable recliner after a large holiday meal, get some exercise. Taking even a leisurely walk around the neighborhood can help ward off that uncomfortable bloated feeling. Pick up the pace to a brisk walk if you want to burn off some of those extra calories.
- Eat slowly. Eating slowly gives the brain time to send “I’m full” messages to your stomach. Waiting for this cue helps to prevent the consequences of over-eating.
In addition to these tips, a number of dietary supplements can help support a healthy digestive system during the holidays, specifically fiber, probiotics, digestive enzymes, and aloe.
- Dietary Fiber. Most people do not consume the amount of fiber needed each day (20 – 35 grams per day for most adults). Dietary fiber has numerous benefits including helping to maintain normal digestive tract health and movement. Dietary fiber also helps maintain the beneficial bacteria in our digestive tracts.
- Probiotics. Speaking of beneficial bacteria, probiotic supplements are a great way to support a healthy digestive system. Maintaining optimal bacterial balance is important to maintaining optimal digestive health; therefore, choosing a probiotic supplement that contains a variety of bacterial strains makes it easier to obtain the most comprehensive benefit. Some of the most beneficial strains include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Bifidobacterium breve.
- Digestive Enzymes. Digestive enzymes are an essential element of healthy and complete digestion, beginning with enzymes released by our salivary glands as we chew. Eating too rapidly can lead to inefficient digestion, as some of our digestive enzymes are not given time to complete their job properly. Additionally, the body’s ability to make certain enzymes declines as we age. Supplementing with digestive enzymes can promote healthy digestion and break down foods that are typically hard to digest. A good digestive enzyme supplement will contain at least three types of enzymes: proteases to digest proteins, amylases to digest carbohydrates, and lipases to digest fats. Other beneficial digestive enzymes to consider include lactase (digests lactose) and cellulase (breaks down cellulose, normally indigestible to people).
- Aloe vera. Aloe vera promotes healthy digestion by providing natural plant enzymes that break down food. These enzymes include amylase (starch), cellulase (cellulose), lipase (lipids), and alkaline phosphatase (proteins). Aloe supplementation also helps to support a healthy gastrointestinal pH, normal composition of intestinal flora, and helps to promote an overall healthy digestive process. Consumption of aloe vera can promote bowel regularity and intestinal comfort after eating.
Combining these dietary supplements with healthy eating habits will definitely help you—and your stomach—ease through the holiday feasts.
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by Crystal Shelton
People often wonder which supplements are best to take and what ingredients will work best for them. While most have individual needs that can be targeted, there are certain components that everyone should use to build their foundation for optimal health. Specifically, everyone should have the following in their daily regimen: a multivitamin, antioxidants, calcium and B vitamins.
Multivitamin: The most critical component of creating a wellness foundation regimen is a multivitamin. Multivitamins are intended to be taken in an effort to supplement the diet with vitamins and minerals that are not being acquired through food. It is well known people are not eating well-balanced meals and acquiring the necessary nutrients, therefore it’s easily stated that multivitamins qualify as one of the most important dietary supplements to be taken. Vitamins and minerals are the foundation of health and nutrition and are necessary for the body to carry out normal functions.
nutraMetrix® Isotonix® Multivitamin is an isotonic-capable food supplement containing 100 percent or more of the daily value of essential vitamins and minerals. There are wide varieties of vitamin and mineral supplements on the market today. Only Isotonix Multivitamin contains a unique blend of complementary vitamins and minerals with the superior delivery of Isotonix
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It’s very important to choose a multivitamin which provides all of the essential vitamins and minerals which are included at amounts that provide 100% of the recommended daily values. These nutrients play a variety of roles in supporting a healthy immune and cardiovascular system, promoting strong bones and skin health, maintaining normal metabolic functioning and healthy tissue growth and repair among many other benefits.
To name a few specifics, vitamin C is a multi-faceted nutrient primarily known for its antioxidant benefits and strong role in immune health. It has also been shown to promote normal levels of cholesterol as well as normal platelet activity. A deficiency in vitamin C has been associated with fatigue and vitamin C is critical in the proper absorption of iron – another nutrient critical for optimal health.
Vitamin D is another nutrient that should be a part of any multivitamin. Americans are deficient in vitamin D and this deficiency can lead to a number of health concerns in bone health and immune function. In addition to those general benefits, research also reports that women may be able to reduce their risk of heart attack by taking a multivitamin daily. Ideally, multivitamins should be delivered in a way where little nutritive value is lost, making the absorption of nutrients highly efficient while delivering maximum results.
Antioxidants: Antioxidants are necessary components in building the foundation for health as every single person is exposed to free radical damage and oxidative stress. These damaging free radicals are linked to numerous health conditions ranging from cardiovascular health to the aging process itself. In trying to combat free radicals, the most important ingredients to consume are proven and researched antioxidants.
Pycnogenol® is the most clinically researched pine bark extract available. It has been shown in a number of studies to possess a very powerful antioxidant effect and it has also been proven to produce positive results related to cardiovascular health as well as inflammation. In general, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) are the most powerful natural free radical neutralizers. Other bioflavonoid extracts such as bilberry, grape seed, red wine and citrus bioflavonoids fall into this category.
nutraMetrix Isotonix OPC-3® is an isotonic-capable food supplement that is made from a combination of bilberry, grape seed, red wine and pine bark extracts, and citrus extract bioflavonoids, all found to be powerful antioxidants. Studies have shown OPCs to be up to 20 times more powerful than vitamin C and 50 times more powerful than vitamin E in neutralizing free radicals. nutraMetrix Isotonix OPC-3 contains the only isotonic form of Pycnogenol® in the world.
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In choosing ingredients to provide optimal antioxidant support, an array of these potent antioxidants would be the most effective. Since free radicals are so heavily associated with many diseases and conditions, combatting those would promote far reaching effects in the areas of inflammation, cardiovascular health, joint health, cellular health, among others.
Calcium: Calcium is one of those ingredients easily found in a multivitamin, but the effects are so far-reaching and typically the dose necessary is more than found in multivitamins, so additional supplementation is warranted. As an essential mineral, calcium is a vital nutrient with a multitude of roles for health. Calcium is a primary component of bones, making it a very critical nutrient for everyone. The body uses calcium to maintain strong bones and teeth, where it is primarily stored. In addition to supporting bone structure and hardness, calcium is also necessary for muscular and nervous system function. It also plays a role in the regulation of hormones and enzyme production that affects almost every function in the human body.
nutraMetrix Isotonix Calcium Complete provides the body with an optimal blend of calcium, vitamin D3, magnesium, vitamin C and boron in an efficient isotonic solution that is readily absorbed by the body. Isotonix dietary supplements are a replica of the body's own fluids, such as tears, plasma and breast milk. All fluids in the human body have a certain concentration, which is called the osmotic pressure. The body's common osmotic pressure, which is isotonic, allows a consistent maintenance of all body tissues. In order for a substance to be used in the body's metabolism, it must be changed to the isotonic state.
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Only about 500 mg of calcium can be absorbed by the body at once, so it’s important to not ingest more than that at once as it will be wasted. Because vitamin D and magnesium are necessary to aid in the absorption and use of calcium, a supplement which contains these with calcium is preferred.
B Vitamins: Another component of establishing your foundation for health involves a complete B-complex formulation. B vitamins are necessary components for numerous metabolic processes and they support hundreds of biochemical reactions in the body. Specifically, folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12 help lower homocysteine levels in the blood, leading to a direct, positive effect on heart health. Folic acid and B12 also work together in promoting healthy red blood cell formation.
nutraMetrix Isotonix Activated B-Complex delivers metabolically active forms of several vitamins and minerals in isotonic form, ensuring that your body receives and uses vital nutrients quickly and efficiently. By utilizing both the activated form of these vitamins, as well as the superior Isotonix delivery system, nutraMetrix Isotonix Activated B-Complex supports your body’s absorption and immediate use of beneficial ingredients.
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Additionally, each of the B vitamins work by a number of different mechanisms to help increase energy, improve mood and cognition and protect telomeres, which help with long-term health. Traditional forms of B vitamins must be converted into usable forms once ingested. By using forms such as methylcobalamin, folinic acid or pyridoxal 5’ phosphate, also referred to as the metabolically “activated” forms, once can be sure optimal utilization is occurring and the effectiveness of these vitamins are enhanced.
While most everyone’s dietary supplementation needs are unique, there are certain ingredients that provide a multitude of benefits and help establish the basic foundation for optimal health!
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