Category Archives: Tapioca Vitamin C

Christmas, MicroFloraGuard, Samento, Tapioca Vitamin C, Winter Health

Have a great Christmas – how not to get pulled down by Holiday-related stress

Did you know an estimated eight out of 10 Americans feel stressed around Christmastime? When you think about it, it’s hardly very surprising – there’s probably a similar number in the UK and elsewhere in the world. All that pressure to find and buy presents for everybody, to make food, travel and family arrangements, to fit work in around a few days away from the office and so many other things. For some people, the most wonderful time of the year can be anything but.

The trouble with giving in to stress this time of year – aside from the fact it ensures you don’t enjoy Christmas – is that it can force you into bad habits and ill-health. For instance, along with festive indulgences, you may truly end up drinking and eating more than you intend (toxin-rich alcohol and glucose-heavy food), which can cause anxiety in itself and hinder your immunity system, ensuring it’s harder to remain healthy throughout the rest of winter – as you become more susceptible to picking up viral infections like colds and the flu1.

Yet it needn’t be this way. With a little common-sense stress-planning, Christmastime needn’t be such an anxiety-inducing few weeks. Here are some points to consider…

Budgeting and spending

Another far from surprising fact is that nine in every 10 people buy something for others this time of year merely because it’s Christmas1, ensuring the pressures of conforming to the consumerist demands of the season can become all too much for some, especially if they’re already struggling financially. While it’s undoubtedly emotionally rewarding giving someone a gift – not least if, in your eyes, they deserve it – it’s bad news for you if your spending exceeds your budgeting.

Feeling low

The pressures of Christmas and the anxieties they can bring may only be exacerbated by the reality that many can slip into a groove of feeling low in winter, when compared to other seasons. Why do they feel this way to start with, though? ‘Winter blues’ may occur as a result of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which nowadays is recognised as a form of depression and comprises symptoms brought on by changes in weather and temperature and the time of year2, as well as the fact people get less exercise in winter owing to the cold weather, thus impacting on their psychological and physical health (not least, in the latter case, their immunity levels)3.

Work and social obligations

Fitting the festivities of the season in and around work is often easier said than done. With potentially pressing deadlines to meet by the end of the month – and year – along with other Holiday-related pressures, it can feel like things pile up on you. Moreover, for retail and service staff, Christmas can be the busiest time of year, when a business’s performance is critical to having a successful 12 months, working days become longer and customers are more frantic and less understanding. All this doesn’t mix well with social traditions and obligations; the requirement that we all get involved in things with family and last-minute guests, whether we always feel like doing so or not. In short, it’s all a recipe for festive stress.

Managing stress

It’s important then to successfully manage your stress over Christmas in order to look after yourself in the short term – both psychologically and physically. In order to do that, these are some important areas to get right:

  • Healthy diet – as noted, by their very nature the Holidays are a time of indulgence, however that doesn’t have to become overindulgence; it’s OK to moderate your intake by having smaller courses, drinking water while dining and upping the anti-inflammatory foods that are good for your gut like leafy greens, beans, broccoli, citrus fruits and walnuts (and if that isn’t possible, why not try probiotics and supplements for winter – see below?)
  • Exercise – don’t forget to get out and remain active over the festive period, as it’s great for combating both depression4 and anxiety5; just a half-hour or hour-long, brisk walk in a natural environment will be worthwhile
  • Don’t skimp on sleep – for many, time off over Christmas can be an opportunity to catch up on sleep and there’s something in that; ideally, most of us should be getting regular, decent sleep of around 7-8 hours a night to keep our emotions balanced6, 7 and to help stave off high blood pressure, obesity and heart and kidney disease (sleep deprivation’s been linked to the development of all these conditions)6
  • Try to enjoy yourself – this may seem obvious, but when you’re finding life trying it’s sometimes not easy to see the forest for the trees; whether you’re really where you want to be and feel altogether comfortable or not, it can do you good to try to smile, laugh and enjoy yourself (it’s proven that laughing out loud has genuine health benefits8); plus, getting along with those you’re with over Christmas and avoiding tension and disagreement will inevitably ensure the time passes more smoothly and easier and this extends to spending money on presents, so be sensible, do research, maybe shop online away from the crush in the shops and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
  • Do seek help if you need it – if you sense you’re really dropping into a low place, reach out for help from friends and family you trust and can rely on and seek out professional help; share and be honest with others and yourself. 

Supplements

As mentioned above, it’s not always easy to maintain an ideal diet over the Christmas period, so if you’re concerned your body isn’t likely to receive all the nutrition it might at this time of year or if, owing to the stresses of the season, you feel boosting your immunity through other means is an option you’d like to follow, you can always try supplementation – the following products are all available through The Finchley Clinic:

samento-15ml

Samento (15ml and 60 capsules) – contributes to the immune system and can help with candida and viral and bacterial infections.

vitamin-c

Tapioca Vitamin C (90 capsules) – contains the immune-building and infection-fighting Vitamin C.

micro-floraguard

MicroFloraGuard (30 capsules) – releases into the gut probiotics (‘good bacteria’ that combat infection-carrying microbes or ‘bad bacteria’) and botanical oils at very effective, separate intervals.

References

1. ‘Fact Sheet on Stress’. National Institute of Mental Health. n.d.

2. ‘Seasonal Affective disorder’. Medline Plus. National Library of Medicine. 2016 Oct 12.

3. Bagchi D., Nair S. and Sen C. ‘Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance’. N.p.: Academic Press. 2013 Oct 8.

4. Craft L. L. and Perna F. M. ‘The Benefits of Exercise for the Clinically Depressed’. The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 6.3 (2004): 104–111.

5. Anderson E. and Shivakumar G. ‘Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety’. Frontiers in Psychiatry 4. (2013): n.pag.

6. Gibbons G. H. ‘Why is Sleep Important?’. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. 2014 Aug 19.

7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ‘How Much Sleep Do I Need?’. CDC.gov. 2015 Nov 12.

8. Strean W. B. ‘Laughter Prescription’. Official Publication of the College of Family Physicians of Canada 55.10 (2009): 965–967.

Aerobic O7, Antioxidant Supreme, Curcumin Plus, Immune health, Immune products, Tapioca Vitamin C, Vitamin D3

Helping to fight the good fight: how to boost your immune system

As the year gathers speed and summer drifts into autumn, people’s thoughts turn to the weather changing and temperatures dropping. Which means they start to adjust their wardrobe and – in some cases – lifestyle accordingly. They start to think about being more vigilant about protecting themselves from the potential infections and ill health that lower temperatures can bring. In short, they start to think in terms of trying to boost their immune system. But why should they? Why is the immune system so important? What does it do for us? And what can we do to keep it operating as effectively as possible?

Put simply, the immune system is the part of the body that protects us from certain harmful organisms and toxins (some of which can be absorbed into the body when we catch infections in the forms of colds, flu and the like), which stop our body from functioning properly and so, yes, make us feel ill. The system itself is made up of a combination of cells, tissues and organs that, working together as an efficient network, prevent unwelcome pathogens from doing their dirty work in our bodies. In practice, the system’s actually made up of two parts – the innate immune system (protects against infections and aids the healing of cuts and bruises) and the adaptive immune system (protects against viruses, of which there are millions generated each year, thus this part of the system is distinguished by its ability to adapt to fight them).

Even more specifically, the nuts and bolts of both these halves of the immune system are white blood cells (or leukocytes). Once they’ve formed, these cells travel through the blood stream and enter the lymphatic system (something of a sub-section of the wider immune system) where they stimulate its organs, including the tonsils and thymus, to produce antibodies that find bacteria and other harmful organisms’ antigens, adhere to them and destroy them.

Disorders

Unfortunately, for some people the efficacy of their immune system isn’t what it should be. This could be down to many different factors, but one thing’s for sure; a weak immune system can be really bad news as you age. Lack of exercise, bad diet and the changes aging brings to the body can all contribute1. The three major types of immunity disorder are:

  • Autoimmunity – these conditions (of which 80 are known to exist, including type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis2) see the immune system attack healthy tissue it’s supposed to be protecting
  • Immunodeficiencies – these disorders may not ensure enough white blood cells are produced; they can be caused by overexposure to the likes of tobacco smoke, certain toxic metals and pesticides3
  • Hypersensitive/ over-reactive immune system – this one involves immune cells targeting and attacking harmless allergens, potentially damaging tissue and organs and increasing the chance of the body suffering from serious diseases.

Support

So to prevent such disorders, what can we do to support our bodies’ immune systems? Well, here are four headline behaviours everyone should make a priority:

  • Develop a healthy diet – processed foods and those containing refined sugars and flavourings, as well as soda, are out; vitamin- and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, such as broccoli, blueberries, kale, spinach, lemons, avocado, oregano oil4 and garlic5, are in (especially if organic)
  • Exercise – helping to increase your oxygen intake and thus lung capacity, exercise is terrific at getting your metabolism going and promoting a healthy heart and efficient circulation; note: consistent exercise is key
  • Destress – becoming stressed increases inflammation and so will aggravate your immunity; trying to destress and finding ways to properly relax then are important (talking through problems isn’t a bad idea, nor is meditation)
  • Plant extracts – the nutrients and vitamins packed full in many easily available plant extracts are terrific for boosting your immunity; you might try echinacea (a favourite in traditional medicines for centuries and effective at fighting off colds and flu4), ginseng (especially good at tackling stress) and aloe vera (rich in antioxidants and the immunity-aiding compounds acemannan and aloctin A3, 6).

Supplements

Of course, another fantastic and easy way to consume enormously beneficial vitamins and nutrients is through supplements. The following – all of which are great immune system supplements – are available through The Finchley Clinic and, naturally, we highly recommend every one of them:

Tapioca Vitamin C (1,000mg; 90 capsules) – as this supplement’s sourced from tapioca (cassava root), it’s almost unheard of to cause allergic reactions and contains 99.9% vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, renowned as an excellent anti-viral antioxidant, immune booster and major facilitator to anti-aging and building collagen

Tapioca-Vitamin-C

 

Vitamin D3 (5,000iu; 90 tablets) – chewable and with a natural apricot flavour, this supplement provides great support for both the immune and skeletal systems; it’s also kosher

Curcumin Plus (90 capsules) – a powerful antioxidant that aids good immune response, not least as it contains both ginger and sage extracts (specifically gingerols and ursolic acid, respectively)

Aerobic-07

Aerobic O7 (70ml) – a stabilised liquid oxygen product that’s excellent at prompting the creation of new white blood cells, which (as made clear above) play a crucial role in the efficacy of the immune system

Antioxidant Supreme (90 capsules) – a great all-rounder but especially for fighting free radicals, thus it can importantly contribute to boosting the immune system.

 

References:

  1. MedlinePlus. ‘Aging changes in immunity’. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/004008.htm
  1. MedinePlus. ‘Autoimmune diseases’. https://medlineplus.gov/autoimmunediseases.html
  1. Winans B., Humble M. C. and Lawrence B. P. ‘Environmental toxicants and the developing immune system: a missing link in the global battle against infectious disease?’. Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, NY). 2011; 31(3): 327-336. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2010.09.004.
  1. Georgetown University Medical Center. ‘Oregano Oil May Protect Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Georgetown Researcher Find’. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/10/011011065609.htm
  1. Lissiman E., Bhasale A. L. and Cohen M. ‘Garlic for the common cold’. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006206.pub4.
  1. Bany J., Siwicki A. K., Zdanowska D., Sokolnicka I., Skopińska-Rózewska E. and Kowalczyk M. ‘Echinacea purpurea stimulates cellular immunity and anti-bacterial defence independently of the strain of mice’. Pol J Vet Sci. 2003; 6(3 Suppl): 3-5.
Buffered Vitamin C, Fizzy C, Immune+, Tapioca Vitamin C, Vitamin C, Vitamins & Minerals

Don’t be deficient: how to avoid Vitamin C deficiency

When you read or hear the word malnourished, what image pops into your head? That of a tragically weak-looking, starving child, perhaps? Well, when you think about it, what malnourished actually means is when someone’s diet is deficient in specific nutrients so it damages their health and prevents their bodies from functioning properly. That means that, yes, potentially everyone on Earth can become malnourished – should they not ensure (or not be able to ensure) they have enough variety and nutrition in their food.

And one of the key nutrients every one of us should be getting from our diet is Vitamin C (or L-ascorbic acid), an essential antioxidant to be found in an array of different fruits and vegetables1. Why is it so essential? Just look at the facts – Vitamin C…

  • Supports growth and development of the body and aids damaged-tissue-repair2, 3
  • Aids collagen production, which critically contributes to healthy skin, blood vessels, cartilage, ligaments and tendons4
  • Stimulates iron absorption and enhances the fight against cell-damaging free radicals5
  • Promotes heart health6
  • May reduce the risk of high blood pressure7, 8, 9

Deficiency – and its dangers

To that end then, Vitamin C deficiency can be very bad news. Indeed, in one of the worse-case scenarios, it could lead to scurvy. No, scurvy isn’t just a pirate-derived slang term for a nautically-derived illness; it is a genuine disease. One that, thankfully, nowadays doesn’t occur that often in the Western world because few are heavily deficient in Vitamin C. Its symptoms, though, include the likes of fatigue, anaemia, scaly skin, easy bruising and gum disease7. Very unpleasant. As mentioned, in developed countries the chances of someone developing scurvy are low – but there is still a chance (vulnerable people in the United States are at risk even10); vigilance is important then, which means we must all ensure we’re getting enough Vitamin C. Deficiency can be caused by:

  • Too little fruit and veg in your diet; evaporated or boiled cow’s milk for babies as opposed to breast milk
  • Medical conditions such as digestive tract injuries/ inefficiencies, kidney disease, genetic diseases and certain kinds of cancer10
  • Smoking – the tissue damage tobacco causes ensures the body requires more Vitamin C than normal, ensuring smokers/ those exposed to second-hand smoke probably need as much as 35g extra of Vitamin C each day10

Recommended daily intake

Speaking of recommended intake, according to the US Office of Dietary Supplements, that will vary based on your age – and your gender11. However, the US Government guidelines for Vitamin C intake are surely far too low. Experts suggest that – as stated, dependant on their age, body weight and pre-existing conditions – individuals should be aiming to boost their daily levels of the vitamin to anything between 3g and 15g12. For his part, Dr Linus Pauling, the early and great advocate of Vitamin C, recommended a daily allowance of up to 18g13. In short, we always need Vitamin C; whatever our age, gender or body weight.

Natural sources

As you may have guessed, it’s best to get your Vitamin C the traditional way – from organic, natural sources. At the high end of the scale then11, we’re talking those colourful fruits and vegetables – the likes of red and yellow peppers, orange juice and oranges themselves, grapefruit juice, kiwifruit and green peppers. If these aren’t entirely your cup of tea then maybe more regular (certainly more traditional) fare in a British diet are also good14, such as strawberries, Brussels sprouts, tomato juice, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and baked potatoes.

Supplementation

But what if you’re the kind of person that, try as you might, has just never got on with fruit and veg? Well, in that case, you may consider Vitamin C supplements. Not only are all of the following available via The Finchley Clinic, they’re also especially recommended because they’re organically, naturally derived:

Buffered Vitamin C (from calcium ascorbate) powder (180g and 60g) – ideal for those suffering from poor digestion, this supplement’s gentle and non-acidic; plus, as it comes in powder form, it can be easily mixed into drinks

Fizzy-C

Fizzy C (20 tablets) – additive- and artificial flavouring-free, this is ideal for all ages, not least because each tablet’s naturally sweetened so tastes great

Immune+ (Vitamin C with zinc) – in easy-to-swallow tablet form, this supplement contains the powerful antioxidant that’s blackcurrant, as well as zinc, black elderberry (which offers additional immune support) and bilberry (which provides the Vitamin C); available in bottles of 180, 90 and 30 tablets

Vitamin-C-Ultra-Pure

Tapioca Vitamin C (formerly Ultra Pure Vitamin C) (1,000mg; 90 capsules) – comprising 99.9% Vitamin C, this supplement’s derived from tapioca (cassava root) as opposed to corn, a food source that very few people are allergic to.

References:

  1. ‘Vitamin C’. MedlinePlus. US National Library of Medicine, 9 Mar 2016. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  2. Zeratsky, K. ‘Too Much Vitamin C: Is It Harmful?’. MayoClinic.org. Mayo Clinic, 5 Feb 2015. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  3. ‘Wounds’. University of Maryland Medical Center. University of Maryland, 5 Jan 2015. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  4. Boyera, N., Galey, I. and Bernard, B. A. (1998) ‘Effect of vitamin C and its derivatives on collagen synthesis and cross-linking by normal human fibroblasts’. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 20: 151–158. doi: 10.1046/j.1467-2494.1998.171747.x.
  5. Lynch, S. R. and Cook, J. D. (1980) ‘INTERACTION OF VITAMIN C AND IRON’.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 355: 32–44. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1980.tb21325.x.
  6. Osganian, S. K., Stampfer, M. J., Rimm, E. and Spiegelman, D. ‘Vitamin C and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women’. ACC Current Journal Review 12.5 (2003): 27. PubMed. Web.
  7. ‘Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)’. University of Maryland Medical Center. University of Maryland, 16 July 2013. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  8. Juraschek, S. P. et al. ‘Effects of Vitamin C Supplementation on Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials’. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 95.5 (2012): 1079–1088. PMC. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  9. Ness, A. R., Chee, D. and Elliott, P. ‘Vitamin C and Blood Pressure–an Overview’. J Hum Hypertens Journal of Human Hypertension 11.6 (1997): 343-50. PubMed. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  10. ‘Vitamin C Fact Sheet for Consumers’. National Institutes of Health. US Department of Health & Human Services, 17 Feb 2016. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  11. ‘Vitamin C Fact Sheet for Health Professionals’. National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 11 Feb 2016. Web. 11 Mar 2016.
  12. Stock, S. L. ‘”C” your way to good health’. The Association for Systematic Kinesiology Newsletter. Jan 1989.
  13. Pauling, L. ‘My love affair with Vitamin C’. Profiles.nlm.nih.gov. Web. 2016.
  14. Bobroff, L. B. and Valentin-Oquendo, I. ‘Facts About Vitamin C’. University of Florida IFAS Extension. University of Florida, n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2016.