Hard to stomach

On a recent trip abroad, I found that I had neglected one very important aspect of trip preparation.  I had laundered all the appropriate clothing, grabbed my guidebooks, forwarded my mail, and arranged for my dog to be walked.  But the one thing I forgot to take care of was my digestive health.  And boy was I sorry.

I’ve always had a delicate stomach and generally try to be kind to it.  I make an effort to eat soothing foods usually, but one can’t subsist on rice and yogurt alone.  Especially when you’re in a relatively exotic place, with delicious, if not spicy, foods.  So I indulged, and indulged some more.  Then I didn’t feel very well.

I had been doing a little research about probiotics, which are good bacteria that can help guard against infections and intestinal disorders while helping to support overall proper digestion.  There has been research indicating that taking probiotics can exert a protective effect against diarrhoeal illnesses in children and adults and that it can not only help treat such illnesses but even potentially prevent them.

Next time I go somewhere, I’ll make sure to bring some special companions with me.  Probiotics, of course!

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Want to read more about digestive health?  Check out our article here. Try our Probiotic Buddies™, with 10 billion viable ”good” bacteria per vege-capsule.  Powerful protection against harmful micro-organisms in a convenient, easy to take form.  Probiotic Buddies™ is perfect for a world traveler, or for busy people on-the-go.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/34885” Effects of probiotics on the gastrointestinal tract,” Snelling AM, Curr Opin Infect Dis, 2005; 18(5): 420-6. (Address: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 IDP, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. E-mail: A.M.Snelling@Bradford.ac.uk ).

Breast cancer: make it personal

As most of us know, October is National Breast Cancer awareness month.  For the 25 years that this has been going on, I’ve worn a pink ribbon on occasion, clicked on a link or two to fund free mammograms, and made a donation every so often to one of the numerous charitable groups that fund research and services for people with breast cancer.  I was doing my part.  Wasn’t I?

About six years ago a trifecta of tragedy struck my immediate family.  First, my mother-in-law succumbed to a very long and brave battle with breast cancer that had been in and out of remission.  Very soon after, my young, forty-one year old sister-in-law was diagnosed with a breast tumor and had to endure chemotherapy while caring for her two small children.  And finally, six months after that, my own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Suddenly the war on breast cancer was hitting very close to home.

And then something happened to me.  I finally understood the hopelessness, the depression and the anger that hundreds of thousands of families around the country and around the world have had to cope with when there is a diagnosis of breast cancer.  I started to be acutely aware of changes in drug and treatment research and also how much volunteer support is needed both for the patients and families going through cancer.

I made some changes in my life.  I arranged my schedule so I could help my mother with household chores she no longer had the energy to accomplish.  I drove her to her treatments.  I emailed more often with my sister-in-law, whose diagnosis to this day is happily quite good.  I donated one of my cars that I planned on selling to a breast cancer charity.  And perhaps most notably, I shared my family story of breast cancer with everyone who would listen.  I pleaded with the women I knew to get regular mammograms, and to be sure to see their doctors immediately if anything seemed amiss with their breast health.  I became an early detection crusader and am to this very day.

My mother’s diagnosis turned out to be treatable, which was wonderful news.  But even so, she has endured many false alarms and several operations over the years just to make sure the cancer was gone.  It is highly traumatic for any woman (or man for that matter) to go through breast cancer treatment.  They deserve our empathy, our support and our utmost respect.

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To learn more about breast cancer information and ways you can make a difference, click here.  At Solanova, fighting breast cancer is particularly close to our hearts.  For every order placed over $100 dollars in October, we will donate 5% to breast cancer charities.

Thank you for your support and for your patronage.

Vitamin D stands for “defense”

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the positive effects of vitamin D consumption.  And now there seems to be even more compelling news indicating a possible connection between low levels of vitamin D and incidents of breast cancer.

In a nested case-control study involving 142 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 420 matched controls, results indicate an inverse association between serum vitamin D levels and risk of breast cancer. Women with breast cancer showed significantly lower plasma 25(OH)D levels, compared with controls. Additionally, women in the highest tertile of 25(OH)D levels showed a 48% reduced risk of breast cancer, compared with women in the lowest tertile. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, “Risk of breast cancer was inversely associated with 25OHD levels. Randomized controlled trials are warranted in order to assess whether a causal relationship exists.”

We already know that vitamin D is crucial for calcium absorption and also may help to fortify the immune system.  Getting enough exercise, relaxing in (a little) sun once in a while and taking a quality vitamin D supplement can all be important aspects of good health.

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Click here to sign up for our AutoShip program and Save 10% on Every order!  To learn more about health related topics check out our health concerns archives.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38559“Reduced prediagnostic 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in women with breast cancer: a nested case-control study,” Rejnmark L, Mosekilde L, et al, Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2009; 18(10): 2655-60. (Address: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism C, Aarhus Sygehus, Aarhus University Hospital, Tage-Hansens Gade 2, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. E-mail: rejnmark@post6.tele.dk ).

Vitamin D deserves an “A”

Lately vitamin D seems to be the rediscovered and indispensable vitamin of the moment.  And with good reason.  There is ongoing research examining the potential benefits of incorporating more vitamin D into a supplement routine in order to fortify our immune systems and to protect us from certain diseases, possibly even cancer.

And now it appears that other diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, could be potentially thwarted if we have high enough levels of vitamin D in the body.

In a study involving 34 patients with Crohn’s disease and 34 matched controls, results indicate a high prevalence of poor vitamin D status in patients with Crohn’s disease. 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were significantly lower in patients with Crohn’s disease, as compared to controls (16.3 ng/mL vs. 22.8 ng/mL). Additionally, lower vitamin D levels were independently associated with increased severity of disease activity and lesser duration of sun exposure. Additional research is needed to assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation in patients with Crohn’s disease.

So spend a little time in the sun and don’t forget to include a calcium nutritional supplement replete with vitamin D.

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Here’s more information about calcium, strong bones and how vitamin D affects our health.  Try our new Liqui-Calcium now with 1000 IU of vitamin D3 for unsurpassed absorption and efficacy.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38546

“25 (OH) vitamin D level in Crohn’s disease: association with sun exposure & disease activity,” Joseph AJ, Chacko A, et al, Indian J Med Res, 2009; 130(2): 133-7. (Address: Department of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India)

You (usually) get what you pay for

If you purchase a lower end car at a deep discount, you can bet that the car probably doesn’t have the greatest track record in the world.  Furthermore, you wouldn’t expect this car to perform like a Porsche or a BMW, right?  So why would you want to deep discount your health?

Not all vitamins or supplements are created equal.  Not even close.  The ubiquitous “cheap vitamins” that you see for sale in drug stores or online claim to be powerful and effective.  But if you read the fine print, oftentimes you see additives and other ingredients that aren’t beneficial.  Or you discover that in order to achieve the promised efficacy of the supplement, you are required to take six or eight of them a day, instead of a couple.  This alone can make the “discount” supplements much more expensive than originally thought.  Yet you’re still receiving (and ingesting) lower quality product.

The old saying “you get what you pay for” is generally true.  High quality, natural supplements that are optimally absorbed into the body do cost more, because they work better than their cheaper counterparts.  Why would you bother to take supplements or vitamins at all, if you weren’t sure your body was using them to full effect?  If money is an issue, and these days it is for most of us, select two or three supplements or vitamins that you know you can’t live without and invest in a high quality, proven version of them.  In the end you’ll save money, time, and effort and can rest assured that you are making the best choices for your overall health.

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Want to learn more about what you can do to achieve good daily health? Read from our health concerns archives.  For some invaluable, potent and effective nutritional supplements, check out our new CoQ10 supplement, Super QNol®, our multivitamin MultiSential Plus and our ever popular Omega-Gel® for unsurpassed antioxidant protection.

Listen to your body

As you sit listening to the symphony, taking in the beautiful architecture and the rich, melodic sound surrounding you, there is something else that you are neglecting to notice.  Your body.  It is screaming at you, and you aren’t listening.

When it finally does get your attention, you’re alarmed.  Your legs are aching and you feel really run down.  By intermission, your back has joined in the cacophony of pain you’re experiencing.  What is going on?  Then you stop to think.  I guess I have been a little stressed lately.  And I haven’t been sleeping very well or exercising much.  I’ve also been grabbing food on the go, usually in the form of a burger or a burrito.

This kind of behavior adds up.  Not sleeping, living a stressful life, not eating a proper diet and-it goes without saying- not having enough time to exercise can all be harmful to your health.  But you don’t need me to tell you that.  Your body already has.

Each problem informs the other.  You’re tired because you aren’t sleeping well, so you eat more to keep up your energy.  Your body aches, so you don’t feel like exercising.  But if you tackle one of the problems you’re experiencing, oftentimes that starts the healthy ball rolling and the other issues get solved too.  Don’t want to take any heavy pharmaceuticals to ease joint or back pain?  Eschew the muscle-relaxers and NSAIDs in favor of a natural treatment like acupuncture.  In a recent study, 40 patients with primary osteoarthritis of the knee were given daily acupuncture treatments for 10 days.  At the end of the treatment period the patients experienced reduced pain and stiffness and increased mobility, all without any use of drugs.  Committing to reducing chronic pain can help you achieve better quality sleep and will help you feel more relaxed as you deal with everyday demands.

Another good way to take care of your body is to make sure you get all the proper nutrients.  It’s hard when you’re busy to eat a balanced meal, right?  Wrong.  By the time you’ve waited in the long lunch line at the nearest fast food joint, you could’ve raided the salad bar at your local grocery store.  And if you’re sleeping well, you can spare five extra minutes in the morning to make a quick turkey sandwich, grab an apple and cut up some fresh yellow and red bell peppers.  This doesn’t mean you can’t ever have a burger or an ice cream soda.  But save the treats for a Friday afternoon, when you’ve put in a hard week.  The reward will seem even sweeter.

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Want to read more about achieving a better night’s sleep?  Click here.  Check out our great supplements that help you relax and sleep better, naturally,  Relora® and Dual-Release Melatonin.  And for more natural pain relief, try Nexrelief™ or Nexrutine® Extra.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38530 “Clinical and endocrinological changes after electro-acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee,” Ahsin S, Saleem S, et al, Pain, 2009; Sept 17; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Department of Physiology, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Department of Natural Sciences, School of Health and Social Science, Middlesex University, UK).

Invest in your health

Unless you’ve been living out in the sand dunes of the Gobi desert in Mongolia-and perhaps even then-you’ve heard about the possibility of a bad flu season this year.

It never ceases to amaze me how much we are willing to pay for a designer sweater, a fancy meal out, or the next hot tech gadget we don’t really need.  But when it comes to our health, we often scoff at the idea of a minimal financial investment.

Do we not realize that without our good health, we wouldn’t be going out, donning that new sweater, playing on that new gadget in the fancy restaurant?  It’s high time we got our priorities straight.

And it’s not so difficult.  Getting moderate daily exercise, monitoring your weight and fat intake, and investing in good quality vitamins and nutritional supplements can make all the difference to your health.  And this flu season, we need all the help we can get to fortify our immune systems.

Lately there has been much research concluding the health significance of getting and absorbing enough vitamin D.  In fact, some preliminary studies seem to indicate that vitamin D could possibly play an especially important role in thwarting-or lessening the effects of-the H1N1 virus.  Stay tuned for more information regarding this connection.

Vitamin D has also been shown to benefit heart patients.  A recent study hypothesizes that heart patients who had low vitamin D levels could have adversely affected cardiac function.  The study therefore suggests that supplementing with vitamin D could benefit heart failure patient’s treatment.

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Would you like to read more about the health effects of vitamin D?  Check out our health library here.  Some other products for good immune system support are MultiSential Plus, and Omega-Gel®.  Remember to make an investment in your health today and collect the dividends for a lifetime.

http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38457

Reference: “Calcium and Vitamin D Status in Heart Failure Patients in Isfahan, Iran,” Garakyaraghi M, Kerdegari M, Siavash M, Biol Trace Elem Res, 2009 Aug 19; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan, Iran).

For Whom the Cake Tolls

Sometimes I equate a really messy car-I’m talking gym shoes, old magazines, big gulp containers, and wrappers littering the backseat-with bad eating habits.  It seems as though, when I get off on the wrong track, i.e. it’s a Monday and I’m already in  the break room at work scarfing down cake from Friday’s birthday party, that I’ve sabotaged myself, and the only way to deal with it is simply to order a large pizza.

But take my word for it: this is a slippery (and fatty) slope.

We’ve all been tempted to just give up, even in the throes of healthy eating and systematic exercise.  Just like the old, trashed car that we drove around in college, it just seems easier to throw another steak on the bbq, just like we threw another big gulp container in the backseat, rather than committing to cleaning the car out.  The thing we have to remember is that the more trash we fill the car with-or that we stuff down our gullet-the longer and harder it will be to clean it (and get rid of the excess weight.)

It’s also important to understand what may be causing this self-defeating behavior.  Stress and anxiety can be catalysts to poor eating habits.  Getting enough sleep, taking a yoga class or going for a long walk can help.  And taking a natural supplement such as Solanova’s Relora®, which can alleviate stress, tension, irritability, and may regulate stress-related eating behaviors and subsequent weight gain, can also aid in your fight for control of your cravings.

Ban the it doesn’t matter now anyway self-sabotage.  Because in truth, it really Does matter.  So you had a piece of cake.  Hey, to eat junk food is human, to forgive yourself and not eat a sheet cake, is divine.  One 300-calorie indiscretion can lead to a 2000-calorie burrito-margarita-ice cream sundae glutton-fest.  Don’t give in to it.

There’s always a second chance for a healthy tomorrow. So get on it.  Oh.  And save me a piece of cake, will ya?

To learn more about healthy  habits, check out our health information section of Solanova.com.

To sleep perchance to dream

Not being able to get to sleep or to stay asleep is one of the most frustrating things in the world.  Without proper sleep, it’s hard to do your job, stay healthy and enjoy life in general.  But now there is some exciting research that has concluded that taking a Melatonin supplement can make a huge difference and can assuage insomnia.  All without side effects or addictive properties.

In a randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center study involving 170 primary insomnia outpatients (aged 55 years or older), treatment with prolonged-release melatonin (2 mg/d) for a period of 3 weeks was found to improve quality of sleep and morning alertness, without producing any rebound insomnia or withdrawal effects after discontinuation of treatment. Improvements in quality of sleep and morning alertness were strongly correlated, suggesting “a beneficial treatment effect on the restorative value of sleep.” When the effects of prolonged-release melatonin were assessed in a subgroup of subjects with greater symptom severity, similar beneficial effects were found. Adverse events were not common, with most side-effects considered minor. The authors conclude, “PR-melatonin is the first drug shown to significantly improve quality of sleep and morning alertness in primary insomnia patients aged 55 years and older�.” Vitasearch Comment: Since drugs can lead to dependence, it may be appropriate to try PR-melatonin 2-3 mg/d 60 minutes before bedtime for the treatment of insomnia.

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To read more about sleep problems, click here.  Try Solanova’s special Dual-Release Melatonin, a time release formula that delivers Melatonin at different intervals to increase duration of sleep and to improve your quality of sleep.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/37146

“Prolonged-release melatonin improves sleep quality and morning alertness in insomnia patients aged 55 years and older and has no withdrawal effects,” Lemoine P, Nir T, et al, J Sleep Res, 2007; 16(4): 372-80. (Address: Nava Zisapel, Department of Neurobiochemistry, The George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. E-mail: navazis@post.tau.ac.il ).

The resurrection of customer service

Have you ever waited in a line that seemed completely futile?  Perhaps at a bank, a department store or the ever-popular DMV?  You probably felt like you would expire in line before anyone condescended to help you.  We’ve all experienced this kind of sub-par treatment.  It’s almost as if these institutions pride themselves on their lack of customer service.  And then, if that weren’t enough, oftentimes they aren’t very helpful or responsive once you actually speak to someone.

But then, as if a beacon in dense fog, you discover a company that does care about their customers, i.e. you, and it is almost shocking.  You are so thankful you practically forget what you wanted in the first place!

We at Solanova feel that excellent customer service is something that you should expect and deserve and we do everything within our power to make sure you have the best experience possible.  Do you need specific health information?  No problem.  Would you like your vitamins or supplements sent to you regularly at a discount? We can do that.  We take great pride in offering our customers proven, natural and highly absorbable vitamins and supplements that we ship to you in a timely fashion.  We’ve also reconfigured our website for easier navigation and have added more health information and will continue to upgrade and expand our product line.

And as always, we contribute 20% of all Solanova profits to the non-profit organization AAMF; a foundation that provides disadvantaged children with adequate nutrition, medication and education. We are committed to helping children and families around the world enjoy a healthy, hopeful life.

After all, helping people be healthy is what we do.

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