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Omega 3’s for Bone Health
From our time in the womb into our elder years, the challenge to stay healthy can come in different forms. Bone loss is one of those physical challenges that goes hand-in-hand with aging. However, instead of assuming we are doomed by the effects of getting older, it’s important to consider supportive dietary interventions. Most people…
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Key Foods to Boost the Immune System
The immune system provides a robust anatomical barrier that serves as a host defense mechanism. One of these anatomical barriers is the gastrointestinal tract, inside which there are many defense mechanisms such as peristalsis, gastric acid, bile acids, digestive enzymes, flushing, thiocyanate, defensins and gut flora. The gut flora (microbiota) is a key focus for…
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Probiotics Targeted for Immune Support
Most of us know that washing hands, getting plenty of rest, getting your vitamin D and eating a diet rich in antioxidants and various botanicals (such as Echinacea, Astragalus, Elderberry and mushroom blends) can help boost the immune system. But what other immune-boosting tactics might be missing from your medicine cabinet? To keep the immune…
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Sleep Disturbance Impacts Immune Mechanisms
The function of sleep remains a lively topic as we are beginning to understand sleep helps with replenishment of brain energy stores, detoxification, restoration of function and brain connectivity/plasticity. Sleep also acts as a host-defense mechanism strengthening the relationship between sleep and the immune system.
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How Alcohol Affects the Immune System
Advanced knowledge into the complex multi-layered interactions of alcohol on the immune system has been exposed in a wide range of research papers over the past decade, concluding that excessive alcohol consumption and misuse can have serious long-term deleterious effects on the immune system. Additionally, a mother who exposes her developing fetus to alcohol puts…
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5 Foods to Eat During the Cold & Flu Season
As we step into the back-to-school mode, we start to set our goals. Then the cold or flu can swiftly and unexpectedly stop us in our tracks. The good news is that there are steps we can take to help support our immune system. Rather than getting on with business as usual, it’s generally a…
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9 Ways to Strengthen Children’s Immune Systems
The immune system is not one single entity – it’s a complex interconnected system that evolves as we age. Apart from fighting viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, the immune system also plays an important role in tissue repair – wound healing, elimination of dead cells, and formation of gut microbiota. In babies, the immune system…
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Demystifying Detoxification
The word “detoxification” can trigger a lot of negative responses from people. When we think “detox,” we think discomfort or something we are afraid to do. Everyone has a friend who has some kind of detox story, and fears range from, “Will I be starving?” to “Will I be in the bathroom all day?” Detox…
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Lighten Up with Lithium
Lithium (Li) or “lithos” from the Greek word for “stone” was discovered in 1817 by Johan Arfvedson of Sweden. Lithium is usually sourced from hard rock mineral mining or extraction from mineral-rich brines. Current literature also explores agro-mining using plants to abstract the trace element from the soil, which accumulates in the above ground parts…
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5 Ways to Promote Bile Production to Optimize Nutrition
Bile is a vital body fluid that plays an important role in the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine as well as flushing the liver of toxins. Bile is continuously produced in the liver by cholesterol oxidation and conjugated to glycine and taurine, and subsequently stored in the gallbladder. Bile also works as a…