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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…
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Boost Your Athleticism with Magnesium
During exercise, magnesium (Mg) is dispersed throughout the body, and utilized where it’s needed most. Magnesium is a cofactor for more than 600 enzymatic reactions, responsible for building tissue and bone, as well as being a conduit for the nervous system. Magnesium is found in every cell in the body and has a critical role…
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Soothe the Central Nervous System with L-Theanine
L-theanine, also known as L-γ-glutamylethylamide and N⁵-ethyl-L-glutamine is a non-protein amino acid that’s naturally occurring in some plants and fungus. Theanine is the name given to L-theanine when it is used as a food supplement, which is permitted in many international locations. Most famously L-theanine was found to be an active ingredient in green tea…
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Healthy Brainwaves to Increase GABA
How our brains function is more complex than ever imagined. For a long time, the brain was thought to be compartmentalized, specialized and fixed. In fact, in the 1970’s a group of neuroscientists set out to prove that was the case. Interestingly neuroplasticity was discovered while trying to prove quite the opposite. The truth is,…
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Snooze, You Lose
Sleep and weight is a two-way street. Lack of sleep can lead to weight gain; weight gain can lead to lack of sleep. Take steps to break those tight links and your weight, energy, and overall health will improve.