Energy

Tryptophan and Sleep: Does Eating Thanksgiving Turkey Really Make You Sleepy?

Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks, of family and, most of all, of tradition. Although every American family has a unique way of celebrating this fall festival, most traditions have two things in common: turkey and rest. This has led to a widespread belief that turkey, or more precisely, tryptophan, an amino acid that turkey contains in large proportions, makes you sleepy. Is turkey really what makes you feel so tired on Thanksgiving afternoon? The research on tryptophan and sleep has borne mixed results.

Tryptophan and Turkey: Fact or Myth?

Much of the belief that turkey causes sleep is based on the purported effects of the amino acid tryptophan. Like many essential amino acids, tryptophan is converted to different molecules that are crucial to human health. It is an important building block in several proteins, but it also is important because it is converted to a molecule called 5-HTP. 5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, both of which play an essential role in sleep and mood.

Serotonin is best known as the happiness hormone. It is the molecule that is the target of many popular antidepressants. In addition, it plays an important role in digestion. One of the “side effects” of increased serotonin is more energy. Melatonin, on the other hand, is a hormone associated with sleep. Its effects on the human body are many, as it acts as a potent antioxidant and also triggers DNA repair. However, most people who take melatonin will simply notice that it makes them sleepy.

Tryptophan’s role as a precursor to melatonin is the reason that it is so often associated with sleep. For many people, the tryptophan that they eat is converted to both serotonin and melatonin, giving them that happy and sleepy feeling that so many associate with their post-turkey nap. However, the relationship between turkey and sleep may not be so simple.

Links Between Tryptophan and Sleep

Tryptophan has been linked to sleep in several studies. People who take a tryptophan supplement before bed generally wake up better-rested and more alert. They perform better on tests that require concentration and also display less aggression. This change in behavior can even be seen in lab animals. Because tryptophan has to be converted to melatonin in order to induce sleepiness, this effect tends to be more gentle than that seen by taking a sleeping pill or even from taking melatonin.

The problem with linking turkey and sleep is that turkey is not actually the best place to get tryptophan. In fact, chicken has more of this amino acid. Many foods have ample amounts of tryptophan yet are not associated with sleep. This is due to the fact that tryptophan takes a significant amount of time to be converted to melatonin.

First, tryptophan must be transported across the blood-brain barrier, which can take significant time because it basically has to wait in line with other amino acids. Once there, it is converted to serotonin in several different areas of the brain, and then to melatonin in the pineal gland. Eating turkey is not a fast way to fall asleep. On the contrary, your post-turkey dip in energy is likely due to eating a large amount of carbohydrates.

Could a Tryptophan Supplement Help You Sleep?

To keep it simple, tryptophan may not provide a quick way to fall asleep, but it indeed can contribute to your sleeping well. Tryptophan supplements have been shown to encourage higher-quality sleep. However, they may not be the answer to insomnia for some people. In elderly people, for example, this amino acid may have the opposite effect. Older people have a less-functional pineal gland due to age-related changes in blood flow to this gland. As a result, excess tryptophan is converted to serotonin rather than to melatonin, leaving elderly people even more energetic.

People who suffer from insomnia similarly tend to have problems with producing melatonin. As a result, many insomniacs may get the opposite effect as well, getting a boost of energy from the serotonin that is made in lieu of the melatonin they seek.

Getting to Sleep the Natural Way

If you are hoping to sleep better, it may be best to “skip the middle man” and simply take a high-quality melatonin supplement rather than a tryptophan supplement. The effects of melatonin, after all, are what most people seek when they take tryptophan. In addition, behavioral changes such as better sleep hygiene have been found in multiple studies to have the most dramatic effects. Ultimately, there is no guaranteed way to get the sleep you need without the hard work of keeping your circadian rhythm on track. Melatonin can help, but a heaping helping of turkey likely will not.

B12 Deficiency: Are You in Danger?

Aug 07 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Vitamin B12, a part of the essential B-complex, is necessary for our bodies to create and repair DNA, red blood cells and nerves, as well as a whole host of other functions. New research out of Ireland illuminates the worrying magnitude of vitamin B12 deficiency among older populations.

Over the Age of 50? You’re More at Risk for B12 Deficiency

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin’s Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging have published new findings in the British Journal of Nutrition showing that a significant amount of people over the age of 50 are at risk of a deficiency in B12. The team analyzed data from over five thousand individuals across different provinces in Ireland and found that while there were variations in deficiency depending on variables such as locale, general health and lifestyle, as well as the time of year measured, overall, older adults are considerably more at risk of a vitamin B12 or folate (vitamin B9) deficiency.

Deficiencies in folate and B12 are associated with numerous health issues such as anemia, fatigue, headaches and memory impairment, especially in older populations. According to their data, one in eight Irish adults over the age of 50 are B12 deficient., while one out of every seven older adults is deficient in folate. Their findings demonstrated that low or deficient levels of B12 and folate increase with age and is also more common in those who are obese, smoke, or who live alone.

B12 deficiency isn’t quite as widespread in countries such as the United States where some foods are mandatorily fortified with folate and B12. The researchers hope their findings will help to develop new public health policies regarding vitamin and nutrient fortification. “The high rates of B-vitamin deficiency seen in the older adult population are of concern and, given that this can be easily treated with fortification, this has significant policy and practice implications for Government and health services,” Dr. Rose Anne Kenny, the Principal Investigator at TILDA said in a press release.

What is Vitamin B12 and What Does it Do?

B12 is one of the eight vitamins that make up the group of all-important B vitamins. It is the most “chemically complex” of all the vitamins and is critical for the normal functioning of our brains and nervous system. Every single cell in the human body depends on B12. Our bodies need it for the production of red blood cells as well as the reparation and creation of new tissue and DNA. It’s also essential for the processes of energy and fatty acid production.

Our bodies produce millions of red blood cells each minute. Red blood cells contain the protein hemoglobin, which transports oxygen throughout our bodies and carries carbon dioxide back to the lungs for exhalation. When B12 levels become too low, the body’s production of red blood cells decreases. If red blood cell count drops too low, anemia develops and brings with it a slew of health complications, some severe and potentially irreversible.

Signs and Symptoms of a B12 Deficiency

Even slightly lower levels of B12 can trigger symptoms such as depression, brain fog and fatigue in individuals. Loss of appetite, constipation and rapid weight loss can also occur. The lower B12 levels drop and the longer the deficiency goes on, neurological issues, such as numb and tingling extremities or motor skill and balance issues, are likely to develop.

A long-term deficiency carries a significant risk of permanent brain and nerve damage. B12 deficiency has been known to put some people at a higher risk of mental health issues such as dementia, mania or psychosis. A B12 deficiency also impacts immune response and can increase susceptibility to infection or disease. Long-term deficiency leads to the onset of anemia, which may be accompanied by any number of symptoms:

extreme fatigue or lack of energy
muscular weakness
shortness of breath
irregular heartbeat and palpitations
unexplained weight loss
jaundice (yellowing of the skin)
chronic constipation or diarrhea
a sore tongue or mouth ulcers
vision disturbances
memory decline
problems understanding and making judgments
brain fog or feelings of confusion

What to do About a B12 Deficiency

Because a deficiency has the capability of causing irreversible damage, it’s critical to identify and treat a B12 or folate deficiency as soon as possible. The symptoms that arise from a B12 deficiency may also be indicative of other serious conditions, therefore, if you think that you are deficient in B12 or folate, it’s extremely important that you speak with a healthcare professional.

How Much B12 Do You Need and Where Can You Find It?

The United States National Institutes of Health recommends that anyone over the age of 14 years old should ingest at least 2.4 micrograms (mcg) of B12 each day. Pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding are encouraged to consume a bit more, 2.6 mcg and 2.8 mcg respectively.

The only organisms that naturally produce B12 are a few particular strains of bacteria and archaea. No naturally-occurring vegetable sources of the vitamin exist, putting vegetarians and vegans at a higher risk of deficiency than non-vegetarians. The richest sources of vitamin B12 are animal products such as milk, eggs and meats (beef, pork, poultry, lamb), fish, seafood/shellfish, nutritional yeast and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and nutritional beverages.

Some medications, like metformin, which is a diabetes medication, and certain peptic ulcer treatments, as well as some antibiotics are known to interfere with the body’s ability to absorb B12 properly, and therefore, supplementation may be necessary.

Spring Cleaning: 4 Strategies to Cleanse Your Body for Optimum Health

Feb 28 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Winter is finally on its way out in most of the Northern Hemisphere. Soon we will be spending more time outdoors enjoying the warm weather and generally trying to be healthier. Spring is a time of fresh new beginnings, which is why millions engage in the tradition of deep cleaning and decluttering. Spring cleaning your body also can have benefits, gently detoxifying your organs and helping you to fully embrace a healthier, more vital new season. Here are four strategies for accomplishing just that.

1. Clean Your Body After Holiday Indulgences

For many people, winter is not a healthy season. Holiday eating, New Year’s drinking and other celebrations can take their toll. In addition, many people feel run down from winter illnesses. This can strain our body’s natural detoxifying mechanisms and lead to a variety of vague complaints, such as difficulty sleeping, digestive issues and fatigue.

Gentle, full body cleanses are the best way to end the winter blahs quickly and effectively. This does not require extreme fad diets, however. Simple, gentle methods can be the best full body cleanses, such as:

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetabt ales, especially ones that are raw and organic.
Partaking in saunas or other treatments that allow you to sweat and open pores.
Eating more fiber, both soluble and insoluble fiber; these encourage better gastrointestinal motility and health.
Enjoying natural detoxifying herbs, such as dandelion, milk thistle and turmeric.

2. Jump Start Your Gut Flora

New research is showing that our gut flora is more important that we could have previously known. The bacteria in our intestines can help — or harm — our immune system, metabolism or even our mental health. Gut flora remove toxins, assist in absorbing nutrients and support good health in a variety of ways. Resetting your gut bacteria can have a profound effect on your whole body health.

A short colon cleanse can rejuvenate the large intestine and remove excess fecal matter that has been causing bloating and weighing you down. However, this is not enough to overhaul your gut flora on its own. It is also important to begin taking both probiotic and prebiotic supplements or one product that contains both to ensure the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Why are these two supplements so crucial to gut health? Most people are familiar with probiotics, which are living bacteria that have been found to have positive effects on health. However, most living things require nutrients in order to get established and flourish in a new environment. Prebiotics are the soluble plant fiber that helps to feed beneficial bacteria, similar to the fertilizer used in gardening. A prebiotic supplement will ensure that the right bacterial populations can thrive and yield the most benefits for your health throughout both this spring and the rest of 2018.

3. Gently Detoxify Your Organs With Spring Cleaning Phytochemicals

The indulgences of winter can be difficult on the liver and kidneys, both of which are essential for both metabolism and detoxification. Several natural strategies have been found to assist in gently boosting your body’s natural detox processes. To give your liver the boost it needs, consider one or all of the following tips:

Drink plenty of water — at least eight glasses a day.
Eat a variety of greens such as spinach and kale. These contain energy-producing chlorophyll as well as phytonutrients that gently cleanse vital organs.
Eat more sour and bitter foods. The compounds that produce these strong flavors also have detoxifying properties.
Rely on healthy, plant fats such as olive oil rather than more processed oils from grains or animals.
Reduce or eliminate toxic substances such as white sugar, nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol from your diet.

4. Improve Your Energy Levels for Warmer Weather

Warmer weather makes most people want to get outside. However, it is easy to be stuck in the winter blahs. You will feel more eager to get outside if you choose detoxifying strategies that also increase energy. First, eat plenty of fruit and vegetables to bump up your vitamin levels. Second, get out into the sunlight. Sun helps your body to naturally produce vitamin D, which is crucial for energy and good mood. Last, get your sleep cycles on track. Thoroughly overhauling your circadian rhythm is one of the best ways to spring clean your life and your health habits for healthier, more rested warm weather months.

A thorough cleaning of your home will make it feel brighter, lighter, and more spacious. A cleansing detox should similarly help you feel more energy and motivation. There is no reason to enter the warm weather months without the optimal health that you deserve.

Scientifically Proven Ingredients for Maintaining Healthy Weight Into the New Year

Dec 30 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

The holidays are a time for baked goods and treats, which means that they also are a time of weight gain for many people. It can be difficult to maintain a reasonable number of calories with so much delicious food being offered in workplaces, parties and holiday meals. By the time New Year’s rolls around, most people are ready for a diet to start taking off that new and unwanted weight. However, sticking to a new diet and exercise plan can be more difficult than it seems. Research has found that there are a few supplements and herbs that can increase results and make it easier to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Natural Remedies for Achieving a Healthy Weight

How can natural ingredients help people to lose weight? Most work in a few key ways. First, some support healthy metabolism, which in turn increases both energy and promotes weight loss. Others work to suppress appetite, helping people to make healthy choices. Some affect the biochemistry of fat cells, glucose metabolism and other factors that contribute to weight. In most cases, supplements that help maintain a healthy weight also have other benefits to health and do not have common side effects.

While no supplement can lose the weight for you, many can provide a slight advantage that can make a huge overall difference. This advantage not only helps people to get results more quickly, but also helps them to keep their motivation high. Losing motivation is a common reason for people to stop a healthy diet or any positive health changes, so increasing motivation can be a powerful boost.

Green Tea and Other Herbs for Healthy Weight

There are several supplements for supporting healthy weight that you might already have in your cupboard. Green tea is one of these. Green tea is known to be a powerful antioxidant, helping cells to fight off damage from our daily lives. However, it also can assist in maintaining healthy weight in a variety of ways. It is a mild stimulant, so boosts metabolism. It also acts as a diuretic, preventing bloating and excessive water weight.

Orthosiphon stamineus, also known as Java or Cat’s Whiskers, is another herbal tea that can help people to effectively maintain a healthy weight. It is taken mainly for its anti-inflammatory support, but several recent studies have found that it also can assist those striving to maintain a healthy weight. The extract from this plant appears to stimulate leptin production, which is a hormone that both increases fat burning and gives people a feeling of fullness.

Bitter Orange and African Mango: More than Fruits

Most people who are seeking to lose weight increase their intake of fruits and vegetables. There are two fruits that have been found to contribute to maintaining a healthy weight, although they are not common in the American diet. These fruits are African mango and bitter orange.

African mango has been found in some clinical trials to support weight loss. According to researchers, it works in several ways. First, African mango reduces fat cell production, which may be why it is proven to reduce the waist circumference of humans and other animals. In addition, it reduces the effects of metabolic syndrome, a disorder that has been linked to diabetes and found to cause people to gain weight.

Bitter orange similarly appears to support weight loss by promoting healthy metabolism and energy levels. People who take the extract of this fruit report feeling more energetic, which makes it easier to stick with a rigorous exercise plan. Although its effects on the metabolism are small, they can make a meaningful impact on weight over time.

Chromium and Other Weight Loss Supplements

Chromium is one of the more popular supplements for maintaining healthy weight and whole body health. This is because it has been shown in several studies to positively affect the human metabolism. People with diabetes who take chromium have blood glucose levels that are easier to control, which can help assist in maintaining healthy weight. In addition, chromium appears to support the formation of lean muscle, which in turn promotes healthy metabolism and gives people a healthier, stronger appearance. Chromium is not found in high levels in the foods that dominate the western diet as it is mainly in kidneys, mushrooms and brewer’s yeast. As a result, many people benefit from taking a supplement.

Whether you want to lose weight for bikini season or to improve your health over a lifetime, it is important to use a holistic approach. Diet, exercise and taking the right supplements are all important parts of maintaining healthy weight. Although no supplement will cause you to lose weight on its own, they can provide the boost that many people need to get the results they desire and keep their motivation high.

New Research Suggests Chronic Fatigue Syndrome May Begin in Your Gut

May 09 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a common and complex medical issue. New research suggests that gut health may be important in preventing and treating this disease.

All people have experienced fatigue and exhaustion at some point. However, for some people this is a constant condition. Chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as CFS, is on the rise, yet we understand little about how to prevent or treat it. According to a new study, the health of our gastrointestinal system may be a very important factor in whether we develop this and other autoimmune illnesses.

What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

CFS is a disease in which people are easily tired by even minor physical or mental exertion. While most of us can recover from fatigue with a short rest, people with CFS do not bounce back as quickly. They suffer exhaustion for days on end. In addition, people with CFS also have a variety of other symptoms including a headache, chronic pain, enlarged lymph nodes and difficulty with memory and cognitive tasks.

These symptoms can have debilitating effects on a person’s life. Many people with this disease are unable to maintain a career or even perform basic activities of daily living. More than one million people in the United States are believed to suffer from this disease, yet we still have no definitive test for it, no idea why it happens and very few treatment options. The lack of understanding has even caused some people to believe that this illness is “all in a person’s head.” However, a new study suggests that it could be all in our gut instead.

Links Between Gut Health and Disease

Many studies have come out recently about the importance of your gut microbiome, which consists of the colonies of diverse bacteria that live in your gastrointestinal tract. We are beginning to realize that these bacteria play a very important role in our bodies and may even help prevent and disease. While the presence of bacteria in our guts is necessary and contributes to our health, the balance of these bacteria is very important. Some bacteria have more negative effects than positive and can overgrow under the wrong conditions, crowding out more beneficial species. This imbalance of gut bacteria may be the mechanism behind CFS.

Researchers tested the body fluids of people with CFS for different bacterial markers and compared these to the body fluids of healthy people. The results were surprising: People with CFS had higher levels of pathogenic, or unhealthy, bacteria and lower levels of beneficial ones. Even more surprising, researchers could predict which people had CFS simply by looking for these bacterial markers. Bacterial markers could also be used to predict accurately which people with CFS also had irritable bowel syndrome, a disease that commonly coexists with it.

Inflammation: A Root Cause?

How can bacteria in the gut cause or prevent a disease like CFS? Researchers point out that the bacteria found disproportionately in people with this disease are inherently inflammatory. This may cause a variety of problems, including leaky gut syndrome. The inflammatory markers from these bacteria are present not just in feces, but in the bloodstream of people who suffer from this disease. Inflammation weakens the barriers between the gastrointestinal tract and the bloodstream, allowing these bacteria to affect body systems far removed from the intestines. This explains how bacteria in the gut can have such an immense effect on energy levels and the body as a whole.

This study presents a potential way to identify a disease that currently has no definitive test. In addition, it offers the hope of future treatments for and even prevention of CFS. Doctors may be able to colonize our guts with beneficial bacteria to crowd out the pathogenic ones. In addition, preventing gut inflammation appears to be a very important part of treating this disease. While these therapies are still theoretical, colonizing the gastrointestinal tract with “good bacteria” is already being used successfully to treat conditions such as clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection. The answer to this debilitating disease may be as simple as correcting our microbiome balance.

Maintaining a Healthy Microbiome

Imbalances of gut bacteria have recently been linked to a variety of diseases, leading many people to wonder how they can maintain a healthy GI tract. Unfortunately, the modern Western diet is not conducive to a healthy GI tract. However, there are several things we can do keep that important balance. First, it is important to take in plenty of the good bacteria we need. We can get these from probiotic foods such as yogurt and fermented products, but also from probiotic supplements. Second, it is important to eat foods that feed these bacteria and support their growth, such as high fiber foods. Last, we should avoid antibiotics except where they are absolutely necessary. Antibiotics often kill good bacteria while the species that cause disease tend to be resistant.

Maintaining a healthy GI tract is a very important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. GI imbalances, especially those involving bacteria, have been implicated as the cause of a variety of serious and even life-threatening diseases. While it can be difficult to keep your microbiome balanced in an age of processed foods and antibiotics, the effort may pay off in a longer and healthier life.

Feel Tired All the Time? You Could Be Low on Iron

Nov 30 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency and affects 1.2 billion people worldwide, with around 183,000 dying from a shortage of this nutrient every year. Iron deficiency in women is especially common due to the high iron needs of the female body. If you find that you are often fatigued, have trouble concentrating or have other vague and insidious symptoms, you may simply need more iron.

Why Do We Need Iron?

Iron plays a variety of vital roles in the human body. First and foremost, it is one of the basic building blocks of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood from your lungs to the cells that need it. Iron is also important in the manufacturing of ATP, the molecule that cells use for energy. It is part of many different enzymes involved in growth and metabolism. Iron is also used by cells of the immune system to help fight infections. Last, iron is used in muscle cells to store oxygen for times when it is needed faster than the bloodstream can supply it.

Because our bodies use iron in so many ways, we have very high needs for this mineral. When people do not get all of the iron that they need, they have trouble converting food energy to cell energy, cannot carry oxygen to their cells and cannot perform a variety of crucial functions. In severe forms, iron deficiency can even be fatal.

Iron Deficiency in Women: A Common Health Problem

There are three basic ways that iron deficiency can occur: either not enough iron is being taken in, it is not being absorbed effectively or it is being lost somehow. Many people do not get enough iron-rich foods in their diet, which includes red meat, eggs, shrimp and the dark meat of poultry. In addition, people can get iron from vegetables such as legumes and leafy greens, although this kind of iron needs to be eaten with acidic foods in order to be absorbed by our bodies.

Even if you eat enough iron, you still may not be absorbing enough. Inflammatory conditions of the gut can make it difficult to absorb iron. In addition, you may simply be losing more iron than you naturally take in through diet. People lose iron mainly through bleeding, which is why people with ulcers or intestinal parasites are at high risk of anemia. This is a very important reason that you see high levels of iron deficiency in women, especially women who menstruate or have recently had a child.

Signs You Have Iron Deficiency

The signs of iron deficiency can be subtle and yet have a huge effect on your quality of life. The most common symptom is fatigue, because your cells are not making enough ATP and also are not getting optimal levels of oxygen from your blood. In addition, iron deficiency in women and men can manifest in a variety of other ways, such as:

dizziness
shortness of breath
heart palpitations
headache
pale skin
cold hands and feet
odd food cravings, especially for things that are not food (pica)
brittle nails
hair loss
muscle aches
difficulty concentrating
restless leg syndrome

When your body does not have the nutrients that it needs to performs all of the cell processes that iron supports, you will feel the effects in a variety of ways. Many people blame the effects of iron deficiency on not getting enough sleep, growing older, or having a hectic schedule when in fact they simply need to take in more vitamins and minerals.

Treating Iron Deficiency Safely and Naturally

If you believe that you are suffering from a deficiency of iron, there are several ways to quickly build up healthy levels of this vitamin. Many people simply add more iron-rich foods to their diets and take care to eat vegetarian sources of iron with an acidic food such as lemon. However, it can be difficult to get the iron that you need from diet alone, especially for women of reproductive age and young children who are growing quickly. For these people, taking an iron supplement or a multivitamin with their daily allowance of iron is the answer.

Getting enough iron is crucial for good health. However, iron deficiency in women and children is, unfortunately, only too common. While it can be difficult in the modern world to get all of the iron that you need to sustain optimal health, a well-balanced multivitamin ensures that you are always covered.