There are a number of supplements that can be particularly beneficial as we look ahead to school starting in August, especially for young adults going away to college. It's a good idea to gather up a daily supplement care package for them to take with them to help "cover the bases".
These are a good place to start:
Multivitamins
A multivitamin can be a good idea especially for kids or young adults who might not have the best diet. I know my daughter does not eat as well as I wish she would, so I feel like a multivitamin helps to fill in the gaps. Of course, a multivitamin is not a replacement for a healthy diet, but it makes me feel better that at least she's getting the nutrients she needs. Bluebonnet has a nice easy to swallow one a day multivitamin that's gentle and food based. Since it's food-based it's not mega doses of anything, but rather just the amounts that are needed. We also have chewable vitamins or gummies for children or young adults who don't like to swallow pills.
Omega 3s
Omega 3s are what are known as essential fatty acids, meaning they're literally essential to the proper functioning of our bodies, especially for brain health. The main dietary source of omega 3 is eating fish, which most kids and young adults do not eat very much of. Supplementing with omega 3s can help with proper brain function, concentration, and even help with balancing mood. Omega 3s can't be manufactured in the body so they must be obtained through either diet or supplements. You know your kids, if they aren't eating fish, they're probably deficient in omega 3s, and one of the ways that manifests is by trouble concentrating, problems with focus, and even poor impulse control. Ensuring that your kids have a proper amount of omega 3 is a good idea just to make sure their bodies (and brains!) have what they need to be running properly.
Most omega 3 supplements are derived from fish, but we do have vegetarian sources available at the store as well. We have omega 3s in softgels, a good tasting refrigerated liquid by Barlean's, and a new gummy by Life Extension with good omega 3 potency. In general, chewables or gummies can sometimes have pretty low potencies especially when it comes to omega 3s, but we have some great ones to choose from.
Anxiety
Many young adults, and even kids since it's unfortunately happening younger and younger, have a lot of anxiety especially when looking forward to school starting. There are a number of supplements that can be really beneficial for helping young adults and kids to feel less stressed and anxious.
The amino acid theanine is one we especially recommend since it can not only help with reducing stress and anxiety but also aid in increasing focus. It can be used during the day to help with stress or before bed to help with sleep. Theanine does not make you feel tired, but it can help with improving sleep quality because it can make a person less anxious before bed.
Passionflower is a great supplement for anxiety for young adults and college students. Research at Mount Sinai found that daily use of passion flower was as effective as a prescription drug commonly used for generalized anxiety disorder.
Another supplement that we really love is Solgar's Stress and Anxiety relief. It's a one-a-day tablet that would be great for college students since it contains ashwagandha, which is great for helping with daily stress along with saffron, which is an antioxidant that is helpful for boosting mood.
For younger kids, we probably recommend sticking with theanine (an amino acid found in green tea that's been found to be safe for all ages), but for older young adults and college students, passion flower, ashwagandha, or saffron can be beneficial.
Immune Health
If you're sending your college student away to school, it's a good idea to send them with something for their immune system. Younger kids would benefit from taking something to boost the immune system once they start school as well since it's very common to get sick once all the kids are together and sharing their germs. For older young adults and college students the product Immuno Shield by Irwin Naturals is a great blend of natural immune boosters that can be used preventatively but also in higher doses if one starts to feel sick. For younger kids, we have elderberry syrup, which is a natural antiviral, and elderberry gummies which are a great (and good tasting) preventative that combine the antiviral elderberry extract with zinc, a mineral that's great for the immune system.
Other suggestions of things to think about are would be probiotics or digestive enzymes for stomach troubles if your kids have a sensitive stomach. Also magnesium can be for helpful for muscle aches, preventing headaches, and constipation
Stop in the store for more information or personalized recommendations, we’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.
Berberine for blood sugar, weight loss, and more
Berberine is a great supplement most commonly used for helping to balance blood sugar and is often used by diabetics or pre-diabetic people to help get their blood sugar more under control. Interestingly, it also has the side benefit of helping with lowering cholesterol levels (most research on berberine and cholesterol was after a three-month period, but the benefits were impressive). It's even shown to help with improved liver health and functioning.
Lately, berberine has been in the news and all over social media as a "miracle weight loss cure". I keep seeing tons of headlines touting berberine as "Nature's Ozempic". Ozempic is a prescription approved for helping with type 2 diabetes, but has been in the news for its "off label" use for weight loss supposedly used by a number of celebrities, though I would caution against frivolously using prescription drugs and because they often come with side effects.
The main use of berberine is for lowering blood sugar, but it also helps with insulin resistance which goes hand in hand with weight gain. Insulin is a hormone produced in the body that basically helps us to convert food into energy, specifically by helping blood sugar to enter the cells so it can be used to fuel our bodies. Over time, people can become insulin resistant, usually from a combination of poor diet and excess weight, particularly around the midsection, which when untreated, can lead to type 2 diabetes.
When your cells become resistant to insulin, they don't have enough glucose (or blood sugar) and that makes your body feel hungry (because it's kind of like your cells are starving), which makes you eat more; then that excess food and glucose is stored as fat. Berberine can help your cells to respond better to insulin and help needed blood glucose to go into your cells to be used. When your cells have more glucose, you feel satisfied and less hungry. It’s also just really beneficial to your body. High blood sugar levels and insulin resistance over time not only can cause type 2 diabetes, but it can be damaging to our organs and cardiovascular health.
Insulin resistance is directly connected to weight gain and problems losing weight. Also, more stable blood sugar can also help with reducing cravings, particularly cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. High blood sugar over time can also damage the body in lots of different ways, leading to nerve damage and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Research has found that berberine may have similar effectiveness in lowering blood sugar and helping insulin resistance as the prescription drug metformin. Scientists have also researched using berberine and metformin together for a greater benefit, but I would speak with your doctor before changing your health plan or adding natural products to a prescription regimen.
Berberine has also been shown to have both neuroprotective and cardiovascular-protective effects and a host of other benefits.
It really seems like berberine is joining a select group of supplements that research is showing to be good for all sorts of things, from helping blood sugar and cholesterol to cardiovascular health and blood pressure to digestive issues like leaky gut, and even possibly helping the brain with anxiety disorders. Research is still ongoing about a number of different aspects of berberine's potential benefits, and it will be interesting to see what new benefits are discovered in the coming years.
A standard dose of berberine is a 500 mg capsule taken two or three times a day, but we've just gotten in a new lipo-micellar form at Pass Health Foods that's better absorbed, which may mean you could take a smaller amount with similar effectiveness.
This new form greatly increases absorption. Berberine is great and has shown to be really effective but it's hard for the body to absorb (and yet it shows such promise in research even with low absorption).
Supplements in the lipo-micellar form have been shown to have a much higher absorption rate, making them more useful in the body since they are in a form that the body is able to easily absorb and use.
With any supplement, it's really about what you're absorbing. Regular berberine is great, though I would say that this new lipo-micellar form is definitely better, and it may be that one pill of the lipo-micellar form of berberine is equal to two or even three pills of a regular berberine. It's brand new though, so there isn't really any research that has compared the two in an actual study yet.
Regardless of which form you use I think it's a great supplement with good research behind it. I also love supplements that help a variety of things vs. just doing one beneficial thing in the body.
As with any supplement, it's a good idea to speak with your doctor or pharmacist first. Berberine is not recommended for people taking certain cancer medications or immunosuppressant drugs and is not recommended while pregnant or breastfeeding.
Stop by and see us at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights, we have a great selection of berberine on sale and have a kind, knowledgeable staff.
Keeping Pets Calm and Safe on the 4th
The fireworks on the 4th (and 3rd of July in Palos Heights) are wonderful to watch, but for many pets it can be a rough time. We have a few products I wanted to recommend that we think can really help pets to feel calmer during the holiday.
The first is Vital Planet Calm for Pets. They’re soft chews with relaxing supplements that are safe for pets that can help them to feel less stressed and anxious. The nice thing about these treats is that they don’t need to be used daily for them to be effective; they can be used as needed and can really make a difference.
Another long-time favorite is our Green Gorilla CBD for Pets. It’s best known for pain relief for older dogs, but just like how CBD can help with stress and anxiety in humans, it can also help pets to feel relaxed and less stressed.
We also have quite a few customers that swear by Bach's Rescue Remedy drops for pets to keep them calm during the holiday.
Additionally, one thing we would definitely recommend would be to keep your pets inside on the days surrounding the 4th of July. Every year there are so many posts on Facebook about dogs going missing who were in fenced in yards who somehow escaped during the 4th of July, which makes sense because if dogs are really frightened they might be able to somehow jump over a fence or break through a gate or any number of things. Please make sure you have a safe place indoors for your pets leading up to the 4th.
Stop in the store before the 4th (we’ll be closed on Tuesday for the holiday and will be closing at 3pm on the 3rd) to pick something up for your pet that can help them get through what might be a stressful time for them.
New Curcumin Supplements for Optimum Absorption
Curcumin is the beneficial extract of turmeric, and has become very well known for its benefits for reducing inflammation and for pain relief. Turmeric is the yellow spice often used in Southeast Asian and Indian foods.
People often get turmeric and curcumin confused, but just like an orange has vitamin C, turmeric has curcumin. The reason a person would take turmeric as a supplement would be to get the curcumin it contains. The problem is, turmeric is only about 4% curcumin, and on top of that, curcumin in its natural state is difficult for the body to absorb. As with anything, what really matters is how much of something your body is actually using versus what you're swallowing.
Due to absorption issues and advances in curcumin supplements, we've always recommended the Solgar Full Spectrum Curcumin because our research had shown that that form of curcumin and the way it's made makes it better absorbed than any other curcumin we’ve found.
We still love the Solgar curcumin, but we've found a new curcumin by Natural Factors that is supposed to be a similar product with similar absorption. It's also a water-soluble extract, but it's made in a different way than our Solgar one, but with a similar effect for absorption.
The curcumin in Natural Factors Theracurmin is ground down to 1/100th of the size, and then it's coated in a natural ingredient to make it water-soluble, which is then dried so it's in a powder form, in a small capsule.
The best part is that it's a very good price. We still absolutely love the Solgar curcumin and think it really works, but it's looking like this new Natural Factors Double Strength Theracurmin will have similar absorption and effectiveness, at a higher strength per pill at a lower price (the "double strength part is important since they have a" regular strength" version that's less potent that we don't carry). Each pill if their "double strength" also a little higher concentration of the extract than our Solgar Curcumin and the pills are smaller.
Our Solgar Curcumin 30ct. sale price is $26.39 (the regular price $32.99) and the new Natural Factors Theracurmin 30ct. is on every day sale for $22.46 (the regular price is $29.95). It's not a huge difference, but it is less. For this month, we do have a supply of $5 off coupons for the Natural Factors curcumin, so it brings the price down to $17.46, which is a pretty good price. Remember, the Theracurmin is also a little more potent per pill.
We'd recommend giving it a try this month to see if it works for you. Everyone's body is different, and the only way to see if something helps is to try it, no matter how glowing the research might be. For some people, the Solgar curcumin might work better, it vice versa, so we'd just suggest trying it to see what you think.
The nice thing about curcumin, whichever type you’re taking as long as it's a well-absorbed version, is that results are usually seen quickly, usually within the first week, sometimes even sooner. If you have joint pain or injury pain or pain from whatever, we'd recommend giving curcumin a try. Research has shown it has similar effectiveness to that of ibuprofen, but unlike over the counter medicines like ibuprofen, curcumin isn't hard on the body and is safe to take every day. There are even side benefits: there is preliminary research linking the use of curcumin to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases (nothing conclusive, but still). Curcumin use has also been shown beneficial for cardiovascular health and for cancer prevention.
Facial Serums - You should probably be using one
I wanted to write about serums this month, because I think they're really easy to add to your beauty regimen, and I think they really make a difference.
Serums are meant to be used after washing your face, before a lotion or face cream. They're not a substitute for facial moisturizer, but they're a way to give a concentrated dose of nutrients to your skin, which are then further locked in by your face lotion.
Serums are best applied to damp, freshly washed skin. They often come in a pump or dropper bottle. Apply the serum onto your skin and wait a minute or two to let it absorb into your skin before applying your facial lotion (I'd recommend using one with an SPF, we have a couple of great ones by Andalou, including their new Blue Light line, which has a great SPF 30 facial lotion).
A serum is basically like taking a supplement for your face, giving a concentrated dose of antioxidants or anti aging nutrients to the delicate skin on your face.
I've been using a serum for several months now, and am really thrilled with using them. I personally use Andalou's Brightening with turmeric and vitamin C which help with repairing skin, especially from sun damage. We have a lot of other great serums that are favorites of our customers from DermaE, Andalou, and Reviva, so stop in if you'd like a recommendation.
New Weight Loss Research - Moro Orange Extract
I don't often like to write about weight loss supplements, because I feel like so many of them are only effective when used along with diet and exercise, which of course is the best way to lose weight. We really don't recommend crazy crash diets or anything else like that.
I came across some new research this past month though, of a weight loss supplement with pretty impressive research behind it.
The product is a gummy called Mediterranean Weight Management by Life Extension; it uses an extract of the Moro orange, which has shown very impressive results in research. There have been two studies showing the Moro orange extract for weight loss, using the amount in two gummies of the product. The first was a placebo-controlled study done over 12 weeks, it had a group of women who did not change their diet and exercise routines, and those that used the Moro orange extract had an average of a 2.79 inch reduction in their waistline (equivalent to about two pants sizes), and an overall weight loss of 4%. That seems almost too good to be true, but a second study confirmed its benefits. The second study was done over six months, and showed an overall waist size reduction of 1.54 inches (about one pants size) reduced abdominal fat by 11.3%, and overall weight loss of 4.2% on average.
The trouble with a lot of weight loss supplements is that there will be research on it but if you look into the studies in more detail, it's often giving people crazy doses of things which people would never use in real life, but the amounts used in these studies are the amounts found in one serving of two gummies of the Life Extension product I mentioned above.
Since they're in gummy form, they're easy to take and are good tasting. Usually I'm not the biggest fan of gummies because I often feel like they aren't able to get that much of an active ingredient in a gummy and still have it taste good. A lot of gummies, you need to take a whole handful of them to really make a difference (not in all cases, but it's definitely a problem with gummies sometimes). They're an easy way to take supplements though, and it seems easier to remember to take something when it’s good tasting.
Still, even with the impressive research above, I don't think there's any supplement, particularly supplements for weight loss, that's going to be effective for everyone.
The recommended dose that was used in the study is only two gummies, which I feel like is an easy thing to take. Also, the nice thing about this supplement for weight loss is that it shouldn't raise blood pressure or "soup you up", so it can be taken in the evenings if you want, though we would probably recommend using them earlier in the day for effectiveness.
These gummies use a branded extract of the Moro orange called Morosil. Morosil is said to be rich in bioactive substances that help to break down fat cells and suppresses adipogenesis (the formation of new fat cells). It’s also been shown in research to reduce fat storage by about 50% and also to help in shrinking adipose tissue (the scientific name for fat cells).
Something else to keep in mind if you try this new supplement, is that the studies were done over about 12 weeks to show the difference. As with any supplement, it's a good idea to give it some time to work.
I feel like these gummies are worth a try, especially since they're also a good antioxidant, and they taste great. If you try them, let us know if you have any success!
A New Supplement for Female Hair Loss [New Research]
Hair loss and hair thinning in women is very common, especially as women near menopause. It’s suggested that it’s often caused by hormonal changes, which makes sense. Thinning hair can be really upsetting to deal with, and can sometimes be difficult to treat. I came across some new research I wanted to share about hair loss in women. I was pretty impressed by the study, so I wanted to share the information in case it helps anyone.
The study was on the antioxidant pycnogenol, which is an extract from French maritime pine bark (pronounced pick-nodge-eh-nol) that measured hair density in menopausal women. Hair density if a useful way to study hair thinning since it literally means counting the amount of hairs in a specific measured area.
The study consisted of women aged 45-60 and measured how many hairs they had in a specific square centimeter on their heads, which averaged 225.8 hairs at the beginning of the study. After two months of taking pycnogenol at a dose of 150mg a day broken up into three 50mg doses, the average women’s hair density increased from 225.8 hairs in one square centimeter to 293.6 hairs after two months of taking pycnogenol, a 30% increase. The women in the placebo group did not experience a significant change in their hair density. That sounds pretty impressive to me. The study also measured that the women who took pycnogenol had increased scalp circulation- poor blood circulation in the scalp is associated with hair loss.
I certainly don’t mean to put the supplement pycnogenol forward as a miracle for female hair loss, but the research is definitely impressive. I’ve spoken to many women who have come into the health food store who are anxious about hair loss, so this does seem like something to try. I’d also say that for the vast majority of women who I’ve spoken to who are worried about their own hair loss, that it usually doesn’t seem very noticeable to me. I do think we’re the most critical of ourselves, where we may feel lacking in some way that we’re worried about, but then it often isn’t even noticed by anyone else.
Still, pycnogenol is an interesting supplement since it has so many different and seemingly unrelated benefits. It’s been shown to help with blood flow, both to the legs and for cardiovascular health, and is also often used to help with asthma symptoms in children and adults. One of the most impressive results of pycnogenol, other than this new research for hair loss, is for brain function in adults middle aged and older. I wrote about pycnogenol back in 2017 when the research came out, but the information is still relevant.
A year long, placebo controlled study on pycnogenol and brain function followed seventy-seven adults aged 55 to 70. Half the group was given 100 milligrams of pycnogenol daily, and at the end of the study, tests showed a seventy-two percent improvement in decision making in the pycnogenol group (vs. a five percent decline in the placebo group). The attention span of the group that took pycnogenol was increased by forty-one percent and memory improved by thirty-seven percent (compared to a ten percent decline in the control group).
Pycnogenol has also been shown to aid in lowering blood pressure, helping to normalize blood pressure readings in fifty-eight percent of hypertensive patients. Another study found that participants who took Pycnogenol were able to reduce their blood pressure medications after taking the supplement for 12 weeks.
Other double-blind studies have reported pycnogenol’s benefit for lowering blood sugar in patients with Type 2 diabetes. After twelve weeks of taking the French maritime pine bark extract, it was reported that the supplement, “significantly lowered plasma glucose levels” when compared with the placebo. Pycnogenol also improved blood flow and blood vessel health.
I really love supplements that have more than one different benefit, and I’d say pycnogenol definitely excels in that area. Something thing to keep in mind however, it that the majority of these studies are done over a decent period of time, ranging from two months to a year, so as with any supplement, it’s good to be patient and give it some time to work. Also, no matter how great a study says something is, nothing works 100% of the time for every single person. Still, I think pycnogenol is an impressive supplement that’s worth trying. It has a long safety record, but it’s always a good idea to tell your doctor or pharmacist of any supplements you’re taking in case of drug interactions. For example, pycnogenol shouldn’t be taken with prescription blood thinning medications because it has a slight blood thinning effect.
Stop by Pass Health Foods in Palos Heights if you have any questions, we’d love to help you further. We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.
Internal Spring Cleaning
Spring cleaning is often on our minds at this time of year, but doing a bit of internal spring cleaning with a whole body cleanse can be a good idea too!
We have a product by Renew Life that can be great for that, their 3 Day Body Cleanse. I kind of like that it's a short cleanse since it's easy to commit to, and easy to do well.
It's a kit of easy-to-swallow capsules that are taken morning and night. It's going to be beneficial even if you don't change anything else in your diet, but since it's only for 3 days, we recommend partnering it with a cleansing diet: obtaining from alcohol, soda, and artificial sweeteners, limiting animal products, and focusing on eating whole foods and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of water.
The kit is inexpensive and easy to use, and we think it's an excellent way to have a bit of a fresh start for spring!
Also for long-term cleaning, adding milk thistle to your daily regime isn't a bad idea. Milk thistle is fantastic for liver health, so if you drink alcohol regularly or use medications like ibuprofen regularly that are hard on the liver, milk thistle is a good idea to take. Everything is processed through our liver, and milk thistle is unique in its ability to support and even help regenerate healthy liver tissue.
We have lots of different great milk thistle supplements, but I particularly like our milk thistle by Natural Factors, which comes in a buy one get one free pack, and is a good potency.
See these articles on our website for more information:
Help for an Overactive Bladder and Reducing Nighttime Bathroom Trips
An overactive bladder and the feeling of reduced bladder volume are problems that many men and women deal with once they near middle age, where they may feel like they need to use the bathroom more frequently, particularly at night. Night wakening due to feeling a full bladder is very common, and it disrupts sleep, which makes things even worse.
There is an herb that has shown benefit in studies to help with overactive bladder and in reducing nighttime urination, the extract from a plant called angelica, a flower that grows wild in Iceland and other Nordic countries. I remember reading about angelica a number of years ago and its benefits for bladder control, though at the time we didn’t have a trusted source for finding it in supplement form.
A few months ago, however, I saw an advertisement for an angelica supplement called Bladder Health by one of the brands we carry, Terry Naturally. Even better, this new product had clinical research behind it showing that people who had used it had three times better bladder control than those in the placebo group!
I was excited to try it, since I’m already not a great sleeper, but for quite a while now I’d been having consistent problems with waking up in the night to use the washroom. Now, I’m sure if I stopped drinking hot tea in the evenings that would help, but evening and before bed are my favorite times to have a relaxing cup of tea. Still, waking up in the middle of the night to use the washroom is not anyone’s idea of a good time.
We brought some of the new Bladder Health product in and I started using it, and I have to say that I’ve been extremely happy in how well it’s worked. In the past, I would wake up once, sometimes even twice to use the washroom, and after using the Terry Naturally bladder health, for the most part I now can go the entire night without using the washroom. This is kind of an embarrassing subject to talk about, but I’ve been so happy the results that I wanted to share in case it helps someone else. I’ve been using it for several months now, just one capsule before bed. I think it was after a month or so that I noticed a difference, though I wish I had paid better attention to how long it was before I felt it was working since I don’t exactly remember. Now that it’s been several months, I can definitely see what a difference it’s made.
Now, no product works for everyone, even prescriptions, but I’d say it’s worth a try.
Men can sometimes experience frequent urination due to an enlarged prostate, something that is very common as men age. In that case, the herb saw palmetto can be helpful since it’s been shown in research to help with reducing benign prostate enlargement. When the prostate is enlarged it can put pressure on the bladder and urethra, causing frequent urination.
Frequent night urination can also be a symptom of a number of health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure, so as with any changes in your health, it’s a good idea to mention it to your physician at your next checkup.
If you have any questions, stop by the store so we can help you further. We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.
Flax + Algae Oil- why it's important for vegetarians and vegans
We’ve gotten in a new flax oil product by Barleans that I wanted to write about since it’s a fantastic omega 3 product for vegetarians, vegans, or people who prefer a plant based diet called Vegan Omega. The unique thing about this product is that it contains both flax and algae oil; that’s important because while flax is great (and has additional specific benefits), flax oil doesn’t have EPA and DHA (two essential parts of Omega 3s), which are really important for brain health.
Instead of EPA and DHA, flax has ALA, which the body works to convert into EPA and DHA. The problem with that is there’s no way to know how well your body is able to do that conversion, which is why we usually recommend taking an algae omega supplement for vegetarians in addition to flax oil. This new formula by Barleans is great because it combines high quality, unprocessed flax oil with algae oil, which is the only vegan form of EPA and DHA. We really recommend it. It can be taken straight off the spoon or is a great addition to smoothies. We have some right now in the store if you’d like to sample it to see how it tastes, just ask us at the counter.
We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.
For more information on the difference between flax and fish oils, see our article:
