A "Miracle Cure" for Sunburn

Sunburns as an adult are so terrible since we’re not children, we should know better. Still, it happens. I wanted to share about what I now think of as a “miracle cure” for sunburn- I wanted to write about it last month but there just wasn’t room in last month’s newsletter.

In May, Liz and I from the store went to Revival’s Yoga Fest in Palos Heights (if you’re not familiar with them, they’re an amazing yoga studio in Palos Heights with fabulous people). It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We had a booth there outside to talk to the people there about supplements and whatever else. It wasn’t that hot and since it was still May, and Liz forgot to use any sunscreen- she was just there in the morning until just a bit after noon, so generally you wouldn’t think the sun would be that strong at that time anyway.

Well, when I saw her at work the next day, her arms were as red as a tomato and she was in so much pain (as anyone who has been badly sunburned will attest to). She took some of our Sovereign Silver First Aid Gel (which has had research done on its benefit for healing burns) from the store as well as Alba Botanicals After Sun Gel, a favorite of both of ours that mixes aloe with cooling plant extracts that are soothing and healing to the skin.

She alternated using both the First Aid Gel and the aloe gel several times throughout the day on her arms, which she felt were absolutely radiating heat. By the NEXT DAY she said her sunburn was so much better, and then when I saw her the day after that, her sunburn was completely gone, and even more amazingly, she had no peeling whatsoever from where her skin was damaged.

To be honest with you, if I had not seen what happened with her sunburn with my own eyes, I would not have believed it. It was literally like a miracle, particularly since I saw how red her arms were in the beginning.

So, first I would definitely recommend using sunscreen if you’re going to be outside, obviously. If the worst happens, and you do forget and find yourself sunburned, I would definitely recommend using this combination. I actually just picked up a bottle of the First Aid Gel by Sovereign Silver to have in the house just in case.

Aloe in general is of course wonderful, but the After Sun Gel by Alba is really worth having- I feel like it’s less sticky and gloppy than other aloe gels I’ve used. In addition to the aloe, their After Sun Gel also contains green tea extract which has been shown in studies to help repair sun damaged skin when used topically as well as probiotics, which have been shown in research to help to reduce skin sensitivity and redness from sun damage when used topically.

New Heart Health Research

 I’ve come across a couple new heart health studies that I wanted to share. Heart health isn’t a “trending” subject when it comes to supplements, but is really important when you consider that heart disease still remains the number one cause of death in the United States. Below are two supplements that are not traditionally thought of as things for heart health, but that have been researched lately with interesting results.

Beets and beet juice have been popular lately, and a new study confirms their benefits for heart health and increasing blood flow. The study followed people with something called reduced ejection fraction, which means that the heart isn’t contracting effectively and is not providing enough oxygen rich blood to the body. It’s a condition often seen with heart failure and can impact activity since your heart literally is not working to circulate enough oxygen needed for body and brain function.

In the study, the people using the beet juice supplement had significant increases in oxygen uptake during exercise and they were able to exercise longer and remain more active. Frequently athletes will take beet juice supplements for this reason, though the benefits can be seen for most adults, particularly older adults or people with heart issues. The nice thing about supplementing with a beet juice supplement is that there are no negative side effects. Beets are also a fantastic antioxidant

Another study on calcium found that people with lower levels of calcium in the blood had increased rates of sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest is fatal in 90 percent of cases and the majority of people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest had no history of heart disease or other high risk warning signs.

Calcium is a tricky thing since it’s necessary for the body, but too much can also be a problem. Calcium supplements should always be taken in divided doses of no more than 500mg at a time, since that is all the body can absorb at once. Also, not all calcium supplements are created equal, so be sure you’re taking a well absorbing form.

Natural Help for Perimenopause and Hormone Balance

This month I wanted to write about a supplement that Sarah at the store uses and loves- DIM + CDG by Jarrow. That’s a lot of letter abbreviations, but they stand for Diindolylmethane, an extract from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, and Calcium D-Glucarate a nutrient found in fruit. So I guess it’s definitely easier to just use the letters.

DIM + CDG is an amazing supplement to help with hormone balance, specifically that it helps your body to be able to balance its own hormones correctly. It can be helpful for women of all ages with hormone related issues, but Sarah has found that it really helps her with regulating her emotions during perimenopause- she actually calls it her “anti-crazy pill”. Jarrow was out of stock of it for a while due to manufacturing issues, and during that time that she didn’t take it, she said she could really feel a difference.

She has said that for her, during perimenopause, she has been feeling “irrationally emotional”, some days going back and forth between crying and laughing and then crying again. She says she sees a huge difference between the times she has been using the supplement and the times when she hasn’t.

DIM, or diindolylmethane, is a supplement that can help the body to balance its own hormones better. It’s not a hormone supplement, but rather, it helps the body to balance the natural estrogens that can form in women’s bodies to achieve better hormone balance and to reduce the negative effects of hormone imbalance so common in perimenopause and menopause. One of the ways those hormone imbalances manifest themselves is in mood swings, which are extremely common in women in the throes or perimenopause.

This supplement by Jarrow is so nice in part because it combines DIM’s hormone balancing action with a supplement called CDG, which actually works as a sort of hormone cleanse, detoxing the body from negative forms of estrogen and working to remove excess estrogens from the body. It’s due to these actions that CDG has been found to be able to reduce the risk of hormone related cancers. GDC and DIM also have a synergistic effect on women’s hormones, working together to be more effective than either product taken alone.

Sarah says she felt like she could feel the DIM + CDG working from within the first week, though each woman’s experience may be slightly different due to their own unique hormone makeup. Still, it’s a supplement that we definitely recommend for hormone related issues for women of all ages, since I think everyone would benefit from a little hormone balance. Plus they’re in easy to swallow capsules that are in a one-a-day formula. Also this month our Jarrow DIM + CDG will be on sale for 25% off, so it’s a great time to try it to see if it works for you!

A New Approach for Managing GERD and Heartburn

This month I wanted to write about a unique and little known supplement for heartburn and GERD. Digestive enzymes, probiotics, and DGL licorice are all helpful for managing GERD, but there is another supplement ingredient I’ve discovered and have been doing some research on which I believe could be a great help for GERD and heartburn sufferers.

The ingredient I’m talking about is called alginate, also known as algenic acid. It’s an extract from brown algae that absorbs many times its weight in liquid, making a natural gel substance. When that algae gel is combined with natural buffers like sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate and used after a meal, it is actually able to make a gel-like raft that blocks acid reflux into the esophagus.

When the alginate reaches the acids in the stomach, it makes a pliable gel. At the same time, the calcium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) produce bubbles in the algae gel which make it rise to the top of the stomach, so it is literally floating on top of the contents of your stomach.

By making this floating stomach acid raft, it prevents those stomach acids from coming back up the esophagus, which is what happens in acid reflux, GERD, and heartburn.

It sounds a little strange, and but if you think about it, it makes sense. One of the main reasons so many people suffer from acid reflux is that naturally as we age, the muscle at the bottom of the esophagus known as the esophageal sphincter can weaken, so it doesn’t close all the way. When this happens, it allows acid to begin to travel back up the esophagus from the stomach, causing pain and damage over time.

When this gel raft is formed, it can last several hours in the body (which means that it is effective for that amount of time) before passing through the intestines and being digested like any other fiber.

Research has been done on alginate and its gel barrier method for preventing acid reflux, and when compared with PPIs, other acid blocking drugs, and antacids, it’s been found superior in both safety and effectiveness (here’s a link the abstract of one of those studies on Pub Med). There are no side effects, drug interactions, or toxicity that has been found from using this method since you are not actually taking a drug or anything that is necessarily changing what the body naturally does, but are just preventing acid from going where it shouldn’t be going anyway. It’s very much like fencing a dog in your yard- you aren’t stopping Fido from doing whatever he likes to do in your yard, you’re just preventing him from running in the street.

This alginate combination has been the subject of over fourteen different studies as well as a meta-analysis that examined each of the studies done on these nutrients at Duke University. The results showed that the alginate based supplement was more effective than placebo or antacids. In the studies, the people who took the alginate supplement were 4.42 times more likely to have a complete resolution of their symptoms than the placebo group.

I don’t know why alginate based supplements aren’t more well known, since the research is sound, but I’m happy to be able to share the information I’ve come across, since I think it could help a lot of people.

The supplement we’ve found that has this impressive alginate combination that we carry at the store is called Nutrisec by a company called Nature’s Plus. It’s a chewable tablet that is meant to be taken after a meal or 30 minutes before bedtime to prevent reflux when lying down to sleep at night, which is a very common issue for people with GERD. If you use it before bed, wait a half hour before laying down so the raft has time to get into place so it can work properly.

I’d very much recommend trying it, especially since it has been shown to cause no harm, and that it seems like something that might really help if you’re dealing with acid reflux, GERD, or heartburn. It’s definitely worth a try!

Free Supplement Consultations

We wanted to offer a free service to our customers to go over your supplement regimen with you, letting  you know what each supplement does and possibly paring down your supplements to a more manageable list.

We have done this with several of our customers now who have been really pleased with the result, so we wanted to offer this service to a wider audience. We have found that many of the people we speak to can have lots of supplements that they have bought from different sources over the years, and over time can not even remember why they wanted to take it. Also, even though we love every supplement we have at the store, realistically, a person can’t take a hundred different pills a day, so we would be happy to sit down with you to go over your supplements to help you choose which are really important.

Please call or email us so we can set up a day to sit down with you (we ask that you schedule it with us in advance just to make sure that we can block out that time for you). Feel free to bring a supplement list, or even better, to bring the actual bottles (especially if you may have products purchased at other places, so we can go over the ingredient lists) so we can help you to make your supplement regimen the best it can be, and also something that can be managed long term.

New Favorites! New Probiotics & Collagen Peptide Powder

We have two new products this month that I wanted to highlight since they’re both fantastic and a great value (and are both on sale this month).

The first are a new line of shelf stable probiotics by Nature’s Plus. They have both men’s and women’s formulas at a potency of 60 billion per capsule- the highest shelf stable potency we’ve found. They’re amazing probiotics, and they’re also a really good value- much less expensive than others we’d found previously. Also, we have them on sale for 20% off for the month of March, so it’s an even better deal!  They also have a great kid’s shelf stable probiotic that we would recommend that has a 7 billion per capsule potency- again, the highest potency we’ve seen for a kid’s shelf stable probiotic, and for a great price. We’d definitely recommend trying them!

The next product I wanted to mention is a new Collagen Peptide Powder by Nature’s Plus. I’ve written about collagen previously (here’s the link) and how its beneficial for so many things including joints, bones, digestion, and skin. Out body’s collagen production starts to slow after age 18, and lack of collagen is easily seen in our skin as we age, but the effects are just as pronounced inside out bodies.

The trouble with collagen is that there are several different types, with different benefits for each. Most collagen supplements focus on just one type, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but just would only have that one benefit rather than the full spectrum of benefits.

The nice (and unique) thing about this new collagen peptide supplement is that it contains all the major forms of collagen, so  you’re getting all the benefits collagen has, not just one. Previously you had to take bone broth to get the full spectrum and full benefits of all the types of collagen, and while I do like bone broth, sometimes you don’t want to drink a cup of chicken or beef broth every day. This new collagen peptide powder by Nature’s Plus is especially nice since it’s completely tasteless in a glass of water. It can also be easily added to foods or smoothies. This collagen from Nature’s Plus uses collagen from the best possible sources- grass fed beef, sustainably caught fish, and cage free chicken. The collagen is also in a hydrolyzed form, which means that the particles are broken down into small “peptides” that are easy to digest and absorb, since as with all supplements, the thing that matters is what your body is actually absorbing that makes the difference.

Both the new collagen peptide powder and the new shelf stable probiotics by Nature’s Plus are on sale for 20% off, so it’s a great time to try them, and I just want to reiterate that both of these products are such a good value, even if they weren’t on sale. Be sure to check them out!

The Many Scientifically Researched Benefits of Black Seed Oil

I wanted to write about Black Seed Oil, also known as Black Cumin Seed Oil, since it has been gaining in popularity, though it seems to have a vagueness that surrounds it as to what it actually does.

Most articles on black seed oil seem to say that it’s “cures everything”, a claim that always makes me extremely skeptical since it brings to mind the unscrupulous snake oil salesmen of the last century.

The more I looked into black seed oil, however, I found that there has been study after study done on its benefits, with great results. Research has found it to have beneficial effects on so many different aspects of health, including metabolic syndrome (a condition characterized by excess weight and high blood sugar), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, respiratory health, skin conditions, and more. It’s impressive due to the sheer volume of studies that have been done that have shown benefit for so many vastly different things.

Here’s a link to a review on Black Seed Oil studies.

This is another review on the researched benefits of black cumin seeds.

One of my favorite benefits for black seed oil is its effect on the immune system. One of black seed oil’s natural compounds is thymoquinone, a potent immune booster that strengthens and activates the immune system’s T-cells (the white blood cells that help to identify harmful invaders like bacteria and viruses). Research has shown black seed to have antibacterial and antiviral effects against a number of infectious diseases including strep and h. pylori bacteria and viruses like hepatitis and even HIV. That isn’t to say that black seed oil is necessarily a cure-all for those conditions, but that it has been found to have beneficial antibacterial and antiviral effects against those diseases.

In addition to immune boosting effects, black seed oil has further benefits to the respiratory system itself, including being extremely helpful for asthma patients. In one study, people with asthma used black seed oil daily for three months and experienced impressive benefits in respiratory functioning and a reduction in asthma symptoms.

The interesting thing about black seed oil is that it does not just seem to have immune boosting effects, but rather has shown to have an immune modulating activity- boosting the immune system when needed, but also helping to calm down the excessive immune response seen in autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis. One placebo controlled study on rheumatoid arthritis found that women who took black seed twice daily for a month found a reduction in their symptoms of RA.

Black seed oil also appears to have protective effects for a number of the body’s different systems and organs, reducing destructive, toxic effects on the brain, liver, lungs cardiovascular system, and the digestive tract. This article has more in-depth information on the significant protection black seed has from toxic damage from a variety of sources (scroll down to about halfway through to read more about black seed oil’s beneficial protective effects).

Black seed oil can also have beneficial effects on eczema and psoriasis and for those conditions can be taken both internally and used topically for relief.

I feel like I’ve gone on and on already about the benefits of black seed oil, but in truth, there are so many more and I’ve only mentioned a few. Black seed oil has a long history of use for a variety of ailments. It is native to the Middle East and Africa, and has been mentioned in both the Old Testament and the Quran. The prophet Muhammad is even quoted as saying, “Use the Black Seed for indeed, it is a cure for all diseases except death.” Suffice it to say that it has a long history of impressive benefits and use- even back to the time of the Egyptians!

The black seed oil we recommend is by a company called Talya. As many of you know, we’re particular about the brands and products we carry. We chose this brand of black seed oil specifically since it has the highest amount of the beneficial active ingredients in black seed oil and is unrefined and cold pressed. Also, Talya does third party testing on each batch of black seed oil for potency and to make sure that it is free from pesticides, herbicides, as well as other chemicals and contaminants. Talya’s black seed oil meets France’s standards for “Eco Certification” and is in the process of undergoing organic certification processes by the USDA.

The recommended dosages for black seed oil is one teaspoon twice daily for preventative health or two teaspoons twice daily, up to as much as six teaspoons a day (in divided doses) for acute needs or for recovering from an illness.

Black seed oil should be taken with food to help absorption and it’s also important to shake the bottle vigorously before using it, since its beneficial compounds can separate when the bottle sits.

We will have a representative in the store on Saturday, March 9th from 10-2 to offer samples of our Talya black seed oil and to offer further information. Be sure to stop by!

A New Fish Oil + Lutein for Kids to Protect the Eyes from Electronic Devices

We’ve written about fish oil many times before, especially on how great it is for kids.

I’ve read a few new studies lately that have made me want to highlight it again, plus we’ve just found a new fish oil for kids by Barleans that has added lutein, which is the first kid’s product I’ve ever seen combining the two nutrients.

The benefits of omega 3 fish oil for kids are many, with a whole list of researched and documented benefits including better performance at school- especially reading scores, better impulse control and behavior, and even a new study that reported that kids who took omega 3 fish oil slept better at night than those who didn’t.

In addition, supplementation of omega 3 fish oil for kids is especially important since omega 3s must be obtained either through diet or supplements since the body cannot make the nutrient itself. Many adults eat fatty fish multiple times a week, but it’s extremely rare for that to be the case with kids (and if you’re the rare person whose child is eating salmon four times a week, I definitely commend you!), so in most cases, supplementation of omega 3 fish oil is necessary.

Fish oil as a kid’s supplement is something that has been around for many years, but the fantastic addition of lutein can really make a difference in kid’s health.

Many adults take lutein to protect and preserve their vision, but new research is highlighting the importance of lutein  (a nutrient related to vitamin A) to protect children’s eyesight against strain and damage from exposure to blue light from electronic devices like phones and tablets.

Research suggests that continued exposure to blue light from electronic devices can lead to damage in the cells in the retina, damage that is most often manifests over the years as macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration is something usually seen in older adults, and is the leading cause of vision loss as we age. Scientists are now speculating that the ubiquitous use of electronic devices among children (now starting at younger and younger ages) may, as time passes, cause vision problems earlier than ever seen before.

This unique new kid’s fish oil and lutein combination we’re recommending by Barleans is called Omega Pals Hooty Fruity Tangerine Fish Oil + Eye Nutrition, which is kind of a mouthful. It combines not only omega 3 fish oil with lutein, but also has added zeaxanthin and astaxanthin, two other eye nutrients that work with lutein to further protect the eyes- particularly the retina and the macula, the two parts of the eye crucial to sharp, clear vision where damage is most often seen over time.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that these kid’s fish oils by Barleans are absolutely delicious. Most parents laugh at the idea of trying to get their kids to take liquid fish oil, but Barleans has found a way to make a flavored fish oil that is not at all fishy tasting, but also one that is made in a way that keeps it from being oily- it’s more of a creamy or custardy consistency, with a nice orange flavor. I have given my daughter the kid’s liquid fish oils from Barleans since she was about two years old, and she absolutely loves the taste. I even have a picture from years ago, when she was in her highchair and had somehow gotten a hold of the Barleans liquid fish oil I had on the table (it was a lemon cream flavor that they had at the time), and she  had grabbed the bottle and was literally pouring it into her mouth since she liked the taste so much!

The nice thing is that there is no downside to supplementation with lutein and eye supplements for kids, only benefits. There is no conclusive proof that has shown that years of exposure to electronic devices, beginning in childhood, will absolutely cause eye damage and degeneration. That’s because this has never happened before. Children growing up now are the first generation to be exposed to electronic devices practically since birth. The light now coming from computers, phones, and tablets is something different than any of us grew up with.

If thirty or forty years from now all those kids who were using electronic devices so much as kids grow up to have perfect eyes, well that would be wonderful, but the possible (and exceedingly likely) alternative- an entire generation of adults who will grow up to have vision problems like macular degeneration, appearing earlier and younger than ever before, is something to be prevented if at all possible.

Macular degeneration, as many adults know, is something that cannot be treated. There is no way to reverse it, but it can be prevented or slowed by proper nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin which help to protect the eyes against damage.

This new product by Barleans containing both fish oil and eye supplements for kids is something that can make a real difference for kids, both for their health now as well as eye health long term.

Stop by the store for more information and so we can help you further!

Barlean’s Omega Pals Hooty Fruity Tangerine Fish Oil + Eye Nutrition:

• For children ages 1 year+

• Made with Barlean’s ultra-purified, Fresh Catch® fish oil

• Contains Lutemax 2020® Lutein & Zeaxanthin plus Astaxanthin to protect eyes from digital device use*

• 500mg Omega-3 EPA & DHA per serving

• Sweet taste and creamy texture

• Emulsified for 3X better absorption

• Non-GMO, gluten Free, sugar free, dairy free

• No artificial flavors or colors

• No fish burps!

New Delicious Elderberry Zinc Gummies for Both Kids and Adults

We have a new product for the winter “Fight Against Illness” in stock that I’ve been really impressed with- our new Zand Elderberry Zinc Gummies. Zinc is a fantastic immune booster, and has also been shown in numerous studies to help reduce the duration of colds and respiratory infections. 

The trouble with zinc is that it generally tastes terrible (sorry zinc lozenges, but you know it’s true). I don’t know what kind of witchery Zand has performed on these gummies, but they taste amazing (and they still contain a bunch of zinc).

Elderberry is a potent antiviral, and taking zinc at the very first signs of illness has been shown to help reduce the duration of colds.

These new gummies are perfect for picky kids (or adults) as an immune boosting treat. I’ve been putting a couple in my daughter’s lunch every day and she loves them (honestly, she says like they taste like candy).

Best of all, they’re on sale this month for 25% off, so be sure to give them a try!

Acid vs. Alkaline Foods and the Benefits of an Alkaline Diet

Q: My brother has been talking a lot about how important it is to try to alkalize my body, and that a lot of health problems are caused by too much acid in the body. Is there any truth to this? What do you think?

A: Your brother is right, it is very important to have our bodies be in an alkaline state rather than an acidic one. Acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammation, and weight gain are all symptoms of having an overly acidic body.

As I have said before, the human body is a miracle. Our bodies are able to repair and thrive through a seemingly endless chain of checks and balances. One way that is especially amazing is with our body’s pH. If the pH of our blood starts to become unbalanced the body will quickly make the changes necessary to get it back into balance through different buffering systems. To compensate from an overly acidic diet and stress (which also causes excess acid in the body) the body has to work harder and use alkalizing minerals like calcium, magnesium, iodine, and potassium to help bring things back into balance.

Since the body is able to maintain a balanced blood pH, even when subjected to processed, acid causing foods, one might wonder what the big deal is. The problem with constantly having the body work to bring itself from an acid state to an alkaline state is that it takes a toll on our overall health.

As microbiologist Dr Robert Young has said, “The pH level of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. The entire metabolic process depends on an alkaline environment. Chronic over acidity corrodes body tissue, and if left unchecked will interrupt all cellular activities and functions, from the beating of your heart to the neutral firing of your brain. In other words, overacidity interferes with life itself.”

Too much acid forming foods in the diet contributes to digestive problems and a host of other ailments. Many people have been able to stop taking medications for acid reflux by switching to a more alkaline diet. Too much acid in the body can also impact bone health, as the body takes calcium from the bones to help counteract an overabundance of acid in our system.

Having an alkaline diet can also bring the body to a better state of overall health, since research that has found it is more difficult for harmful organisms and bacteria to flourish in a body that is in a more alkaline state.

So where does this excess acid come from? Unfortunately, the typical American diet of too many processed foods and too much animal protein is a great recipe for excess acid (also known as acidosis). Chemical sweeteners, coffee, and soda are also extremely acid forming. You may have even heard how cola can remove rust from a car- if it’s able to do that, what do you think it’s doing to your body?

Now, I’m not trying to say that to be healthy you can never have a can of pop or a cup of coffee. It’s about moderation and incorporating more alkalizing foods in our diet. Some great alkalizing foods are asparagus, cantaloupe, pumpkin seeds, sweet potatoes, lentils, and green leafy vegetables. The two super stars of alkalizing the body are lemons and apple cider vinegar, which seems odd because both seem like they would be acidic to the body, but in fact both are very alkalizing.

A little apple cider vinegar in the morning and before meals can go a long way to helping the body to be more alkaline, and help in reducing acid reflux and upset stomach. Not all apple cider vinegar is the same however. If you’re taking apple cider vinegar for health reasons it’s important to get an organic variety that contains natural enzymes, also known as the “mother”. I would say hands down that Bragg’s apple cider vinegar is the best on the market.

We also have pH strips available at the store, which can be used to test saliva or urine to see how acidic your body is. Alkalizing waters like Evamor and Essentia that we carry can also be very helpful to bring the body to a more alkaline state.

Acid/Alkaline balance is a fascinating subject, and it very important for maintaining overall health.

Here is a link to a fantastic pdf of acid and alkaline foods grouped by food group.