Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Melatonin is commonly known as the sleep hormone, but did you know that it’s also important for immune functions, fat burning and more? Learn more about why it’s important to have sufficient levels of melatonin from Amanda Williams, MD, MPH.
In this episode of the InVite Health Podcast, Amanda Williams, MD, MPH discusses research on the powerful catechins found in green tea that can target inflammation associated with arthritis and other chronic diseases.
snow mold
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MPH:
[00:00:40] Runny nose, cough, sneezing itchy, watery eyes. Is it a common cold or could you be experiencing snow melt allergy? This is actually a lot more common than people recognize, and as we transition from the cold winter months into the melting off of that snow that’s accumulated over the last couple of months, many times people can experience this spike in allergies. So I want to talk about snow mold allergy because this is a thing. It’s not something that I’m just coming up with. There is something that’s actually known as snow mold and what you can be doing if you happen to fall victim to this as the snow is leaving us. So I’m Amanda Williams, M.D., M.P.H., and snow molds, this is a common thing. We know that this occurs when the snow itself is starting to melt away. And many times, like in the springtime, you’ll see this on people’s grass. If you look at someone’s yard, for example, and you’ll see these patches and they can be different colors depending on the type of fungus that’s actually taken over that particular area. So the snow itself creates this environment for the this fungus or this mold to actually begin to grow, and then it starts to take over the grass underneath. And so sometimes it may look gray or you may see like an area where it looks kind of yellowed out on someone’s grass after the snow is melted away.† [00:02:29]
[00:02:29] Well, the big problem is is that now we have these fungal spores that can get blown around in the air, and then this can affect our health. So we breathe them in, it’s getting into your eyes, up your nose, and it can create all of this havoc, and many people suffer from this every single year. And it’s interesting. When I lived in Michigan, I was not aware of snow mold at the time, but every spring as that snow was melting away, I would just have like this whole week of just severe allergies where you name it, I had it. The runny nose, the irritated throat, coughing, runny eyes, my ears even felt itchy and come to find out, I actually had a pretty significant allergy to, to fungus or to mold, and it was at its worse when that snow was melting off. And you see this in different parts of the country. It’s pretty prevalent out in Colorado, when the snow is taking a little bit longer to to melt away. So you have this packed snow and as it’s going away, not only are you dealing with the mold, but you’re also getting other pollens and other allergens that can be kind of blown around in addition to to the mold spores themselves.† [00:03:52]
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[00:03:53] So they’ve actually done studies. University of Massachusetts went through the different types of snow molds that exist, and they actually have them all named out as far as what effect they actually can have on the underlying ground itself. And it’s, it’s interesting because I said, when you come from a cold weather climate like I did in Michigan, now looking back on this, I’m like, oh my goodness. Yes, so many people’s yards had like these weird patches all over them, and you just thought, well, it’s because the snow is there, but really, it’s because of the mold and to to see just how common this is and how many people are actually suffering with this on a regular basis each and every single year. It’s important to know what nutrients to to utilize to target this.† [00:04:51]
[00:04:51] So when we recognize that this is a common thing that can occur and many people deal with it, so first and foremost, we have to think about air purification, so if you didn’t change out your your home air purifier or the furnace filter, make sure that you do that, especially as you transition, because those mold spores are going to be in higher amounts as that snow melts off. So that’s, you know, first and foremost, because the air that you’re breathing in inside, you want to make sure that that is as pure as possible. So we want to get a filter that has the ability to remove out any of those types of allergens, including the mold and fungus. This is key.† [00:05:35]
[00:05:36] And then we want to look at nutrients. What can we be utilizing? Well, I will tell you there is one product that is so incredibly comprehensive to target this and that is our Black Seed with Rosemary and Cordyceps. Not only is this beneficial in terms of easing inflammation in the body, but when it comes to sinus and respiratory support, this is hands down our number one formulation, especially if we put it into this category of dealing with snow mold. And let me kind of walk through some of the effects of Nigella Sativa, which is the black cumin seed extract or the black seed. This is wonderful at really targeting the COX-1, COX-2 and the LOX pathway. So for the inflammation that can drive up within the sinus cavities, as well as within the respiratory bronchi, and this is important because when we think about breathing in those mold spores, we want to make sure that we’re not having a situation where we already have extreme inflammation and then that mold spore drives up even more significant inflammation. So the black seed is known to be very specified to being able to to target that. And it’s actually was studied many years ago and published in the Anti-inflammatory Anti-Allergy Journal, showing its effects when it came to the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Now what is allergic rhinitis? That’s the most common manifestation of an inhaled allergen. So when we think about seasonal allergies, for example, this would fall under that category of allergic rhinitis. So it’s some type of a pollen or a mold spore that triggers the immune system to drive up this histamine release. And what they found was when they gave patients who suffered from allergic rhinitis on a chronic basis, meaning they have many different seasons that they’re dealing with pollens and allergens that trigger this response, that when they gave them black seed extract over the course of six weeks, 100% of the people, 100% of the people in that group became symptom-free, which was absolutely amazing.† [00:07:56]
[00:07:57] Now, when you think about how it is that that cumin extract is working not only functionally for the targeting of the inflammatory response, but it’s actually helping to fend off the oxidative damage that can occur within that cellular level, within the sinuses and within the respiratory airways because it’s a powerful antioxidant, as well as being able to help regulate or modulate that inflammatory response. So it’s a wonderful immunomodulatory herbal extract. And then you add in the rosemary extract in this formulation. The rosemary we know is very geared towards histamine, and it’s that histamine that creates that issue with the runny nose and the itchy eyes and the watery eyes. That’s all because of histamine. So if we have excess histamine that’s being released from our mast cells, we want to be able to regulate that in a more appropriate fashion. And hence this is where the rosemary extract can be incredibly powerful.† [00:09:03]
[00:09:04] Now, we have the cordyceps mushrooms in this formulation as well. Now the cordyceps is going to once again, because it’s a mushroom extract, we know it has immunomodulatory properties, so it’s going to be easing inflammation, targeting those cytokines, helping to bolster up our immune defenses. It gives us some Vitamin D in the form of ergocalciferol, and it is an antioxidant. So this three-nutrient formulation in the Black Seed Extract is absolutely wonderful when we think about those different triggers, including snow mold. And even when you look at aflatoxins, for example, those are the fungus that grow on certain foods. This is why they always say, like, if you eat a lot of peanut butter, you can have this aflatoxin that builds up and aflatoxin is certainly problematic because we know that it can suppress our immune defenses, and this is why they’ve studied black seed even in the setting of aflatoxin exposure. And it just does a marvelous job in terms of once again creating that balance again within the immune system, fending off the oxidative damage brought on by the toxin. So this is shown time and time again, the nutrients that are contained in this formulation, to be very geared towards any of those things that can drive up or trigger an immune system response that’s unwelcomed, that’s coming from an allergen, it’s coming from any type of a toxin. So this is why the Black Seed is my-go to when it comes to snow molds. We know it’s around the corner. If you’ve got snow out your backyard, you know it’s going to melt away and you don’t know if you’re going to end up with some of that mold that’s residing afterwards that maybe you track into your house, maybe it’s on your shoes. So this is why the filtration system inside your house is a excellent choice. And then get on that Black Seed with Rosemary and Cordyceps.† [00:11:12]
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[00:11:13] So that’s all that I have for you for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now, do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:11:13]
*Exit music*
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belly fat
Subscribe Today!
Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
*Intro music*
InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Amanda Williams, MPH:
[00:00:40] You’ve probably heard all about the benefits of berry extracts, how we should incorporate berries into our daily dietary routine. We know that two particular fruits have been studied extensively when it comes to enhancing something known as AMPK, which is an enzyme that’s found in every cell in the body. And one of the things that we know is that as we get older, the activity of AMPK begins to go down. That is a problem because AMPK works as an energy regulator and through this energy regulation, this enables our bodies to be able to burn fat. So today I want to talk about two different proanthocyanidins berry extracts when combined together can pack a lot of punch, and that is our BlueGranate TxⓇ.† [00:01:28]
[00:01:31] I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH. And oftentimes when people think about the power of antioxidants, they think about fruit extracts. And we’ve all heard about all of the many different benefits of pomegranate extract and of course, blueberry extract when it comes to our cardiovascular system, when it comes to our neurological system. But I wanted to zero in on AMPK because many times people aren’t aware that our BlueGranate TxⓇ is a power punch that targets AMPK activity. Now, as I mentioned, as we get older, AMPK begins to go down. So if this level starts to go down, we’re going to have a harder time when it comes to that regulation of glucose, as well as fat metabolism. So how do we bring that back to life? How do we regenerate that? We can utilize nutrients such as pomegranate, as well as blueberry extract. [00:02:25]
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[00:02:26] Now, many people have concerns about trying to target belly fat and belly fat, we know is directly linked to problems such as heart disease, type two diabetes. We can certainly look at insulin resistance as being a driving factor for lowering AMPK activity. So the more insulin resistance you have, the less likely it is that you can actually burn away that belly fat and now we have more of that excess fat that’s being stored, which is incredibly problematic. So we know that when it comes to cellular aging, that decrease in activity of AMPK certainly is problematic. And we want to be able to stop that because with cellular stressors, oxidative stress, free radicals, things along that line, this is going to impair the proper functionality of AMPK.† [00:03:16]
[00:03:17] So let’s talk a little bit about the science behind blueberry extract and pomegranate extract when it comes to AMPK activation. So in the Redox Biology Journal, they went into the impact or the effect of blueberry anthocyanidins, that’s the actual powerful antioxidants that are derived from that blueberry, and how this can work to activate AMPK. So in this study, the way that they were able to decipher out the, how that blueberry was working was through a series of different markers, so measuring things such as glucose, looking at lipid metabolism, looking at AMPK activity when it came to blood and urine glucose levels, as well as triglyceride levels, and they were able to to see how the anthocyanidins contained within the blueberry extract actually help to lower blood sugar. At the same time, lowered cholesterol levels. So in turn, what they recognized was through this action of AMPK activation. So not to get too heavy into the science on this, but one of the things that we know with the anthocyanidins that are contained within the blueberry extract is it does many different things when it comes to fatty acid synthesis, when it comes to lipolysis, lipid genesis. And we know much of this is driven through that activation of AMPK. And, you know, same thing when we think about the glucose metabolism. So the more that we can have these proanthocyanidins coming from the blueberry extract, the more the body can better manage any of these disruptions in any of these systems, which is always key. There’s a reason why we come naturally equipped with AMPK and, you know, through daily stressors, this level starts to diminish.† [00:05:13]
[00:05:14] Now we see the same type of studies done with pomegranate and AMPK activation, and it’s generally done in that setting of weight loss so that many of the studies with pomegranate extract have shown that through the power of the anthocyanidins derived from the pomegranate, we can induce this activation of AMPK. So AMPK is an activated protein kinase, and it really is so critical when it comes to the way that our body goes through both lipogenesis and lipolysis, so the creation of fat cells in the breaking down of fat cells. So with inadequate amounts of AMPK, the body can no longer break down fat properly. So this is why they’ve looked at these active constituents contained within both blueberry and pomegranate. And they said, “Wow, this is really very beneficial.”.† [00:06:14]
[00:06:15] And you can look at the nutritional facts on, you know, pomegranate and why utilizing the extracted form… you can see all of the the powerful ellagic acid that’s contained within that vitamin C, vitamin K, you’re getting choline. So obviously beneficial for brain health, liver health, natural, naturally-occurring magnesium, selenium, all of these different nutrients that are contained within pomegranate. And certainly when it comes to the scientific studies done on pomegranate, we can see across the spectrum from cardiovascular support to our joints for easing inflammation because we certainly know that oxidative stress can drive up a significant amount of damage within the joint spaces themselves. And then, of course, when you look at just metabolic health in general. And then when we’re looking at the anthocyanidins coming from the blueberry extract, we can see the optimal benefit that comes with the vascular support to the brain. And they’ve actually done MRI imaging where they can show how areas of the brain can become activated just through the utilization of blueberry extract, which is wonderful when we think about cognition, when we think about concentration.† [00:07:32]
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[00:07:33] So through using this BlueGranate TxⓇ, you are getting all of those antioxidants that can help to stave off any of the damaging effects from oxidative stress and free radicals that we’re exposed to, or that are even generated from our own body. And at the same time, we’re helping facilitate the activation of all of these different pathways that can help to enhance the way that our bodies and our cells function each and every single day. So I definitely encourage you to check it out. Maybe you do have those concerns about that excess belly fat and maybe turning to something like the BlueGranate TxⓇ may be a good option for you. So put down that soda and pick up a bottle of the BlueGranate TxⓇ and see how wonderful that combination of blueberry and pomegranate is for your overall health and wellness.† [00:08:26]
[00:08:27] So that’s all that I have for you for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Now do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @invitehealth and we will see you next time for another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.† [00:08:27]