Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
InVite®’s Herbal Foot Care Collection offers special formulations enriched with unique blends of natural oils, vitamins, minerals, and protein to renew, rejuvenate & revitalize the damaged skin of the feet. These natural blends offer enriching protection for healthy and smooth skin. If you suffer from …
Glucosamine and chondroitin are supplements commonly used to support joint health. But a new study reports that these supplements may also support colon health via anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Data from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow up Study published in the International Journal of …
Aches in your back and joints are one thing (and are very common in older individuals) but when the aches turn into pain, you should really pay more attention. Here’s what you should be on the lookout for.
First, understand that pain and tenderness are two different things. Tenderness is a feeling of discomfort when a specific area is pressed down on. Pain is a general feeling of distress, without the need of pressure on a specific area. These two feelings are very common in a few conditions that are important to understand if you are feeling aches and pain in your back or joints. Fortunately, if you’re consistently experiencing aches and pains, there are ways to make your day to day activities more manageable.
According to Claudia Guy, ND, of InVite® Health, “In the United States, more than 50% of individuals over 60 years of age have osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis.” Arthritis is defined as inflammation in the joints and is usually coupled with degeneration of cartilage tissue. This condition generally worsens with weight-bearing activities like exercising or other common daily activities. Jerry Hickey, R. Ph, Scientific Director of InVite® Health states, “Common medical treatments do not usually improve healing or change the path of this condition. Most are aimed at decreasing pain, inflammation, and stiffness while improving joint mobility. However, nutritional supplements are being studied intensively to see if they can slow the progression of cartilage destruction and redirect the course of the condition towards actual healing.
The breakdown of cartilage is central to osteoarthritis. Cartilage is a firm but rubbery shock absorber located at the end of bones that protects the bone and joint. In osteoarthritis the cartilage becomes stiff decreasing its shock absorbing quality causing it to gradually wear away. With increasing cartilage destruction, the bones can actually rub together causing tendons and ligaments to become stretched and painful.
Also according to Claudia Guy, ND, “Many studies support UC-II supplementation for joints to improve overall quality of life and activities of daily living. It supports arthritic, healthy joints, and joints that endure strenuous activities. UC-II has undergone rigorous third-party research and testing, and is proven effective, safe, and well-tolerated with no adverse effects.”
Click here for more information on UC-11 supplementation.
This is a chronic disorder that causes pain in the muscles and joints that is often associated with “trigger points” – places on the body where even light pressure causes pain, according to Healthline. According to standards published by the American College of Rheumatology, a person can be diagnosed with fibromyalgia if they have widespread pain and tenderness in at least 11 of the known 18 trigger points, including:
If you have pain in your shoulders, it could be down to shoulder weakness and it is best you seek the advice of a doctor.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases says this condition affects around 5 million Americans and that women account for 80-90% of all cases. Speak to your doctor for more information on this condition and which treatments are best for you.
The sacroiliac joints (also known as the SI Joints) are two joints that are in your lower back and sit on each side of your spine. Their function is to carry the weight of your upper body when you do normal every day activities like stand or walk. This pain can be dull or very sharp and can even spread to your upper back, thighs, or buttocks. Brought on by too much movement or too little movement, this condition is generally more common in young and middle-aged women, according to Spine-health.com, where content is reviewed by at least one member of the Medical Advisory Board and peer-reviewed. Treatment is mainly aimed at reducing inflammation and pain using physical therapy and exercise, as well as anti-inflammatory medications and drugs. Please be aware that many prescription medications can cause potentially serious nutrient depletions.
Gout is a buildup of uric acid in the body that crystalizes in the joints, causing painful inflammation. This is due to either too much uric acid intake (from foods such as chocolate, seafood, or red wine) or the body’s inability to naturally process it. This condition, if left untreated and in severe cases, can cause dangerous effects to the kidneys. Unlike the previously mentioned joint conditions, this condition mainly plagues men over the age of 50.
According to Medicinenet.com’s Kirkwood Johnston, MD, “The large joint at the base of the big toe is the most common site for a gout attack. Most commonly other joints affected are the ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows. Patients with gout attacks suffer a rapid onset of pain in the affected joint, followed by swelling, redness and severe tenderness, which can last hours or for several days.”
Dr. Johnston recommends staying well hydrated to prevent gout attacks, avoiding alcohol, limited your intake of shellfish or organ meats (liver and kidneys), and managing your weight and diet.
The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests specific herbs that are a safe way to strengthen and tone the body’s symptoms of gout –
For years, health professionals have been advising others to “eat the rainbow,” advising to eat a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. For many, getting those 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables is a struggle. How does one get the antioxidant, immune boosting, vitality …
I strongly disagree with the unfortunate negative reports that encourage people to avoid all forms of soy in the diet. I will agree that the overuse of the highly-processed government subsidized soy (which is GMO soy) is not a healthy choice for you. However, if …
One of the most controversial foods of our time, soy has been debated between nutritionists and doctors as either being dangerous or being an incredibly powerful superfood. So, what exactly is soy? And is it good for you or not?
Soy, from the soybean plant, is rich in vitamins, minerals and plant-based protein. It is also rich in isoflavones (antioxidant and phytoestrogen compounds that are capable of exerting estrogen-like effects), high in protein and polyunsaturated fats, and provides good amounts of essential omega-3 fatty acids. Soy is commonly used in milk or as a replacement for meat – in tofu and miso, for example.
Jerry Hickey, R. Ph, weighs in on the soy controversy – “Your body is made out of protein – everything, including your skin, your hair and your nails. There are good amounts of protein in soy. Articles are different than clinical studies. Clinical studies will provide the evidence behind the numerous benefits of soy. Studies have shown that soy has protein for building bones and supporting muscle, and connective tissues. Isoflavones have been shown to help protect breast tissue in women and the prostate in men in clinical studies. Soy has also been shown to help lower cholesterol.”
According to Today’s Dietitian, soy-based foods have been consumed for centuries by Asian countries. Traditional Asian diets include high soy intake levels and have shown low rates of individuals with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and breast cancer. In 1999, after the FDA approved a food-labeling health claim for soy protein (stating that eating the protein as part of a low-fat cholesterol diet may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol), soy-based food consumption in the United States has been on the rise.
Naturally-occurring plant compounds, called phytoestrogens, have been attributed to a number of health benefits – lower risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and even breast cancer, like those seen in previously mentioned traditional Asian diets.
Soy may slash breast cancer mortality and recurrence
Increased intakes of soy and soy products may reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer, as well as protecting from breast cancer recurrence, according to the findings of a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In this population-based prospective study, researchers found that soy food intake is safe and was associated with lower mortality and recurrence among breast cancer patients, further suggesting that moderate soy food intake is safe and potentially beneficial for women with breast cancer.
Soy beverage protects some patients with dangerous prostate cancer
Canadian researchers evaluated the benefits of a daily soy beverage in prostate cancer patients who were treated with radiation. The 29 patients were without clinical disease but had a rising PSA level (a prostate-specific antigen), a bad sign after radical radiation treatment to their prostate. They were instructed to consume 500ml of the soy beverage daily for 6 months. If the level of PSA doubles rapidly it reliably predicts a recurrence of prostate cancer and can also predict how dangerous and deadly it is. In their study 14% of the patients on the soy had a decrease in their PSA level, and 28% had a greater than 100% increase in the rate of PSA doubling time. In 17% of the patients the doubling time actually decreased by 50%. The soy product slowed PSA doubling time by over 100% in about 42% of the patients. The study is published in the February 2010 issue of the journal Cancer and Nutrition.
Soy protein beneficial for individuals with diabetes
Researchers followed 41 patients with type 2 diabetes for 4 years. Twenty patients consumed a diet of which the protein consisted of 35% animal protein, 35% Soy Protein and 30% vegetable protein. The other 21 patients ate a diet where the protein was 70% animal and 30% vegetable protein. All of the patients’ diets consisted of 0.8 g protein per kg body weight. The patients on Soy Protein had a significant drop of fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Inflammatory C reactive protein decreased in the Soy group as did protein in the urine and urine creatinine levels. The Soy Protein improved inflammation in the blood vessels, blood fats, blood sugar, and kidney health. The study is published in the April 2008 issue of the journal Diabetes Care.
Meta-analysis finds soy isoflavones lower LDL cholesterol
An analysis of eight randomized controlled clinical trials published in the September 1 2004 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that soy isoflavones were successful in lowering serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the type of cholesterol that when elevated is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers from Tokyo University of Agriculture sought to determine the effects of soy isoflavones on LDL cholesterol independently of the effects of soy protein. Eight trials involving a total of 639 men and women with an without high cholesterol met the researchers’ inclusion criteria. Serum levels of LDL cholesterol were measured before and after isoflavone supplementation. Analysis of the studies’ finding showed that a high intake of isoflavones led to significantly greater reductions in serum LDL cholesterol compared to a low intake of isoflavones. The authors suggest that consuming 90 milligrams per day soy isoflavones for one to three months could lower the LDL concentrations of individuals with elevated cholesterol by an average of 7 milligrams per deciliter.
More studies say soy also benefits bone health and menopausal systems.