Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
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.
Have you heard of snow mold? This occurs when the snow begins to melt and it may be contributing to issues such as runny nose, cough and itchy eyes.
alcohol
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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, MD, MPH: [00:00:40] We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t over consume alcohol. Today, I want to talk about the physiological impact that alcohol consumption actually has on the body and the different nutrients that can be impacted or influenced by the consumption of alcohol. And then obviously, if you’re going to be consuming alcohol, what nutrients would certainly be advisable to to have on board to help your little cells recover from that. I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH, and this is an important topic, and I have a lot of people who will ask me this question, “You know, I… Oh, I, you know, have social drinks once or twice a week. And you know, what concerns should I have?” Obviously, we always want to focus on the liver, but we have to look at the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is, is that we know certainly when it comes to alcohol consumption in the United States, it’s pretty high. You know, according to surveys and statistics, we know that it’s probably about 86% of people over the age of 18 have, you know, at some point in time their life consumed alcohol and then you’re going to have, you know, different periods in people’s lives where perhaps alcohol consumption is greater or less. And there’s always concern when it comes to binge drinking or, you know, heavy alcohol use at one given time like they used to always have, you know, Blackout Wednesdays, which was the the Wednesday before Thanksgiving where all college, you know, kids were back in their hometowns and hitting up the local bars. And so you could see these trends that occur and we we can even see just based off of alcohol sales, you know, New Year’s obviously is going to be the biggest, but we just, you know, have to look at the the impact of social drinking, as we shall say, because we know what happens when we have chronic abuse of alcohol, so alcoholism itself. But when we’re just looking at, say, social drinking, and if someone is doing that responsibly, we still have to think about the long-term implications that can occur from the intake of alcohol and how the body’s actually metabolizing that.† [00:02:59]
[00:03:00] So all of these things are important factors because there’s many moving parts. We know that most of the alcohol passes into the small intestine and it’s absorbed rapidly into the blood, which is why blood alcohol levels, you know, for the most part, are pretty good indication as to how fast your body is taking in that. We know that the conversion of alcohol into acetaldehyde occurs predominantly in the liver through an enzymatic pathway regulated through something called alcohol dehydrogenase. So the alcohol dehydrogenase converts into acetaldehyde. Now remember, acetaldehyde is not our friend. This is oftentimes what creates that headache or that nauseousness that people can get after consuming or overindulging in alcohol. Or if we think about a hangover, this is because of acetaldehyde, this toxin, this neurotoxin that builds up, and we can see that that acetaldehyde that’s produced from the alcohol, it’s converted by an enzyme known as aldehyde dehydrogenase into acetate, and the acetate can be utilized for energy throughout the body. So there’s a lot of moving parts, and the main thing to focus in on is what is actually happening, what is occurring. So we know that there’s these different pathways. You know, you go in, you get your wine, you get your vodka, you get your beer, whatever it is that you’re choosing to drink. And this is going through the intestinal absorption, the, you know, immediate release of that alcohol into the bloodstream. If you have these different moving parts, these different pathways for the breakdown. And then we have this byproduct that’s created, that acetaldehyde.† [00:04:49]
FATTY LIVER DISEASE IS ON THE RISE – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 349. Listen Now>>
[00:04:51] Now the problem is, is that many people when they get a unwanted side effect from overconsumption of alcohol, they right away want to turn towards like a NSAID, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug like, you know, ibuprofen or, you know, taking aspirin. But we know that, you know, this can lead to issues in terms of, you know, GI issues. And if someone already has underlying GI inflammation, it’s probably not the best. Now, acetaminophen is definitely the worst because acetaminophen is directly detrimental to, to the liver itself. So when we think about liver toxicity, acetaminophen or your Tylenol is the, is the one that will create the most havoc when it comes to liver. So if the liver is already stressed out because you just poured in a bunch of alcohol into your system, the last thing you want to be turning to is acetaminophen. So this is key.† [00:05:55]
[00:05:56] I’m talking about the subject ’cause I get so many questions about this on a regular basis is, “What should I do? I’m not going to not have a drink with my friends. I’m going to go out and I’m going to, you know, be around family or friends or whatever, be the case, and I’m going to have one or two drinks and this may happen one or two times a week or whatever the case may be. So what do I need to be doing?” So this is when we look at, you know, finding out which nutrients in particular can become depleted through alcohol use. We know that B-vitamins… yes, 100%. You can see this in alcoholism, where B1 in particular really takes a hit. And this is a major concern even in the setting of social drinking. So B-vitamins is something that, if you are going to be indulging in your alcohol, make sure that you are taking your B-vitamins. But we can also look at how other nutrients minerals such as selenium, for example, Vitamin E can also take a hit when it comes to the way that that alcohol is being processed in the body. So these are all things just to to be cognizant of.† [00:07:07]
[00:07:08] The biggest problem that many people will recognize when it comes to alcohol consumption is a hangover. So when we get that buildup acetaldehyde and you, you get that dizziness, you, you know, maybe have a headache, there’s a, you know, irritability, there’s a lot of different ways in which a hangover can present from one person to the next. But we certainly know that a hangover can impact your normal functional status and through the way that the alcohol itself is being metabolized in that buildup of that toxin, that actual toxin that is created, acetaldehyde, this is what is incredibly problematic. So how do we rid the body of this? This is kind of the key thing. Well, we know that our B-vitamins are important when it comes to metabolic detoxification for enhancing our natural antioxidants. So clearly, we have to look and say OK, if our antioxidants are not able to keep up with the demand that the alcohol is putting on that, then obviously we need to be looking at antioxidants putting those back in, including things such as glutathione. And so we would then look at more than likely we’d be looking at utilization of N- acetyl cysteine. This is going to be usually the best option when it comes to the reestablishing proper glutathione on stores. But we also want to look at things like Vitamin C, your B-vitamins, Vitamin E, for example.† [00:08:39]
[00:08:41] Inflammation is key when we think about alcohol consumption. Many times people don’t recognize the dangers, and this is why I say, you know, even social drinking can lead to harmful effects within our vascular system. But understanding that inflammation is going to be generated through the consumption of alcohol. So the alcohol itself creates this increased permeability within the intestinal lining. So when we talk about leaky gut, for example. So this is allowing these different endotoxins to pass into the bloodstream, which is then going to trigger an inflammatory response. So when we have these inflammatory cytokines traversing through the body along with the alcohol, now we’ve created a real problematic situation. So through the stimulation of the inflammatory system, this is where a lot of that cellular injury can occur. And it’s not just limited to the liver. We can look at the vascular system in particular. We can certainly look at our nervous system and within the brain. So looking at how we can minimize this, how do we minimize this? Well, number one, try to not drink or if we’re drinking very moderately. Obviously, having foods that can offset the acetaldehyde, things such as green tea is a really excellent choice when it comes to the mitigation of the harmful effects of acetaldehyde and the buildup of that. So if someone’s going to be drinking, I always say it may not be a bad idea to be considering green tea in conjunction. So maybe switch on and off. You have your alcoholic drink and then you have your green tea, so Green Tea TxⓇ, White Tea TxⓇ, excellent options for you.† [00:10:36]
WHITE TEA FOR YOUR ORAL HEALTH – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 363. Listen Now>>
[00:10:36] And then we want to look at those key nutrients, so we have to look at the B-vitamins. We know that those B-vitamins are so critical to so many different functions in our body when it comes to our immune defenses, when it comes to the way that our brain and the neuronal connections work when it comes to the release of certain key neurotransmitters. So definitely a B-complex is incredibly advantageous. And even if you’re one of those folks where maybe you just go out and you’re drinking, you know, once a week or once a month, make sure that around that time that you are going to be consuming your alcohol, that at minimum you are on your multivitamin. But I would definitely advise being on the methylated B. So the InViteⓇ Methyl-B, the activated B-vitamins to really try to help to offset that would certainly be advantageous. Then we have to think about the antioxidant response, and this is where NAC would come into play to really give the the liver that support when it comes to bolstering up its antioxidant defense system via glutathione. So N-acetyl cysteine, certainly important. We have to look at how Vitamin E is known to be depleted in the presence of alcohol. So having natural Vitamin E as part of a supplementation routine, if you are more of that moderate social drinker, then definitely, you know, Vitamin E is something that you would want to be having into your routine. I had mentioned the mineral selenium. This is another thing. If we have inadequate selenium, we are once again going to disturb the proper functioning of how glutathione is processed and released. So in the absence of selenium we’re once again setting our body up into a state where we have a lower antioxidant defense system. So taking the multivitamin, which contains that selenium, will help to cover that basis as well. Your Vitamin C certainly is going to be beneficial.† [00:12:44]
[00:12:45] Thinking about the different targeted nutrients that we know are very friendly to our little hepatocytes, our liver cells, things like milk thistle, for example. The flavonoids contained within that milk thistle certainly can be very beneficial when it comes to targeting the inflammation that is driven up within the body. And then obviously looking at things like resveratrol, grape seed extract are all excellent choices, and we have to also look at the structural damage that can occur within the cells, not only just within the liver, but when we think about, you know, throughout the brain, throughout the vascular system. So we want to make sure that we have good omega-3 fatty acids on board. Certainly going to be quite advantageous to to maintain the health of that cellular membrane. So in combination, there’s a lot of different nutrients we have to look at, you know, the big ones being your B-vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, NAC, milk thistle are all really excellent options. But the key thing is is to to just be wise, be smart, don’t overindulge. We can see the long lasting impact in that negative way and who wants to have a acetaldehyde building up in their system? I certainly don’t. When we understand what acetaldehyde is actually doing and the harmful effect that it has within our system, we don’t want to be the the cause of that. If we know how we can make our body make acetaldehyde is through drinking, we should probably not be doing that. So this is that highly reactive compound has a, you know, very detrimental effects. And as I mentioned, most people the way that they feel the acetaldehyde is through kind of those known factors with the with the hangover, but definitely just be be smart. If you’re going to be taking an alcohol, make sure you have the right nutrients on board. Have your green tea to help combat that acetaldehyde and those key vitamins and minerals, as well as your fatty acids, very important.† [00:15:05]
[00:15:06] So 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.† [00:15:06]
*Exit music*
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stress
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] Did you know that over 30% of Americans reported that they get inadequate sleep, meaning that they’re getting less than seven hours per sleep per night? What’s interesting is that there is another statistic that is directly correlated to that, and that is stress and anxiety. It is reported that upwards of 30% of Americans at some point experienced significant enough anxiety that it affects their day-to-day functions, including disrupting their sleep. So today I want to talk about different nutrients that could be beneficial for targeting anxiety, stress as well as optimizing your sleep cycle. I’m Amanda Williams, MD, MPH and when it comes to sleep, we know that this is important. We know we are supposed to be getting adequate sleep. That’s the time when our body has the chance to really repair and recover from any of the day-to-day stressors that we put our bodies through. So whether that’s emotional, physical stressors, any of the environmental things that we are exposed to, we need ourselves to have that opportunity to really bounce back and to thrive and the way that they do that is through that restful period at night when we are sleeping. So if you’ve got over 30% of Americans who we know are getting inadequate sleep and we also see that anxiety rates are on the rise in this country, then we know that we need to be doing things to address this.† [00:02:07]
[00:02:08] So this is where Tranquil TxⓇ comes into play. The Tranquil TxⓇ is a combination formulation that really helps to support the day-to-day stressors that we all face, as well as the nutrients that are needed when it comes to really allowing for our sleep cycle to take hold. And many people have the problem when it comes to maintaining sleep. So maybe you can fall asleep at night, maybe you’re so exhausted and you actually are able to fall asleep, but then you have a hard time maintaining sleep. Now this is oftentimes generated because of those daily stressors not being managed properly. So this is why the nutrients contained in Tranquil TxⓇ can be so incredibly advantageous.† [00:02:52]
[00:02:53] So let me run through this and talk about some of the science behind the nutrients that are in this formulation. So this is a combo of chamomile, and most people have heard of chamomile and having a little cup of chamomile tea in the evening before going to bed and how that can help to promote relaxation. And certainly this is true. And then this has passion flower extract and lemon balm extract. Now, lemon balm is actually from the mint family. While the name indicates that it sounds more citrusy, it’s not. It’s actually from the mint family. And when you look at the scientific studies on these nutrients, it is hands down incredibly impressive. And so when we’re thinking about that high rate of inadequate sleep and the high rate of anxiety, we know that our bodies are really needing something to yield that additional support. And this is where these nutrients come into play.† [00:03:51]
[00:03:52] So let me first talk a little bit about lemon balm. We know that lemon balm traditionally has been used in ayurvedic medicine for targeting stress and anxiety and insomnia. Now, the way in which the lemon balm extract is actually working is through the promotion of the activity of our very important calming neurotransmitter, which is GABA. So if we have inadequate GABA release, we have more of a tendency for stress to take over. So this is why GABA is considered our calming neurotransmitter because when this is released, it gives us this more relaxed state. Now this is very important when we think about enhancing our mood and our perception of stress. The more GABA that we have flowing through our system, the easier it is for us to manage those day-to-day stressors. So we know that lemon balm has been shown in multiple clinical research trials to really lower anxiety levels. And at the same time, because of that involvement with GABA, this can help to promote better sleep, and at the end of the day, this is what we are actually going after.† [00:05:06]
GREEN TEA AND LONGEVITY – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 336. Listen Now>>
[00:05:07] So let me tell you about a study. This was in the Medical Journal of Nutrition Metabolism, where they looked at the utilization of lemon balm extract in patients who were suffering from mild to moderate anxiety, along with the comorbid condition of having sleep disturbances. As I mentioned, we know that the two certainly go hand in hand. And so through this research trial, they were able to show how the lemon balm extract had this ability to actually relieve stress-related symptoms. And they found that through its actions of remedying the anxiety, this actually helped to promote better restful night’s sleep. So this is a really great thing because we want to be able to target that sleep cycle. Now, the alternative is to do nothing and to continue to have unrestful night’s sleep. So when you wake up in the morning and you feel groggy and you feel like you’re dragging all day, we want to avoid that. The other thing is is to do traditional approach, which is taking sleeping medication. And we have all heard about the nightmare stories when people are prescribed sleep medications. So we want to avoid that as well. But yeah, we can look at something that’s been around for hundreds of years and shown to be incredibly efficacious when it comes to managing stress as well as promoting healthy sleep.† [00:06:37]
[00:06:37] Now you partner this up with chamomile extract. And when we think about chamomile, this is a really lovely way for us to once again be able to target many of the issues that can arise when it comes to the amount of stress that most Americans face on a daily basis. And the reason why people have so much stress and we can look at jobs we can look at commuting to to work, we can look at, you know, familial issues. We can certainly look at, you know, issues that are financial. So there are many different reasons as to why emotional stressors can definitely influence or impact the quality of sleep that we get. But then we can also look at, you know, physical issues. We know that chronic disease states in this country are quite high. And so when we are dealing with issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, these are also areas that can really be detrimental to the quality of sleep that we get. Now, when we think about chamomile, this is a fabulous addition to the Tranquil TxⓇ. We already know the power of the lemon balms, even if it was just lemon balm by itself, great. But to add in the chamomile, really helps to enhance the promotion of that calmness, as well as when we think about getting adequate sleep throughout the night.† [00:08:10]
[00:08:11] And there’s a couple of different reasons as to why it is that the chamomile extract really has been touted as so beneficial throughout the years. As I mentioned, a lot of people will have chamomile tea, and this has long been looked at as kind of like a natural sleep aid. But what it is particularly about the chamomile is its bioactive component, which is known as apigenin. And it’s the apigenin that is acting through this mechanism to help with that promotion of sleep. So the way that they have been able to determine this through clinical research trials is that apigenin in the chamomile actually resembles something in the brain, this Orexin receptor. And so since this is an antagonist to that, the Orexin receptor antagonist, this is how they have been able to show that the apigenin derived from that chamomile can actually help to promote sleep. So this is, kind of goes back to that novelty of drinking chamomile tea. There is something definitely to it, and it is that bioactive component that is contained within the chamomile itself.† [00:09:25]
[00:09:26] Now we’ve got one more nutrient that is in the Tranquil TxⓇ, and that is passionflower. Now, passionflower has certainly been studied similar to that of chamomile and that of lemon balm in terms of promoting restful night’s sleep, as well as targeting anxiety. So let me tell you about a study that was done on passionflower extract, and this was in the Complementary Journal of Medicinal Research, where they showed the active constituents contained within the passionflower had these calming effects, and the other point that was notated within the study is that it was very safe and effective, so people were not have any side effects that you see with the prescription sleep medications. So through this, they were looking at stress resilience. They were looking at different markers as to how you can see how someone is managing stress. And then they were also looking at sleep quality. Now this was a study that they did for 12 weeks. And so through the addition of passionflower extract into the routine of people who had been diagnosed basically of having a severe form of anxiety, they categorized as like nervous restlessness, where they really had a difficult time winding down and just remaining calm. And in the time frame to which they were taking that passionflower, they started to look at the improvements and they were measuring these from week to week. They were looking at sleep disturbances. They were looking at their level of exhaustion. They were looking at their lack of focus and lack of concentration. And they found significant improvements as they were taking the passionflower extract. So it was shown in just this one study alone just how impactful passion flower can be in those dealing with serious levels of insomnia, as well as serious levels of stress and anxiety. So we know that these are problems.† [00:11:37]
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[00:11:38] The Tranquil TxⓇ is so easy to use. This is a tincture formulation, so this means it’s a liquid. The way that you would utilize this is you would take one full dropper, not a single drop, the full dropper and you add that in with maybe four to six ounces of water. And you would have this and you can have this throughout the day. Because remember, this is unlike a pharmacological sleep aid. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to take this and then you’re going to be sleeping five minutes later. What this is doing is it’s working through that activation of those different neurotransmitters to create that sense of calm. So this is something that you can even utilize during the day. So if you are stressed out at work and you find yourself in the afternoon really feeling just not a lot of sense of ease, taking a full dropper of the Tranquil TxⓇ, mixing that in with some water, excellent way to address this. And at the end of the day, what we are trying to do is regulate that stress so that stress does not carry on to become chronic stress, which is incredibly bad for our system. And we also want to get to the point where we are promoting healthier sleep cycles because when we sleep is when we actually repair and this is very, very important.† [00:12:57]
[00:12:58] So that is all that I have for you for today. I want to thank you so much for tuning into 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.† [00:12:58]
*Exit music*