Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~SOCIAL LIFE By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT Many people don’t think of having a social life as being part of a healthy lifestyle. I didn’t either for a long time. However, like many of us, my mind was …
Deep Dive into Fatty Liver Disease: NAFLD and NASH Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND One of the most common concerns that people call about is fatty liver. Since NASH is a progression, or worsening of NAFLD I wanted to talk about them both in one …
Glutathione-The Antioxidant for Liver Health
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Glutathione drips or in other words IV glutathione is a well-known treatment in holistic medicine. However many people are afraid of needles. Invite Health’s Glutathione Lozenges are an easy to use form of glutathione. You may have heard of Gluta Hx, this is a powered form of glutathione support made by Invite! But what even is glutathione? What does it do? Well let’s get into it, shall we?
To start with what is glutathione? Well it is an antioxidant. In fact it is such a powerful antioxidant that it is often called the master antioxidant! Normally our bodies are able to make glutathione out of amino acids found in our diet. Foods that are high in Sulphur help to boost the body’s production of glutathione. The food can include broccoli, cauliflower and even things like garlic. Unexpectedly even eggs, nuts, beans, fish and chicken can all help produce glutathione. For more foods please see my sources for a link to foods that can increase glutathione. In addition to foods even some supplements such as Milk Thistle, Whey, Selenium and Vitamins C and E can help us produce glutathione. (1) And of course we mustn’t forget one of my favorite supplements, NAC! (2)
So now we know what it is but what does it do for us? Well one study found that glutathione may help us to treat the symptoms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. (3) But I bet that comes as no surprise. What may come as a shocker is that glutathione is also good for helping blood sugar, especially in those who have complications such as retinopathy. In one study glutathione levels in those with insulin resistance were found to be low. (4) In fact studies have found that increasing levels of glutathione may help with type 2 diabetes. (5)
In addition to helping with blood sugar studies have also found that increasing the body’s levels of glutathione levels may help improve symptoms in those with Parkinson’s Disease. (6)
Glutathione is also important for our digestive system. In fact studies have found it can help to reduce inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. This includes both Ulcerative Colitis and Chron’s Disease. (7)
Glutathione has also been found to help with our eye health. Glutathione has been found to help detox the fluid of the eye which means it may help to regulate fluid flow and thus help eye pressure in those with glaucoma. Glutathione has also been found to help reduce cataract formation. (8) Studies have also found that glutathione is able to protect against ROS and thus help with macular degeneration. (9)
Studies have even found that using glutathione may help reduce proinflammatory cytokines involved in COPD. (10)Other studies have found that using glutathione can help with overall lung function and health. (11)
I would also like to mention that while glutathione may have a strong smell that seems to attack the senses this is perfectly normal and even expected. This is true of both the lozenges and our powder Gluta Hx. Even though it may not be the best tasting nutrient glutathione is an amazing nutrient for many aspects of our overall health picture.
Our next topic will be NASH!
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Liver Function Tests Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND The Liver Basics! As an Invite health nutritionist one of the most important parts of my job is to help people understand their blood work. In general I find that when it comes to blood work liver …
From a Naturopathic Point of View Part 4 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND The importance of western and holistic medicine working together! One of the key pathways to helping people become healthy is learning how to balance both western and holistic medicine. These 2 ways …
Alcar with ALA Capsules
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
One of the most popular products here at Invite Health has always been our Alcar with ALA formula. If you have been using Invite’s Alcar with ALA you may notice some changes to it! Now the first change that you may notice is that it went from a tablet form to a capsule form. But why have we made this change? Well to start with Alcar with ALA has always been what most would consider to be a very large tablet. This can be difficult for anyone who has trouble with large pills. I know many people either cut the tablets or even crush them. However both of these in my experience can be a pain to do all the time. Most people will tell us that they find capsules easier to swallow. From my personal experience, as a person who has trouble swallowing pill in general capsules are easier to swallow than tablets. In addition to being easier to swallow capsules have no medicinal taste. This is especially noticeable if you have trouble with the large size of the tablets and try to cut them in half. Another benefit to having capsules rather than tablets is the rate of absorption. In general capsules are easier to breakdown and even digest. This means that they tend to “go to work” faster than tablets and you see the benefits faster. Since capsules can have a better bioavailability than tablets this basically means more of the medicine enters your blood stream. This means they have more of an effect than tablets. (1) Another benefit is that Alcar with ALA in capsules can be taken with or without food. As a person who loves to snack not having to worry about having an empty stomach is just the icing on the cake!
Another benefit is that tablets are more likely to irritate the gastrointestinal tract. This means that capsules are better for anyone with a sensitive stomach. Another possible concern with tablets is that they are more likely to breakdown inconstantly. This can decrease the medicines effectiveness and absorption. This is more likely to occur in tablets and is thus a benefit to using capsules. Capsules are also harder to split and are considered more tamper resistant than tablets. (2)
In addition to the change in format you may notice a change in the number of capsules. Rather than the usual 60 tablets there are now 120 capsules in a bottle! This because capsules in general can’t fit as much as a tablet. If you compare the tablets and capsules you will find that 2 capsules is the same as 1 tablet. So if you were doing 2 tablets a day you would do 3 or 4 of the capsules a day. (1)
What are the benefits of Alcar with ALA? Well the benefits to using Alcar with ALA in capsules are the same as the tablets! So feel free to take o look at our blogs on Alcar with ALA!
So how do you use Alcar with ALA? Well to start with you can take it at any time with food or on an empty stomach! You can also mix it into recipes! For example you can make Memory in a cup! This is a fantastic hot chocolate idea. You heat 1 cup of milk of choice and add 1 – 2 scoops of Cocoa Hx. Then open 2 Alcar with ALA and mix! Feel free to top with Marshmallows.
Our next topic will be a Naturopath’s view on “self-diagnosis” and why it’s not always a good idea.
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