Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Hot Weather and the Impact on Blood Sugar? Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Everyone knows hot weather can make you feel hot and sticky and just plain old yucky! But what most people do not realize is that hot weather can also lead to fluctuations in …
Dehydration Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND One topic that seems to come up frequently is dehydration. This topic is important, especially in the summer weather because a common cause of dehydration is simply sweating. As we all know, the hot, humid weather that is typical of …
Aged Garlic
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Garlic is a nutrient that as a supplement or even spicy food enhancer can be found everywhere. The benefits of using garlic as either a supplement or even just as a spice to add to our food are numerous. If you check out the Invite health website there are numerous blogs talking about aged garlic. But what is Aged Garlic? Why is it different from regular garlic? And why would anyone even want to use aged garlic in the first place? It is a lot to talk about so let us get into it, shall we?
Simply put, has been allowed to age for approximately 20 months (about 1 and a half years). Typically, the active ingredients are then filtered and concentrated! This process modifies the harsh and often irritating compounds found in garlic extract. It also helps to generate some unique compounds that are good for our overall health. (1)
Moving on, just how does aged garlic compare to using regular garlic? To start with as I said during the aging process many of the more irritating compounds found in garlic are converted to less irritating forms. In other words, there is usually less of a “garlic” smell when you use aged garlic. (2) Studies have also found that aged garlic also has higher levels of flavonoids, phenolic and flavonol compounds when compared to fresh garlic. I bet I know what you are thinking, Dr. Claire, what does all this mean? It all boils down to antioxidant activity. The higher levels of these compounds means that aged garlic acts as a stronger antioxidant than fresh garlic. Studies have found that aged garlic may have greater benefits for reducing the risk of diabetic lesions than using fresh garlic. Overall studies have found that aged garlic is more helpful at reducing possible diabetic complications than just using fresh garlic! (3)
Another benefit to using aged garlic is that you need much less than fresh garlic. Typically, on average you would need to use 5-28 cloves of fresh garlic per day to get the maximum benefit! One of the benefits of using aged garlic is its strong ability to boost glutathione! This glutathione boosting ability means that aged garlic is a great supplement for boosting our immune system. (1) Aged garlic has been found in studies to help support heart health in diverse ways. For example, studies have found it to help with slowing the progression of atherosclerosis. (1)
What is my take home point when I compare aged garlic to fresh garlic? The higher amounts of antioxidants in aged garlic mean that it has stronger overall benefits for your heart, liver, blood sugar and even your brain! (4)
So why should you use aged garlic? Well, as I said, studies have found many benefits for aged garlic. Studies have found it may help regulate blood sugar and even help to reduce complications associated with high blood sugar. (5) Studies have also found that aged garlic can help with normalizing cholesterol levels. (6) Other studies have found that aged garlic can improve overall heart function and improve circulation. (7) Studies have even found that aged garlic can help improve memory and even reduce neuroinflammation (this is inflammation in the brain). (8) Even the liver has been found to benefit from aged garlic. (9) Lastly as I said earlier in the blog aged garlic is amazing for helping improve immune function. (1)
In case you are thinking ok Dr. Claire all this is great but isn’t black garlic even better? Why doesn’t Invite sell that? Well not it is not better because Black Garlic IS Aged Garlic. It is just another name for the same nutrient. (10)
Aged garlic is an amazing nutrient. Feel free to reach out to an Invite nutritionist to find out if it is right for you!
Up next let us talk about how to heal after dental work!
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PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~HEALTH By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT HEALTH seems like a no brainer when discussing wellness and lifestyle. However, what does it really mean? Let’s break this down and I’ll go over what this means to me as it …
From a Naturopath Point of View Part 5 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND You may have heard the saying that sleep and a good healthy diet are both the base of the pyramid of health. As a Naturopath I agree with this concept 100%! But …
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 of looking at health are not, nor should they ever be considered to be enemies. Sometimes they may look at situations differently but that doesn’t mean they can’t work together. As a naturopath I see the 2 working together like your left and right hand.
I wrote a blog in this series about why it is important to be in control of certain chronic diseases. In some situations this may mean that in addition to supplements medications may be required to help prevent dangerous complications. For example high blood pressure. Any reading over 180/120 requires immediate attention since it is considered to be a “hypertensive crisis”. One way this is managed is with blood pressure medications. (1) Now I know it can be intimidating to start a new medicine. However in some cases it may be important to prevent dangerous complications. Depending on the type of medications that are used certain supplements may be helpful. I’ll be reviewing a few supplements that are generally helpful for blood pressure at the end of this blog. However, it’s always helpful to speak to a nutritionist and make sure the supplements are the ones that would work best with any medications that you may be taking. Just like with blood pressure having abnormal cholesterol can also have complications. Just like with blood pressure sometimes medications can be needed to help bring levels down to safer levels. Remember you can always seek out a second opinion. (2) Just like with blood pressure I’ll be reviewing some supplements that can be helpful for cholesterol.
In addition to medications sometimes surgeries may be needed for best results. A prime example of this would be joint pain. While in my clinical experience joint pain can be greatly helped with supplements once the joint is “bone on bone” there is little that we do to help with supplements. At that point it can be critical to follow up with your doctor or even get a second opinion. (3) A personal experience with this is in regards to a customer who was in severe pain due to a joint that needed to be replaced. Her doctor indicated that if she didn’t replace the joint she would end up in a wheelchair. After talking with me about a post-surgical protocol she bravely underwent the procedure. Just 2 months after the procedure when she followed up with me it was to let me know that between the surgery and the supplements she felt better than she had felt in years. I was very happy for her.
I want to wrap this up by saying sometimes medications are important to save your life. Years ago I received a call from someone who was bitten by a dog. By their descriptions the bite sounded as though it was likely to be infected. I told them to go to the ER. Over a month later they called me back. They had a severe infection and according to their reports “almost died” and they needed strong antibiotics. In other case’s people will call with questions about situations such as a UTI. This is a great way to work with both holistic and western medicine. Treating a UTI with both western and holistic medicine can help reduce the risk of complications. (4)
Overall as a Naturopath I feel that both holistic and western medicine work best together.
High blood pressure:
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