Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
It’s highly likely that you’ve experienced bloating before, but do you know what causes this issue? Learn about what can trigger this feeling and what can help fight it from Amanda Williams, MPH.
Did you know that cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide? Many people rely on surgery to help with this issue, but there are also nutrients that can help support healthy vision throughout the aging process.
iron
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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You’ve probably heard of iron deficient anemia, but are you as familiar with iron overload, also known as hemochromatosis? This is certainly a problematic condition that is actually genetic. It is the most common autosomal recessive disease in the world. It’s estimated that 1 out of every 300 people have hemochromatosis. I want to talk about this in some detail and what you can be doing if you happen to have iron overload.†
Hemochromatosis is an abnormal accumulation of iron that goes to other organs, including the brain and liver, and creates a toxicity. One of the biggest problems is that roughly 75% of people who have hemochromatosis are generally asymptomatic and they don’t even know that they have this issue.†
Some of the early symptoms that many people can experience are things like fatigue. Generally, when we think about fatigue, we think about iron deficient anemia, but the same thing can happen when we have iron overload. We can also look at some arthritic symptoms that occur with constant pain in the joints. In men, you may also see issues with sexual health and being impotent. Hemochromatosis is more common in men than it is in women. It affects men about two to three times more often as it does women. Women who have iron overload often become symptomatic later in life than men.†
We know that there are many different nutrients that have been shown to help regulate iron levels. Vitamin C is an iron binder, so if someone has hemochromatosis, they have to be careful with how much Vitamin C they’re actually supplementing with or taking in through their diet.†
Things like lactoferrin are really, really helpful when it comes to binding and removing excess iron. Where do we find lactoferrin in a very high amount? In colostrum. We carry colostrum, so if someone is known to have this problem with high iron stores, then it would be advantageous to include colostrum into your daily routine.†
There have also been studies looking at green tea, as well as grape seed extract, to help with the prevention of iron overload. One study at Georgia State University looked at these nutrients in relation to hereditary hemochromatosis. They found that when they looked at utilizing the polyphenols from green tea and grape seed extract, the bioactive components did a really great job in terms of being able to mitigate the impact of the intestinal absorption of iron.†
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses hemochromatosis and how this can impact the body. She also provides recommendations for nutrients that can help regulate the amount of iron stored in the body.†
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Thank you for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.
You may have heard about Bell’s palsy, a type of facial paralysis that affects about 500,000 Americans annually, but do you know what causes it? Learn more from Amanda Williams, MPH.
Have you ever suffered from bronchitis? Millions of people deal with this every single fall and winter, but the good news is that there are nutrients that can help protect your respiratory system and bolster up your immune defenses.
winter
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
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There are concrete reasons why we get sick with a virus more frequently in the winter than in the summer. The atmosphere itself directly contributes to the risk of getting sick. The air outside in the summer is a lot heavier because it’s loaded with moisture. If somebody sneezes or coughs, the virus only goes a short distance and it crashes down to the sidewalk because the air is so laden with moisture.†
In the winter, it’s a different story. In the winter, the air is very dry, so coughs and sneezes go further. A cough can shoot a virus for 10 feet at 100 miles per hour, while a sneeze travels at about half that rate for about five feet. It’s also very cold outside, so we are more frequently clustered together inside at a pretty close proximity. Inside, the air is even drier and more arid, so that sneeze or cough can really travel further or faster.†
To make things worse, many viruses thrive in colder air. For instance, the flu and cold viruses are stronger and more infective in the winter than in the summer.†
There are some nutrients that are really key for our immune system. The problem is that there are seasonal variations in the levels of these nutrients in our body.†
These nutrients are key for the immune system to be able to fight off an infection and to survive an infection. They are Vitamin C, Vitamin D and zinc. There are seasonal variations in the body’s levels of zinc, Vitamin C and Vitamin D. Just when you need them the most to fight the infections that are more common in the winter, the level of these nutrients are declining. This means that there’s less to go around in the blood plasma in the fall and winter months and this is very bad news for immunity.†
IMMUNE BENEFITS OF VITAMIN C, ZINC & VITAMIN D – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 118. Listen Now>>
Zinc is needed in a number of ways for the immune system. This mineral is poisonous to viruses. Secondly, zinc is needed to create immune cells, as well as antibodies. Taking zinc in the winter is a very good strategy for helping to achieve optimal immune system function. I would shoot for about 30mg a day to help shoot up your zinc level.†
Just like zinc, our level of Vitamin C declines in the winter. Vitamin C is required for chemotaxis and respiratory burst, which are really important activities for your immune system. This occurs early on when someone sneezes on you with an infection. Chemotaxis is the ability of your immune cells to travel to the site of the infection.†
What about Vitamin D? You’re never going to get enough Vitamin D from your food. You can get some Vitamin D by getting sun exposure, but there’s not a lot of sun in the winter. Plus, you’re covered up, so you really need to take a supplement. You need Vitamin D to help fight cancer, infections and other foreign cells. Generally, take 2000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. Research shows that taking Vitamin D every day works better than one huge dose once a week or once a month.†
In this episode, Jerry Hickey, Ph., discusses how the body can be more prone to infection during the fall and winter months. He focuses on three main nutrients that the body needs to protect itself and explains how these nutrients are impacted by the cold weather. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this podcast, coming soon.†
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Thank you for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.
