Archive for September, 2009

Unless you’ve been living out in the sand dunes of the Gobi desert in Mongolia-and perhaps even then-you’ve heard about the possibility of a bad flu season this year.

It never ceases to amaze me how much we are willing to pay for a designer sweater, a fancy meal out, or the next hot tech gadget we don’t really need.  But when it comes to our health, we often scoff at the idea of a minimal financial investment.

Do we not realize that without our good health, we wouldn’t be going out, donning that new sweater, playing on that new gadget in the fancy restaurant?  It’s high time we got our priorities straight.

And it’s not so difficult.  Getting moderate daily exercise, monitoring your weight and fat intake, and investing in good quality vitamins and nutritional supplements can make all the difference to your health.  And this flu season, we need all the help we can get to fortify our immune systems.

Lately there has been much research concluding the health significance of getting and absorbing enough vitamin D.  In fact, some preliminary studies seem to indicate that vitamin D could possibly play an especially important role in thwarting-or lessening the effects of-the H1N1 virus.  Stay tuned for more information regarding this connection.

Vitamin D has also been shown to benefit heart patients.  A recent study hypothesizes that heart patients who had low vitamin D levels could have adversely affected cardiac function.  The study therefore suggests that supplementing with vitamin D could benefit heart failure patient’s treatment.

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Would you like to read more about the health effects of vitamin D?  Check out our health library here.  Some other products for good immune system support are MultiSential Plus, and Omega-Gel®.  Remember to make an investment in your health today and collect the dividends for a lifetime.

http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38457

Reference: “Calcium and Vitamin D Status in Heart Failure Patients in Isfahan, Iran,” Garakyaraghi M, Kerdegari M, Siavash M, Biol Trace Elem Res, 2009 Aug 19; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan, Iran).

Sometimes I equate a really messy car-I’m talking gym shoes, old magazines, big gulp containers, and wrappers littering the backseat-with bad eating habits.  It seems as though, when I get off on the wrong track, i.e. it’s a Monday and I’m already in  the break room at work scarfing down cake from Friday’s birthday party, that I’ve sabotaged myself, and the only way to deal with it is simply to order a large pizza.

But take my word for it: this is a slippery (and fatty) slope.

We’ve all been tempted to just give up, even in the throes of healthy eating and systematic exercise.  Just like the old, trashed car that we drove around in college, it just seems easier to throw another steak on the bbq, just like we threw another big gulp container in the backseat, rather than committing to cleaning the car out.  The thing we have to remember is that the more trash we fill the car with-or that we stuff down our gullet-the longer and harder it will be to clean it (and get rid of the excess weight.)

It’s also important to understand what may be causing this self-defeating behavior.  Stress and anxiety can be catalysts to poor eating habits.  Getting enough sleep, taking a yoga class or going for a long walk can help.  And taking a natural supplement such as Solanova’s Relora®, which can alleviate stress, tension, irritability, and may regulate stress-related eating behaviors and subsequent weight gain, can also aid in your fight for control of your cravings.

Ban the it doesn’t matter now anyway self-sabotage.  Because in truth, it really Does matter.  So you had a piece of cake.  Hey, to eat junk food is human, to forgive yourself and not eat a sheet cake, is divine.  One 300-calorie indiscretion can lead to a 2000-calorie burrito-margarita-ice cream sundae glutton-fest.  Don’t give in to it.

There’s always a second chance for a healthy tomorrow. So get on it.  Oh.  And save me a piece of cake, will ya?

To learn more about healthy  habits, check out our health information section of Solanova.com.

Not being able to get to sleep or to stay asleep is one of the most frustrating things in the world.  Without proper sleep, it’s hard to do your job, stay healthy and enjoy life in general.  But now there is some exciting research that has concluded that taking a Melatonin supplement can make a huge difference and can assuage insomnia.  All without side effects or addictive properties.

In a randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center study involving 170 primary insomnia outpatients (aged 55 years or older), treatment with prolonged-release melatonin (2 mg/d) for a period of 3 weeks was found to improve quality of sleep and morning alertness, without producing any rebound insomnia or withdrawal effects after discontinuation of treatment. Improvements in quality of sleep and morning alertness were strongly correlated, suggesting “a beneficial treatment effect on the restorative value of sleep.” When the effects of prolonged-release melatonin were assessed in a subgroup of subjects with greater symptom severity, similar beneficial effects were found. Adverse events were not common, with most side-effects considered minor. The authors conclude, “PR-melatonin is the first drug shown to significantly improve quality of sleep and morning alertness in primary insomnia patients aged 55 years and older�.” Vitasearch Comment: Since drugs can lead to dependence, it may be appropriate to try PR-melatonin 2-3 mg/d 60 minutes before bedtime for the treatment of insomnia.

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To read more about sleep problems, click here.  Try Solanova’s special Dual-Release Melatonin, a time release formula that delivers Melatonin at different intervals to increase duration of sleep and to improve your quality of sleep.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/37146

“Prolonged-release melatonin improves sleep quality and morning alertness in insomnia patients aged 55 years and older and has no withdrawal effects,” Lemoine P, Nir T, et al, J Sleep Res, 2007; 16(4): 372-80. (Address: Nava Zisapel, Department of Neurobiochemistry, The George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. E-mail: navazis@post.tau.ac.il ).

Have you ever waited in a line that seemed completely futile?  Perhaps at a bank, a department store or the ever-popular DMV?  You probably felt like you would expire in line before anyone condescended to help you.  We’ve all experienced this kind of sub-par treatment.  It’s almost as if these institutions pride themselves on their lack of customer service.  And then, if that weren’t enough, oftentimes they aren’t very helpful or responsive once you actually speak to someone.

But then, as if a beacon in dense fog, you discover a company that does care about their customers, i.e. you, and it is almost shocking.  You are so thankful you practically forget what you wanted in the first place!

We at Solanova feel that excellent customer service is something that you should expect and deserve and we do everything within our power to make sure you have the best experience possible.  Do you need specific health information?  No problem.  Would you like your vitamins or supplements sent to you regularly at a discount? We can do that.  We take great pride in offering our customers proven, natural and highly absorbable vitamins and supplements that we ship to you in a timely fashion.  We’ve also reconfigured our website for easier navigation and have added more health information and will continue to upgrade and expand our product line.

And as always, we contribute 20% of all Solanova profits to the non-profit organization AAMF; a foundation that provides disadvantaged children with adequate nutrition, medication and education. We are committed to helping children and families around the world enjoy a healthy, hopeful life.

After all, helping people be healthy is what we do.

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If you’ve been feeling blue and aren’t particularly keen to take a pill to feel better, there may be some natural alternatives that can work to help mitigate depression in both adults and children.

In a review of 3 studies investigating the effects of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of patients with depression – unipolar, bipolar, and childhood – supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) was found to have beneficial effects. In one study which involved 20 patients with unipolar recurrent major depression, significant improvements were found after 3 weeks of daily supplementation with EPA (in addition to antidepressant drug therapy) as compared to a placebo. In another study, involving 12 bipolar depression outpatients with depressive symptoms, supplementation with 1.5 to 2.0 g/d EPA for up to 6 months was found to reduce Hamilton depression scores by at least 50% in 8 of the 10 subjects who completed at least 1 month of follow-up. In the third study, involving 28 children between the ages of 6 and 12 with “childhood major depression,” omega-3 fatty acids were found to have significant benefits, according to ANOVA. The authors conclude, “Omega-3 fatty acids were shown to be more effective than placebo for depression in both adults and children in small controlled studies and in an open study of bipolar depression.”

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So kick those blues to the curb with Solanova’s Omega-Gel ®.  Our supplement contains two of the safest forms of omega-3 (oil of Sardine and Anchovy) and contains vitamin E and other antioxidants, all in our patented, highly absorbable softgel capsules! Want to start becoming healthier and feeling better?  Check out all our natural vitamins and supplements at solanova.com .

Want to read more about antioxidant support?  Check out Solanova’s health information.  We’re here to help you realize your health potential!

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38324

“Omega-3 fatty acids in depression: a review of three studies,” Osher Y, Belmaker RH, CNS Neurosci Ther, 2009 Summer; 15(2): 128-33. (Address: Ministry of Health Beer Sheva Mental Health Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. E-mail: yamy@bgu.ac.il ).