TriVita
Butch Hamilton
Allergies, Asthma and Your Environment
What is your experience? Does there seem to be more or less people with allergies these days? Do more or less children – and adults – seem to have asthma these days? Most people recognize that the prevalence of allergies and asthma is on the rise… and health statistics confirm it.
What are the causes of allergies and asthma? Why are we seeing so many more people suffering from these conditions? How can we find relief from these common conditions?
Antecedents, triggers and inflammation
We say we have allergies when we experience a certain set of symptoms (watery eyes, runny nose, scratchy throat, etc.) in response to a trigger such as pollen or dust. We say we have asthma when we experience breathing difficulty related to constriction in our airways and inflammation in the immune system of our respiratory tract.
Antecedents – Certain people have allergies while others don’t. And certain people experience asthma while others don’t. The difference between those of us with symptoms and other people is found in antecedents (literally “what comes before”). Antecedents may be:
* Genetic (rare)
* Trauma from smoke, chemical burns, etc. (more common)
* Emotional distress (far more common)
* Toxins from the environment that permeate our air, water and food (the most common antecedent for allergies and asthma)
Triggers – Triggers are the myriad products or processes in our internal and external environment that create symptoms. For one person, wheat triggers symptoms. For another person cat dander triggers symptoms. Almost everyone reacts to ragweed! Your symptom triggers are unique because of the way your personal, internal chemistry interacts with the antecedents that come before allergies and asthma.
Inflammation – Inflammation is the final reaction in this chain. The symptoms we experience are all related to inflammation. Examples of inflammatory mediators are histamines, prostaglandins and leukotrienes. These are strange and difficult words that are all too familiar to people that suffer from allergies and asthma.
Defense strategies
We protect ourselves through the process of insulation and isolation. It is very important to isolate ourselves from trauma, stress and toxins. It is also imperative to insulate ourselves with anti-allergy nutrients.
Vitamin B-12 (especially Super Sublingual B-12) helps your body reduce histamine formation. Nopalea helps your body reduce inflammation in the soft tissues of the respiratory tract, digestive tract and pretty well all other tissues! These represent the best strategies for symptom relief.
Triggers (allergens) are sharp, jagged proteins that are like shards of broken glass in your system. The cells lining your airways (and pretty well all other tissues) are like delicate balloons that pop when allergens attack. Fortunately, we are able to resist most of these allergens. However, the ones we cannot neutralize create real misery. Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) like OmegaPrime toughen up the balloon-like cells and make them much more difficult to pop. You will likely need two to three times the normal amount of EFAs every day for several months to achieve lasting relief from allergy triggers.
Antecedents are more difficult to address because genetics, toxins and stress are pervasive: they don’t go away. With patience, though, we can develop strategies to minimize the impact of antecedents. For example, we can breathe deeply to de-stress our mind and body. We can drink pure water and eat nutritiously to cleanse toxins from our body. This can also help protect against new poisons setting us up for allergies in the future. And we can modify our sensitivity by exercising appropriately (and safely) as well as sleeping peacefully to balance our immune system.
Conclusion
Allergies and asthma are more prevalent now than ever. We can prevent much misery by addressing the antecedents that come before these reactions, by strengthening our cells to resist triggers, and by reducing the inflammation that creates so much misery!
Learn More HERE...
Butch Hamilton
Strength Training for Optimum Wellness
Essential #5 of TriVita’s 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness tells us to “Enjoy Activity.” Many of us enjoy long walks on the beach or through the forest. Others like square dancing or ballroom dancing. Some enjoy swimming, tennis or bowling. I personally like bicycling through the vineyards of Napa Valley.
When it comes to strength training, “enjoy” is not a word you hear often. How can you find joy in strength training? The answer may not be so much in what you do as why you do it!
Benefits of strength training
The benefits of strength training include increased bone density, improved heart functioning, better blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, and even reduced depression, according to Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., associate chief of the Human Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. The greatest benefit, however, may be strength training's ability to build muscle.
"Starting in our 30s and 40s, people start to lose a quarter-pound of muscle every year," explains Dr. Nelson, author of the best-selling book Strong Women Stay Young. "We believe that much of this loss can be stopped or reduced with simple strength training."
Other conditions that might benefit include back pain, recovery from surgery and even mild high blood pressure.
Methods of strength training
Strength training may or may not include lifting weights. In fact, weight-bearing exercises include stair climbing and calisthenics such as push-ups and chin-ups. And rather than using metal weights, many prefer to use elastic tubing. Still, you shouldn’t be intimidated by metal weights – or by muscle-bound weight lifters!
If you have not lifted weights before, make an appointment with a certified athletic trainer to help you develop a safe strength-training program. You can find a trainer at a local gym or through a referral from your doctor or a friend.
Tips for getting started:
* Begin each exercise with very low weights and minimal repetitions.
* Slowly increase weight, never adding more than 10% in a given workout.
* Do strength-training exercises 2 to 3 times a week. Allow at least one day between each workout for your bones and muscles to rest and restore themselves.
* Gradually increase the intensity of your workout: work up to 2 or 3 sets of 8 to 10 repetitions with a rest period of 30 to 60 seconds between sets.
Although stiffness the day after exercise is normal, you will know if you did too much if you are in pain. Decrease the intensity or the duration of your exercise next time.
The joy of strength training
As mentioned earlier, you can “enjoy the activity” of strength training with a simple survey of your life. For example, would you like to:
* Prevent bone loss
* Improve heart function
* Improve blood pressure
* Achieve better blood sugar control
* Help reduce depression
If so, strength training is for you!
How long do you plan to live? Pick a number and look at people that age. You will see a broad spectrum of vitality: from those that are home-bound or have confined mobility to those competing in marathons and skydiving! Which group do you want to be in? Strength training can help you maintain vitality and flexibility, it can help you recover from injury and can improve your energy at any stage of life.
Do you have purpose in your life? Meeting those purposes requires health. Strength training helps you achieve and maintain the wellness you need to be effective in your life purposes: to be there for those you love, to accomplish the great works inside you, to enjoy your leisure knowing you are healthy enough to do whatever your heart demands. Strength training helps you have more to give – and giving is the truest source of happiness.
So go ahead, enjoy the activity of strength training!
Learn More About TriVita HERE...
Butch Hamilton
It seems like almost every month we hear about a new discovery with extravagant health claims. In years past, some of these claims were unbelievable. However, Super Fruits really do help provide protection from serious dietary deficiencies.
Super Fruits have exotic names and are from faraway places. The out-of-the-ordinary nature of these fruits adds to their appeal. But are these Super Fruits really super?
Battle inflammation and aging
A definition for Super Fruits might include: a food that has exceptional nutrient density; a food that has extremely powerful antioxidant capacity; or a food that has the potential for reducing disease risk.
Can any food meet all of these requirements?
The answer is definitely YES! Most Super Fruits deliver a full day’s requirement for specific nutrients in a single serving. Super Fruits also “put out the fire” of inflammation by generously donating anti-inflammatory antioxidants wherever there is a need. Super Fruit antioxidants help fight the battle against the calendar by turning back the clock on premature aging. So, Super Fruits really are super!
How they help
Super Fruits are daily insurance against the antioxidant debt that leads to disability and disease. These nutrient-dense foods allow us to catch up on any antioxidant deficiency we face because of stress, pollution and toxins in our environment, or simply overexertion. Super Fruits work to reduce inflammation, providing us with protection from disease and disability, as well as a little protection from the calendar by reversing premature aging in our cells.
As you know, we all need the nutrients provided in fruits and vegetables. Health experts agree that disease prevention is best effected with the following amount of fruits and vegetables daily:
• Children: five servings
• Women: seven servings
• Men: nine servings
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, North American adults eat less than three servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This habit has caused the death rate from heart disease, cancer and many other causes to skyrocket. Worse yet, those who choose to reject the antioxidant protection from fruits and vegetables end their lives with nine to 17 years of disability. When Super Fruit consumption is high, disease incidence is low. Modern medical research confirms that people who eat Super Fruits regularly enjoy a reduction in diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s and heart disease to leukemia and prostate cancer.
Of course, we still need to make dietary choices that give us a healthy advantage. In the context of a healthy lifestyle, Super Fruits can be a welcome addition. Take a variety of Super Fruits to take advantage of the strengths offered by each one. Use them daily to ensure a life of wellness and vitality!
Read more about how super fruit supplementation can help take you to that healthy lifestyle you have been wanting.
Vitamins-Health-Nutrition
Shauna Link-Independent TriVita Affiliate #13229094
800-978-0897