Unload My Stress Giveaway
Are you stressed?
Unload it!
Watch our YouTube video on InSight Natural and InSight HT and send us an email telling us how you think these products may help you unload your stress.
We’ll choose the 12 best entries to receive a free Try It size of InSight Natural or InSight HT.
Just email your story by September 10 to: customerservice@advantig.net.
Don’t worry, be happy…
Childhood Physical Abuse Raises Risk of Heart Disease
A new study involving 13,093 people has found a 45 percent greater risk of heart disease in adulthood among those who were abused physically during childhood.
The link remained even after taking into account other factors that could also affect the result, such as stress, parental addictions, mood disorders, income, obesity and other aspects. The study team suggested further research is required to understand exactly what biological mechanism could explain the link behind childhood physical abuse and adult heart disease. The researchers advised that patients known to have been physically abused or neglected during childhood should have their cardiovascular risks managed more aggressively due their higher risk.
Just released, this study will be published in a future issue of the journal, Child Abuse & Neglect. It can be read online at http://bit.ly/b17NdB.
Lack Of REM Sleep Linked To Chronic Migraines
A new study suggests that a lack of sleep, as well as a lack during sleep of the dreaming phases known as REM, can trigger migraines and increase the risk of chronic migraines.
Rapid Eye Movement or REM phases of sleep are those brief periods during which we experience dreaming. Regularly losing sleep, or sleeping but without REM periods – as often occurs when alcohol, drugs or stress are involved – increases the expression, or activity, of certain proteins related to lowering our threshold of pain.
The proteins are known as p38, PKA, and P2X3 and lower expression of them can cause the pain of migraine. The study will be presented in Los Angeles to the attendees of the American Headache Society’s annual scientific meeting on one of the days between June 24 and 26. It has not been published and details are not yet available.
To support deep, restful sleep, try Z-Caps. Z-Caps not only help you get to sleep, natural ingredients in this formula calm the mind so that you don’t review your “to do” list or other scenarios repeatedly…common subconscious behavior that can keep you from resting deeply.
How ‘True’ Loneliness Can Affect Your Health
Two studies by the same team have found that true loneliness is caused by a lack of depth in communication and connection and that it can often be an underlying health problem in people who hoard friends and have a busy social life.
Meeting up with numerous friends, following them on Twitter, or staying in touch with former coworkers does not carry much clout in combating true loneliness, which is a lack of depth of one-to-one communication. Lacking this underlying deeper connection affects health in ways that are becoming clearer: it reduces the regenerative effect of sleep, the ability to cope with stress and individuals’ attention to health. The mere presence of a relationship, even a “close” one, did not affect this tendency towards loneliness and diminished health.
One study appears in summary form in the June issue of the journal, Health Communication and the second will appear in a future issue. The first study is now available in full-text format at: http://bit.ly/coSuiC.
Could Potential Help a Successful Child Too?
Kids Potential is a chewable wafer that brings a welcome difference in quality, nutritional value and purpose to the kids vitamin market. No, it is not a gummy candy masquerading as something good for your child. Kids Potential offers well-rounded nutrition from full spectrum vitamins, natural vitamin E (not synthetic) and the natural antioxidant power from deep-colored fruit & berry concentrates especially produced for this children’s vitamin. Potential contains no sugar, artificial colors, artificial flavors or preservatives.
Potential is the only chewable kids vitamin dispensed by a school district to thousands of children now for 7 years that is supported by real results. PBS filmed a documentary called “How to Turn Around a Failing School” and FOX News filmed a news segment following up to its years of success in the public school system. Potential has made a meaningful difference in the lives of at-risk children.
But can Potential help an already successful child?
We just received a link to the Mamawize blog in which an educator/parent discusses how Potential has benefited her academically successful son. Have a read and let us know what you think:
To watch the short FOX News segment, click on the play arrow in the black box from this link: Potential.
Holiday Survival Tips
This statement rings from stores, appears in our mail and seems to permeate all of November & December. Instead of experiencing “happy holidays,” many are likely to be feeling holiday blues for different reasons.
- Holidays can be a reminder of loss-a relationship, a family, a marriage, a loved one.
- Many feel overwhelmed by the stress of family dynamics at a time when everything you see and hear tells you to be happy at family gatherings.
- Economic uncertainty and unemployment leave many feeling blue and stressed about how to manage.
- The shopping, cooking, baking, gift giving marathon can leave people feeling drained and incapable of relaxing.
- This time of year can be a time of self-evaluation and reflection about the past but also creates anxiety about the future.
- Some feel excluded and lonely if they do not partake in the holidays or have no family.
- Reduced day light during shorter winter days can contribute to feeling sluggish, tired and short on energy.
- A myriad of stressors can produce feelings of sadness, loneliness, gloom, hopelessness, fatigue, etc. If you were already feeling blue before this time of year, these feelings may only intensify.
Basic Holiday Survival Tips & Product Recommendations
We would like to share a few key “Holiday Survival Tips” that have helped many people make it through “the happiest time of year” and suggest several products for those who need a little help this holiday season. Take the biggest step first: resolve to help yourself.
1. Don’t sacrifice sleep. Visiting friends, baking cookies and shopping are no longer fun if you are worn out and ready to collapse. Fatigue can also darken your mood.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS:
Z-Caps: If getting to sleep is troublesome, try (1-2) Z-Caps at least one hour before bedtime.
To learn more about Z-Caps, click on the Z-Caps bottle to the left.
Myo-Nerve: If you need even deeper sleep to calm a busy mind or address pain support, try Myo-Nerve one hour before bedtime. Myo-Nerve is our latest innovation for neuromuscular relaxation. Just add 1 scoop or less to a small serving of natural applesauce or yogurt one hour before bedtime.
Click on Myo-Nerve (to the right) for more information.
2. Set your boundaries. A person who struggles with personal boundaries often gets stressed and hangs on to anger and frustration, making them more likely to experience holiday blues.
3. Exercise. Don’t wait to make a New Year’s resolution to start or resume your exercise program. Your body’s ability fight the blues is strengthened by the natural chemistry that occurs when your body moves regularly. So write yourself a reminder to enjoy a brisk walk, take stairs, ride your bike or make use of your gym membership now.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS:
ProSport & ProSport MAX: To maximize your exercise benefits, enhance your hydration. ProSport and ProSport MAX are the choice of elite and amateur athletes who rely on the antioxidant power these drinks deliver.
ProSport MAX offers 2075 ORAC units/serving — the antioxidant equivalent of 4-7 servings of fresh fruit or berries.
Click on the ProSport photo to learn more.
At only $2 – $2.50/serving, ProSport & ProSport MAX offer so much more than designer coffee or mass market energy drinks.
Click on the ProSport MAX photo to learn more.
ProSport MAX delivers 4200 ORAC units/serving – the antioxidant equivalent of 10-14 servings of fresh fruit or berries.
Try either drink powder in a delicious smoothie for quick energy or “nutrition on the run.”
4. Monitor Caffeine & Alcohol Intake. Caffeine can give you a quick high but a jolting crash once it wears off, leaving you feeling worse than before you drank that high calorie, triple strength, ultra-sized Italian-sounding coffee bar drink. Alcohol is a depressant and can intensify seasonal blues. Bring your own healthy alternative to parties if you think there may not be a non-alcoholic option.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION:
PowerThru: If you’re feeling low on energy, boost your body’s own cellular energy production with our botancial, EGCG Green tea formulation that contains time tested natural ingredients. Try PowerThru in the morning or at lunchtime for smooth alertness without the jolt & crash.
Click on the PowerThru bottle for more information.
5. Savor the treats in moderation. At home, you’re in charge. Choose to prepare healthy, balanced meals that in turn, keep you feeling more emotionally and physically balanced. If you know that it may be difficult to stick with your regimen away from home, eat lightly before you leave home so that you can savor treats in moderation and spend more time in conversation.
6. Lighten the load. Yours and others. Volunteer at the food bank, at a soup kitchen, for children or people in need. Don’t underestimate the power of helping others.
7. Keep track and be reasonable. Make lists to stay on top of a reasonable number of tasks, gifts, events to attend and money to spend. Staying in control is empowering and a critical step in maintaining healthy emotional balance.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS:
InSight Natural: For natural mental health support and a positive, proactive attitude, try our cocoa flavonoid-based formulation that has been dispensed by physicians to thousands of patients.
For more information on InSight Natural, click on the product photo to the left.
InSight HT: When high tension and stress require an extra strength mood/relaxation product, try InSight HT to help you manage stress better. Unlike other natural “mood” products, both InSight HT and InSight Natural offer noticeable benefits.
To read more about InSight HT, including stress management tips, click on the InSight HT bottle to the left.
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If you would like to share your tips for enjoying the season, we invite you to post your comments or questions. The Advantig Blog is a moderated blog, so please expect approved comments and answers to questions to post within 24-48 hours.
Healthy Immune Response
If your family is like mine, you’re probably receiving messages from school and various authorities on how and what to do this flu season. I like to be proactive and so I would like to share some tips on how to support your family’s immune health.
Don’t Stress
Stress adversely impacts the immune system. So try to stay balanced, exercise, eat a diet that includes whole grains, lean meat, unprocessed carbohydrates and fresh fruits & vegetables. Try to stay focused on the big picture. I know that is easier said than done, but now that you’ve been reminded, work at it.
Stress Induces Immune Dysfunction
Nat Rev Immunol. 2005 Mar;5(3):243-51. Stress-induced immune dysfunction: implications for health. Glaser R, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology & Medical Genetics, College of Medicine & Public Health and Institute for Behavioral Medical Research, Ohio State University, USA.
Folk wisdom has long suggested that stressful events take a toll on health. The field of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is now providing key mechanistic evidence about the ways in which stressors–and the negative emotions that they generate–can be translated into physiological changes and how the immune system communicates bidirectionally with the central nervous and endocrine systems, impacting health.
Stay Positive
While stress impacts immune health, so do negative thoughts. Just visualize that every negative thought is a like a hammer & chisel chipping away at your immune and mental health. The average person has over 60,000 thoughts a day, many of which majority of which are negative. While conscious attempts to reverse this trend are beneficial, I like to recommend a natural product that supports positive, proactive mood, attitude. InSight Natural combines cocoa flavonoids with important B-vitamins and cofactors that are naturally supportive of a more positive state of mind.
Clinical and professional experience has demonstrated InSight Natural’s beneficial impact on mood repeatedly. In fact InSight’s “Winning State of Mind” description was coined by an endurance athlete who uses InSight Natural to train for competition to avoid “hitting the wall” – which is a mental state in training when a person’s mind leads them to believe that they can’t go on.
Research suggests that Cocoa Flavonoids impact brain function/circulation with the result being a calmer, more relaxed state of mind and positive attitude. We hear this from patients, physicians and athletes all the time.
De-Stress
If you want the “attitude adjustment” of InSight Natural but need more intensive stress management support, try InSight HT. InSight HT contains 3 additional ingredients that really help your body’s stress management skills. To learn more about InSight HT, click here: http://www.advantig.net/products/insight-ht.
Wash Smarter Not Harder
The best defense against germs is simply to wash thoroughly with good old fashioned soap and water. The research on antibacterial vs. regular soap is still not definitive. In fact, some research shows that people are sensitive to some of the chemicals found in antibacterial soap. So just remember that the best way to rid your skin of bacteria is exfoliation. Lather up, rub hard and sing “Happy Birthday” – which takes about the 10 seconds – the time you need to make sure your hands are clean.
I suggest patients avoid soaps containing drying chemicals and harsh perfumes that can make your skin dry, rough and irritated with more frequent washing. Look for emollients like coconut and olive oil, glycerin, aloe leaf extract, natural vitamin E and shea butter which help nourish the skin with regular washing. Avoid irritating detergents in common soap like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Some liquid soaps contain formaldehyde-releasing preservatives like Soft Soap, Gerber Baby Wash with Lavender, Irish Spring Body Wash (Icy Blast & Aloe) Palmolive Aroma Therapy Liquid Handsoap & more. For a more complete list, go to click on the HHS List here or below: http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/htmlgen?page=advancedsearch&option=health.
Be sure to remember that dyes, parabins & fragrances can also be irritants.
Try: If you’re lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s in your community, look for their “French Liquid Soap with Orange Blossom Honey & Vitamin E” which offers great natural ingredients at a reasonable price.
Dept. of HHS List
To search the US Dept. of Heatlh & Human Services database, click on the link below, chose “Personal Care Products” and try typing “Irritants”: http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/htmlgen?page=advancedsearch&option=health
Support a Healthy Immune Response
I designed On-Guard for my family. It is my personal product and I rely on it at the first sign of immune stress. On-Guard contains evidence-based ingredients with published, scientific references on their benefits for supporting a healthy immune response. Doctors have relied On-Guard clinically for over a decade to help keep their patients in optimal immune health during the toughest challenges.
On-Guard replaces over 11 classes of immune support products which can be categorized as follows:
- Stabilized Allicin
- Transfer Factors
- Colostrum/Immunoglobulin/Lactoferrin
- Nutraceutical Mushroom Extracts
- Larch Arabinogalactan & Other Important Polysaccharides
- Andrographolide
- Oregano Oil
- Astragalus, Rhodiola & related Botanicals
- Olive Leaf Extract (specifically Hydroxytyrosol)
- High Molecular Weight Aloe Vera Fractions
- Isatis, Withanolides, Curcuminoids, Forsythia & more
Stabilized Allicin: Stabilized Allicin represents a technological breakthrough in the delivery of garlic’s broad spectrum activity. Allicin is what you momentarily smell when a garlic clove is crushed. Allicin is also one of the most important health constituents in garlic. Up until now, preserving Allicin has been impossible. A new patented process makes it possible to stabilize Allicin. On-Guard contains certified, stabilized, pure Allicin.
If you would like more technical information on the science behind On-Guard, leave a comment or a question.
You Can Control Stress
Stress is not only a harmful state of mind, it can also become a harmful condition for your overall health because it actually changes your body chemistry. These chemical changes over time can adversely impact your immune health, your cardiovascular health and your entire well being.
We’ve collected some great stress relief tips that are posted to the Advantig website to help reduce anxiety and maintain a balanced life. Take a look at some of these time tested techniques to help you optimize your day-to-day management of stress:
Relaxation & Meditation: Structured relaxation & meditation can help control stress and improve your physical and mental well-being. The options are almost infinite. We’ve summarized just a few here:
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Biofeedback: a method of learning to relax, control stress responses, or modify the body’s reactions through the use of monitoring equipment, training the autonomic nervous system (the part we don’t consciously use) to relax.
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Meditations: Focusing on religion, spiritual beliefs or purely on physical relaxation, meditation is one of the most popular techniques to achieve physical and mental relaxation.
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Progressive Muscle Relaxation: A method developed in the 1930s in which muscle groups are tightened and then relaxed in succession based on the idea that mental relaxation will be a natural outcome of physical relaxation.
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Qigong: (pronounced “chee gong”) This ancient Chinese Martial Art/health-care system combines physical training (such as isometrics, isotonics, and aerobic conditioning) with Eastern philosophy and relaxation techniques.
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Tai chi: “Meditation in motion” is characterized by soft, flowing movements that stress precision and force.
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Yoga: Yoga’s goal is to restore balance and harmony in the body and emotions through numerous postural and breathing exercises.
Exercise: Exercise promotes overall fitness and helps you manage emotional stress and tension from the release of endorphins. Being fit and healthy also increases your body’s ability to deal with stress. Start slow by taking the stairs, walking in your neighborhood, riding your bike. Just get moving!
Time management: Learn to prioritize tasks, avoid over-commitment, being overscheduled and feeling pressured. Check your calendar, planner, or PDA before commit or learn to say “let me get back to you after I check my calendar” to avoid commitments made under pressure that can cause you stress later.
Organization: Schedule time to organize your physical surroundings (office, desk, kitchen, closet, car) so that you won’t be faced with the stress of constantly searching for misplaced items or being overwhelmed by clutter. Take 10 minutes to periodically sort through and organize piles of paperwork and clutter.
Take 5: Take a 5 minute deep breathing break, look away from the computer screen, close your eyes and visualize a relaxing place, stand up and stretch your arms, neck or legs. Breaking the monotony and changing the pace helps to refresh your perspective.
Lend a Helping Hand: Do something nice for another person. Studies show that altruism is good for your emotional well-being, and can measurably enhance your peace of mind. When you feel stressed and overwhelmed, you may feel like you’re least able to give; however, altruism activates the area of the brain associated with positive feelings, lifting your spirits, making you feel better the more you give.
Support systems: People with strong social support systems experience fewer physical and emotional symptoms of stress than their less-connected counterparts. Loved ones, friends, business associates, neighbors, and even pets are all part of our social networks. Cultivating and developing a social support network is healthy for both body and mind.
YOU CAN CONTROL STRESS
In addition to the mind-body techniques listed above, you can combine these products to help you control stress and support a balanced state of mind:
Healthy Attitude – Proactive State of Mind – Balance. InSight Natural is a cocoa flavonoid-based dietary supplement. Cocoa flavonoids are scientifically linked to brain function and healthy brain oxygenation. We say that InSight supports a “winning state of mind” – which is a phrased coined by one of our customers who found that InSight Natural helped him “break through the wall” in athletic competition. Endurance athletes are finely tuned individuals who benefit from InSight Natural. If these highly specialized individuals can benefit, no fears – so can you. You can learn more about InSight Natural’s here: http://www.advantig.net/products/insight-natural.
Mental tranquility – Calmer Mind – Mental Relaxation. InSight HT is designed for people who want to experience the positive mental state InSight Natural offers, but need more intensive help for “High Tension” (which is why we call it HT). InSight HT blends InSight Natural with 3 additional ingredients that have a scientific basis for supporting a more relaxed, calmer mental state required to manage stress: 5-HTP, L-theanine & Vinpocetine. For more information on these ingredients and InSight HT, got to: http://www.advantig.net/products/insight-ht. If you can take the time for a relaxing massage, take 1 InSight HT an hour before your treatment for ultimate relaxation.
Deep, Restful Sleep & Refreshed Awakening. When you’re under stress, sleep is the ultimate mental recharge. The problem is that sometimes the mind just keeps repeating scenarios as though it were on a loop as a way to problem solve or cope. This can leave you feeling drained and even more tired in the morning. For those times, take 1 Z-Cap an hour before bedtime for the deep sleep your body needs. Unlike prescription sleeping pills, Z-Caps will help you feel refreshed and ready for the day. You can read more here: http://www.advantig.net/products/z-caps.