Tag Archives: Supplements

Why do our sugary cravings always strike at 4pm?

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clip_image002It’s 4pm, you’ve got an inbox that’s bursting at the seams, a to-do list longer than your morning commute, but all you want to do is devour an entire packet of biscuits in an effort to stay awake.

Overwhelming food cravings are the culprit behind most broken diets. But why does this sweet treat urge always seem to hit us at around 4pm? And what can we do to curb these calorific cravings? We enlist the help of independent nutritional expert and dietician Naomi Beinart to help explain this 4pm food phenomenon and offer us some healthy snack solutions.

When we are tired, we tend to make poorer food choices, wanting a quick sweet fix to perk us up. This can occur most often in the afternoon when cortisol levels can take a natural dip (cortisol is a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands that fluctuates throughout the day) and when this dip occurs, we may feel more tired as cortisol normally gives us a feeling of energy.

Sweet Fix

Naomi explains ‘When you’re in your 20’s, it’s very easy to snack on sweet things without putting on weight, and still having enough energy to get through the day and go out all night. Fast forward to your 30’s and 40’s and sweet snacking can cause a host of problems from premature ageing, a decrease in energy levels, hormonal imbalances and mood problems.’’

Thankfully all of these health concerns can be helped by eating the right foods at the right time, ‘eating well will help balance out blood sugar, reduce sweet cravings, increase energy levels and help make skin look better,’ says Naomi.

Blood sugar rollercoaster

Fluctuating glucose levels can be harmful for our health. The rollercoaster of glycemic highs and lows is not good for our general health. If over time, you become insulin resistant, where more and more insulin is being produced by the pancreas, but the insulin receptors in your cells do not respond effectively to it, then this can increase your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Want to get off the ride?

Try taking a natural nutritional supplement that can help to balance out your blood sugar levels. Diabain has 2 such products that do just that. Diabain’s Inusol is a herbal remedy made from a scientific blend of 8 natural nutrients and minerals that can help to control blood sugar levels and is free from any harmful chemicals. Similarly Diabain’s Vittol is a multi-vitamin and mineral formula with a blend of 26 essential elements, ensuring you have the fundamental nutrirnets to help keep you healthy. Vittol has been scientifically formulated to help lower blood sugar levels & glycemic response in both type-2 diabetics and those diagnosed as having a pre-diabetic condition. Inusol and Vittol are £9.99 from www.diabain.com.

Naomi’s diet Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t be restricted by your circumstances. Travel, eating out and dieting can all restrict our food choices. Overcome these by always having a healthy snack with you, such as a banana, almonds or oatcakes with guacamole or hummus.

Supplements can be helpful in controlling sugar cravings and energy dips. Choose one with key blood sugar regulating properties such as Fenugreek extract, Cinnamon bark and Gymnema Sylvestre extract.

Avoid sushi, as the white rice can be bad news for your blood sugar levels, instead go for sashimi or grilled chicken and vegetables.

Eat every 3 hours. When you eat, your blood sugar (glucose) rises in response to the food. The higher and quicker it rises, the more

insulin has to be produced by your pancreas. The higher your blood sugar goes up, the lower it crashes down afterwards. This crash will also occur if you leave longer than three hours between eating. At the drop, your body will send you off for a quick fix, like a bar of chocolate or a cup of tea and biscuit, because it need to lift the blood sugar up again.

Get more of Naomi’ top tips here…

For your chance to win 1 of 10 prizes of Inusol and Vittol, please Follow Frost on Twitter, subscribe to our monthly newsletter or like us on Facebook and answer this question.

Where in the body is cortisol produced?

a) The adrenal glands

b) The kidneys

c) The small intestine

Hair loss and thinning – the common condition that women don’t talk about

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hair lossIt will happen to half of all women at some point in their lives, but now a new poll of more than 4,000 people in the UK* suggests hair loss and thinning is the ultimate taboo.

The research by Viviscal hair supplements, reveals the lengths men and women will go to in disguising their hair loss. Tricks include colouring in their scalp with a pen and rubbing coffee into their scalp to hide the tell-tale signs.

The main causes of hair loss are thought to be lifestyle factors, such as stress, crash diets, hair extensions and also pregnancy.

The research also reveals the impact that our hair has on our lives with four fifths (80%) saying a good hair day would affect their mood, while a third (34%) say a bad hair day would make them feel self-conscious.

Despite more than half of those questioned saying they feel their hair loss makes them more self-conscious, more than two thirds (69%) have never used any treatment to help them with their thinning hair.

A new statistically significant clinical study in to Viviscal’s drug and hormone free marine supplements has shown promising results for people who experience hair loss or hair thinning, with the trial showing that a two-a-day supplement reduces hair shedding and increases hair thickness, and that women on the trial saw improvement in overall hair volume.**

*Stress is the most common cause of female hair loss, accounting for 34% cases, followed by the hormonal changes after pregnancy, accounting for 22% cases.

**25% of women say they spend 15 minutes on their hair every day, while one in ten (12%) take 30 minutes and 3% even admit to taking an hour.

Potter’s Herbal Elixir of Echinacea Plus & Kwai Heart + Immune Supplements | Health Review

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miranda kerrAs winter comes in colds are inevitable. Echinacea is well known to ward of colds and boost the immune system, but does it really work?

The first thing I have to say about Potter’s Herbals Elixir of Echinacea is how nice it tastes, rare for something that is good for you. I am more used to taking pills but taking the elixir is no problem. I take it three times a day and I don’t get a cold, and feel that I have been given a health boost. In fact when I get more busy and forgot to take it for a while I ended up getting a cold. I start taking the Echinacea again and I immediately feel better. I think it works and I am impressed. It even makes my skin clearer.

I also start taking Kwai Heart+Immune with vitamins A, C and E; 30 tablets RRP £6.12; 100 tablets £16.33; Available from Boots. When I first take it I worry that I will smell of garlic but a friend says I don’t. After I start taking the supplement I feel much more energetic and healthier. The Pills are also easy to swallow.  My skin tone also improves when I am taking the pills. With the Kwai Heart+Immune and Potter’s Herbals Elixir of Echinacea I am all set for winter.

Commenting on Kwai Heart+Immune, independent dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton says: “It is now well accepted that vitamins A and C and garlic have a vital role in supporting a normal immune function, while vitamin E is a potent antioxidant, helping to protect cells from oxidative stress which leads to cell damage. Human research on garlic shows that it is antimicrobial and can reduce levels of harmful bacteria and viruses which cause disease.”

The immune system as you know is crucial to help prevent colds/flu/virues and potentillay fatal illnesses. New research by the Henry Potter Advisory Committee also reveals that nearly half of 2,000 respondents in survey (46.4%) believe that they appear physically less attractive when their immune system is lower, with nearly one quarter (23.9%) stating that you could tell how good someone’s immune system is from their skin tone.

 

New stats also revealed that:

  • Worryingly almost three quarter’s (73.9%) of those researched (out of 2,000 respondents) did not know that our immune system is capable of distinguishing foreign bacteria, fungi or viruses, thereby preventing cellular damage.
  • Nearly one third (30.9%), incorrectly believe that vitamin C will ward off a cold, with more women believing this than men (35.3% vs 26%).
  • When it comes to symptoms of a poorly functioning immune system, the most commonly cited symptom was tiredness (61.2%). Over one third of people (38%) commented that they thought their immune system was lowered when they felt physically weak, or when they caught a cold (37.9%) or a virus (37.1%).

Potter’s Herbals Elixir of Echinacea Plus – contains a unique formula of the highest quality Echinacea angustifolia, wild indigo and fumitory. RRP £10.16, available in Boots nationwide. Potter’s Herbal remedies also include cold and flu relief products, as well as sleep aids, and stress releif aids. The whole range are licensed herbal medicines – celebrating 200 years this year.

World class immunologist and medical herbalist Dr Serene Foster says “It is encouraging to see effective herbals available over the counter. The cold and Flu season costs the nation a lot in terms of lost days at school, work, and while on holiday. Now we can all benefit from good mixtures which address all aspects of colds. When Potters Herbal Elixir of Echinacea Plus is taken at the first sign of a cold, it will support and balance your immune system to reduce the symptoms and shorten the time you suffer a cold and make you feel better faster.”

 

Is it Snake Oil? – Interactive Infographic

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It’s hard to know what’s good and what’s guff, should you be taking vitamin supplements? Will my anti-oxident rosehip cranberry echinacia lavender infusion cure my indecision or should I plump for a green tea? Will that weight loss suppliment advertised on Facebook actually work? Afterall, it is on Facebook, so it must be true?! There’s so much confusing and conflicting information what we really need is someone to take all the evidence and put it into some sort of pretty picture.
If there’s one thing the people behind Information is Beatiful have proved that interactive graphics definately improve my attention span.
The creators have this to say about the image and information they used: “This image is a “balloon race”. The higher a bubble, the greater the evidence for its effectiveness. But the supplements are only effective for the conditions listed inside the bubble. We only considered large, human, randomized placebo-controlled trials in our data scrape – wherever possible. No animal trials. No cell studies..”
This visualisation generates itself from this Google Doc. So when new research comes out, they should be able to quickly update the data and regenerate the image. The spreadsheet also references the source of the research; if you’re interested in that sort of thing.