Wellness Bites

Your interaction with the environment, your lifestyle and what you consume will impact how quickly you age. The concept of “beauty from within” brings forth a holistic philosophy looking at what you ingest through diet/supplementation, how it complements topical treatments/products and ultimately affects your external appearance (skin, hair, nails, weight management). This year nutrcosmetics are flooding the market claiming to help you look your best. Although I am a proponent of nutricosmetics, I encourage my clients to look at what they do everyday to best support optimal health & natural beauty. This includes emotional wellbeing, diet/supplementation, lifestyle, aesthetic treatments & products you use to promote healthy aging and vitality.

Thinking “holistically,” here are some interesting recent studies.

 

Turmeric for Liver Health

Turmeric is a spice, commonly used in Asian food. Curcumin is the yellow-colored molecule derived from turmeric. The root of turmeric has long been used in traditional Asian medicine for it’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and improved vigor properties.

A new study included 60 adults with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (a liver enzyme that is produced in higher amounts when the liver is inflamed).

Participants were randomly assigned to take three grams daily of fermented turmeric powder or placebo for 12 weeks.

Compared to the control group, the turmeric group had significantly lower levels of ALT and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), a marker for liver damage.

 

Great news for Coffee & Green Tea Drinkers!

I have written previously on the benefits of green tea for healthy skin.

A recent large-scale study published in Stroke: Journal of American Heart Association proved that daily consumption of coffee and/or green tea can lower risk of stroke. The study asked over 83,000 (age 45 to 74 years,) Japanese adults about their green tea and coffee drinking habits and followed them for an average of 13 years. Here’s what they found out;

  • Those who drank about one cup of coffee daily had a 20 percent lower risk of stroke
  • Those who drank two to three cups of green tea daily had 14 percent lower risk and those who drank four cups had 20 percent lower risk of stroke
  • A combination of coffee & green tea drinking reduced incidence by 32 percent

Researchers believe the potential protective role of green tea may come from catechins, a well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound touted for its health properties (including skin). For coffee, chlorogenic acid was believed to be the key chemical to offer this protective effect.

They concluded that regular action of drinking coffee and/or tea benefits the cardiovascular health by keeping blot clots from forming and supporting healthy circulation.

 

Sleep Less, Gain Weight  – Why you should be getting your ZZZ’s

Sleep deprivation is a beauty buster. But did you know lack of sleep might cause you to overeat? A recent study conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder provides additional data on how lack of sleep can affect your waistline. Researchers found that those who slept 5 hours a night during a working week gained about 2 pounds more than those who slept about 7 to 8 hours per night. Those who were sleep deprived ate smaller breakfasts and snacked more throughout the day and into the evening.  This study coincides with previous ones on sleep deprivation and weight gain tempting these researchers to call out to weight management programs to include sleep promoting lifestyle guidelines for those attempting to lose weight.

 

References

Kim SW, Ha KC, and Choi EK. The effectiveness of fermented turmeric powder in subjects with elevated alanine transaminase levels: a randomized controlled study. BMC Complementary & Alternative Medicine. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-13-58.

American Heart Association (2013, March 14). Coffee, green tea, may help lower stroke risk, research shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2013, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130314180140.htm

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/03/11/study-lack-of-sleep-causes-weight-gain-in-just-a-few-days

 

 

 

To your  health & longevity!

Paula Simpson