TriVita and Your Health

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!

Technorati Tags: adaptogen, allergies, antecedents, b-12, coq-10, inflammation, Nopalea, omegaprime

We are a people on fire!

Less than a hundred years ago the common health challenges we faced were infections. With the discovery of pathogenic bacteria and the advent of proper hygiene, death from these problems became less common. Inflammation has become the new epicenter of disease, disability and death.

Inflammation and the immune system
Our immune system uses heat to destroy invading bacteria. A specialized cell called a macrophage douses the invader with inflammatory enzymes (like acids) and the heat generated in this battle destroys the invading bacteria.

Sometimes our own healthy cells become the focus for disease. This often happens because of toxic exposure. When we eat, drink or breathe a toxin, or if it is absorbed through our skin, our detoxification system works to remove it before the poison can compromise our health. Unfortunately, many of today’s poisons are simply too strong and they overwhelm our detoxification system and enter healthy cells. These cells now become the target of disease, infection and inflammation. Our immune system must treat them as hostile and use heat to destroy them.

Autoimmune diseases arise when our immune system becomes so overworked that it can no longer tell the difference between healthy cells and sick cells. It attacks all cells of a particular type equally. This body system is never able to heal and chronic inflammation sets in.

The weakest link
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. You are only as healthy as your weakest body system. How robust you are depends mostly on lifestyle choices, somewhat on your environment and a little on your genetics.

When a toxin overwhelms your detoxification process it will likely settle in your weakest system. The immune system melts these polluted cells in an effort to save healthy cells. This is acute inflammation. With chronic toxicity comes the opportunity for chronic inflammation. In the case of chronic inflammation, the immune system attacks any sick cell as well as any healthy cell that looks like the sick one. If the immune system attacks connective tissue we say a person has lupus. If it attacks the beta cells of the pancreas we say they have type 1 diabetes. If it attacks the joints we say they have rheumatoid arthritis.

These are only a few of the more than 200 autoimmune diseases. Yet they all share one common attribute: inflammation.

Putting the fire out
Inflammation arises because of:

• Toxins
• Injuries
• Emotional distress
• Nutrient deficiency

We simply must reduce our toxic exposure to reduce the chances of developing an autoimmune disorder. And we must also develop emotional coping strategies and have all of the nutrients we need in our body in the right quantity – every moment of every day. These are the first steps to reducing inflammation.

We can directly douse the fire with anti-inflammatory Betalains such as those found in TriVita’s Nopalea. A Betalain is a protein-antioxidant complex found in certain plants grown in hot climates. The hotter the climate, the more Betalains the plant needs to survive and the more we can benefit.

Nutrient strategies
According to most authorities, everyone needs to be taking a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement every day. This is even more important for people trying to tame their immune system in an autoimmune flare-up. We also need to eat foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and take Omega EFA supplements. These fats not only reduce inflammation but they also make your immune system work smarter, not harder. Antioxidants are critical to putting out the fire of inflammation. Betalain “protein-antioxidants” are extremely powerful anti-inflammatory nutrients. Finally, Vitamin B-12 and adaptogens form a bulwark against the blues and physical stress.

We are a nation on fire. This is at the heart of the near epidemic of autoimmune disorders we are facing. Strategies of nutrients and nurturing will help us fight inflammation and help us with what we do best: heal!

To find out more about TriVita’s products including Nopalea, go here or if you’d like to find out how you can earn an additional stream of income, call me on 856-264-7802.

Es Riggins
Independent TriVita Affiliate Member #13160615

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, Health Products, inflammation, Nopalea, TriVita, Wellness

As we age we often begin to lose the fine motor control associated with youth. At first, this may be an imperceptible tremor that only occurs when we are trying to keep our hands very still. These “shakes” may eventually keep us from doing important things: delicate artwork, tying a fly, needlepoint or even simply signing our name.

Loss of fine motor control usually begins with inflammation in the brain. Inflammation usually begins with free radical activity: too many toxins, too much stress, not enough anti-inflammatory nutrients.

Parkinson’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic disorder typically affecting people over age 55. The condition is caused by the death of nerve cells in certain parts of the brain, leading to characteristic problems with movement. These include a tremor in the hands, a shuffling gait, decreased facial expressiveness and trouble talking. Thinking ability may become impaired in later stages of the disease, and depression is common.

Many researchers believe that free radicals play a role in destroying nerve cells that supply dopamine (a neurotransmitter) in Parkinson’s disease. Most treatments for Parkinson’s disease work by artificially increasing the brain’s dopamine levels. Many people take levodopa with carbidopa, a drug that increases the amount of levodopa available to make dopamine.

Essential tremors
There is another kind of nervous disorder called essential tremors. Essential tremors are not caused by disease, such as Parkinson’s disease. Rather, they arise without any other signs or symptoms. Essential tremors do not progress into anything more severe; they are not related to any other condition. They exist as a fundamental defect in the part of the brain that controls motion.

Essential tremors are often called “family tremors” because they occur in higher concentrations among family members. People that are related to each other share many genetic characteristics. That means that they may also share some of the same vulnerabilities. These weaknesses only become apparent under specific stresses. So, two people with identical genetics – identical twins – may not have the same tendency toward essential tremors unless they experience the same stresses.

Tremor triggers
As mentioned, inflammation is the last thing that happens to your brain before you experience a tremor – whether it is from Parkinson’s disease or essential tremors. Anything that causes inflammation is a tremor trigger. What are the common triggers?

• Deficiency – Oxygen deficiency is very common, especially as we sleep. Practice deep breathing for 20 minutes before sleeping and take brain-specific antioxidants such as CoQ-10, Vitamin E and Optima4 at bedtime.
• Toxins – Household chemicals, refined sugar and allergens commonly trigger loss of fine motor control. Golfers and gardeners are often exposed to high levels of toxins. It seems that everyone has allergies – and sugar consumption is at an all-time high. Isolating yourself as much as possible from chemicals and allergens is crucial for brain health.
• Stress – When I ask an audience, “Do you feel stressed out?” almost everyone responds affirmatively! Stress burns out the coordination areas in your brain. Adaptogens put the fire out by helping us build a defense against stress.
• Trauma – Head injuries are common and becoming even more common. The delicate tissues of the brain are traumatized in auto accidents, injuries at work or around the home, or sports-related injuries. Trauma creates subtle inflammation that may smolder for years.

Conclusion
The cause of Parkinson’s and essential tremors is certainly different, yet the trigger is the same: Inflammation. The best hope for “cure” lies in prevention. Applying the 10 Essentials gives you protection from a rapid decline in health. And, the suggestions are easy to follow. Supplement your diet with nutrients and brain-specific antioxidants. Isolate yourself from toxins and put out the fire of chronic inflammation. Start today. The brain you save may be your own!

Technorati Tags: adaptogen, inflammation, Nopalea, parkinsons, stress, tremors

A man with emphysema was asked about his experience with the disease. He answered by describing the desperation of never getting a full breath. “What if you went to take a breath and nothing happened?” he asked. That is what having emphysema is like: you breathe, but nothing happens. Oxygen cannot get in and carbon dioxide can’t get out. The result is a feeling of slow suffocation.

Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are also called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These two conditions affect more than 25 million people in North America. COPD is the #4 killer right now and, with the current rate of increase, it is destined to be the #3 killer in just a few short years.

Common causes

Emphysema is triggered by smoking and irritants in the air. Emphysema traps carbon dioxide in the lungs and prevents oxygen from getting into the bloodstream. An interesting facet of our lung physiology is that the urge to breathe is triggered by an increase in carbon dioxide, not a deficiency of oxygen. As carbon dioxide builds up, the urge to breathe reaches a point of panic and desperation. This is the experience of people with emphysema.

Chronic bronchitis is caused by inflammation in the lungs from pollution, allergy, infection and certain enzyme deficiencies. Often, medications that open the airways and bring relief to people that suffer with chronic bronchitis cause great distress when they wear off and the airways snap closed again. The rate of COPD from chronic bronchitis is increasing every year as pollution and allergies increase.

Reducing your risk

Reducing inflammation
People that are prone to inflammation are more likely to contract COPD. Therefore, helping your body reduce inflammation with nutrients such as Omega oils is vitally important. OmegaPrime uses perilla seed oil as a specific anti-inflammatory for the respiratory system.

Another way to reduce inflammation is try Nopalea. Nopalea is based on the prickly pear cactus and has been through 2 years of clinical studies. It’s proven to reduce inflammation. Find out more about Nopalea and how it can benefit you

Avoiding irritants
Triggers for COPD include smoke and pollution. One key to respiratory health is isolation from these irritants.

* Don’t smoke
* Use air filters
* Stay indoors during high pollution days.

Using Vitamin C as an antihistamine can also help protect delicate lung tissues from damaging pollution – including pollen.

If inflammation has already developed in the lungs, proteolytic enzymes such as those found in Breathe Easy can be helpful. Another enzyme called CoEnzyme Q-10 is critical for lung health as it helps increase energy in the lung tissues and helps reduce resistance in the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Finally, antioxidants such as those found in Adaptogen 10 Plus and Super Antioxidant Complex can help improve your lungs’ ability to function under even the most difficult circumstances.

The importance of breath
Physicians can accurately predict how long you will live (barring accidents) based on your lung volume (called FEV-1). You can increase your lung volume by practicing deep breathing and increase lung efficiency by:

* Reducing inflammation
* Protecting lung tissues from pollen and pollution
* Increasing lung energy
* Providing protection with antioxidants.

Take control of your health by:

Practice deep breathing 20 minutes daily

Protect yourself from smoke, pollen and pollution

Help improve lung efficiency with antioxidants

Find out about Sonoran Bloom Nopalea. Nopalea is based on the prickly pear cactus and has been proven to reduce inflammation and it also promotes optimal celluar health. Only 5 calories - it tastes good and it’s good for you.

If you’re interested in finding more about TriVita’s products that can help you on your Wellness journey or you’d like to find out how you can earn an additional stream of income, call me on 856-264-7802.

Es Riggins
Independent TriVita Affiliate Member #13160615

Technorati Tags: Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, inflammation, Nopalea, Sonoran Bloom, TriVita