Why Your NAD Levels Matter–No, Not Those NADs

From pills and creams to meditations and workouts, it seems there are a plethora of ways to try to keep looking young. Whenever we talk about anything relating to aging, we're talking about cellular degeneration. Many indications of aging are failing cellular system or mitochondrial damage. And what do cells require for peak health? NAD is essential for our cells in various ways. NAD or Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide is involved in fundamental biological processes. Studies have shown that a reduced NAT in the body can lead to age-related diseases.

You're about to discover why and how to avoid it.

The Signs Of Aging

How do you know you're aging? When you stop squinting, the lines around your eyes remain put, and gray hair shows up when you look in the mirror. The physical indications of aging become noticeable early on, but you might not be seeing the less obvious signs from within that lead to decreased health as you grow older.

You might have already seen or are on the lookout for any of the following easy-to-notice physical indications of aging:

Hair Loss/Thinning– More hairs end up down the drain than typical when you shower, or you find more hairs in your brush and on your clothing.

Graying Hair—The transition of hair color to either gray or white, depending on your genes.

Receding Hairline– Male-pattern baldness or thinning at the temples.

Turkey Neck/Sagging Skin– Loose skin you can gather between your fingers, or the eye flap sagging down your eyelid.

Drooping Breasts– Your bosoms aren't as perky like they once were. 

Sun Damage– Spots on your hands, face, and shoulders, or dryness and "tough" skin.

Lines and Wrinkles– Some are less "fine" than others and the grooves only get deeper as the years pass.

Bunions—These come from years of using the wrong shoes or walking crooked during an injury, and their occurence  tend to increase with age.

Yellowing Teeth– Even if you lay off the coffee and red wine, enamel diminishes with age, and your teeth reveal the signs of a weakened state.

Reduced Testosterone & Growth Hormones—These bring reduced drive, sexual dysfunction, hot flashes, mood swings, and a host of other adverse effects.

Sleeping Disorders and Bad Sleep– Your body clock gets thrown out of loop when producing less melatonin.

Forgetfulness and Memory Loss– Not to be confused with Alzheimer's, dementia, or any significant mental disorder, but reduced cognitive power can lead to making errors from less mental capacity. 

Weight Gain– Usually this comes from loss of energy, a lowered metabolic process, and a bad diet, but finding it difficult to lose or maintain weight is likewise part of aging.

General Fatigue—This is one of the most annoying symptoms of aging. It includes loss of energy that leads to less strength and motivation for workouts, social interaction, and work, making us feel we are less capable.

Everything mentioned above are external symptoms of what's happening inside our bodies at a cellular level. As you age, your cells are less able to withstand tension and damage, resulting in a steady loss of cellular function that leads to the symptoms above. But if you can prevent cellular aging, you can avoid these signs in general.

A molecule called NAD can support cellular health. Even if it can't solve every issue associated with aging, it's worth knowing.

What Is NAD?

NAD helps a cell turn nutrients into helpful energy. It is essential for your metabolism and plays a large part in the entire assembly line of operations within a cell. Think of NAD as one of the most significant factory workers in your body’s cells because it helps your organs function and keep going.

The second role this vitamin plays is improving activity of sirtuins (proteins used by cells.) When sirtuins are activated and doing their jobs, they support cellular upkeep and repair. Sirtuins affect a wide array of cellular procedures like aging, transcription, apoptosis (programmed cell death), swelling, stress resistance, energy efficiency, and alertness during low-calorie scenarios. Sirtuins can likewise control circadian clocks and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Your cells require NAD and your body is capable of developing it, but as you age, your cells take on a lot of stress. NAD is rapidly consumed as the cells cope. Metabolic stresses such as overeating and consuming alcohol can contribute even more to its deficiency. Worse still, NAD decreases as we age. A 60-year-old is likely to have half the NAD they did at 40.

So now you're probably wondering how to get more NAD, right? There are options such as IVs and other invasive treatment options, but they’re costly, uncomfortable and time consuming.

Preclinical research studies show that exercising and calorie restriction help with NAD levels - two methods that just make sense as part of a holistic health routine. Nevertheless, among the most convenient ways to naturally increase NAD without an IV is using supplements like B3 vitamins, though not all B3s are equal when it comes to producing NAD. We'll get to that in a moment.

Through its vital role in cellular energy production, NAD contributes, in early cellular stages, to almost every bodily function we observe or don't observe. Here is a look at how we use NAD every day:

Exercise Performance and Recovery– When we work out, cells in our muscles go to work generating considerable amounts of cellular energy. NAD is crucial to this process. After an exercise, NAD likewise helps restore and build muscles. Our capability to recuperate from exercises (which seems to get harder as we age) is reliant on NAD to do its job. And exercising is vital to preventing muscle mass reduction, another common component of aging.

Processing Alcohol– NAD is needed for chemical responses that detoxify alcohol in the liver. The more you drink, the more NAD resources you consume from your liver processing the alcohol. 

Skin and Sun Exposure– Skin is the largest organ of our bodies and hence requires a massive quantity of cells and cellular regrowth to maintain. NAD activates certain proteins in skin cells to signal when and where sun-related damage occurs.

Circadian Rhythms – NAD helps cells keep day-to-day circadian rhythms. When we face time zone modification or are in the dark too long, our cells work overtime keeping up those rhythms. As long as our cells keep up, everything can stay on schedule.

Breathing & Oxidative Stress—We can give our overworked cells a break. You can quit drinking alcohol or get more sleep to renew yourself, but one thing you can't stop doing is breathing oxygen. As cells ingest oxygen, complimentary radicals are produced that cause oxidative tension. And the air also has pollutants, chemicals, cigarette smoke and other toxins that cells must contend with. Thankfully, NAD and its molecular cousin NADP can arm your cells to neutralize these stressors and mop up the free radicals. 

About B3

To figure out how to get more NAD into your cells, you need to know how B3 adds to NAD.

There are actually eight different vitamins that comprise the B vitamin complex, one of which is B3. The B3 vitamins are precursors to NAD, meaning they are basically active ingredients that your body uses to create more NAD through cellular chemical processes.

There are three kinds of B3, and the newest one to be discovered, nicotinamide riboside (NR), is the one researchers are looking at deeply.

The B3 many people are familiar with is niacin (nicotinic acid). Niacin is available as a supplement and is present in eggs, yeast, fish, meat, milk, green vegetables, and cereal grains. Since the early 1900s, people have utilized niacin for pellagra, which is a B3 deficiency triggered by an absence of a diet plan. However, niacin has the extremely frustrating side effect of skin flushing and can create a red face, a warm face and body, and tingly fingers.

The second of the B3s is nicotinamide. Some call it niacinamide. This one's just like niacin. You won't have to deal with the skin flushing, though it sacrifices helpful cholesterol-lowering abilities. Although it's an NAD precursor, it shuts down sirtuins - those extremely helpful longevity genes mentioned before.

Then there's nicotinamide riboside (NR), the most recently discovered B3 and unique in producing NAD. NR acts as an NAD precursor and also activates sirtuins to leap in and do their task. Plus, it doesn't cause flushing. Trace amounts of NR are found in milk; however, you'd have to drink a heck of a lot to get the advantages of NR, and the calories and high quantities of dairy proteins aren't worth it.

Summary 

Your cells require NAD, and your body is capable of producing it, but as you age, your cells take on a lot of stress and NAD is quickly consumed as the cells cope. Even worse, NAD reduces as we get older. Remember, a 60-year-old has half the amount of NAD that they did at 40.

One of the easiest ways to naturally increase NAD without an IV is via B3 supplements.  NAD aids cells in maintaining their daily rhythms by helping to control circadian clocks at the cellular level. B3 vitamins are precursors to NAD, meaning they are essentially components that your body utilizes to produce more NAD through cellular chemical processes.

NutraV Grass-Fed Seabuck Protein is the perfect supplement to aid in NAD production. It comes from 100% pure whey protein isolate that delivers essential nutrients for cell growth and repair. The whey protein concentrate comes from unpasteurized raw milk from grass-fed cows making the formula ultra rich in amino acids, which NAD can be synthesized from. It also contains glutathione, an antioxidant that helps prevent cellular damage. This supplement paired with a healthy diet and daily exercises can keep your NAD levels elevated for a younger you, both inside and out.

source https://www.nutrav.com/blogs/news/why-your-nad-levels-matter-no-not-those-nads

Sugar Detox

Are you looking to detox from sugar? Sugar binges are common, and not just on Birthdays, holidays, and Halloween. A demanding day can toss you off your diet regimen and down a spiral of eating candy and sweets. In some cases, diet plans also promote weekly cheat days to keep you on your diet, keeping you healthy six days a week and letting you sugar it up on day seven.

In truth, binging on sugar, even during a diet, is a bad idea. Your body needs a few days to recuperate from too much to get you back to full power, and by the time that happens, it is almost time to cheat once again. Your brain functions will dip, and you will feel body inflammation the majority of the week. You might drop weight, but you will never end up feeling like the clear-headed and energetic warrior you want to be.

Interestingly, sugar restriction is not the answer either, so feel free to enjoy sugar once in a while. Delicious food is one of the best things in life. Plus, letting loose now and then shows you how sugar makes you feel, reinforcing your dedication to a healthier diet.

When you binge sugar and carbs, be sure to use this helpful sugar detox guide to recover faster and get rid of cravings, so you get back to your potential as rapidly as possible.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU EAT TOO MUCH SUGAR? THE SUGAR HANGOVER

Sugar and carb binges make you feel lousy, but if you pay attention, you can learn what systems in your body are having a hard time and help those systems recuperate.

Here are common symptoms that come with too much sugar:

SHORT-TERM WEIGHT GAIN

If you have ever looked in the mirror after a heavy carb day, you know all about this. The weight comes off when you cut back on sugar and return to your normal diet.

CRAVINGS

Sugar lights up your brain like a Christmas tree, which feels fantastic - that is, until the next day when the sugar runs out, and the withdrawals settle in. Sugar hits the very same brain areas as most drugs, and though it may sound over-the-top to compare sugar to cigarettes or cocaine, you will suffer similar cravings as your body gets itself back into balance.

TIREDNESS

In a research study of lean, healthy young males, refined carbohydrates like sugar trigger systemic inflammation.

 Inflammation taxes your energy production in two ways:

• Studies on rodents show that sugar hinders mitochondria, decreasing the quantity of energy that cells can produce.

 

• Your cells need to invest a great deal of their energy dealing with the stress of low-grade inflammation from too much sugar.

 

In another research study in men, sugar caused a sharp decrease in testosterone, so be prepared for a few days of feeling tired. The fatigue will pass once your body regroups and you get back to consuming better foods.

MOOD SWINGS AND PAINFUL HEADACHES.

Sugar destabilizes your blood glucose levels and triggers withdrawal, leaving you with extreme cravings and decreased energy, but a lot of people get headaches, migraines, and changes mood, too.

HOW TO KEEP FROM CRASHING

Drink Extra Water During Your Binge

When you consume excess sugar, you pack hundreds of grams as glycogen. Your body stores a minimum of 3 grams of water for every gram of glucose you store, showing that you store a lot of extra water with your carbohydrates. This explains the water weight that comes when consuming too many carbs. You will need to drink more during your cheat day or you will get dehydrated, which can lead to headaches and tiredness.

Include Electrolytes

You will get bonus points if you include salt and potassium in your water for a week after bingeing on carbs. When you return to a low-carb diet, your body will burn through your carb storage and get rid of the water it stored. You will lose a lot of salt and potassium with it, so use saltwater and potassium supplements to reduce dehydration-related headaches and fatigue.

Do Not Skip Meals:

Do not fast after a sugar binge. You may feel like canceling out those additional calories you ate and get your system back to baseline, but on days of too much sugar, you are better off eating great deals of food instead of fasting.

Support Your Blood Sugar

Sugar throws your blood glucose levels out of whack, resulting in withdrawal signs like intense cravings and low energy. You will want to consume foods that support your blood sugar to feel better and don't throw you into a second sugar binge.

Adopt an Anti-Inflammatory Diet Plan:

Your cells will be dealing with chronic inflammation after you overindulge in sugar, and you'll want to help them repair themselves afterward. Read on to learn how to manage inflammation.

Maintain Regular Eating Routines:

If you fast after overeating sugar, you can fall into an unhealthy pattern of binging and fasting. It's important at these times to listen to your body, eating when you are hungry, and stopping before you overeat.

SUGAR DETOX DIET: WHAT TO EAT AFTER A SUGAR BINGE.

You can consume your way back to a more balanced body after a carb binge. Here's the recipe for a sugar detox plan:

QUALITY FATS AND PROTEIN

Eat foods like grass-fed meat, wild-caught salmon, pasture-raised eggs, coconut oil, and MCT oil. These foods fill you up while also fighting cravings. They'll also help replenish testosterone and six additional hormones that suffered from your sugar intake.

FIBER

Eat foods like asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, celery, leafy greens, and sweet potatoes. Fiber brings stable energy and decreases cravings. It also aids with positive gut bacteria that may have been injured by the sugar.

ANTIOXIDANTS

Eat colorful fruits and veggies like red cabbage, Swiss chard, blackberries, and raspberries. Drink coffee and green tea for an extra dose of antioxidants. Antioxidant-rich foods will assist your body in handling systemic inflammation and help it repair itself.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS.

Consume foods like wild-caught salmon, broccoli, avocados, and green tea. Are you seeing a pattern here with brocholi? It is a powerful vegetable for sugar detox. 

These anti-inflammatory foods help you recuperate from swelling triggered by a carb and sugar overload. These simple foods help your body recover with minimal capacity for inflammation.

FOODS THAT CURB SUGAR CRAVINGS

Sugar lights up addictive pathways that cause withdrawal and cravings after a binge. Clear your kitchen pantry of high-carb treats to minimize your temptation, and replace them with quality snacks to prevent your next binge. Since sugar cravings are fast and sap your energy, combat this with high-fat treats like:

• Dark chocolate (78% or more)
• Grass-fed hot dogs
• Salami or pepperoni
• Guacamole
• Grass-fed jerky or bars
• Nuts like raw almonds or macadamias

WHY EXERCISE HELPS SPEED UP YOUR DETOX

Even if you feel slow and sluggish, be sure to exercise after overeating sugar. It stabilizes blood sugar and assists you in burning glycogen faster. Emotionally, it helps you get back to your high-performance regimen after you break it.

 

SUMMARY

Keep in mind that you do not have to eat perfectly. The occasional sugar binge is worth it in some cases, but you won't feel your best for a couple of days later. If you go wild with low-quality food, our guide will get you back on track.

Sugar works like other addictions, lighting up pathways in our brain, and the cravings can be strong. You'll want to consume foods that support your blood sugar to feel better and prevent a relapse into another binge.

Eat at routine intervals with the right quality foods without fasting, so you avoid binging, fasting, and binging once again.

source https://www.nutrav.com/blogs/news/sugar-detox

Gut Bacteria and Aging

A growing body of research suggests that the trick to a long, healthy life lies in the gut. Your combination of gut bacteria may determine how well you age.

Let’s take a look at why and how you can actively alter that bacteria so you can live a long and healthy life.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHAT ARE GUT BACTERIA?

All of us have thousands of tiny bugs that hang out in our gut, and bacteria are the most studied of these microbes. There are bad and good types of bacteria. The goal is to have a healthy balance of both in your gut microbiome.

Gut bacteria are extremely important and they work hard for us, but studies have found that too much bad bacteria can cause diseases. On the other hand, good bacterias are crucial to help digest food, safeguard your immune system, and produce B vitamins and vitamin K, which help make proteins that clot blood. So now you must be thinking, is there a good and bad bacteria war happening in my gut every day? Well, just know that the good bacteria helps to keep bad bacteria in check, so everything is in balance (homeostasis).

As research on gut microbiome progresses, we’re discovering that gut bacteria may contribute to even more than we think. The balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut can determine your ability to lose or gain weight, and it can affect the occurrence of certain leading causes of death such as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and cancer. Gut bacteria may also contribute to migraines. One research study found that patients with migraines had greater levels of gut germs that break down nitrates like those found in processed meats and leafy greens.

Your gut bacteria also influence your brain structure and cognitive function. In one study, some gut bacteria were shown to grow myelin–the fatty layer that insulates brain cells and helps them communicate through electrical signals.

Keeping your brain sharp and in working order is necessary for a long life, and gut bacteria plays a vital role in it.

GUT BACTERIA AND AGING: THE RIGHT MIX

Each of us have a different balance of gut bacteria; however, healthy individuals share specific and optimal microbiota compositions that could help them live longer.

One Chinese study conducted research on healthy elderly people, some over 100 years old, and it showed they had a comparable mix of gut germs to healthy individuals in their thirties. In this context, "healthy" means having no known health issues or family history of illness.

Gut bacteria can likewise impact your mitochondria that act like batteries in powering your cells. They provide your body and your brain the energy needed for peak performance and healthy aging, making them essential to remain youthful.

One research study found that certain bacterial mutations increased the life expectancy of worms by producing polysaccharide colanic acid (CA), which helps stabilize mitochondria and keeps them running. These bacteria mutations are common, much like gene and hereditary mutations.

GUT BACTERIA AND WEIGHT

Being obese reduces your life expectancy. If you're overweight, you're more likely to get diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and that’s just for starters. Staying within a healthy weight range will go a long way to keeping you healthy and feeling young for years to come.

What's your gut bacteria got to do with weight? Emerging research reveals that obese individuals and thin people have different types of gut bacterias. One study looked at 77 pairs of twins in which one twin was overweight, the other wasn't. The researchers discovered that the overweight twin had different gut microbiomes and less of a diverse mix than the thinner twin.

Naturally lean individuals have more germs of the Bacteroidetes type and less of the Firmicutes type. Firmicutes are industrious bacteria and break down food very thoroughly, they get out every bit of energy and promote storage of that energy to the body. Bacteroidetes break down starches and fiber into energy that can be used immediately. You can't purchase Bacteroidetes as a supplement, however you can increase your levels of it by consuming foods loaded with antioxidants called polyphenols, like vegetables, beans, nuts, coffee and tea.

Gut bacteria are also responsible for producing a hormone called FIAF (Fasting-Induced Adipose Factor) which informs the body to burn fat instead of saving it. You can starve the bacteria of starch and sugar if you want to motivate more FIAF production. When bacteria are "starving," they make more FIAF, and you burn more fat.

OK, SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

YOGURT, GUT BACTERIA, AND WEIGHT GAIN

If you want to stay lean and age well, you should try to stay away from yogurt, and here's why…

Some bacteria strains frequently discovered in yogurt-- a so-called "natural food" -- increase your levels of histamine, the exact same chemical your body produces during an allergy. When you have too much histamine in your system, your body launches adrenaline to get rid of the excess, which with time triggers inflammation. And long-term inflammation triggers signs such as brain fog and weight gain.

CONSUME PLENTY OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOODS

These foods heal your gut and lower histamine intolerance. The more of these you eat, the lower your histamine intolerances go. Think of foods that have phenols, antioxidants, healthy fats, and are loaded with minerals.

• Avocados
• Berries 
• Wild Fish
• Mushrooms
• Peppers
• Broccoli

Pastured Eggs 

• Grapes
• EVOO
• Turmeric
• Ginger
• Grass-fed Beef & Whey - Seabuck Protein is a great option

LOAD UP ON POLYPHENOLS

Polyphenols-- found in brightly colored vegetables, berries, coffee, and chocolate-- can alter the composition of your gut microbiome, increasing the quantity of good germs and decreasing the quantity of bad ones. In one study, individuals who drank a wild blueberry beverage for six weeks saw an increase in helpful gut bacteria.

GET A GUT TEST

You can send out a fecal sample to a company to analyze it and tell you precisely what's going on in your microbiota. You'll get a detailed report that consists of a list of all the bacteria in your gut, how your composition compares to other people, and suggestions for supplements to take and foods to consume. You can check regularly to see whether any modifications you've made are working.

EAT MORE RESISTANT STARCH

Resistant starch is a type of starch that functions as a prebiotic. This magic starch supports beneficial bacteria in the gut, and it’s been found that resistant starch elevates probiotic bacteria levels and feeds your microbiome. This is extremely important for you and your gut health. Resistant starch can be found in a host of foods. I've detailed a short list: green bananas & raw plantains (including flours), raw potato starch, raw oats, sushi rice, peas, yams, cooked and cooled white rice, lentils, and chickpeas. 

Here are a list of the benefits: 

• Improves insulin sensitivity. 
• Improves overall function of the gut. 
• Lowers the blood glucose response to food. 
• Reduces fasting blood sugar.
• Increases satiety. 
• Can find and get rid of “bad” bacteria.

SELECT PROBIOTICS WISELY

Avoid probiotic supplements that contain Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. These histamine-producing bacterias germs can be found in organic food like conventional yogurt and fermented or aged foods. NutraV Plantbiotic is a natural gut support made from a blend of active natural ingredients with cleansing properties to help flush out bad bacteria in your gut and balance out your gut microbiome. 

SUMMARY

Eat clean food rich in polyphenols, avoid inflammatory food, and take natural supplements to boost your gut health, and you’ll be on your way to a long and healthy life. Since supplementing is one of the fastest ways to support your gut, take a look at our immune boosting line up. Our Seabuck Whey is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties & healthy fats and is a powerhouse for gut bacteria; and our Plantbiotic is a natural gut support to increase healthy microbiome function that removes unhealthy bacteria. 

So now you know, and remember to live better naturally!

source https://www.nutrav.com/blogs/news/gut-bacteria-and-aging

Stages of Sleep: Your Complete Guide

Every night you take a rollercoaster flight through the various phases of rest. Although you're not aware of what takes place while you're sleeping, your mind and body remain in an active state. Each phase of rest has distinct corrective qualities, and depending on how you move through each phase, plays a big role in how your body's standing will take place the next day.

Throughout a perfect evening's rest, you undergo several 90-minute cycles that go through each phase of rest. Each cycle plays an important function in keeping your physical as well as psychological wellness. The quantity of each phase of sleep can vary dramatically between evenings and also individuals.

Stages of Sleep

Rest has actually been commonly split right into 2 classifications: Non-rapid eye activity (NREM) and rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM). Both are specifically what they seem like-- your eyes either continue to be still or they move quickly under your eyelids. With each other, these 2 kinds of rest make up a solitary cycle where your brain proceeds sequentially through each stage of rest: wake, light sleep, deep rest, REM, as well as repeat.

Stage 0: Wake

Awake time is the time that you are in bed prior to and after sleeping. It additionally includes brief awakenings throughout the night. These episodes are totally regular for healthy adults.

Phases 1 & 2: Light Sleep

Light sleep launches your sleep cycle as well as serving as a transition to deeper rest phases. Throughout this phase, your muscular tissues begin to relax, your heart rate and breathing decrease, and you are able to get up conveniently.

During light sleep, you can anticipate the following

• Muscular tissues kick back and may snag
• Respiration slows down
• Heart rate reduces
• Body temperature declines
• Sleep begins

Stages 3 & 4: Deep Sleep

Deep sleep concentrates on your body. It is the most rejuvenating and restorative rest stage, promoting muscular tissue growth as well as repair and waste removal in your mind. In this stage, you would have more difficulty getting up, and you may find yourself being groggier or disoriented if awoken.

Throughout deep sleep, you can anticipate the following:

• Blood pressure declines
• Blood circulation boosts to muscles
• Fixing hormones (i.e. development hormonal agent) are launched
• Tissue development and cell repair happen
• Long, slow brain waves
• Brain clears out waste

Phase R: REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement is necessary in re-energizing your mind. Rapid Eye Movement is linked with fantasizing, memory combination, finding out, as well as issue addressing. The moment spent in this rest phase typically lowers with age.

Throughout REM sleep, you can expect the following:

• Respiration boosts
• Heart rate boosts
• Temperature policy is turned off
• Mind task is high; brilliant dreams might take place
• Body comes to be stable to stop you from acting out dreams
• Blood flow boosts to genitals

A Full Night's Sleep

Your body cycles through these phases 4 to 5 times each night. Cycles earlier in the night tend to have more NREM rest, while later cycles have a greater proportion of REM. By the final cycle, your body may also avoid NREM deep rest totally. Generally, your body invests more time in NREM phases of rest.

Tips for Improved Sleep

All stages of sleep are vital, and your body will normally manage your sleep cycles to see to if you obtain what you need.

You can see your rest patterns with a sleep device such as the Oura ring, a comfortable wearable tool that determines sleep phases, which also produces a sleep score every night.

Examine these patterns to see if your sleep is being interfered with:

• An increase in deep rest after a hard workout: Exercise can increase your body's prioritization of deep rest the evening after an extensive workout.

 

• Higher REM rebound after sleep starvation: When you recoup from a duration of sleep starvation, your body focuses on deep sleep for the first few evenings to fix your body and get ready for action. After several nights of sufficient deep sleep, REM rest rebounds to concentrate on your brain.

 

• Interrupted rest cycles after high levels of caffeine: Caffeine can boost the time it takes for you to fall asleep, which will reduce your sleep period. Shorter sleep durations disproportionately minimize your overall REM sleep, as REM cycles are more probable to occur in later sleep cycles.

 

We all have those days when we "simply need our coffee." If you take the time to look at your nightly patterns, (e.g. heart price, body temperature level) and act on your wish to enhance your rest, this data can assist you with dealing with those days, well-rested.

Each stage of rest has distinctive restorative qualities, and how you move through each phase play a big function in your body's standing the next day.

Through an ideal night's sleep, you go through a number of 90-minute cycles that example each phase of rest. Together, these 2 types of sleep make up a solitary cycle where your brain advances sequentially through each phase of sleep: wake, light rest, deep sleep, REM, and also repeat 

By the final cycle, your body may even miss NREM deep rest entirely. Generally, your body invests more time in NREM phases of sleep.

source https://www.nutrav.com/blogs/news/stages-of-sleep-your-complete-guide-1

How to Get Over Jet Lag

Let's be real - jet lag is one of the worst parts about flying! Yes, it's temporary, and no I would not stop traveling as a result of it. Below I’ve detailed the painful realities of jet lag, and how to minimize them on your next trip. You can thank me later!

Jet lag - you know the sensation: You are not aware of what day it is, brain fog is your middle name, and your eyes open randomly in the middle of the night! It feels like your body is in one zone while your brain is in another. Don’t let jet lag ruin the joys of travelling. So how do you deal with jet lag?

What is Jet Lag?

Our watches along with our phone clocks work on a 24-hour cycle, so do our bodies. When the body clock, or circadian rhythm, is out of sync because we’re between time zones–we get jet lag. The more time zones you cross, the higher the likelihood for you to experience jet lag. So, what is it exactly?

The Mayo Clinic defines it as, "Jet lag, also called jet lag disorder, is a temporary sleep disorder that can affect any person that rapidly takes a trip throughout several time zones."

Jet lag strikes us when our internal body clocks are off kilter with our destination's time clock. Jet lag frequently causes sensations of fatigue, fogginess, and problems with concentrating, intestinal problems, and a lowered immune feedback. When skirting any type of more than two time zones, our body's biorhythms end up being affected.

Clinically speaking, jet lag impacts our body temperatures, hormones, our hunger levels and/or absence thereof, and even our blood pressure. Jumping between time zones offset our body’s clocks, and jet lag impacts more than just our rest cycles, it can make our digestive tract behaviors, appetite, focus, digestion, and allergies fluctuate. We know we’re back to normal and ourselves again when our mental clarity returns, and the fog is nowhere to be found.

What Causes Jet Lag?

A lot of frequent flyers and international travelers have experience some type of jet lag, or desynchronosis, at one time or another. We know it can occur, however, why does it take place?

Sunshine lets our body clocks know when it’s time to wake up and sleep. Lower levels of light (less blue light) triggers the brain, specifically the hypothalamus, to release melatonin, a hormone responsible for helping you sleep. And for example, if you travel to a time zone opposite to your own, it can invert your circadian rhythm, leaving you wide awake at night.

There is research that suggests that high altitude as well as in-flight cabin stress can contribute symptoms of jet lag. Additionally, the absence of moisture in aircrafts and the individual’s levels of dehydration can add to jet lag symptoms. For most people, it takes a full 24 hours to recuperate from each time zone passed (the more time zones you go across, the worse the jet lag). The frequency of flights also has an impact (if you're flying several times within a few days, jet lag could be even worse). Lastly, medical history like asthma, allergies or decreased immunity can make the signs and symptoms of jet lag feel worse.

Jet Lag Symptoms:

While disorientation and exhaustion are a few of the most apparent symptoms of jet lag, there are others that may take us longer to put our jet-lag-delayed fingers on. Do you experience any of these?

• Insomnia/excessive tiredness.
• Exhaustion throughout the day
• Nausea or vomiting
• Hazy focus, confusion
• Brain fog
• Stomach trouble (aka: constipation/diarrhea/bloating/ nauseous).
• Moodiness
• Increased sensitivity to allergies or asthma

Jet Lag Prevention:

We all have personal methods we follow to help us while traveling, but some are more proven than others. Here are a few effective ways for lessening or stopping jet lag.

Pro Tip: It’s always best to match the destination’s location time whether it’s food, sleep, light exposure, etc.

Dress for Comfort: Remember you’re supposed to be seated for three or more hours, so be sure to put on comfy clothes during the flight. Bring a blanket, eye mask, and travel cushion. The last thing here is sound protection, be sure to invest in earplugs or sound canceling earphones, needless to say they block out a ear-full. 

Compression: Have you heard of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)? Right. Well, you don't want this to happen to you. This happens when swelling and blood clotting occurs when you’ve been sitting for too long on a flight. Compression gear comes in a myriad of variants, like: socks, stockings, undergarments, and shirts. They help increase circulation and reduce swelling by constantly applying pressure and slightly squeezing the body part with the garment. Think of it helping your veins and muscles move blood more efficiently. Compression gear is one of jet lags worst enemies because it’s simple, cost effective and a safe way to keep blood circulating

Plan for Sleep: As mentioned before, dress comfy and be sure to do your nightly routines (brush teeth, meditate, read, wash face) to get your mind prepared for bed. It’s best to sleep during the destination’s evening / night time to adjust as quickly as possible. 

Hydrate: Do yourself a HUGE favor and skip the alcohol and high levels of caffeine. Yes, sometimes they are free on flights, but they cause massive amounts of dehydration. Instead, replenish your body with H2O, aka water. Drink a bottle of water after you make it through TSA as well as prior to boarding your flight. Make sure that you are consuming a bottle of water every hour during your flight as well. Bring a reusable water bottle and refill it as frequently as possible, most terminals have water refill stations within a few steps of the gates. During the flight, attendants can refill your water bottle, but remember some of the water given on planes, specifically hot and warm water, are not the cleanest because water reservoirs can host germs–bottle water is best in-flight.

Prepare Your Sleep Times: Change your sleep time and evening routines before your flight. If you try to adjust to your destination’s time, it will help prepare your circadian clock in advance. Change your watch to the new time zone upon boarding, and do your absolute best to get to bed at your destination’s bedtime. Remember, when flying west, you should stay up a little later, and when flying east, move your bedtime up prior to taking the trip.

Some travelers suggest taking a low level dose of melatonin to help adjust their sleeping cycles, or to help them sleep on the plane. You can also look into alternative sleep aid supplements like: valerian root extract, CBD or reishi mushroom powder. If you're considering taking sleep supplements, consult with your doctor first, and give it a try prior to traveling to see how your body reacts. Don’t take a new medication or supplement in-flight for the very first time.

Light Exposure: It’s extremely important to manage your exposure to natural light, artificial and digital light while traveling; yes, this includes your phone, tablets and all of the other displays used in-flight. Again, it's important to ensure you’re preparing for your destination’s local time. This means readjusting your down time, dimming lights and using blue blocking filters. And when it’s time to sleep, break out your blackout eye mask and close the window shade. One thing to note here is the use of blue blocking technology including glasses and device applications are critical to avoid jet lag. As mentioned before, light affects the production of melatonin; so, in order to adjust your circadian clock, you’ll have to use or avoid blue light which signals the stay up or go to sleep, respectively. You can pick up a pair of blue blockers, which are also extremely helpful when used at home daily roughly two hours before bed to signal melatonin production. With regard to your devices, be sure to use computer or mobile applications like f.lux or night shift to turn your device display from blue to orange, or vice versa.

Time Your Meals: Shift your mealtimes and types to match your destination location. For example, this may include having breakfast for dinner, skipping lunch (because you’re sleeping), and dinner when you land, as if your body assumes its early morning. Your system will turn back on with breakfast at the destination's first meal. Adjusting your feeding windows before take off or on touch down will make jet lag much easier to manage.

Fasting: Skip a meal, in fact skip lunch and dinner. What do I mean? We know that the human body is supposed to be on the earth’s surface and not 36,000 feet above the ground, so it’s safe to assume that consuming food or other substances in the air can cause the body to freakout. The point here is to avoid disrupting your metabolism, which is already overloaded when flying. Fasting will allow the body to reduce oxidative stress, decrease jet lag and increase energy levels as a result; and it’s free!

Pick Your Seat Wisely: Depending on your in-flight comfort level, cabin selection, cruising elevation, flight duration your choice of seat could play a big role in effecting jet lag. Of course, first class would be our first choice, but flight and trip planning can add up and isn’t always affordable; so we can’t always get the best seats in the house, or plane for that matter. Let’s go through some options:

Want to be able to lean on your travel cushion? Get ahold of a window spot. Or do you want to have easy accessibility to move freely within the cabin - choose an aisle seat. Do you need extra legroom, yet do not want to pay the hefty costs? See if you can obtain a bulkhead row, seats behind interior dividing walls.

Select Your Aircraft: Some planes are built to help travelers minimize jet lag. Give the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner a shot. These aircrafts are specially designed to help lessen jet lag as much as possible. The layout of these airplanes are optimized for greater levels of humidification, better air purification systems, bigger windows to allow more light, and higher ceilings to make moving less restricted.

Jet Lag Treatment

If, despite the measures you’ve taken, you're still suffering from jet lag, here are some things you can do to reduce the effects!

Arrive Early, Get Sunshine: If it's incredibly early, say 2 AM to 5 AM, you can grab a couple of hours of sleep to regulate your internal clock but after that, you should do your best to catch the sunrise and get the natural power blue light (signalling your body to wake up) which is only emitted within the first 2 to 3 hours of sunrise.* After that, make sure you practice your morning rituals and ensure you don't nap throughout the day. 

*Aside from the morning blue light, try to get outdoors and as much natural sunshine as you can. The sun is arguably the best tool to synchronize your circadian clock.

Plan a Stopover Or Two, Split the Jet Lag: If time permits, plan a stop of an extra day or more on your journey to your intended destination and split the jet lag in half. Stay in Peru for a couple of days on a trip from Vancouver to Argentina. Spend a few days in Abu Dhabi on a trip from New York to Thailand, or hang in London while traveling from Orlando to Mumbai. If your travel plans and budget permits, the few added days will provide your body’s clock a little time to catch up on time zones crossed, therefore, making the jet lag at your final location a bit better.

Get Up, Move & Stretch: Onboard and upon arrival, get up and move! Onboard, movement and mobility exercises will assist with blood circulation and reduce the dreaded danger of DVT mentioned above–so be that person to stretch in the aisles, do jumping jacks by the bathrooms or anywhere you can, it's for your own health! Upon arrival, walking, stretching, and light exercises is highly recommended, and it’ll help with syncing your body’s clock.

Try Earthing: A method (my personal favorite) for reducing jet lag is called earthing or grounding. It requires you to get your feet on the earth for approximately 30 minutes upon arrival. Earth would be anything natural that is one the earth’s surface like: grass, dirt & sand, and bodies of water. The earth holds negative ions which helps the human body detox and remove positively charged ions (free radicals), which thus reduces systemic inflammation and creates homeostasis in the body. 

Once You Get Home, how can you Overcome Jet Lag?

Do your best to return to your regular timetable as soon as possible, however, take it slow. You may have had those times where you've flown back in at 6 a.m. and have gone straight to the office; in some cases it works but this is not recommended for what your body requires. 

Know your body, adjust on your own time, drink plenty of good water, take in sunlight, and get up and move. Make sure to replenish your hydration levels before you start getting active. One recommended product you can easily take with you on your travels is Z-Hydrate, a NanoTechnology Rehydration Powder. Using products like this can help your body recover faster by feeding it with vital nutrients in one shot. 

Enjoy your next travel jet-lag free!

source https://www.nutrav.com/blogs/news/how-to-get-over-jet-lag

Why Skin Creams & Acne Probiotics Do Not Work – Understanding How the Gut and Skin are Related

Each day, the typical woman applies roughly around 168 distinct chemicals directly to her body through the application of creams, lotions, and makeup. While men, on average, apply 85 individual chemicals to their bodies daily. This is a shocking number of chemicals that many of us are not aware of.

Our skin is porous and  can absorb anything we put into it easily, including the chemicals that can go straight into the bloodstream. Skin products are often marketed to contain chemicals that are helpful to us, but unless they are pure, they can be causing more damage than good to our bodies. Sometimes these creams, lotions, etc. can include toxins that are poisoning us, and if you have a skin condition, it can worsen it without you knowing. If you have battled with acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, or any other skin problem, you understand firthandhow aggravating, stressful, and embarrassing these conditions can be. Skin conditions are beyond annoying to those who suffer from it– they can make you feel depressed, socially distressed, and it can seriously affect your confidence. You should know that you are beyond worthy to look and feel great! Fortunately, there’s an easy fix, and it’s a secret that many people do not know about. Improving your skin and overall health begins in the exact same location– your gut.

The 100 trillion bacteria residing in your gut is turning out to be one of the most crucial medical discoveries of our time. Your gut microbiome interacts with your skin via the gut-skin axis, which means that your gut health directly influences the way your skin looks.

How exactly do these microorganisms influence your skin? Well, for starters, researchers have discovered that the line of interaction between your body immune system, skin, and brain is moderated through microorganisms, eventually affecting the following:

1.       Inflammation– The underlying cause of disease.
2.       Oxidative stress– A significant cause of swelling.
3.       Tissue lipid levels– An aspect crucial for a healthy metabolic process.
4.       Glycemic control– Your ability to stabilize blood sugar.
5.       Neuropeptide levels– An aspect connected to your mood, discomfort tolerance, and body's homeostasis (balance).
6.       Pathogenic bacteria– Bad bacteria that makes you sick or cause conditions.
7.       State of mind regulating neurotransmitters– For example, about 90% of your serotonin (your happy neurotransmitter) is made by your gut microbiome.

The last item mentioned above is the reason that skin conditions are strongly associated with depression, stress, and anxiety. Not only are skin conditions affecting you from social factors, your gut microbiome which can influence your skin can also influence your mental health.

Charm begins from the inside out! This really does make a lot of sense– your gut and skin have a lot in common when you stop and think about it.

• They both secure you from the outside world
• They each have microbiomes, which communicate directly with each other
• They are both loaded with mast cells (a kind of leukocyte), which are the first responders of your body immune system
• They originate from the exact same cells throughout early advancement

Your skin is the lining that communicates with the world around you, while your gastrointestinal system deals with whatever you consume, breathe, and swallow. The foods you eat are metabolized and its by-products upon breakdown are directly affecting your skin. Therefore, what you consume has so much influence over your skin's appearance. Think of your skin as a window into the health of your gut.

The Reason Your Skin Creams & Acne Probiotics Don't Work.

If you have had problems with a skin condition, chances are you have gone through a great deal of different creams, lotions, and other topical remedies. If you have heard about the link between a healthy gut and healthy skin, you might have even tried acne probiotics. However, you have more than likely found that even if these creams and acne probiotics give you some relief, it is usually just a temporary fix.

It is honestly not surprising that skin creams recommended by your physician do not work, as they are an attempt to tackle the problem from the outside in. Most skin conditions require to be treated from the inside out, starting with the gut.

Your gut microbiome is made up of over 8,000 strains of bacteria– not to mention all the other essential microbes. Simply speaking, a couple of pressures with a probiotic might not make much of an impact. If you want to give your skin a fighting chance, it is time you check your gut health! 

11 Skin Conditions That Begin in the Gut

As we deepen our understanding of the gut microbiome, it has resulted in highlighting that numerous skin problems do not come from the surface level of the skin, rather from the gut. If you have battled with any of the following, you may want to inspect your gut:

• Eczema
• Rosacea
• Acne vulgaris
• Cystic acne
• Psoriasis
• Dandruff
• Seborrheic dermatitis
• Dermatitis herpetiformis
• Alopecia
• Vitiligo
• Oral mucosal lesions (mouth sores)

Deciphering The Gut-Skin Axis:

In retrospect, it's quite clear that healthy skin begins with a healthy gut when we begin to dig deeper into the science around the gut-skin axis.

On the bright side, this connection opens a world of possibilities for skin therapies. Some medications originally created to deal with skin conditions have been discovered useful in dealing with gut problems. A psoriasis medication has been discovered to be effective in those with severe Crohn's disease– a condition of the gut. This can mean that the reverse is also possible!

Wondering about other gut-skin connections? Let us take a glimpse at some of the most fascinating ones.

Dripping Gut and Cystic Acne:

Research studies have discovered that acne isn't so much a condition of the skin, as it is a condition of the gut. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxins belong to hazardous Gram-negative germs that have actually been shown to wreak havoc into the gut and onto the skin.

Research studies have actually discovered that when a person has high levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxins in their body, they can hinder wound recovery and make scars much worse. LPS is also connected with acne vulgaris and makes it more likely that you'll have a strong reaction to E. coli lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (E. coli LPS). Having a strong reactivity to E. coli LPS means you are more likely to have fibrin micro clots, which cause small, uncomfortable tissue scarring.

LPS and E. coli sure do trigger a great deal of trouble, don't they? It gets worse…

High levels of LPS and E. coli LPS contribute to leaking gut, which enables these pesky germs to go into the bloodstream, developing more issues People with leaky gut syndrome, are most likely to have acne, and when E. coli LPS is involved, it may also trigger anxiety. LPS also makes it more likely that you will develop irritable bowel syndrome and anxiety. All that makes you want to keep away from LPS endotoxins doesn't it?

The massive influence that the gut has on the skin means that it is incredibly crucial to keep your gut healthy and happy. Understanding whether you have LPS running rampant in your gut and what you can do to decrease its level is a good start to healing skin conditions.

Eczema and Gut Health:

We know, without a doubt, that eczema starts in the gut. While physicians and skin doctors were looking for solutions at the skin's surface, they missed the fact that eczema is brought on by an overactive body immune system. This overactive body immune system is generally an effect of gut microbiota dysbiosis or imbalance. In fact, a drop in microbiome diversity is understood to cause eczema flare.

To ease eczema symptoms, taking the right steps to lower inflammation and increase microbial variety through your diet plan is crucial. An eczema battling diet plan requires a person to be particular to their microbiome and body.

The Rosacea and SIBO Connection:

Medical professionals are revealing a strong association between individuals who have little intestinal tract bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and rosacea. Some physicians are even reporting that when they treat their patients for SIBO, the rosacea they've had for years suddenly clears up.

That is seriously some excellent news for rosacea victims!

SIBO was discovered in 2004, and many individuals suffered from rosacea with no knowledge that the source of their issue might be in their gut. Many people, still to this day, do not know about this important connection and have not had a chance to see if the reason for their rosacea is really SIBO.

Celiac Disease and Skin Conditions:

Celiac disease and skin problems go hand in hand. People with celiac disease are more likely to have:

• Dermatitis herpetiformis
• Alopecia
• Eczema
• Urticaria
• Vitiligo
• Oral mucosal sores

As individuals with celiac disease are handling a condition of the gut, they have the advantage of being directed to look for gut-related solutions. This suggests that they often accidentally clear up their skin problem when they go gluten free or take other actions to reduce the impacts of their celiac illness. When it comes to other skin conditions, recognizing that the gut is the source of the problem often takes a lot longer– if it takes place at all.

A Healthy Gut Means Healthy Skin

The bottom line is– if you are having problems with your skin, stop wasting money on creams, lotions, and other topical treatments. It is more than likely that your problem is your gut!

You can also forget about so-called acne probiotics– though they are targeting the best area of the body, the lack of biodiversity they provide makes them a waste of money.

Everybody's gut microbiome needs a unique diet plan. Treat your gut right by eating healthy food and getting the right supplements. NutraV has you covered with products made with clean and nutrient-rich ingredients like Plantbiotic and Grass-Fed Seabuck Protein. Choose to be naturally better for a healthier gut, and youthful clearer skin. 

source https://www.nutrav.com/blogs/news/why-skin-creams-acne-probiotics-do-not-work-understanding-how-the-gut-and-skin-are-related