TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report
by Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

Allergies, Asthma and Your Environment
June 27, 2009 – www.trivita.com/12239764

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!

Take Control of Your Health

•Drink pure water
•Eat nutritiously
•Practice deep breathing at least 20 minutes every day
•Take high levels of OmegaPrime to help strengthen delicate cells
•Take Super Sublingual B-12 to help your body reduce histamine formation
•Use Nopalea to help your body reduce inflammation
•Take CoQ-10 for greater energy
•Use Vital C to detoxify your body
•Get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week
•Get 7 ½ to 9 hours of sleep per night

Upcoming Weekly Wellness Reports…

•Weight Loss Through Strength Training
•Improving Sleep
Send us your topic suggestions!
If you have specific health topics you’d like Brazos Minshew to discuss in upcoming reports,
click here to submit your suggestions.

Please note that Weekly Wellness Report topics will be chosen at the discretion of Brazos Minshew and based on general relevance.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

© 2009 TriVita, Inc

TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report
by Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases
June 20, 2009 – www.trivita.com/12239764

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!

Take Control of Your Health

•Remove household cleaners from your living space
•Keep clear of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides
•Select certified organic foods when possible
•Take a multiple vitamin/mineral supplement
•Eat foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids
◦Salmon, tuna, herring and other fatty fish
◦Walnuts (especially English walnuts)
•Take an Omega EFA supplement
•Help your body reduce inflammation with Betalains found in Nopalea
•Protect yourself from emotional distress with B-12 and adaptogens

Upcoming Weekly Wellness Reports…

•Allergies, Asthma and Your Environment
•Weight Loss Through Strength Training
Send us your topic suggestions!
If you have specific health topics you’d like Brazos Minshew to discuss in upcoming reports,
click here to submit your suggestions.

Please note that Weekly Wellness Report topics will be chosen at the discretion of Brazos Minshew and based on general relevance.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

© 2009 TriVita, Inc

TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report
by Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

Which B-12 supplement is right for you?
June 13, 2009 – www.trivita.com/12239764

Question: TriVita has several Sublingual B-12 supplements. Which one should I take?

Answer: It depends on your needs.

Need for Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 is an essential nutrient: You cannot thrive without it. You need Vitamin B-12 to make healthy blood, healthy nerves and a healthy brain. Vitamin B-12 insufficiency is implicated in a number of common conditions: from allergies and ADHD to bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Along with iron and Vitamin C, Vitamin B-12 is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies among seniors. You may actually be protected from a shrinking brain with healthy levels of Vitamin B-12.

There are three ways of looking at “need” in Vitamin B-12:
1.Disease. If your blood levels are low in B-12 you may be diagnosed with a medical condition called pernicious anemia. This is a serious health condition that is often caused by the inability to properly absorb B-12.

2.Complete B-12 metabolism. Is the B-12 you are taking doing what it is supposed to do? If so, your homocysteine levels will be low. If not, your homocysteine levels will be high – even though your blood levels of B-12 are also high. B-12 along with folate, Vitamin B-6 and biotin are still needed as long as homocysteine levels are too high.

3.How you feel. Are you mentally sluggish? Do you feel better when you take B-12? If so, you can continue to take B-12 simply to feel better because there is no toxicity associated with taking B-12.
Types of B-12
Vitamin B-12 is made from the mineral cobalt by beneficial bacterial in the soil and inside living organisms. When scientists make Vitamin B-12 for use in supplements, it is done in the same way. The “parent” form of B-12 is cyanocobalamine (cyan- means blue: the color of cobalt). Cyanocobalamine nourishes your entire body, and your liver uses cyanocobalamine to make other forms of Vitamin B-12. One of the major “children” of cyanocobalamine is methylcobalamine. Methyl-B12 is used in detoxification, especially homocysteine detoxification.

There are many other types of B-12. However, as long as you have cyanocobalamine, your body will make the other types as it needs them. The exception to this rule occurs when a person has been poisoned with toxins such as mercury and lead or when a genetic imbalance prevents them from completely converting B-12.

The type of B-12 for you
Most people over 30 need to take a B-12 supplement. The only certain way to get B-12 into your system quickly (besides injecting it) is to absorb it sublingually, under your tongue. Even people under 30 may take B-12 if they feel stressed, suffer from allergies or asthma, are sad, blue or tired. Vitamin B-12 is also helpful in people with ADHD and other nervous disorders – not as a medical treatment, but as a support for healthy blood, nerves and brain.

TriVita’s Sublingual B-12 is awesome in these circumstances. Or you may want to step up to TriVita’s Super Sublingual B-12 which is faster-acting and longer-lasting – with three times the Vitamin B-12. If your homocysteine levels are high, or if you have a family history of heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis, or Alzheimer’s disease, HCY Guard may be best for you.

This should help you see the need for Vitamin B-12 as well as give you the tools you need to decide which one(s) you need!

Take Control of Your Health

•Use Sublingual B-12 or Super Sublingual B-12 if:
◦You are over 30
◦You have any type of digestion issue
◦You have low energy
◦You have poor moods
◦You need to improve your memory

•Use HCY Guard if:
◦You have elevated levels of homocysteine
◦You are exposed to environmental toxins
◦You have low kidney function
◦You need detoxification

Upcoming Weekly Wellness Reports…

•Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases
•Allergies, Asthma and Your Environment
Send us your topic suggestions!
If you have specific health topics you’d like Brazos Minshew to discuss in upcoming reports,
click here to submit your suggestions.

Please note that Weekly Wellness Report topics will be chosen at the discretion of Brazos Minshew and based on general relevance.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

© 2009 TriVita, Inc

TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report
by Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

Toxins: A Major Source of Inflammation
May 30, 2009 – www.trivita.com/12239764

Have you ever walked down the cleaning aisle at the supermarket? What was your experience? I hate it! In fact, I completely avoid that aisle. If I need something, I hold my breath, quickly get what I need and beat a hasty retreat from that toxic soup.

The soaps, bleaches, softeners and fragrances in the cleaning aisle are all in sealed containers. Yet, they still give off an overwhelming, nauseating stench that may make a person sick for hours. What happens when we bring those containers home? They continue to give off toxins. Only now, the containers are open and the process happens 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our toxic environment
In North America we are inundated with toxins every moment of every day. Pollution in our air, water and food challenges our ability to detoxify and adapt. Worse still, the place we think of as a haven from stress – our home – is likely the most toxic environment we face in our daily routines. Toxins released from household chemicals, fabric, carpet, fragrances and pesticides seep into our body in tiny amounts even as we sleep.

Toxic waste, like barnacles on the hull of a ship, drags us down. It slows the efficiency of our mitochondria (the energy-producing engines inside our cells). Noxious chemicals create fatigue, headaches, digestive disturbances and moodiness. Eventually, toxins become the focus for inflammation.

Inflammation
Your body uses acute inflammation to try to neutralize toxicity. Think of your reaction to a bee sting: redness, swelling, heat and pain. This is not caused by the toxins in the bee venom. It is the reaction of your body as it tries to eliminate the toxicity:
•Redness is the increase in blood supply to bring in immune system antibodies and remove the neutralized venom.

•Swelling is the lymphatic fluid that dilutes the concentrated poison while providing proteins for repair of the tissue damaged by the toxins.

•Heat comes from immune system activity as it battles the invading contaminant.

•Pain causes us to guard that area from further damage.
Chronic inflammation occurs when the toxins are not completely removed from an area. A good example of this may be found in simple lawn chemicals, like fertilizers and pesticides. Certain fertilizers are potassium-based. Potassium is important for human health. When we are exposed to these fertilizers, our cells may accept the potassium along with the toxic “attachments.” Your immune system will constantly attack these contaminated cells until it destroys them. Clusters of diseases like Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis have been linked to these fertilizers.

Home sweet home – isolate and insulate
Neutralizing toxins in the body begins with isolating ourselves from chemical exposure. We must be diligent if we are to protect our family from toxic overload. Chemicals should be stored out of the living area in a place that is well-ventilated. This is especially true if there are children in the home, as developing brains are up to 10 times more likely to suffer damage from toxins than an adult nervous system.

Insulating ourselves against toxic exposure is equally important. Two nutrient classes shine when it comes to protection from pollution:
•Essential fatty acids – Many of the toxins we face are fat-soluble. We need “clean” fats in abundance to displace toxic fats in our brain, liver and other regions of our body.

•Antioxidants – Antioxidants neutralize toxins and Betalain antioxidants found in Nopal figs have two added benefits over standard antioxidants:
◦Betalains drain away the toxin from an affected area
◦Betalains shore up the cell membrane to help promote healing.
Betalains turn out to be our best tool in combating the causes of inflammation: toxins, stress, injury and nutrient deficiency. Use this excellent tool liberally to help you resist the increasing onslaught of toxins both inside and outside of our home sweet home!

Take Control of Your Health

•Breathe deeply
◦Remove toxins from your living area
◦Use HEPA filters for cleaner air
•Drink pure water
◦Granular carbon filters remove many toxins
◦Ultraviolet light kills many pathogens
◦Mineralized, alkaline water displaces poisons
•Eat nutritiously
◦Select organic foods
◦Pre-soak fruits and vegetables
◦Focus on high-antioxidant fruits and vegetables
•Supplement with Nopalea
◦Betalains help your body neutralize toxins
◦Betalains help your body drain away toxic waste
◦Betalains help your body repair tissue damaged by toxins
•Supplement with OmegaPrime; at least two capsules per day helps you resist fat-soluble toxins

Upcoming Weekly Wellness Reports…

•Hormone Health
•Vision
Send us your topic suggestions!
If you have specific health topics you’d like Brazos Minshew to discuss in upcoming reports,
click here to submit your suggestions.

Please note that Weekly Wellness Report topics will be chosen at the discretion of Brazos Minshew and based on general relevance.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

© 2009 TriVita, Inc