Tag: Kenzen Bergisterol®

Love Makes the Heart Beat Better

Published on by Nikken

As far back as the ancient Greeks, lyric poetry identified the heart with love. Among the earliest known Greek examples, the poet Sappho agonized over her own “mad heart” quaking with love. For the most part, Greek philosophers agreed that the heart was linked to our strongest emotions, including love. Plato argued for the dominant role of the chest in love and in negative emotions of fear, anger, rage and pain. Aristotle expanded the role of the heart even further, granting it supremacy in all human processes.1

Fast forward to contemporary times. Cardiologists, scientists and researchers agree with the ancient Greeks that love is truly good for the heart, and in more ways than one. “One theory on why love is good for your health is that blood pressure responds to calmness and peace,” says Christopher Suhar, MD, a cardiologist and director of Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. “If you’re in love, you’re calmer and more at peace, which could translate into lower blood pressure.”2

All types of love can benefit your heart. Love may help you recover if you ever develop heart problems. It could be from having love in your life, or simply having someone there who has a vested interest in you and is taking care of you. It’s not just romantic love that can improve your heart health. Having close, loving relationships with your friends and family can have cardiovascular benefits. For example, researchers have investigated the role of having the support of loved ones after cardiac bypass surgery.3 Over time, patients who had good social support had a better recovery and survival rate.

Everyone has read about how the heart races when the beloved comes near—in schlocky romance novels as well as world renowned literature. This physical phenomenon is real, not just the stuff of fiction! The brain releases hormones such as dopamine, adrenaline and norepinephrine, all of which makes the heart beat faster and stronger.4 These temporary spikes in heart rate actually benefit the heart muscle by training it to pump more efficiently—the same way doing aerobics or cardio workouts do. Of course, a racing heart due to love has lesser effects on Active Wellness than a daily workout, but still, it’s a bonus that love is good for overall health!

There are even heart-healthy benefits to spending time with your four-legged friends. “Pet ownership also helps people survive longer after a heart procedure,” notes Dr. Suhar. “This relationship has been looked at in both dogs and cats. Those two animals provide a definite benefit from a survival perspective. I believe it is because of the unconditional love that pets give you.”5

Research published in the European Heart Journal shows that having a positive outlook on life can protect against cardiovascular disease. The researchers defined “positive affect” as feelings of joy, happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, and contentment, all of which may stem from having people you love in your life. Each participant’s level of positivity was measured based on a 12-minute in-person interview and checked health records over the following 10 years to look for incidences of cardiovascular disease. They found that people who scored even a single point higher for positive affect had a 22% lower risk for cardiovascular disease. They also found that those with higher positive affect were more likely to be female, less likely to smoke, had lower levels of total cholesterol, and lower levels of hostility and anxiousness, suggesting that a positive attitude contributes to better health overall.6

Love floods the body with hormones that affect the nervous system and by association, the heart. The warm feeling of affection ramps up your parasympathetic nervous system, helping you relax, which reduces stress and improves feelings of depression and anxiety. Feelings of love also tamp down the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for your fight or flight reactions. According to New York cardiologist Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, “When relaxed, blood vessels tend to dilate a little bit more and blood pressure tends to drop, producing a calmer state.”7

Can love ever hurt your overall health and especially the heart? The answer may be surprising. People talk about a “broken heart” when grieving over a loss—it doesn’t have to be the loss of a romantic partner; it can be the loss of a pet, family member, friend or even a public figure.

Known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, broken heart syndrome occurs when the heart is stunned by sudden, acute stress and its left ventricle weakens. Instead of contracting into its normal arrow-like shape, the left ventricle fails to function, creating a more rounded, pot-like shape. First described in 1990 in Japan, a broken heart looks so much like a Japanese octopus trap called a “takotsubo” that doctors began calling the condition Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

“Broken heart syndrome is a very real medical disorder,” says Dr. Suhar. “This is typically a temporary condition where the heart will have sudden enlargement and be very ineffective at pumping. It is usually reversible and can normalize after the stress is resolved, but that can take a few weeks to a few months.”8

There are things we can do on a daily basis to improve heart health, and it comes down to eating right and exercising. But what about something that is more loving? Those who know Nikken history may have heard of the “Masuda hug.” Nikken Founder Isamu Masuda was renowned for his hugs and it was an endearing way to connect with his many friends from around the world. Nikken legend has it that anyone who experienced a Masuda hug never forgot it and that it created a feeling close to euphoria.

Fast forward again to contemporary times. According to research from the University of North Caroline, when you participate in a warm embrace with someone you love—a parent, child, spouse, etc.—your body releases oxytocin, otherwise known as the feel-good hormone, which may reduce stress and lower blood pressure. Even holding hands with someone you love has a calming effect on the body, according to a study published in Psychological Science.9

February is heart health awareness month, so pay attention to your ticker. Give someone a hug every day and see how you feel. And don’t forget to take your Kenzen Super Ciaga® and Kenzen Bergisterol®!

1 https://ideas.ted.com/how-did-the-human-heart-become-associated-with-love-and-how-did-it-turn-into-the-shape-we-know-today/

2, 3, 5, 8 https://www.scripps.org/news_items/4743-how-love-affects-your-heart

4, 6 https://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health-pictures/reasons-love-is-good-for-your-heart.aspx#:~:text=When%20you%20lock%20eyes%20with,heart%20beat%20faster%20and%20stronger.

7 https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/health/love-heart-health/index.html

9 https://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health-pictures/reasons-love-is-good-for-your-heart.aspx#:~:text=When%20you%20lock%20eyes%20with,heart%20beat%20faster%20and%20stronger.

Plogging for Health and the Environment

Published on by Nikken

The Swedes invented it and the rest of the world is catching on. The term “plogging” is coined from the English word “jogging” and “plocka upp,” a Swedish term that means “picking up.” Plogging is the Swedish fitness trend that combines jogging while picking up trash. Besides plogging, there are variations of activity derived from it, such as “taking a palk” (plogging walk) or a “pike” (plogging hike). No matter which activity you choose, the idea is that you do some kind of outdoor exercise while picking up litter or trash along the way.

According to the Swedish-based fitness app Lifesum, which makes it possible for users to track plogging activity, a half-hour of jogging plus picking up trash will burn 288 calories for the average person, compared with 235 burned by jogging alone. A brisk walk will expend about 120 calories.1

It’s taken a few years to catch on outside of Sweden, but plogging is making waves in the fitness world right now. As more people become aware of the need to contribute personally to the well-being of the environment, plogging is taking off because it combines attention to fitness with supporting a great cause.

As Mike Rosen, spokesman for Keep America Beautiful, explains, “I don’t think plogging replaces jogging as a daily activity. If you turn your jog into a plog once a week or once a month, or turn your walk into a palk or your hike into pike, you’ll get personal satisfaction. You’ll have an endorphin high from running, and you’ll know you’re helping your community.”2

Swedish native Erik Ahlström, who created the website http://www.plogga.se,3 says that all you need for plogging is a pair of gloves and a recyclable bag. He summarizes the benefits of plogging in four major areas:

  1. Health and exercise: According to the Karolinska Institutet, the risk of depression, obesity, and cancer among people who are seated a lot and are physically inactive doubles for both adults and children. Plogging helps to get the body moving while adding some extra moves like squatting or bending when picking up trash.
  2. Combat Plastic Pollution: The litter that nobody bothers to pick up will eventually end up in rivers and oceans. Plogging helps decrease the litter from ending up in waterways and killing our marine life.
  3. Save Wildlife: When we litter, wildlife suffers. For example, turtles and other marine mammals get entangled in plastic bags or plastic cutlery. Seabirds also get trapped by our plastic waste.
  4. Reduced Social Costs: In 2015, the costs of cleaning public spaces from litter decreased by SEK 2 billion in Sweden. Collective efforts like plogging that help keep public spaces clean indirectly save the city’s cost.

Approximately 2,000,000 people are plogging each and every day worldwide.4 Jogging while picking up litter has become a multitasking phenomenon that will work out the entire body while edifying the community. It’s an ingenious way to boost not only our cardiovascular health but also the health of our planet.

You still have a few days to purchase the special “Heart of Nikken” packs available through February 28. To promote cardiovascular health, each pack contains Kenzen® Bergisterol®, Kenzen® Super Ciaga® powder and Kenzen® Omega Green + DHA — plus one piece of magnetic jewelry, exclusive to Nikken. You have your choice of the pack with a silver Kenko Perfect Link II necklace, a gold tone Kenko Perfect Link II necklace or a Kenko Heart Set.

1,2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/23/plogging-is-the-swedish-fitness-craze-for-people-who-want-to-save-the-planet-its-making-its-way-to-the-u-s/

3 https://waste4change.com/blog/plogging-the-new-swedish-trend-of-running-while-picking-up-trash/

4 https://apple.news/Av_sOMLGbRbC-Nu5h_7Q3Gg

Vegetarian Sources of Omega Fatty Acids

Published on by Nikken

Research and studies continue to support the importance of incorporating omega fatty acids into the diet to maintain neurological and cardiovascular health. The most common source of omega fatty acids is from various types of fish, so much so that omegas are often referred to as “fish oil.” What if your diet does not allow for fish or you are simply concerned with the high mercury content in some fish?

The good news is that there are various sources of plant-derived omega fatty acids. When we eat fats in our foods, our bodies break them back down into fatty acids. Fatty acids are the building blocks of our cell membranes, and are important for energy, energy storage, and for every system of the body to function. Because of this, the omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids play a part in our skin health, respiratory system, circulatory system, organs, and especially in our brains. In addition, they help our bodies absorb vitamins and nutrients from food. 

Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids are all unsaturated fats. Each of the omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids offers our bodies benefits. Omega 3s and omega 6s are essential fatty acids, known as essential because the body cannot produce them and they therefore need to be incorporated into our daily diets. On the other hand, omega 9s are non-essential fats because our bodies are able to produce them. We can still benefit from dietary sources like olive oil and avocados for omega 9s.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)—makes up about 8% of our brains by weight, and over 90% of the omega 3s in the brain are DHA. Because of this, DHA is important for brain development and healthy brain functioning.1 The inclusion of plentiful DHA in the diet improves learning ability, whereas deficiencies of DHA are associated with deficits in learning. DHA is taken up by the brain in preference to other fatty acids.2

Seaweed and algae are important sources of omega 3 for people on a vegetarian or vegan diet, as they are one of the few plant groups that contain DHA and the omegas. Chia seeds are an excellent plant-based source of ALA omega 3 fatty acids. They are also high in fiber and protein.3 Hemp seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, edamame (young or green soybeans) and kidney beans are all sources of vegetarian omega fatty acids.

Regardless of your reasons for choosing plant-based omegas, Nikken makes it easy for you. Kenzen® Omega Green + DHA is 100 percent vegetarian and contains all three omegas, 3, 6 and 9. The proprietary formula of cranberry seed oil, flaxseed oil and red algae comes from renewable sources and the flaxseed oil in particular, is cold pressed to avoid heat. (Heat tends to deteriorate the beneficial effects of omega 3 fatty acids.)

Kenzen® Omega Green + DHA is one of the Active Wellness nutritional supplements found in the special “Heart of Nikken” packs available through February 28. Each pack contains Kenzen® Bergisterol®, Kenzen® Super Ciaga® powder and Kenzen® Omega Green + DHA — plus one piece of magnetic jewelry, exclusive to Nikken. You have your choice of the pack with a silver Kenko Perfect Link II necklace, a gold tone Kenko Perfect Link II necklace or a Kenko Heart Set.

1 https://mindovermunch.com/blog/omega-3-6-9-fatty-acids/

2https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10479465/#:~:text=Docosahexaenoic%20acid%20(DHA)%20is%20essential,associated%20with%20deficits%20in%20learning.

3https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323144#:~:text=Seaweed%2C%20nori%2C%20spirulina%2C%20and,that%20contain%20DHA%20and%20EPA.