Tag: organic

How Much Did You Gain Over Thanksgiving?

Published on by Nikken

Okay, be honest. How much weight did you gain this past week? Popular belief finds that the average American gains around five to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. This starts off with approximately a little over a pound gained over Thanksgiving week. If it doesn’t sound like much to you, you’re probably one of those fortunate people with a fast metabolism that kicks into high gear once you get back on your regular eating regimen.

Unfortunately, many people—especially those who are middle-aged and older—gain a few pounds over the holidays every year and never take the weight off. Not to be an alarmist but multiply two by 10 and that’s 20 pounds in a decade! There’s no better time than right now to jump into Active Wellness!

Here are half a dozen tips for fighting the battle of the holiday bulge:

  • Drink water—lots of it. Water not only helps you feel full but it also helps your digestive system work more efficiently. A bonus of drinking more water than you might be accustomed to is an improvement in your skin, especially if you drink filtered water!
  • Don’t deprive yourself and abruptly cut out everything you think of as fattening. Instead, cut out a third of everything. Portion control is key. Too often, we think of what to eat rather than how much to eat.
  • Increase your consumption of green, leafy vegetables. They’re bulky and therefore filling, and they contain very few calories. In addition, you reap the benefits of their inherent vitamins and minerals, which are sources of natural energy.
  • Decrease your consumption of “white” foods, such as bread, rice, pasta and potato. Replace with organic whole grains.
  • Ditch anything that’s “ready-made” for the microwave. Chances are it contains too much sodium and some kind of preservative. Our bodies absolutely despise preservatives.
  • If you’re generally sedentary, take a brisk 15 to 30 minute walk every day. If you’re already on a good exercise regimen, increase whatever you do by two to five minutes. The trick is to be consistent.

5 Tips to Help Clear Your Mind

Published on by Nikken

Let’s face it. We all have brain fog once in a while. It’s annoying at best and at worst, can be downright embarrassing. Why not do something about it? Here are 5 tips to keep your mind nimble:

  1. Aerobic exercise. Known simply as “cardio” by trainers, it’s not just good for your heart and circulation. It’s good for your brain. When you get your heart rate up, you are actually helping your synapses fire, too! Try to get in 30 minutes at least 5 times a week.
  2. Weight training. It doesn’t just tone your muscles and make you stronger, but it also keeps your mind sharp. Add resistance training to your workout at least twice a week and you’ll be extending your long-term brain health. You don’t need to join a gym: hand weights for curls and ankle weights for leg lifts will do the trick.
  3. Expand your knowledge. It doesn’t have to be intense book learning as in school or university, but it should be intellectually stimulating. Essentially you are giving your brain a workout and stimulating neurochemicals needed for forming new memories as well as retaining the old.
  4. Master a new skill. Have you ever noticed how quickly a toddler acquires language skills? After age 25, the pace of absorbing information slows, but forcing the brain to learn something new helps keep it focused. Your brain has to make a whole new set of connections in order to learn the new skill—whether it’s driving a car, dancing the tango or speaking a foreign language.
  5. Play games. Solve a crossword puzzle or fill in all the squares of Sudoku. Play checkers or chess. Roll the dice for backgammon. All these games challenge the brain to work, which in turn, might increase the levels of growth factors. These types of thinking games force the brain to focus.

Kenzen® Clarity under the NikkenWellness line is formulated to help support your brain power. A fermented blend of 100% organic ingredients, Clarity is designed to help you stay focused and mentally sharp.

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The Battle Against High Cholesterol

Published on by Nikken

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that comes from two sources: our bodies and what we eat. Our bodies, and especially its liver, make all the cholesterol we need and circulate it through the blood, but it cannot be dissolved. It must be transported through the bloodstream by carriers called lipoproteins, which are composed of fat (lipid) and proteins. Cholesterol is also found in foods from animal sources, such as meat, poultry and full-fat dairy products. The liver produces more cholesterol when we eat a diet high in saturated and trans fats.

A tendency towards high cholesterol can be caused by a diet that is high in fat, but a person can also be genetically predisposed. In other words, high cholesterol can run in the family. Cholesterol is such a common topic of conversations these days because when it is too high, it is a proven risk for cardiac problems. As a result, cholesterol medication, commonly referred to as statins, are one of the highest sources of revenue for pharmaceutical companies.

Statins work by slowing the body’s production of cholesterol. The body produces all the cholesterol it needs by digesting food and producing new cells on its own. When this natural production is slowed, the body begins to draw the cholesterol it needs from the food you eat, lowering your total cholesterol.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), statins also lower your body’s levels of coenzyme Q10 (“CoQ10”). As your levels go down, the side effects of statins increase. Taking CoQ10 supplements might help increase the levels in the body and reduce side effects caused by statin usage.

The most common statin side effect is muscle pain. It can be mildly uncomfortable pain or bad enough to compromise daily activities. Statins can also adversely affect the liver and kidneys. Some people may develop nausea, gas, diarrhea or constipation after taking a statin, although these side effects are relatively rare. Taking statin medication in the evening with a meal can reduce digestive side effects.

The FDA warns on statin labels that some people have developed memory loss or confusion while taking statins. These side effects reverse once you stop taking the medication. Talk to your doctor if you experience memory loss or confusion. On the other hand, there has also been evidence that statins may help with brain function — in patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s, and this continues to be studied.

If your diet is the cause of high cholesterol levels, it can be relatively easy to lower levels by making changes to daily consumption of red meat and dairy—and focusing on whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Cholesterol can be both good and bad, so it’s important to know what your cholesterol levels are in order to manage the health of your circulatory system. If you have high overall cholesterol and it’s not genetic, you have a good chance of controlling it via diet.

Caffeine-sensitive? Try Kenzen Ten4® with natural caffeine.

Published on by Nikken

Athletes are always looking for that competitive edge. For example, some swimmers shave their entire bodies; many runners swear by carbo-loading; jockeys are known to fast before races; extreme behaviors become run-of-the-mill—all in pursuit of heightened performance and victory. One performance enhancer that is drawing more attention from elite athletes is perfectly legal: caffeine.

Caffeine has always been the perennial best friend of high school and college students—whether as a wake-me-up or a means to stay awake while cramming for exams. Triathletes and distance runners have used caffeine as an energy booster for decades, but in more recent years, those involved in short-burst sports are also taking advantage of this stimulant.

Natural sources of caffeine include seeds, leaves, nuts and berries. In Kenzen Ten4® Energy Drink Mix, there are 80 mg per serving of natural caffeine from organic matcha green tea. The caffeine in organic matcha green tea not only may help boost energy, but it also may create a calm type of awareness. In other words, organic matcha green may well provide you with a pick-me-up feeling without the jitteriness that caffeine from other sources may cause. The natural caffeine in organic matcha green tea binds to the naturally occurring phytonutrients to slow down the absorption of the stimulant, giving it a slow release effect, resulting in up to six hours of enhanced alertness or physical performance.

PiMag® Water: Taste the Difference

Published on by Nikken

We love hearing from customers who have wonderful Nikken product experiences. We especially appreciate it when we’re told that a Nikken product not only helps people but may well make their lives more livable. Platinum Pam Barnes sent us a note that one of her customers wrote her:

“Just a little note to let you know how much we appreciate our PiMag® Sport Bottles. We are living in a house on the Zambezi River here in Zambia. The drinking water comes from the river. Although it has passed through three different filters and an ultraviolet light, the taste is horrendous.

“We put this same filtered water* through our PiMag® Sport Bottles and we have great tasting water! When we make tea or coffee with the filtered river water, it tastes bad. But when we use PiMag® water to make coffee and tea, it tastes great. I don’t think we can ever do without our PiMag® Sport Bottles. Thank you!”

*PiMag® products are to be used for filtering potable water only.

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