Natural Support for PMS

by Paula Gallagher | January 26, 2012

PMS (premenstrual syndrome) is the name of a group of physical, emotional and psychological symptoms that occur in the last two weeks of the menstrual cycle, just before menses. Affecting four out of ten women, PMS symptoms can impact the quality of your life and the ability to do normal activities. While it is normal to have minor discomfort before your period, severe PMS symptoms, such as anxiety, moodiness, irritability, pain, bloating, acne, and headaches may be alerting you to some internal imbalances. While it is not known what causes PMS, it is likely that changing hormone levels and brain chemistry play a role. Diet, activity level, and stress may also be related to the severity of symptoms. Giving your body the right nutrients can help to manage your PMS.

Evening primrose oil provides an excellent source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). GLA helps to promote the production of anti-inflammatory chemicals in the body and may be helpful for the discomfort of PMS, joint pain and swelling, along with various skin conditions.

Magnesium plays a crucial role in energy production. Unfortunately, diuretics, alcohol consumption, high stress levels, and unbalanced diets can result in a magnesium deficiency. To help you maintain sufficient magnesium levels and optimum energy, we formulated Pathway TRI-MAG with 100 mg of elemental magnesium from three different sources to provide maximum uptake. Magnesium helps to relax the muscular contractions of the uterus caused by hormonal imbalances. Vitamin B6 increases magnesium absorption.

Vitamin B6 is one of the most essential, widely used vitamins in the body. As a coenzyme, B6 participates in a wide variety of enzymatic reactions. It is therefore needed for the proper growth and maintenance of almost all our body structures and body functions. It is particularly important for nervous system functioning, cardiovascular health, and women’s health. Vitamin B6 is a natural diuretic and helps with PMS-related bloating. B6 also aids in balancing estrogen levels. Vitamin B6 is best taken in combination with a balanced B-complex, such as Pathway B-COMPLEX 50.

Cravings for chocolate and other sweet foods are a common and frustrating symptom of PMS. It can cause weight gain and increased stress when you are following a healthy meal plan. Taking a green food supplement, a couple times per day, can help to eliminate cravings, boost your energy, and help to balance your blood sugar levels. Pathway ULTRA GREENS powder contains 12 green superfoods, 4 fibers, 12 herbs, 8 additional superfoods, and 6 sea vegetables. ULTRA GREENS provides a rich source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibers, carotenoids, and chlorophyll.

Tags: b complex, cholorphyll, everning primrose oil, magnesium, PMS
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What To Do After Gallbladder Removal

by Paula Gallagher | January 25, 2012

If you are one of millions of Americans who have had their gallbladder removed, then you are probably experiencing some unpleasant side effects when you eat certain foods. Fats in particular become very difficult to digest. In the past, the solution has been to avoid fats altogether. The problem with that is that fats are important, and without them skin issues, vision and eye problems, fatty tumors, bruising, and many other problems occur.

The gallbladder plays a key role in digestion of fats. Here’s how: bile acids are produced from cholesterol in your liver and then flow into your gallbladder, where they are stored until any fat you have eaten moves into the small intestine. The gallbladder then releases the bile to emulsify the fat – making it easier to absorb. However, if your gallbladder is removed, there is no storage place for bile, and so there may not be enough bile when needed. The failure of your body to release bile when needed decreases your body’s ability to properly digest fat and eventually leads to defiencies in fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids, as well as some of issues listed above.

To avoid these issues, it is important to supplement with bile salts. Bile salts, when taken with meals, will aid in digestion and assimilation of fats, and take some pressure off the liver.  Read more »

Tags: artherosclerosis, bile salts, gallbladder, rosecea
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The Triangle – A Strategy for Lasting Weight Loss

by Debi Silber, The Mojo Coach | January 24, 2012

For today’s weight loss tip it’s all about…the triangle. Watch the video below to see what I mean:

What shape do you eat in? I’d like to know.

Tags: mojo coach, the triangle
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Reducing Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease with Diet and Fish Oils

by Paula Gallagher | January 23, 2012

Alzheimer’s is an awful, degenerative disease. If no one in your life has ever been affected by it, consider yourself lucky. It has hit pretty close to home for me in the last couple of years; watching someone, once vibrant and loving, turn into a different person is heart-wrenching.

However, there may be some hope in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. A new study in the journal Neurology is reporting that a diet rich in marine derived omega-3 fats and vitamins B, C, D and E dramatically lowered the risk of reduced brain volume, memory loss and risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Certain lifetsyle factors such as education and blood pressure, combined with a healthy diet, lowered the risk of brain shrinkage by almost 40%. Shrinking brain volume is associated with the development of many forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Gene Bowman, from the Departments of Neurology and Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University, and his team of researchers studied 104 elderly people with the average age of 87. They found that the vitamins and nutrients you get from eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables and fish can be measured in blood biomarkers and have a direct impact on brain shrinkage, memory and cognition.  Read more »

Tags: Alzheimer's, brain shrinkage, brain volume, dementia, neurology
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Popular Medications Recalled

by Paula Gallagher | January 19, 2012

Swiss drugmaker Novartis is recalling all lots of Excedrin Extra Strength Caplets and Excedrin Tension Headache caplets with expiration dates of December 20, 2014 or earlier. The medication is being recalled because of possible chipped or broken tablets and stray pills of other drugs.

The chipped and broken pills could cause consumers to take too much or too little of the medication, and the unwanted pills could cause unexpected drug interactions or other side effects.

The company is also recalling some bottles of Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X because of the same problems. This is a voluntary recall and there haven’t been any reported adverse affects related to the damaged product.

For more information on the recall and what to do if you have any of the above products, please click here.

Tags: novartis, recall
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