Van's Health Foods

Natural relief for occasional anxiety

Advanced lavender oil supplement clinically proven to help you reduce feelings of tension & stress.*

Nature’s Way Calm Aid reduces occasional anxiety and stress by alleviating feelings of tension, restlessness and anxious mood.* It’s shown to be as effective as conventional treatments, helps you stay more productive during the day and improves quality of sleep. Calm Aid can be used anytime of day and is non-habit-forming, does not cause fatigue and is not a sedative. The once daily, immediate release soft gel is the optimal delivery form for protecting the sensitive lavender oil.

This product does not contain:

• artificial flavoring
• corn
• dairy products
• gluten
• preservatives
• salt
• sugar
• wheat
• yeast

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Omega-3s plus exercise

The lower estrogen levels in postmenopause cause bone loss, and inflammation, if present, increases chances of fracture. Anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids help strengthen bone by suppressing the activity of osteoclasts, cells that remove healthy minerals from bone. In this study, 79 healthy postmenopausal women split into four groups. One group did not exercise or take supplements. A second walked and jogged only, up to 65 percent of maximum heart rate. A third group took 180 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid plus 120 mg of docosahexaenoic acid (EPA/DHA) per day, while a fourth group took the omega-3s and exercised.

After 24 weeks, while there were no changes in the other groups, the exercise/omega-3 group had 40 to 80 percent lower signs of inflammation, 15 percent greater bone mineral density (BMD) in the lower back, and 19 percent more in the thigh bone and hip.

Copper, magnesium, zinc

In this BMD study, 224 postmenopausal women, aged 51 to 80, took a multivitamin providing adequate vitamin D, plus 600 mg of calcium alone, or 600 mg of calcium with 12 mg zinc and 2 mg copper. The women kept a food diary to measure total nutrients from food and supplements.

After two years, women who got less than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for copper, magnesium, or zinc had poorer bone health than women who got at least the minimum RDA. The RDA for copper is 0.9 mg, for magnesium 237 mg, and zinc 8 mg per day. For zinc, women who got between the minimum RDA of 8 mg per day and up to 20 mg per day; 2.5 times the RDA, had healthier bones than the women who got more or less zinc.

Reference: British Journal of Nutrition; December, 2011, Vol. 106, No. 12, 1872-9

From the March 2012 newsletter

Huperzine A improved cognition

In this study, 78 people with vascular dementia, a type of impairment from reduced blood supply to the brain, took 100 mcg of huperzine A, or a placebo containing 100 mg of vitamin C, twice per day. After 12 weeks, while the placebo group had not improved, the huperzine A group performed better in mental tests, had improved ratings for clinical dementia, and better quality of daily living activities. Huperzine A is a naturally occurring compound from the Chinese club moss, used in China as a traditional medicine.

Phospholipids improved memory

Under sudden stress, the adrenal glands release cortisol to give a quick burst of energy, sharpen memory, and decrease sensitivity to pain. But when stress is chronic, cortisol can have negative effects, including impaired memory. Doctors believe phospholipids help the body adapt to stress.

In this study, 75 chronically stressed men, aged 30 to 51, drank cow’s milk with 0.5 percent or 1.0 percent phospholipids per day, or a placebo. After six weeks, while there was no difference between any of the groups in response to acute stress, men over age 41 in the high-dose phospholipid group had better memory performance.

Reference: Nutrition Research; 2011, Vol. 31, No. 6, 413-20

From the March newsletter 2012

Don’t let stress get you down!

Maybe you never thought about your adrenal gland being stress regulators before, but they are. When your adrenal glands are working properly, they release hormones that help your body maintain balance during stress. Left neglected, they could be the reason you’re feeling fatigued.

Adrenal Stress-End supports your adrenal gland function to:

• Energize you even on the most stressful day*
• Manage excess stress*
• Combat stress-related fatigue*

This supplement features a combination of key nutrients including licorice to help balance levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, as well as L-tyrosine and adrenal polypeptide fractions to help revitalize the adrenal gland.* This highly absorbable predigested form of adrenal extract needs little or no further digestion so the body can reap their natural benefits quickly and easily.

To see more information on this or other products by Enzymatic Therapy, Van’s Health Foods in Livermore invites you to visit the website by clicking here.

*This statement has not been evaluated by The Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Saffron reduced anxiety

In this study, 35 women with normal sense of smell breathed saffron odor for 20 minutes. Half were pre-ovulation, the other half post-ovulation. Regardless of menstrual phase, saffron significantly decreased levels of cortisol, the hormone the adrenal glands release in response to stress.

Vitamin D reduced depression

Researchers in the study measured vitamin D in the diets of 81,189 women, aged 50 to 79, and followed up for three years. Overall, compared to those who got less than 100 IU of vitamin D per day, women who got a total of at least 800 IU of vitamin D per day from all sources were 21 percent less likely to have depressive symptoms. In a subgroup of women who did not have depressive symptoms at the start of the study, those who got at least 400 IU of vitamin D from food were 20 percent less likely to have depressive symptoms after three years.

Low levels of zinc in depression

Researchers thought that consistently low levels of zinc in the diet contribute to depressive symptoms. In this study of 3,708 men and women, while there was no link in men, women with low levels of zinc in the diet were more likely to have depressive symptoms than were women with normal zinc levels. Doctors also found an even greater tendency toward depressive symptoms in those taking anti-depressants whose zinc levels were low.

Reference: Phytomedicine; 2011, Vol. 18, No. 9, 726-30

From the March 2012 newsletter