What will you choose?

The repeated news thread looks to the latest advances of a vaccine for the coronavirus. While you wait for this suggested solution, you are encouraged to practice social distancing and wear a mask to slow the spread of the virus. But there is so much more you can do that will improve your health and strengthen your immune system.

Right now, the majority of individuals who test positive with the coronavirus have a immune system that responds quickly and they are able to move on with life. All of us are on this journey to move from the “Not Immune” to the “Immune” side. You have a choice on how you cross that line. You can prepare your body with nutrients so your immune system is ready to fight, or you can wait for the vaccine and hope that you do not have a reaction.

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Every season of illness is a test to evaluate if you are living a healthy lifestyle

As of August 3, 2020

• 4,822,833 positive coronavirus cases in the USA (1.5% of the USA population)

• 2,381,596 recovered (49% )

• 158,466 deaths (3.2% of cases)

Key observations since the beginning of 2020:

1. 70% of hospitalizations for COVID involve underlying health issues.

2. Most children are not effected, or recover quickly from the virus.

3. High density living and staying indoors with circulated air promotes infection rates.

Key Steps for Building your Immune system:

1. Increase your Vitamin C intake

Vitamin C has been used successfully in hospital settings around the world to help reduce the inflammation reactions caused by Covid-19. You can increase your intake through quality foods like Red Bell Pepper, Broccoli, Strawberries, Kiwi, and Mango. These whole foods are rich in Vitamin C and additional nutrients that will strengthen the white blood cells so they are ready to fight. Most people may also take Vitamin C tablets of 250 mg or 500 mg through out the day with a total intake of 2 grams a day without major concern.

2. Increase intake of Quercetin

Quercetin is a nutrient that has special activity when fighting viruses. Quercetin is able to stop viruses from being able to multiply in the body. The special tags or chemicals that these viruses have to slip into a cell and take over are “turned off” by Quercetin, so the virus is unable to enter and is left vulnerable to active white blood cells or enzymes that will digest the intruding virus. Asparagus and Buckwheat are rich food sources of quercetin. A 50 milligram capsule of quercetin every other day would be a good maintenance dose.

3. Check your Vitamin D Level

Vitamin D helps the immune cells to activate correctly and respond to the environment to provide the defense you need. In the results reported above, a blood concentration of 30 ng/ml or higher greatly improved the recovery rate for those patients age 60 years and older. A simple blood spot test is available from your doctor, or can be purchased from Grassroots Health.

4. Decrease sugar intake

Your immune system needs to be on “high alert” during this season. Your immune system cannot function at its best when there is a lot of celebration going on with treats and drinks. Sugar intake will cause the white blood cells to move more slowly and not be effective for about 5 hours after consuming sugar. Alcohol intake can also cause communication challenges in the body, which will make the immune system less effective. Find other ways to celebrate and enjoy the relationships you have.

5. Use the

Heat Protocol

The coronavirus starts in the sinuses and nasal passages. If you feel a sore throat starting, or the beginning of a sinus infection, try to increase your body temperature to improve the activity of your immune system. Take time to sit outdoors in warm climates, take a hot bath with steam, wrap a winter scarf around your neck to raise the temperature around your neck. Along with getting plenty of rest, the heat protocol will help activate your immune system to get the job done. Click on this link: Heat Protocol to learn more from Karen Hurd.

We all can move safely to the “Immune” side of this whole situation. These are a few of the things you can do right now in your own living situation to prepare your immune system for action.

At Nutrition Proportion, we help individuals learn a balanced lifestyle that will promote health and sustain a strong immune system for every virus and challenge that comes along. Contact us today for a personalized assessment and plan.

Liver Support

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Have you seen an increase in your waist size in the past year or two?   Have you had challenges with your gall bladder?   Do you eat packaged foods that contain fructose, or do you drink an alcohol beverage more than twice a week? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your liver would like to get your attention.  The liver is an essential organ that does not provide many warning signs when something begins to go wrong.  A gall bladder may be removed, or an appendix taken out, one may even live for a while with an artificial heart, but your liver must be kept as healthy as possible for you to maintain a quality life. 

The human liver

The liver is one of your largest organs

The liver is one of your largest organs under the rib cage, and is responsible for maintaining quality blood.  The liver filters the blood, removing toxins and processing fats and hormones as they come through so that your body can maintain a good balance of energy and activity. 

So how does this liver “filter” keep from getting clogged up?   Actually, this is becoming one of the trending health concerns in America.   Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the description for a liver that is starting to store fat within the liver tissue, which reduces its ability to filter blood effectively and results in decreased health of the body.  Between 2003 and 2012, the percent of Americans with NAFLD tripled, and in 2019 the Journal for the American Medical Association stated that NAFLD is “becoming the most common liver disease in children.” (JAMA 2019; 321(3):256-265)

Feed Your Liver

With Quality Vegetables and Fruits

You can help your liver to function well by intentionally selecting quality vegetables and fruits to support the detoxification processes of the liver.  Dark leafy greens, quality herbs, onions and garlic, as well as apples, mangoes, and berries will provide the necessary vitamins and minerals to assist the liver to stay healthy and unclogged. 

There are three specific ingredients that can give an extra boost to your liver health.  These three ingredients include: 

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) - this amino acid is the building block for glutathione.  Glutathione is an important chemical your body makes to help keep inflammation down.  NAC is a common therapy in hospitals to treat some types of drug poisoning.   Your body will make more glutathione when provided the necessary building block of NAC. 

Milk Thistle – is an herb that has been used by herbal doctors for more than 2000 years.  The seeds of this plant contain silymarin, which has been observed to increase production of glutathione and help repair liver cells.   The damage that can occur from alcohol and from high fructose intake can begin to be repaired with this important herb. 

Broccoli Sprouts – sprouts are packed with nutrients since the plant is in a very active state of growth.  Broccoli sprouts are loaded with glucoraphanin, which is a chemical that converts to sulforaphane – a significant detoxing chemical the liver uses well. 

A study of broccoli sprout powder was completed near Shanghai, China, a region known for high pollution.  Participants consumed a drink made with the broccoli powder each day for 12 weeks.  Urine and blood samples measured increased detoxification starting on the first day and participants increased removal of some toxins by 60% compared to the placebo group. (1) 

Three ingredients

To support healthy liver function

These three ingredients have been put together into one supplement for improved liver support.  Two capsules each day will provide the nutrients to build more glutathione and provide the assistance to cleanse the liver from toxins left from alcohol, fructose, and environmental pollutants. 

Contact Dr. Noel Aldrich at Nutrition Proportion today to get more information about Liver Support and the quality combination of ingredients blended in this supplement.  You can have the supplement delivered right to your door with easy access to online ordering. 

(1) Egner PA, Chen J, Zarth AT, Ng DK, et al.  Rapid and Sustainable Detoxification of Airborne Pollutants by Broccoli Sprout Beverage: Results of a Randomized Control Trial in China. Cancer Prevention Research    June 9, 2014. 

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

Amazing Energy

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Which came first, the chicken or the egg? If you have ever considered this question, you know there are more details to consider. Life is not always as simple as “this, and then that.” My answer to you is - the chicken came first. Let me explain my answer with a similar question related to your energy - which came first, your energy or the ability to store energy?

In the previous post, Your Supply Chain Shortage, we learned that your body runs on ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate). You are dependent on a regular supply of ATP to be able to do everything you do. We briefly mentioned that there are many nutrients that are required to make ATP. ATP is stored in little storage batteries that releases energy right where it is needed, and then the storage batteries need to be recharged. These many nutrients are essential to recharge the molecule that forms ATP again. But where does this little battery come from?

Your body makes this little battery through a complex recipe that involves eleven different chemical reactions. The result is the creation of this little chemical battery called AMP (adenosine mono-phospate). Once this AMP battery is made, energy can be added to the molecule to become a fully charged battery, ATP.

A little chemical battery called AMP (adenosine monophosphate)

So we come back to the original question - which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or in this case, which came first, ATP or AMP? You may want to say that you need the battery first (AMP) in order to charge the battery to get AMP. However, that complex recipe of eleven reactions required to make the AMP battery must have energy added to complete the process. In other words, you need ATP to make the AMP battery.

We stated earlier that you are dependent on a regular supply of ATP to be able to do everything you do. Now we see you even need ATP to make more ATP, so where did the original ATP come from? The very first burst of energy you received was donated energy from your parents. That spark of life came from your mom and dad, and they received their spark of life from their parents.

That spark of life came from your parents, and they received their spark of life from their parents.

We follow that line of energy all the way back to the beginning. Remember, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Full maturity is required! A pair of adults is required who can contribute their functional ATP to the generation of a new life. This pair of adults had to be created with fully functional ATP and the genetic code to make more energy batteries that could be passed on to the next generation. The process of making those batteries is not possible without some charged batteries already there.

The fact that you are reading this article means you have fully functional ATP, but perhaps you are feeling like your batteries are low. The nutrients you need for a healthy life are closer than you may know. If you are not sure what steps to take, Nutrition Proportion is ready to answer your questions. We focus on the quality foods designed to deliver the specific nutrients you need to experience a quality life. Let us help you recharge your batteries, and help you enjoy life to the fullest with real food.

Grow Your Own Nutrition

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You know the vegetable is good for you, but you cannot get over the taste in your mouth.  You wish something that is good for you would taste good too.  Each of us has at least one vegetable in mind that we try to keep off our plate, if possible.  If you have children, you know certain vegetables are a losing battle to have them consume a small portion.

If broccoli, or kale, or lima beans are supposed to be so good for you, then why couldn’t each of these vegetables taste better?  The problem may not be your taste buds, but the soil where the vegetable was grown.  You may have observed that a vegetable you have grown in your own garden tastes better than what you buy at the store.  Or, something purchased at the Farmer’s market has a fresher taste.   What do we know from research to prove what our taste buds are telling us?

Rich, enjoyable taste

is related to the soil quality the plant grows in

The key to rich, enjoyable taste in a vegetable is directly related to how the plant is grown.  I had the opportunity to meet with Jon Frank of International Ag Labs in Fairmont, MN and learn about what his company has observed for decades regarding the effect of improved farming practices on healthy field produce.  International Ag Labs has worked with thousands of farmers around the world helping them identify the natural fertilizer options needed to maximize the health of the soil so that quality plants will grow produce of the highest quality.   One of the key measures they have observed is that when the mineral content of the soil is improved the plants will produce a high level of natural sugar content throughout the plant.   A higher mineral content is observed in the plant that allows it to complete the chemistry needed to generate a higher level of sugar and thrive the way a plant is designed to thrive.

Jon Frank has taken this field work and applied it to the home owner’s garden plot.  Together we reviewed data on winter squash, which showed increased mineral content in produce that had been grown in soil that had been carefully tested and balanced with the proper level of micro-nutrients, such as calcium, copper, iron, and sulfur.   Comparisons of mineral content were made between store bought produce and produce grown in the prepared soil.  Increased mineral content of the produce was directly related to increased sugar content of the produce.  Increased sugar content with high mineral content means improved nutrient density and taste with every mouthful.  

Jon Frank is bringing this service of soil preparation to homeowners across the country through Grow Your Own Nutrition (GYON).  GYON will test your soil and provide a report on the specific nutrients your soil needs to produce quality vegetables and fruits that taste good.  Along with the report, you will get a custom blend of the natural minerals your soil needs to reach a healthy balance for quality produce.   Not only do you receive the custom blend your soil needs, but you also receive quality resources for continuing to learn how to maximize the nutrients in your plants, which results in a more successful experience growing your own produce.

The reality is there are some vegetables that you and I have eaten that have been very depleted in quality nutrients.  The result of low nutrients in the soil is a poor tasting vegetable or fruit.  You can improve your meals at your own table by getting the soil balanced with the assistance provided by Grow Your Own Nutrition.  Your Health Starts in the Soil.

This is the perfect time of year to have your soil tested for nutrient content and then receive the custom blend you need to begin the process of improving your soil so you can enjoy quality vegetables and fruit that taste great. The process of improving your soil may take some time, if no significant additions have been made over the years. Grow Your Own Nutrition helps make the process easier by providing clear instructions and resources to help you bring health to the soil and ultimately to your table. As you pursue a healthy lifestyle for yourself and your family, include a healthy management of your soil where you live.

Your Health starts

with the Soil