Take the Nopalea Loading Phase

TriVita’s Weekly Wellness Report

By Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

You can’t put out a forest fire with a single pail of water. Likewise, you can’t break the cycle of inflammation with a single serving of Nopalea™.

We need to meet the level of inflammation in our body with an equivalent force of anti-inflammatory Betalains from Nopalea. We must quench inflammation with a Nopalea Loading Phase (NLP).

The cycle of inflammation

Inflammation in your body is like a campfire: when properly contained it is useful for warming your body and cooking your food. However, when even a single ember escapes the hearth and remains unquenched, it can smolder and spread until it burns down an entire forest!

The cycle of inflammation begins with injury or trauma, toxins or poisons, deficiency or stress. When inflammation is controlled and balanced, it facilitates:

• Repair of the injury.
• Elimination of the toxins and poisons.
• Relief for many forms of deficiency and stress. For example, controlled and balanced inflammation relieves blood and oxygen deficiency in areas of poor circulation.

Runaway inflammation persists long after the cause has been removed. It continues to smolder and spread until something breaks the cycle. With fire, usually a little water will quench an ember before it causes a forest fire. With runaway inflammation in our body, we need anti-inflammatory nutrients that will remove the cause as well as the effect of inflammation.

However, the same amount of water that quenches a single ember will not douse the flames of a forest fire. The same level of anti-inflammatory nutrients that will balance daily trauma, toxins, deficiency and stress will not “put out the fire” of runaway inflammation.

The Nopalea Loading Phase

We are a people on fire: we typically have runaway inflammation raging in one or more places of our bodies. We suffer from this because so many of our health problems stem from this very condition. And if our inflamed condition is greater in size and intensity, the greater our response will have to be in order to put out the fire.

That makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, if you have a forest fire of inflammation you can’t put it out with a single pail of water. The same is true with our health: If we have been suffering from major inflammation over a long period of time, we need a REALLY SIGNIFICANT RESPONSE to put out the fire.

We need a Nopalea Loading Phase.

The Betalains in Nopalea are anti-inflammatory – as such, they put out the fire of inflammation. But how much Nopalea do you need? That depends: How big is the fire you are trying to put out?

For maintenance, the label suggests drinking 1 to 3 ounces a day; this amount is needed every day just to fight the inflammatory effects of our diet, air and water pollution, and even everyday stress. But you need to take more in the beginning to break the cycle of inflammation. Here is how the Nopalea Loading Phase works:

1. Pre-Evaluation: Before taking Nopalea for the first time, record your level of pain and rate the discomfort you feel. Also, look at things you may not readily associate with inflammation. For example, how well are you sleeping? Write it all down.
2. Complete the Loading Phase: Drink 3 to 6 ounces of chilled Nopalea every day for 30 days.
3. Post-Evaluation: After 30 days, assess how you feel in comparison to before you started the Loading Phase. Most people find a significant difference and I’m sure you will too.

Keep following the Loading Phase directions until the cycle of inflammation is extinguished in your body. Remember, only YOU know how much Nopalea you will need or how LONG you will need to continue the Loading Phase. Trust your intuition.

• If you think you need more – take more.
• If you think you need to continue the Loading Phase beyond 30 days – then keep doing it.

Trust your instinct because only you can tell when the cycle of inflammation in your body is broken.

Restoring balance

Nutrient deficiencies create inflammation. That’s why it makes enormous sense to take a full serving of Healthy Aging nutrients to support our bodies’ firefighting efforts. Furthermore, each of the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness is also anti-inflammatory in nature. So if we fail to abide by these timeless, natural laws, we could very well be fanning the fires of the inflammatory problems we’re ultimately trying to overcome. It’s important to remember that once you have subdued the flames of runaway inflammation, you need to follow Nopalea’s maintenance regimen to help prevent any smoldering inflammatory embers from re-igniting again.

Take Control of Your Health

• Follow the Nopalea Loading Phase: Drink 3 to 6 ounces of chilled Nopalea daily for 30 days. But also consider:
• Drinking a greater amount each day if you feel that your body needs it
• Extending the Loading Phase beyond 30 days if you feel it will help
• Take your Healthy Aging nutrients every day
• Practice the 10 Essentials for greater wellness

Please note that Weekly Wellness Report topics will be chosen at the discretion of Brazos Minshew and based on general relevance.
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

To Sun or Not to Sun: The Benefits and Risks

Trivita’s Weekly Wellness Report

By Brazos Minshew, TriVita’s Chief Science Officer

Humans have existed on earth for many thousands of years. Until recently, we spent entire days in the sun. Now, physicians and scientists say that sun exposure is “bad” for us. Is that true? When did the sun become our enemy? How much is enough and what is the best way to maintain balance when it comes to sun exposure?

Sunlight: crucial for life, health and happiness!

• Life – Sunlight is crucial for life because all life on earth depends (to a greater or lesser extent) upon photosynthesis. This is the process in green plants by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.
• Health – Sunlight is crucial for health because sunlight creates Vitamin D as it interacts with our skin.
• Happiness – Sunlight is crucial for happiness because sunlight activates hormones in the brain that create a sense of euphoria.

Humans are diurnal: we are awake in the daytime and asleep at night. We are designed to live in sunlight. Our skin interacts with sunlight to create Vitamin D, an essential part of our metabolism.

Vitamin D interacts with our bones to make them hard; without Vitamin D we get soft, deformed bones (rickets). Later in life we are at risk for osteoporosis if we have low levels of Vitamin D. This means if your bones are tender, or if you have a low blood level of Vitamin D, you may need to increase your sun exposure (see the “Take Control of Your Health” section below). Vitamin D also interacts with our hormones to balance our blood sugar. And it activates our immune system to help protect against cancer. Vitamin D is good for us in many ways. So it stands to reason that sunlight would be good for us too, wouldn’t it?

The Dark Side of light

Sunlight activates melanocytes. These are pigment-containing cells in our skin that help protect us from too much sun – and too much Vitamin D – by turning dark. Most people will “tan” or darken in the sun. If the sun exposure is prolonged or too intense for this melanocyte system, we will “burn.”

Overexposure to the sun creates oxidative stress similar to radiation burns from exposure to nuclear material. That’s because the sun itself is a huge nuclear furnace. A radiation burn from the sun can start a chain reaction in the melanocyte and other cells. This may lead to cancer in a year or two or in a decade or two. Oxidative stress from sunburn is insidious and dangerous.

Where’s the balance?

The skyrocketing incidence of diabetes, osteoporosis and certain cancers definitely says that we are not getting enough Vitamin D. And the increasing incidence of insomnia and seasonal depression says that we are not getting enough early morning sun.
We need more sunlight. But how do we make it safe?

Safe sun exposure

First, it’s important to recognize both the need for sun and the need for caution. Plan your sun exposure so that you maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks. For instance, get your sunlight early in the day. Early morning sunlight does not have the high ultraviolet rays that midday sun does. So, take a 20-minute walk in the early part of the day with your skin exposed to sunlight. This will give you the benefits without the risks of over exposure.

Alternately, take a 20-minute walk in the late afternoon with your skin exposed to sunlight. There are fewer UV rays in the late afternoon than at midday. So either early morning or late afternoon sun will provide you with many of the same benefits, while decreasing your risk of over exposure.

As for midday sun, never expose your skin to it for long periods of time. Wear clothing that covers most of your skin and wear a hat that provides shade for your face and ears.

Nutrients for healthy skin

Certain nutrients work well to protect against sun damage. Essential fatty acids interact with Vitamin D in your skin to help protect against harmful radiation. Vitamin C helps quench smoldering fires of oxidative stress once they have begun. Antioxidants, such as green tea and those found in berries, help protect against DNA damage from radiation. All these are excellent nutrients for dealing with the stress of too much sun.

So, is the sun our enemy? It can be if we are not careful! For most of us, however, sunlight may be the difference between good and poor health; or even between life and death! Get your sunlight, but be careful – too much of a good thing can cause trouble.

Take Control of Your Health

• Spend 20 minutes daily in the sunshine with 40% of your skin surface exposed

• Get your sun exposure early in the day or in late afternoon

• If you can’t avoid midday sun exposure:

• • Wear long pants and long sleeves
  • Wear a hat that provides shade for your face and ears
  • Wear sunscreen to protect your exposed skin
  • Never allow yourself to sunburn

• Take essential fatty acids, Vitamin C and antioxidants for maximum protection!

Eat foods rich in Vitamin D:

• Cod liver oil
• Fortified milk
• Salmon, mackerel and sardines
• Egg yolks

Beef liver