With New Year’s just round the corner with an expectation of some alcoholic indulgence and enjoyment. Ah, but hangovers are definitely a factor. There is no magic pill to erase the hangover, but some essential vitamins and nutrients can help reduce the effects.

When you have an overdose of alcohol, the level of vitamins in your body goes down; especially Vitamin B12 reduces to a large extent. Studies have shown that vitamin B6 does help reducing the effects of a hangover. So it is helpful for you ensure that the levels of these essential vitamins do not go down in your body.

While vitamins help you reduce the effect, amino acids helps to mop up those nasty chemicals left behind by an alcohol in your body. Eggs contain cysteine which is a form of amino acid that helps clean your system and reduce the hangover effect.

Turkey is usually not thought of for 11 months out of the year, but come November, a beautiful turkey is the center of attention.

Fat & Calories:

Turkey is very low in calories and won’t wreck your diet, especially with it’s rich protein benefits. Turkey breast is lowest in fat, but dark meat turkey is still not a bad choice. Go for a second helping of turkey before you go for more bread or dressing!

Vitamins:

The antioxidant selenium and B3 and B6 vitamins are all abundant in a serving of the Thanksgiving bird.

Tryptophan?:

Turkey is indeed loaded with tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that is a natural sedative, but it doesn’t affect us unless we eat it on an empty stomach and separate from other amino acids. When tryptophan is consumed along with the other amino acids found in turkey, it’s no longer sleep-inducing.

For those of you who are not meat eaters, Tofurky Vegetarian Roast makes a fantastic vegan substitute, but if you’re having guests, keep in mind that they may want the real thing.

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Any orange vegetable is a nutrition power house … carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin, and Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to get a huge boost of Vitamin A along with excellent fiber and carbohydrates benefits.

Pumpkin is absolutely loaded with beta-carotene, and antioxidant that is converted to vitamin A in the body. Beta-carotene may reduce risk of cancer and heart disease.

Other nutrients in pumpkin such as lutein, help reduce some effects of aging. Lutein helps reduce the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration.

A few great ways to have pumpkin at Thanksgiving … pumpkin pie of course, pumpkin custard, pumpkin bread.

You can also toast the pumpkin seeds, which is so great for you, but that’s a whole other post!

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If your body has crashed, and you can’t snap out of it, we have a few easy ways to jump start your body. Now, these suggestions are great to help make you more alert … these ideas will not give you a caffeine-like rush - just wake you up.

1 - Aromatherapy: have a peppermint. Or a cup of mint tea. Or use a little mint lip balm. The smell of mint stimulates your brain. Also, great for stress relief.

2 - If it’s not raining, step outside. 15 minutes of sunshine triggers your brain into action, releasing serotonin, the “feel good” hormone.

3 - Turn off the television. It is a definite energy zapper.

4 - A short walk gets your blood moving faster and wakes up the circulatory system. Another good stress reliever.

Can allowing your kids to indulge their sweet tooth make them more violent? Yes, say researchers in Cardiff in the UK, who studied the effects of childhood diet on adult violence. The study showed that 10-year-old children who were allowed to eat sweets daily were significantly more likely to display and be convicted of violence by age 34.

The study failed to answer whether children who are “difficult” are more likely to be allowed to indulge their love of sweets or whether parents were just not allowing normal kids to learn to delay gratification. However, it ruled out factors that could have contributed like parenting, area of residence, higher education and access to a car.

The research was an attempt to investigate the role that poor diet in children might have in contributing to violent tendencies. Although not everyone is convinced, of these findings, the investigators have suggested that any efforts that aim to improve childrens’ diets may help reduce aggressive tendencies.

The study will definitely cause parents to think twice before indulging their childrens’ sweet tooth. So should you curb your child’s intake of sugar? Well, a better way to put it would be that nothing but good can come out of giving your children a healthier diet or supplementing their existing diet with vitamins and minerals that may be lacking. Healthy and balanced lifestyle can be taught at an early age.

Is more wine and less food the secret to the fountain of youth? Not exactly. In a recent New York Times article … although many studies have proved beyond doubt that resveratrol, a chemical found in some red wines, has very positive correlations with longevity, it’s not the intake of wine you need to increase. The key to the quest for longevity rests in the way resveratrol works - by activating certain proteins in the body - called sirtuins - that are thought to help the body ride out famines.

The reason drug companies are so interested in these findings is because resveratrol helps the body mimic the effects of caloric restriction – another factor long proven to boost longevity and decrease the incidence of aging diseases. Although, you’d think that cutting down on your intake of food, especially carbs, would be one of the easiest ways to postpone aging, drug companies like Sirtris, are investigating sirtuin activators and other molecules to see if they have the same effect as following a diet low in calories.

The studies did have positive effects, showing that sirtuin activators can act against a number of diseases related to aging, such as various cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease. They were also found to reduce inflammation, and could help combat inflammatory diseases like irritable bowel syndrome and glaucoma. Until the results of the trials are published and sirtuin activators or other promising candidates are found to combat all sorts of aging-related disorders, the search for the fountain of youth continues.

Instead of all of these lab created formulas, why not just drink a glass of red wine every night? An all natural antioxidant supplement is a good idea too.

It is that time of year again … the question on everyone’s minds is,

“Should I get a flu shot?”

This is a personal decision, and whether you get the injection or not, Good Elements wants to make sure you have flu shot information to make the best decision. If you opt out, we also want to make sure you know that there immune system vitamins as an alternative to protect yourself.

Why get a flu shot?

Every year starting in October, millions of people get a flu shot.

There is a personal reason- to develop antibodies for the current seasonal flu so that days of school and work aren’t missed.

Another reason is to protect those around you, especially if you are in the healthcare industry or are frequently around others who have weakened or young immune systems. The last thing you want to do is pass the virus on to a high risk person in your life.

The reason the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends getting a vaccine every year is because the seasonal strain tends to change year after year. The seasonal flu vaccine is revamped every year to address known changes in the strain. Issues arise when the flu vaccine doesn’t address unknown mutations of the virus. You aren’t protected against the unknown.

Two facts to consider about the flu shot:

1. If the randomized controlled studies are evaluated, the flu shot reduces the absolute risk of contracting the flu by 1%. Meaning 1 out of 100 people receiving the flu shot will benefit from it.

2. The CDC claims that over 35,000 people die from the flu-caused illnesses yearly and this is the reason to get the flu vaccine. In fact less than 1000 people a year die from the flu, and 35,000 people a year die from pneumonia. After carefully reading the research, the flu vaccine does not protect people from contracting pneumonia.

What are flu shot risks and side effects?

The injection won’t give you the flu, but you may experience some side effects of the flue shot, such as
• fatigue,
• low grade fever
• and tenderness at the injection site.

But, a main concern about the vaccine is the additives used to formulate the injection. Thimerosal, aluminum, formaldehyde and other additives make many people nervous about the flu vaccine with good reason.Flu shot ingredients:

• If the flu vaccine is claimed to be thimerosal free, the fine print reads that thimerosal is still used in the manufacturing process.

• Aluminum is also added to the flu shot to promote an antibody response, aluminum has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.

• The other toxic ingredients in flu shots include, formaldehyde which can cause cancer, ethylene glycol a component of antifreeze and various antibiotics.

While the CDC assures us that the vaccine is safe and the levels of these ingredients is too low to cause any serious side effects, it is still a good reason to stop and consider your options. And, you do have options, as described below, that give you lifestyle guidelines and offer immune system vitamins to bolster your natural infection-fighting abilities.

What are the alternatives to the flu shot?

For as many people that receive the shot each year, many people decide to opt out each year.

If you decide not to get the vaccine, it is important to follow these CDC guidelines for your safety and those around you:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly! Sing “Happy Birthday” and use soap every trip to the bathroom, after touching shopping carts and any other public situation where you pick up germs.

Have antibacterial wipes and gels on hand for immediate cleaning in public.

Don’t touch your face until you can get those hands washed!

2. Sneeze into tissues and cough into the bend of your elbow to avoid spraying those around you. Toss the tissue immediately. If you forget and use your hands to cover your mouth, wash them.

3. If you feel that little tickle in the back of your throat that tells you something is coming on, stay home and load up on your vitamins. Definitely if you are running a fever, stay home!

4. Get lots of rest, exercise and fill up on healthy foods.

Immune System Vitamins
with Resistance

If you have decided to opt out of getting the flu shot, you need to take measures to keep yourself healthy during the cold and flu season. Good Elements recommends taking immune system vitamins such as the Resistance immunity supplement.

If safety is the main reason for opting out when it comes to vaccines, these supplements are all natural, no fillers or additives, and they enhance the body’s natural abilities to fight off infection.

Immune system vitamins found in the Resistance supplement include

• Vitamins A and C which are antioxidant superheroes.
• Zinc and Echinacea are also added for their infection fighting capabilities. These two are commonly used to treat cold and flu symptoms.
• Ginger is another ingredient that has a long history of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties.
• Other natural ingredients in the Resistance vitamins for immune system include licorice, elderberry, grape root and bromelain.

Good Elements has combined all of these powerhouse ingredients for optimum immune abilities.

Immune system vitamins: Resistance