Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera, Indian ginseng) is probably the most well-known adaptogen herb there is, which is used in Ayurveda medicine. Ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine practiced in India can be traced back to 6000 BC. For most of these 6000 years, Ashwagandha has been used as a Rasayana (nourishes, detoxifies, enhances immunity). The root … Read more
Serotonin has always been thought (or is still being though) of as the happy hormone and that by increasing it, it has an anti-depressant effect, right? What if I told you that’s not true at all. SSRI drugs are the most commonly prescribed drug for depression, anxiety and other mental disorders and more than 90% … Read more
Iodine is used by the thyroid to produce thyroid hormones and is actually used by other tissue as well. Only 80% of iodine is found in the thyroid, whereas the other 20% are found in other tissue such as salivary glands, gastric mucosa, the choroid plexus (brain), ciliary body of the eye, lacrimal gland, thymus, … Read more
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) is a water-soluble vitamin and is very safe and very well tolerated. Riboflavin was discovered in 1920, isolated in 1933, and first made in 1935. Biochemical signs of depletion arise within only a few days of dietary deprivation. Riboflavin ‘5 phosphate (R5P), the active form of B2, is known to be the … Read more
Magnesium is a macromineral, which we require quite a large amount of daily. Everyone seems to know the importance of this mineral, yet so many people are deficient. Mg is involved in numerous processes in the body, which includes: An Mg deficiency is staggering: hypertension (cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver damage, etc.), peroxynitrite damage (migraine, … Read more
How does your thyroid status affect your androgen levels? The thyroid produces two hormones, namely T4 and T3. T4 is converted to T3 via the deiodinases enzyme and T4 levels are always higher than T3 levels. T4 is just considered as a pro-hormone, as it’s converted to T3, which is the active hormone. T3 binds with … Read more
Manganese (Mn), named after the Greek word for “magic,” is one of 14 essential elements. Mn is found in all tissues in the body where it is required for normal amino acid, lipid, protein, carbohydrate metabolism and ATP generation. Mn also participates in blood clotting (assisting in keeping the blood the right viscosity), sugar homeostasis (stable … Read more
Vitamin K, the last fat soluble vitamin discovered, exerts unique and extremely important functions in the body. Vitamin K works in synergy with the other fat soluble vitamins, A, D and E. Although it’s a fat soluble vitamin, the body cannot store large amounts of it, and it gets used up quite quickly. Hence, frequent … Read more
Vitamin D is actually a hormone (steroid) and not a vitamin, as our bodies can synthesize vitamin D from UVB rays from the sun and convert it into its active form which then acts as a hormone in the body. It’s very difficult to get all our vitamin D from food sources alone, and we … Read more
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that is very important in steroidogenesis, and at the same time it keeps unwanted hormones such as prolactin and estrogen low. It also plays a vital part in making intense exercise possible as well as developing the muscles you want. It has powerful antioxidant properties that boost the immunity … Read more