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Three Pillars of Health For a Strong Foundation

By on March 29, 2022

By Andrea Donsky, RHN | Naturallysavvy.com

As the world around us shifts, it’s become more important than ever to find ways to support and promote our immune health and overall health daily. Doing so requires a strong foundation of lifestyle habits such as getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep, quality nutrition including consuming a variety of antioxidants, and self-care such as everyday physical activity. When any one of these pillars are lacking, it can result in compromised health and an inability to fight off infections.

Many of us want to perform at our best, whether that is running our home and family life, excelling in our careers, or often both at the same time. Building a strong foundation for health will boost our energy, keep us healthy, and allow us to do as much as possible throughout our day. Our team has always emphasized nutrition and supplementation as a way of filling in the gaps when our busy days don’t allow us to eat as well as we would like.

Taking care of one’s health has become increasingly challenging since there are so many products on the market and so much information (and misinformation) available for people to evaluate. That’s why we want to help zero in on some of the most important pillars of health for you and your family. We’re going to talk about three of the areas we focus on every day; including making sure we have sufficient greens in our diet, taking a good quality probiotic, and filling in the gaps for essential fatty acids that we need but our bodies can’t make on their own. Let’s get started.

Pillar One: Greens for energy

Did you know it’s recommended to have at least 2-3 cups of green leafy vegetables a day? We all know the importance of getting enough healthy, high-quality greens in our diet, but we also realize that this goal is sometimes unrealistic to manage with our busy schedules. Work, kids, errands, social obligations, and paying bills take over, and we forget to include those all-essential greens in their diet. Even if we are committed to staying on top of consuming our 2-3 cups daily, it can be difficult to keep up with always having enough on hand in our homes.

Yet neglecting those greens can mean you run out of energy before the day is over. All dark leafy greens, as well as spirulina, chlorella, alfalfa, wheatgrass, and seaweed, are packed with nutrients that can supercharge your energy. Finding all of these amazing greens in one convenient greens supplement can take the worry out of incorporating them into your diet every day when you just don’t have the time or the supply on hand.

Taking a greens supplement ensures you’ve met your daily quota of phytonutrients and antioxidants needed for optimal health while allowing you to maintain your busy schedule while still maintaining your health.

Pillar two: Probiotics

Beneficial bacteria are the foundation of healthy digestion, intestinal health, and a strong immune system. Keeping your microbiome in balance, however, is especially challenging given the declining quality of much of our conventional food supply, the constant toxic assaults from the environment and many everyday products, and the chronic stress many of us experience on a daily basis.

Numerous studies point to the power of probiotics to support gut health and overall health. In a 2019 report entitled “Beneficial effects of probiotic consumption on the immune system,” for example, the authors pointed out that probiotics “have significant effects on the functionality of the mucosal and systemic immune systems through the activation of multiple immune mechanisms.”

If you have ever experienced constipation, digestive upset, gas, or bloating, then your microbiome may need a little support from prebiotic foods, probiotic foods, fermented foods, or a probiotic supplement. Probiotics are available through certain foods, such as kefir, kimchee, sauerkraut, natto, and yogurt. However, easy-to-take probiotic supplements are recommended to provide a more steady supply of these essential factors for health.

Pillar three: omega-3 essential fatty acids

So far we’ve addressed energy, gut health, and immune health. But what about brain health and mood? Strong brain and mental health are the critical third pillar for overall health because they are so important to our focus and preventing and managing conditions like depression and anxiety. In today’s highly stressful society, maintaining stable mental and emotional health is necessary for protecting our physical health and being able to do our best every day. Omega-3 fatty acids are a key player in this area because they help with mood, systemic inflammation, and brain health. Naturally, however, our bodies don’t make essential fatty acids so eating a diet rich in freshwater fish and taking a supplement is ideal.

Read about omega-3 fatty acids and brain health

The two omega-3 fatty acids that are critical are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). They are an essential component of cell membranes everywhere in the body and have an impact on the function of cell receptors in those membranes. They help regulate inflammation, support brain blood flow, assist in the growth of brain tissue, help with memory and cognition, and may prevent neurodegenerative disorders including anxiety and depression.

Certain omegas are anti-inflammatory and can help with chronic conditions that are of an inflammatory nature. Some of these conditions include diabetes, heart disease, and chronic pain.

An omega-3 supplement that provides high amounts of EPA (2,000 mg) plus DHA (100 mg) is a perfect combination to support cognitive function and keep your mood in balance while keeping some of these inflammatory conditions in check.

Bottom line

These three pillars of health are critical for the overall physical, mental, and emotional well-being of you and your family and for performing at your best. Greens, probiotics, and omega-3s are all essential and yet can be extremely challenging to get enough of in today’s world, which is why choosing a high-quality supplement for each is recommended for the entire family.

[Editor’s Note: Genuine Health offers all-natural, non-GMO products to address these three pillars mentioned in this article. And for all Naturally Savvy readers they are offering 20% off with the code: NATURALLY20.]

Source

Galdeano M et al. Beneficial effects of probiotic consumption on the immune system. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism 2019; 74:115-24

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