The Importance of Magnesium

Mushroom Mayhem

Mushrooms - These fungi that grow in some of the oddest places are know to us as either a delicious food or poisonous growths to stay away from. There is more to mushrooms though, as some have very high medicinal qualities that make them stand out in our field. Names such as Lion's Mane or Cordyceps may be familiar to you if you've ever looked into helping your mind and focus, but there are others as well that have varying qualities:

Lions Mane - Known to enhance memory and cognitive function in healthy older adults as well as those experiencing mild cognitive decline. Lions Mane supports communication between neurons and increases cognitive speed and plasticity

Reishi - One of my personal favorites, Reishi mushrooms have been known to reduce anxiety, improve sleep quality, and protect neurons against toxins and oxidative stress

Chaga - Known to combat harmful brain inflammation and offer neurological protection, even in cases of progressive cognitive decline such as Alzheimer's disease

Cordyceps - Enhances oxygen delivery, boosts mental endurance, protects neuron cell membranes, fights oxidative stress in the brain, and may combat early cognitive decline. If you had to choose on mushroom to take daily, this just might be it!

While each of these mushrooms have their own strengths and weaknesses, you can also combine them together into a blend to get synergistic, improved support. Blends by companies like BIOptimizers  or GT's Alive contain extract forms of some of these mushrooms so you can get a large amount of beneficial mushrooms in one delicious drink. Careful with the Alive mushroom soda though, you may just get hooked on both how delicious it is, and how it makes you feel! I personally use it to keep myself going strong through that dreaded afternoon slump!

Vinpocetine: Protection and Support

Vinpocetine has been used traditionally for things ranging from stroke recovery and cognitive support to eye health, and though these things all seem fairly unrelated they all deal with sensitive tissues in our body. Inadequate blood flow, known as Ischemia, can play a devastating role for these sensitive tissues, which is what Vinpocetine has been known to protect. While it works through complex mechanisms in our body such as blocking certain sodium channels and regulating ions, the support Vinpocetine brings can be related to protecting against the damage Ischemia causes. At the same time, Vinpocetine is an antioxidant which is crucial to the health of our brains and cognitive function. While the effects of Vinpocetine on areas like retinal metabolism have not been fully studied, the support and protection it may bring are tried and true.

The Glycemic Index

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a system that ranks carbohydrates based on how quickly they raise your blood sugar levels. Each food is assigned a numerical value depicting this speed of digestion and absorption. Foods with a high GI, 70 or higher, are digested quickly which leads to a swift increase in blood sugar levels and a harsher effect on your body as it attempts to deal with sudden glucose increases. Foods with a low GI however, 55 or lower, are broken down slowly, which results in a gradual rise in blood sugar, leading to our bodies having an easier time adjusting to cope with the blood glucose. Not only is this important for healthy individuals, aging adults or those suffering from Type II Diabetes need to be extra careful with elevated blood glucose levels. If you are interested in learning more about the GI and why eating foods with a low GI value are critical for you, feel free to stop in at the store and have a chat with us!