December 2022 - Apportal

Restorative vitamins: how to cope with the change of seasons and starting school in the best way

The change of seasons and sudden changes in temperature can be a health risk for everyone, but particularly for children. They are more affected by viruses and colds, as their immune system has not yet fully developed.

If in addition to the change of seasons they are continually exposed to bacteria and pathogenic agents at school, the probability of catching flu increases exponentially. All parents are aware of this, but the good news is that, although there is no way to completely eliminate the risk, it is possible to ensure that the immune defences are not drastically reduced.

The recommendations of the Italian Paediatricians’ Society all underline the importance of a healthy lifestyle, in addition to a few simple precautions to take on a day to day basis. With a few precautions and the support of the right vitamins, it is possible to strengthen children’s immune system, so that they are ready to respond in critical periods.

Vitamins for supporting children’s immune system

Let’s start with a concept that paediatricians and nutritionists often state, but which is worth repeating: vitamins and mineral salts actively help to build children’s defensive barrier. This is why fruit and vegetables must be part of their diet, even if you may have to be patient if this causes tantrums. Following a balanced, varied diet is fundamental for promoting healthy growth and educating children to a healthy lifestyle.

So here’s a short guide to the vitamins that help to strengthen children’s immune defences, and the foods we find them in:

Vitamin A: useful for the sight, bones and teeth, and also provides valid support for the immune system. It is present in orange foods, including pumpkin, carrots, apricots and melons, green leaf vegetables, liver, cheeses and milk.
Vitamin B2: plays an essential role in the synthesis of energy processes for the normal performance of everyday activities. It is present in foods including milk and cheeses, eggs, yeast, as well as green-leaf vegetables and liver.
Vitamin B6: useful for increasing the efficiency of the immune system, it is found in foods including milk, meal, whole wheat cereals, pulses, liver and vegetables.
Vitamin B12: useful for the production of red blood cells, it is also an important ally for strengthening the immune system. Found in shellfish and fish generally, in chicken, egg yolk and cheeses.
Vitamin C: one of the most famous and useful vitamins in the cold season as it strengthens the immune defences. In fact, it has natural immune-boosting and antioxidant actions. It is present in citrus fruits, kiwi, peppers, tomatoes and green leaf vegetables.
Vitamin D: it is found in the body and is synthesised through the chemical reaction produced by exposure to sunlight. It supports the intestinal absorption of minerals, such as calcium and phosphorous, which are essential for bone growth and a healthy skeleton. Vitamin D is also an ally for the immune system and is found, although in lower quantities, in salmon, herring, tuna, egg yolk and green-leaf vegetables.

Advice for strengthening children’s immune system

In addition to a healthy, balanced diet, rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, it is a good idea to ensure the intake of restorative vitamins to keep children’s immune system strong even during the change of seasons.

The targeted nutrients in ApportAL® Vital are formulated to be well-tolerated even by children, supporting their natural defences in both tackling debilitating periods and recovering strength and vitality during convalescence.

This is also thanks to the presence of arginine, carnitine and Royal jelly. Arginine has properties that improve muscle efficiency, ensuring a better blood flow. In the same way, carnitine helps to combat the onset of fatigue and keep energy levels high even when the body has to make greater physical efforts. Royal jelly is a natural food rich in glucose, proteins, minerals and group B vitamins, and is ideal for combating anaemia and asthenia and for strengthening the immune defences.

Supplements for children’s lack of appetite

Children’s growth is closely linked to the intake of the right amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Nutritional requirements depend on the age, sex, weight and any sports practised, but, whatever these factors, a varied, balanced diet should satisfy the requirements in all phases of development.

In specific circumstances, however, it may be necessary to take supplements of fundamental vitamins and minerals to address a lack of appetite that children often suffer from.

Lack of appetite in children: causes

Children may frequently suffer from a lack of appetite in different phases of their growth, making every meal a struggle for the parents, who are worried that their children are not eating enough. The symptoms are easy to identify: every meal is pushed around the plate, only a few foods stimulate their palate and, usually, they are the ones that should be eaten in moderation, such as sweets or savoury snacks.

Let’s take a look at the possible causes:

Antibiotic treatment may lead to a general loss of appetite.
Intestinal viruses are one of the most frequent causes, as is teething.
Sore throats are also one of the causes that make children refuse food, as it hurts when they swallow.
Starting nursery, or generally when there is a substantial change in their daily routine, can negatively affect a child’s appetite.
The change of seasons is another common cause of loss of appetite in children, as are travel and sudden variations in the food offered.

All these situations of loss of appetite are usually resolved on their own in a short time, and should not be a cause for worry. It is however important to avoid insisting and psychological blackmail like promising sweets or gifts if they finish the food on their plate.

But if the loss of appetite continues, it is important to consult a paediatrician to exclude any illnesses.

Remedies for children’s lack of appetite

As explained, the first recommendation, on which paediatricians, child psychologists and nutritionists agree, is to not insist that the child finishes their meal, or using misleading tricks like promising something in exchange. The most classic example is “If you finish your dinner you can watch the cartoons”.

Although it is quite hard not to panic, child nutritionists suggest that you:

Eat together: when children eat with adults, their curiosity is aroused by the appetite of the other people with them.
Avoid excessive portions: children will be more motivated if they don’t consider the plate in front of them to be an insurmountable task.
Patterned plates: using plates with pictures of superheroes or in any case attractive patterns can stimulate the appetite.
Colourful dishes: children will be more encouraged to taste what is in their plate if they have a variety of colours in front of them.

When to use supplements? During periods when children lack appetite, there is a strong chance that some foods will be refused despite taking all these precautions. To ensure the full intake of all the essential nutrients for their development, supplements with a complete formula suited for children of all ages can be used.

ApportAL® Vital is an excellent multi-vitamin, multi-mineral nutritional supplement for supporting children’s development, by integrating the main micronutrients which must be assured in their diet. In fact, ApportAL® Vital contains:

Arginine
Carnitine
Coenzyme Q10
Eleutherococcus
Iron
Iodine
Magnesium
Group B vitamins
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Selenium
Zinc

Last but not least, ApportAL® Vital contains Royal Jelly, a natural substance that offers many benefits, and is always recommended for stimulating the appetite and increasing body tone. The complete formulation of ApportAL® Vital is therefore ideal for providing valid nutritional support and helping children’s immune defences.

How to recover energy after sporting activities

Practising sport regularly is one of the basic rules for a healthy lifestyle. In fact, the benefits of sporting activities do not only concern staying in shape, but are also tangible aids for both the body and mind, as stress and tensions are literally dissolved when the body is in motion.

But subjecting the body to more or less intensive physical effort, we must take a few precautions to avoid injuries and to ensure that the body can recover energy levels quickly, restoring normal physiological well-being.

Techniques for recovering energy after sporting activities

Warm-ups: recovering energy after sporting activities starts sooner than we might think. Never underestimate the importance of warm-ups, needed to increase the body temperature, preparing the muscles and ensuring elasticity during sports, to avoid strains and sprains.

Cool-downs: like warm-ups, after sporting activities we must ensure a cool down period, with a series of activities to relax the muscles, along with exercises that help to stretch the tissues and dispose of the lactic acid.

Have a snack: within 30 minutes after the end of sporting activities, it is a good habit to ensure sufficient rehydration, and a snack rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral salts and fibre.

The importance of proteins: people who practise sports regularly must ensure that their diet includes proteins, as these provide the essential amino acids that maintain healthy muscles and cardiovascular system.

Cereals: nuts, cocoa and whole wheat cereals help to restore spent energy, and contain micronutrients that fight the oxidation triggered during sporting activities.

Physical and mental relaxation: meditation, yoga, low-impact exercises or a short walk to relax the mind: these common mental relaxation techniques also have positive effects on the body.

Regular night-time rest: the health of the whole body depends on both the amount and quality of sleep. If there is a balanced sleep-wake rhythm, there is a greater chance of having more energy when you wake up.

Supplements for recovering energy: ApportAL® contains vitamins and mineral salts that promote normal muscle function and help recover energy, strength and tone after sporting activities. This is thanks to its formulation with 19 nutrients, including:

Selenium: an essential substance for supporting skeletal muscle health and functioning.

Magnesium: indispensable for the body for producing energy, helping to guarantee muscle contraction and heart beat.

Arginine: arginine improves the blood flow and muscle efficiency, also supporting muscle recover both after sports and in the event of prolonged inactivity.

Carnitine: it is useful for facilitating muscle recovery and repair after intensive efforts and activities. It also helps the body to fight fatigue.

Supplements for muscle strengthening

Muscle health is fundamental not only for competitive sports players but for everyone. Muscle tissue is not only fundamental for ensuring correct movement but also for ensuring optimal functioning of the endocrinal system. Muscles can to all extents and purposes be considered an actual organ.

Advice for healthy muscles

A healthy diet and appropriate hydration are the starting points for a healthy body. Muscles are no exception: they need liquids and micronutrients to function correctly. In addition to this, here is a short guide to looking after your muscles.

Avoid a sedentary lifestyle, and if possible alternate different types of physical activity, without focusing on a single part of the body. For example, if your favourite activity is walking, it is better to include a training session that focuses more on the upper part of the body.
Sport is fine, but don’t overdo it: always plan training sessions considering the importance of muscle recovery.
Never forget the importance of massages done by professionals who know how to deal with stiff muscles and contractures.
Sleep! Indeed: while sleeping, the muscles have time to regenerate, as GH is released (the “growth hormone” that stimulates tissue growth, including muscle tissue).

Fundamental vitamins and minerals for muscles

The body produces the energy it needs from food, and so a healthy, varied and balanced diet has more chance of assuring a generally high quality of overall health.

These are the micronutrients needed to strengthen the muscles:

Iron: essential for many body functions, and also carries oxygen to the active muscles.

Magnesium: it is indispensable for energy production, and when talking about muscles, it is precisely magnesium that supports muscle contraction and relaxation.

Selenium: the highest concentration of selenium in the human body can be found in the skeletal muscles, and it is fundamental for defending the cells from oxidative damage.

Group B vitamins: necessary for releasing energy into the body, repairing tissues and producing red blood cells. They are therefore fundamental for keeping the muscles in good health, especially when doing sports.

Vitamin C: it has a huge antioxidant power and is therefore of vital importance for protecting the cells in the muscles and indeed in the whole body.

Vitamin D: there is no well-being without this vitamin. This depends on the fact that it is involved in very many physiological processes, including the ability to increase muscle strength.

Arginine: it is able to improve muscle performance during sporting activities, protecting the muscle integrity and aiding recovery after physical effort.

Carnitine: it helps to feed the muscles, influencing their growth as it accelerates the transport of fatty acids to the muscles, where they are burned to obtain energy.

Strengthening the muscles: when to use supplements

Recourse to supplements for muscle strengthening helps in two main cases: firstly, after very intensive sporting activities and, in the same way, after significant loss of muscle tone due to prolonged periods of inactivity, convalescence or rest.

In both cases, the primary need is to restore optimal levels of muscle strength, and to do this it is possible to use nutritional supplements.

The formulation with vitamins and minerals contained in Apportal® supports muscle function, acting on the body to restore the ideal levels of strength and energy.

Which vitamins to take for diabetes

Diabetes is a disease that causes an abnormal increase of blood sugar levels. The trigger is a deficit in the production, and therefore the efficacy, of insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas that keeps glucose levels in check in the blood (glycemia).

Consequently, diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s metabolism, influencing the way food is transformed into energy. Another physiological reaction affected by diabetes is the production of free radicals, which are responsible for oxidative stress and which, in turn, can increase the risk of heart disease, as well as damage to the retina, kidneys and nerves.

This is why it is worth remembering that an appropriate intake of antioxidant vitamins can help to reduce the negative effects of oxidative stress in diabetes sufferers.

The benefits of vitamins and minerals on diabetes

As explained, a correct intake of vitamins and minerals has a significant impact on fighting oxidative stress in diabetes sufferers. This is why the first precaution to take is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eating fruit and vegetables regularly.

Vitamins and minerals that must be assured in order to control any complications linked to diabetes are:

Vitamin B1: a precious vitamin for the health of a diabetic heart, the benefits of which help to prevent cardiovascular complications in patients suffering from both type 1 diabetes (present from childhood), and type 2 diabetes (which occurs due to a sedentary lifestyle).
Vitamin D: is essential not only for the health of the bones but the whole body. A study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore demonstrated that vitamin D helps to reduce the risk of a heart attack, a stroke or type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
Vitamin C and E: the benefits of vitamins C and E have a number of implications and, in particular, are excellent antioxidants for the memory and brain health. In fact, diabetes tends to expose the nerve cells in the brain to greater oxidative stress caused by the inefficient use of sugars and the consequent intense production of free radicals.
Magnesium: some minerals are also a key factor in controlling the side effects of diabetes. Magnesium plays a fundamental role in heart function, neuromuscular communication, blood pressure and muscle contractions.
Selenium: people suffering from diabetes often have to cope with selenium deficiency. This mineral is very useful for intestinal and thyroid health, and is also a valid support for regulating normal glucose metabolism.

How to integrate vitamins in the diet when suffering from diabetes

With diabetes, it is essential to keep the body weight in check, to ensure correct glycaemic compensation and avoid the onset of complications. But you don’t need to adopt a drastic diet or, even worse, one that lacks vital nutrients for health: the important thing is to ensure the body the right intake of vitamins and nutrients, avoiding some mistakes that put health at risk when eating.

The Mediterranean diet is the best alternative, as it is rich in fibres from fruit and vegetables and whole wheat cereals and low in animal fats. A few extra tips:

Prefer fish to meat, particularly oily fish.
All vegetables are fine, particularly leaf vegetables including lettuce, chard, spinach, chicory, and root vegetables including carrots, beetroot, turnips, broccoli, fennel and cabbage.
And make sure there are pulses in the diet, as these are a source of vitamins, mineral salts and fibre, helping to increase the feeling of fullness
Prefer whole grain products, as they are rich in fibre.

H2: Vitamin supplements for diabetes sufferers

ApportAL® products are nutritional supplements formulated to ensure an effective antioxidant action in the body, supporting the health of the immune system and compensating any nutritional deficiencies.

They are also very well tolerated even by diabetes sufferers, who will find the ApportAL® range to be a valid and protective support to fight all the side effects caused by this disease. All this is possible thanks to the presence of 19 nutrients, including five fundamental minerals developed with the innovative Sucrosomial® Technology: Selenium, Iron, Zinc, Iodine and Magnesium.

Cardiovascular health: the importance of vitamin C

When the first seasonal ailments appear, or whenever we feel weak and lacking in energy, it is always a good idea to top up on vitamin C. It is well known that vitamin C, ascorbic acid, offers many benefits for the body. Among these, research in recent years has shown that vitamin C also has positive effects on cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of heart disease.

According to a recent study by the American Heart Association, low vitamin C levels are associated to a high concentration in the body of a special protein called high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP), a marker for inflammations and a risk factor for heart disease. With strong antioxidant powers, vitamin C raises the immune system barriers and helps the body to prevent the risk of heart attacks and general atherogenesis.

Vitamin C is also important for cardiovascular health as it plays an important role in fighting free radicals and cholesterol. But that’s not all: it helps to strengthen the blood vessel walls and prevent the coronary arteries from shrinking. And we mustn’t forget that vitamin C is also fundamental for preventing heart disease as it improves vasodilation, the ability of the arteries in the heart to widen when a greater blood flow is required.

Which foods are rich in vitamin C

Above all, fruit and vegetables are richest in vitamin C, even though this concentration can vary depending on the storage conditions, the type of cooking and degree of ripening.

In fact, vitamin C is sensitive to light, heat and oxygen, and this leads to a loss of between 30 and 50% when cooked for a long time.

The most effective methods for conserving most of the available vitamin C, especially for some vegetables, are steaming, pressure cooking, pan or oven cooking, without excessive heat.

As vitamin C is hydrosoluble (i.e., it dissolves in water), the body does not store vitamin C but eliminates it in the urine. So to have the right intake, it must be consumed regularly in the diet. The following foods must be included in the diet to ensure vitamin C intake:

Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, grapefruit, lime, mandarins etc.)
Pineapple
Melon
Kiwi
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Lettuce (fresh)
Radicchio
Spinach
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Tomatoes
Peppers
Potatoes (especially new)

Supplements containing vitamin C

When a healthy, varied diet is not enough to provide the right amount of vitamin C, supplements can help to strengthen the immune system and fight both free radicals and all the diseases linked to the deficiency of this essential vitamin.

Apportal® and Apportal® Vital are nutritional supplements with an antioxidant function, formulated to ensure a complete charge of vitamins and minerals for the body, stimulating the immune response and helping the body to defend itself from heart disease.

Advice for improving concentration when studying

Maths, history, chemistry, literature or geography… Whatever the subject, sometimes the brain just doesn’t seem to want to concentrate, and the mind wanders in search of distractions. So here’s a short guide for improving concentration when studying, whenever exams and homework have to be tackled!

Factors that help to concentrate when studying

A lack of concentration is caused by various factors: for example, particularly overloaded periods can cause emotional stress, and the same can be said for the change of seasons, poor motivation and too many distractions in the space where we study. Let’s start with some basic advice on how to improve concentration when studying:

Create the right setting: whether the bedroom, the lounge or a specific room, the important thing is that it is a quiet space with no distractions, with a comfortable chair that helps maintain the correct posture, a large table with no clutter and good lighting.
Plan your study sessions: sitting at the desk and opening a book can be counter-productive. It is better to plan study sessions and concentrate on one subject at a time.
Plan your breaks: the best thing is to have a 5-minute break every half an hour of study, but everyone should plan a schedule that suits them best. Breaks are in any case essential, otherwise we may not be able to memorise what we are studying.
The blank sheet trick: keep a blank sheet of paper (or a notebook) to hand to note down everything that comes to mind while studying, in order to keep the concentration going.
Sleep at least 8-10 hours a night: children and adolescents until the age of 18 should never sleep less than 8 hours a night. Sleep affects quality of life, concentration levels and performance in the chosen sporting activity.
Avoid a sedentary lifestyle: do sport and spend time on your hobbies, as this helps to set targets and reach them, in addition to guaranteeing a better quality of life generally.
Eat healthily: the quality and quantity of food also affects concentration. Avoid high-calorie, elaborate meals and always have an abundant, energy-packed breakfast with yoghurt and cereals, fruit or whole wheat bread and jam.

Vitamins and minerals that help concentration levels

As already explained, a healthy, balanced diet has positive effects on many aspects of life. Vitamins and minerals have positive effects on many aspects of our health, including concentration, memory and learning speed.

Let’s see which foods are recommended for children who have to study every day:

Avocado: is an exotic fruit containing mono-unsaturated fats that improve cognitive efficiency.
Broccoli: a vegetable that children don’t like much but it is worth investigating a few recipes in order to introduce broccoli into the diet because, packed with group B vitamins, it offers many benefits, including cognitive efficiency.
Whole wheat cereals: in addition to being a key energy source for vital functions, whole wheat cereals help cognitive functions as they release glucose into the blood more slowly.
Dark chocolate: although children usually prefer milk chocolate, it’s worth knowing that dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids, a micro-nutrient that helps memory function.
Honey: eating preferably natural honey offers a range of benefits for human health. Various studies have shown that it can stimulate the memory and concentration, and also seems able to relieve anxiety and stress.
Blueberries: rich in fibres, antioxidants and vitamin C, blueberries can be eaten regularly as they improve concentration and short-term memory.
Walnuts: walnuts are rich in fatty acids, vitamins and minerals and, in particular, vitamin E, which helps fight the effects of free radicals.
Extra-virgin olive oil: better used raw as a condiment, it has all-round beneficial effects, but of course without overdoing it. Extra-virgin olive oil is rich in polyphenols, which improve learning and memory and combat mental fatigue.
Fish: eat fish regularly, particularly salmon, which stimulates the neurons and the memory, thanks to its abundance of Omega-3.
Tomatoes: tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a nutrient that helps short- and medium-term memory. It also has anti-inflammatory effects, helping to fight the action of free radicals.
Pumpkin seeds: better eaten unsalted, added to soups and salads, pumpkin seeds are a real help for the body, particularly for improving cognitive functions thanks to their abundance of zinc.
Eggs: eggs should always be part of a healthy, balanced Mediterranean diet, and should be eaten by children and adolescents who study constantly, as they help to preserve cognitive functions and psychological well-being.
Leaf vegetables: vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, chicory, radicchio, chard, spinach and rocket are good for the body generally, as well as for the health of the cognitive system as they are very rich in vitamins A, C, K and iron.

Supplements for improving memory and concentration

Studying takes a lot of time and energy: so it is not unusual to feel stress and mental fatigue even with a healthy diet and life style. In these cases, we can turn to nutritional supplements with formulations suitable also for children and adolescents.

ApportAL® Vital contains vitamins and minerals that help the whole body to recover form and vitality in every debilitating situation, including those involving the nervous system. With Royal jelly, it also helps to strengthen cognitive functions and concentration, at the same time enhancing the immune system.

The best vitamins for memory and good brain health

Tiredness is not only a symptom of physical fatigue but can also affect the mind. In some periods, when commitments, tension and stress come hand in hand, we may receive some signals, such as difficulty in concentrating, drowsiness, memory loss.

Let’s see how to take care of the brain not only during periods of mental fatigue but also every day.

Which vitamins are useful for good brain health

Group B vitamins are precious allies for the mind: in fact, they help to recover energy from food and are fundamental for the health of the nervous system.

There are 8 Group B vitamins, and each one is essential for the production of neurotransmitters, increasing energy levels and helping us to cope with periods of high stress and anxiety better.

Not by chance, group B vitamins are often called “happiness vitamins” or “anti-stress vitamins”.

In particular, vitamins B6, B12 and B9 play a crucial role in good brain health. Studies conducted at Oxford University have demonstrated that these three vitamins work synergically to help prevent mental decline. dementia and improve brain functions.

Magnesium also has properties that contribute significantly to reducing tiredness and mental fatigue. But that’s not all: Magnesium contributes to the correct functioning of the nervous system, reducing the risk of disorders linked to the central nervous system and the onset of migraine.

Coenzyme Q10 is essential for brain health, as it charges the energy cells and helps protect them from free radicals, supporting a healthy immune system and helping to cope with stress.

Vitamin-rich foods for a healthy nervous system

As we have already seen group B vitamins, magnesium and coenzyme Q10 are fundamental for a healthy mind, fighting mental fatigue, helping the memory and preventing neurological diseases.

Group B vitamins can be found particularly in liver, egg yolk, brewer’s yeast and green-leaf vegetables, but as they are not accumulated in the body they must be introduced through food in a balanced, healthy diet.

Here are some of the foods that must be included in a diet to ensure the intake of these 3 essential vitamins for brain health:

Vitamin B9: the foods rich in vitamin B9 are:

Green-leaf vegetables, including lettuce, broccoli, spinach and asparagus
Liver
Milk
Oranges
Kiwi
Lemons

Vitamin B6: the foods rich in vitamin B6 are:

Avocado
Beef, chicken and pork
Fish, particularly tuna, salmon and shellfish
Liver
Whole wheat cereals, including oat flour, wheat flour and whole grain rice
Eggs
Milk
Cheese
Potatoes
Cauliflower
Green beans
Chick peas
Lentils
Soya beans
Almonds

Vitamin B12: the foods rich in vitamin B12 are:

Meat
Liver
Mackerel
Salmon
Eggs
Mussels
Fresh cheese
Yoghurt

Magnesium: the foods rich in magnesium are:

Bran
Dark chocolate
Nuts, including almonds, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts and pistachios
Legumes
Sweetcorn
Whole grain rice
Artichokes
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Chicken and turkey
Courgettes
Cauliflower and broccoli
Bananas
Peppers, carrots and tomatoes
Plums and oranges
Apples and pears

Coenzyme Q10: the foods rich in coenzyme Q10 are:

Oily fish, including tuna, sardines, mackerel and salmon
Liver
Whole wheat cereals
Soy
Spinach
Wheat germ
Nuts
Vegetable oils

Healthy habits for brain health

In addition to a healthy, balanced diet rich in vitamins, a series of habits and behaviour can help to relieve mental fatigue and maintain brain health.

Improve sleep quality, sleeping at least 7 hours a night
Regular physical exercise
Limit caffeine and drink plenty of water
Limit alcoholic beverages
Avoid nicotine
Set realistic targets at work to avoid the risk of “burnout”
Make time for relaxing
Consider therapy if mental fatigue does not depend only on bad habits

Supplements for memory and good brain health

ApportAL® and ApportAL® Vital contain useful active substances for the memory and for relieving the typical feeling of tiredness we have in particularly stressful periods.

This is due to the complete formulation, a single sachet contains not only group B vitamins but also magnesium, coenzyme Q10 and other nutrients that provide energy, including iron and iodine.

How to fight physical and mental fatigue

Both physical and mental tiredness and fatigue are an alarm bell, calling on the body to stop and recover energy.

The best thing to do would be to allow the body and mind to rest, without excessive stress and commitments.

Unfortunately, this is not always possible in the short term: so we would like to offer some useful advice for fighting physical and mental fatigue, or indeed, even better, on how to prevent it.

Physical and mental fatigue: what are the symptoms

Physical and mental fatigue, also known as asthenia, is a feeling of excessive tiredness and a lack of energy, accompanied by drowsiness and muscle weakness. It can occur both as short-term episodes and on a constant basis, all day long. In both cases, all normal everyday activities require much greater physical and cognitive effort than usual.

When the body and mind are suffering from excessive fatigue, various physical and behavioural symptoms may appear. For example:

Migraine
Speeding up of the heartbeat
Dizziness
Muscle pain
Poor lucidity
Memory and reasoning problems
Tiredness even in the morning
Irritability
Anxiety
Emotional sensitivity
Lack of appetite or, on the contrary, nervous eating
Nausea
Stomach cramps
Insomnia

What are the causes of physical and mental fatigue

Stress accumulated during intense working periods, an unhealthy lifestyle, post-flu convalescence: are just some of the causes of physical and mental fatigue.

Although there is no actual rule, nor any age group that is particularly at risk, there are certainly a number of factors that together may lead to the symptoms described above. A few examples:

Insufficient sleep: it is well known that not enough sleep slows down both physical and cognitive functions.
Putting off commitments: it may seem absurd, but whenever an unpleasant commitment is postponed, it increases anxiety, which affects physical and mental health.
A sedentary lifestyle: sport helps to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle, aiding concentration and keeping the mood high.
Accumulated untidiness: this may also seem absurd, but in fact untidiness triggers the production of cortisol, increasing stress levels and tiring the brain.
An unbalanced diet: a poor intake of mineral salts and vitamins can negatively affect the energy available to the mind and body.

Remedies for fighting physical and mental fatigue

Though easier said than done, the first recommendation is to avoid an overload of commitments, managing your routine with as much calm and lucidity as you can muster.

Secondly, a few precautions can be taken to improve the general quality of life. For example, spending time doing sports or physical activity outdoors helps to improve physical and mental well-being. The same goes for hobbies enjoyed in your free time, as they help to distract the mind from stress, and can also soothe tensions.

Finally, an evergreen piece of advice is to limit the consumption of alcohol and junk food, smoke less and adopt a balanced diet. Eating healthily, including all types of essential nutrients and respecting the seasonality of fruit and vegetables is a basic assumption for fighting physical and mental fatigue. Furthermore, never forget to drink more water and limit sugared fizzy drinks as much as possible.

In more intensive periods of tiredness, however, a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle may not be enough to fill the gap of vitamins needed to provide energy to the whole body. In these cases, nutritional supplements formulated with tonic energising functions can be taken.

The ApportAL® range contains 19 nutrients to support physical and cognitive functions, including in particular:

Magnesium: magnesium is an excellent remedy against fatigue, and is also involved in a number of fundamental processes such as muscular contractions, heart beat, coagulation and blood pressure.
Vitamin B: vitamins of group B play a key role in guaranteeing the energy the body needs to perform its everyday functions, and also prevent neurological diseases.
Taurine and Ginseng (only in ApportAL®): taurine helps to reduce tiredness and make more energy available, while Ginseng helps the neurological system to improve concentration levels.
Royal Jelly (only in ApportAL® Vital): Royal jelly is a natural nutrient offering many benefits for the body, including an energising function during periods of physical and mental fatigue.